Can figure out why I have stomach problems

Since January I've been noticing that I have stomach pain that lasts a few days. The pain feels like I'm getting a stomach virus but with out the other symptoms. I sometimes have diarrhea with the pain but most of the time I don't. And if I vomit it's clear with mucous. I first noticed the pain in July of 2009, and I thought I had a virus, but after a couple of days the pain went away.

I've been to the doctor several times and they tried a fecal sample test which came back negative. He gave me a trial of antacids, they didn't seem to do anything. In February 2010 the pain came back, but a stomach virus was going around work so I thought I got that. But this past March the pain and came back and lasted 5 days. I went to the doctor and he had me get blood work done to check for an ulcer, the test came back negative.

A lot of the pain is in my upper stomach which sometimes feels like gas but other times I feel like I need to vomit. Going to the bathroom sometimes relieves the pain, but I also feel like I still have to go when I finish a bowel movement. There are also time when I don't have a movement even though I think I have to.

The people I work with think it could be IBS, IBD, lactose intolerance, stress, anxiety, but I don't know. I'm going to a GI doctor soon to try to figure this out.

If anyone has any incite I'd appreciate it.

[patient915]

Because it is off and on, it doesn't sound like IBD or lactose intolerance (unless you are eating lactose on and off).  I would try and figure out if it is linked to a certain food you are eating.  If the pain is very severe I would recommend talking to your doctor about a colonoscopy.

[Destruction]

I've eaten dairy all my life. Since I've been having these problems I reduced my dairy intake, but I have noticed that eating a bowl of cereal to get some fiber doesn't bother me. The other day I ate some ice cream and the next I had stomach pain. I don't know if the ice cream was the reason or not. I also have anxiety and a job that can be stressful. This could also be a factor.

I'm going to see a GI doctor on Tuesday, so I'll see what he suggests.

[patient915]

Even if you've been eating lactose your entire life and never had a problem, you can still become lactose intolerant (it is actually pretty common).  To truly test for this you need to stop eating all lactose and your symptoms should improve quickly if it is lactose intolerance.