Feeling unwell,sometimes after eating

[legolas]

Hi i live in england but i think you can still help me!
Over the past 2-3 weeks i have been having periods of a slight sickness & diziness, i am 25 of average height & weight & generally active in my job, but not over stressed, i first feel dizzy with a slightly bloated stomach, this may last for 20-25 minutes & sometimes my hands will shake slightly but i think this is because i start to panic because of feeling unwell.
I went to the doctors & A&E departments a few times and the doc checked my heart rate & blood pressure & i had an ecg at the hospital & all tests were fine.I explained to one of the doctors the symptons & he gave me ranitidine tablets which he said were normally for stomach ulcers but he thought i might have a stomach bug, i took the tablets for 1 week & i think they helped but didn't cure the problem. Also instead of going to toilet at my regular time of 9-11am i have been waking up with a stomach ache at 5am in the morning & having to go to toilet! Also sometimes after eating i feel dizzy & nausia occurs.
Please help!

[Kevin Pho, MD]

There are several considerations, including the various causes of dyspepsia - GERD, ulcers, or inflammation.  I would consider an upper GI series as a first evaluation.  If negative, an upper endoscopy can be considered as a more thorough test.

If those tests are negative, an upper right quadrant ultrasound should be considered to evaluate the liver and gallbladder.  I would also test for a bacteria known as H Pylori (via a simple blood test) - this bacteria is often associated with inflammation or ulcers.

More specialized testing can be considered if the initial wave of tests are negative.  This would include a 24-hr pH study to further evaluate GERD as well as a gastric emptying scan to evaluate for delayed gastric emptying.

All of these tests can be discussed with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
Medical Weblog:
kevinmd_b

[Eners]

Started searching the net having recently been for a series of blood tests which didn’t provide answers to my condition. I read legolas post which, apart from the bloated stomach, describes my problem very closely… even so far as to say I’m in my mid twenties, live in England and have also been to casualty twice for and ECG etc The only thing I can add is that that in addition to the occasional dizziness after eating, my ailment is aggravated by alcohol and fatigue, and has been getting progressively worse for the past few years. I think if I just experienced a more intensive hangover than others I could get by but unfortunately this problem causes me to feel really faint and have on two occasions actually passed out the next day and vomited whilst unconscious, hence the trips to hospital. I feel fine when drinking but will wake up at 3am feeling very dizzy and faint, sometimes I only need to have a couple of drinks and can feel unwell for 48 hours after….. this is something which is playing havoc on the old social life. Would like to know if leglolas also gets this acute hangover syndrome and whether any further advice can be offered.

[legolas]

Ref eners
These spats of feeling unwell annoyingly seem to have no recognisable pattern, which is very frustrating, although in the last week i have been waking up between 4-5am in the morning witha bloated/stomach ache & needing to go to the toilet & feeling unwell afterwards if i manage to go back to sleep then i am still unwell when i wake up, & i don't seem to have the energy to do any work during the day.
I too have been to A&E but only because if you go to your doctor you will have to wait a good 5-6 weeks to see a specialisbut. I haven't actually fainted but just get a strange dizzy sensation, i also have had an ecg & blood test & a chest x-ray all which were fine, i also noticed a slight ringing in my ears, the hospital gave me serc 16 & some lactose to try to cure the problem. I did't really notice  bad hangovers but have been put of drinking altogether as i don't think it would help, i have also not felt too great about eating large meals & have lost about 6-pounds in the last week as i have been off my food, doc rulled out IBS. i just hope it goes away so i can get back to normall.

[legolas]

Hi again,
I would like the doc to answer this one if they could!
after posting my first ever question over the internet i have visited the A&E dept a few times, not because of being in a huge amount of pain but simply because it takes weeks to see my local GP i dont know what its like in the U.S but i do think it is far too long to wait.
Anyway after finally visiting my G.P he gave me some pills & basiclly said come back if its not gone away, well after 2 weeks nothing had changed much so i demanded that some stool samples could be done, he agreed & after 2 days i took the samples back to the doctors & the results came back 4 days later stating that i had salmonella! My main question is How long does it last for because i started feeling unwell 4-5 weeks ago i didn't have a bad case of diarrhoea. The doctor phoned me the same day saying i needed to ring him ASAP to make an appointment, please advise!