I feel so sick all the time. Please help

[Lucilla]

I have had stomach 'problems' since I was 17 (I'm 28 now)but it has only ever been diagnosed as IBS. It has always been fairly controllable but the last 18 months I have had terrible nausea, fatigue and pain. After approximately 20 appointments trying to persuade my docter to take me seriously I was referred to a specialist. I am going to have a endoscopy in five days to see whether I have a problem with my reflux. It seems though that i have all the symptoms of H pylori. Can anyone let me know if pylori has made them feel so sick as it seems so intense i can hardly believe that an infection can be so damaging. also would it make me so tired? I feel worst at night and in the morning and then the symptoms come and go in the day depending on food. Some days are much better than others and I can have the odd week (max) when i feel normal (ish). Does the pylori infection come and go at different times in your life and what can I do about it?

I realise that this is asking a lot. It's wonderful to be able to communicate with people that know how it feels to have a life blighted by sickness. I was such a positive person and I'm scared that all my hunger for life is disappearing. How long can a person feel nauseas for?

My thoughts are with you all
Lucilla

[gardenmaniac]

So far...what tests have you had? And what specifically are your symptoms?

[Abbey]

I have had h. pylori and was treated twice this year. The first antibiotics didn't work. I recently had another endoscopy which is the 2nd in 6 months and finally I'm cleared of it. BUT, I'm still experiencing stomach problems. If you want to talk pleawse e-mail me @ ***@****.

[juliana]

Lucilla if you do find you have h pylori think long an hard about getting it cleared. I was told for the last three years that I had ibs it was tolerable if I avoided trigger foods. Then I was treated for h pylori in February my life has been a nightmare since I have lost 28 lbs in weight have now got really bad gastritis and can eat very few foods without feeling nauseous. I am now told that my problem all along was probably slow gastric empting. Maybe you should have, if you have not already had, a test for this.

[Lucilla]

Thanks for your advice. In response to Gardemania I haven't had any tests as of yet. It really has taken the medical profession ten years to take me seriously. My symptoms are: nausea, bloating, wind, lethargy, pain in stomach, and disinterest in food. All of these symptoms are worse in the night and morning. I'm having an endoscopy in a week and I will let you know the outcome. Is there anything i should encourage them to look for?

Thanks again, I will definitely treat all medical intervention with caution. I realise that cures for one thing can set off all sorts of terrible side effects.

Hope that you are all having a good week-Thanks for the e mail address, I'm sure i'll need to speak soon

Lu

[4gpact]

I agree with Juliana; you have definite symptoms of delayed gastric emptying, also called gastroparesis. There are treatments for that, but you need a diagnosis, and a good doctor. Ask for a gastric emptying test, this will tell how long it takes food to empty from your stomach. Gastroparesis often is cyclic in its symptoms. As a "test", try to stick to a low fat, low fiber diet, smaller amounts of food, avoid eating before bed, and try to sleep with your head elevated. I take a medication called domperidone, which I have to get from New Zealand, because it is not sold here in the US, it is safe and legal, just not available. Do a search on the internet for more information, see if it sounds like you. Most people with this disorder have any combination of different symptoms to varying degrees, and have different success with treatment. Most doctors over look this as a diagnosis. The gastric emptying test is the only test that will tell you if you have this disorder. It is a simple and painless procedure; you eat some food with an isotope (no flavor, no danger) and they take pictures of your stomach as you lay on a table. Non invasive.
In the meantime, try sticking to carbs, avoid fresh veggies and fruits and red meats and high fat foods. These are all things that are hard for the stomach to digest. I know, it doesn't sound healthy, but see if it doesn't help. Good luck.

[tuppergirl]

Hi there...you said you suffer from gastroparesis?  How long have  you had it?  My husband was diagnosed with that, and that was 2 yrs ago.  He is sicker now, and they don't know what is wrong with him.  We are going to Mayo Clinic again and hope to find an answer.  He was on Domperidone...didn't  help at all.  Do they think yours will ever go away?  Our life is hell right now, and we just need to find some answers!  thanks
Lisa

[kellieb]

Hi I don't know if this will help but it sounds like something similar tp what I had. This past Feb. I passed out sitting in class and just always felt sick ever since. All my tests came back normal. I even called 911 2x. A cyst on my ovary the size of an egg showed up from a gyno exam...so an internal ultrasound was done and it showed hydrosalpinx of both tubes plus cysts on both ovaries. I had surgery and my Dr. told me I had so much adhesions (scar tissue) that he couldn't even see my ovaries , tubes or uterus. This doesn't show up on xrays or anything so thats why it wasn't found until my actual surgery. As soon as I had surgery...all my symptoms went away......pretty ironic eh? After even being told by my reg former Primary Dr that it is "anxiety/panic disorder" and being put on meds for it. Well I also was having stomach problems with pain/dizziness etc.. so I had an upper GI series done *(before the surgery) which found gerd (not really bad though) and hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. So this could be something you should have looked at. I had both tubes removed but not ovaries, so if I want anymore kids, I have a 13 yr old< I have to do invitro. I just didn't care what had to be done, I was sick of feeling so horrible everyday. I had to leave my job and take a leave of absence from nursing school because I felt like I was putting patients at risk by being dizzy and sick feeling so, rather than being kicked out as a safety issue, I took a leave on my own. I just started back part time this past Aug. and I haven't felt this good in a long time. So be persistant because you know your body. I actually saw my former Dr. so many times and went to the ER so  many times, that he actually got very annoyed with me and told me to "stop calling the paramedics and stop going to the ER, there is nothing wrong"...he was saying this very loud , as if he wanted to yell at me and he probably would have if my boyfriend wasn't in the room with me. Needless to say , I fired his behind and now I see a Dr at Mass General who is very good and listens to me. He also thought maybe it was anxiety at first, but then after the GI tests was wondering then after my surgery I told him about how I feel so much better, he was really surprised...he just said " oh....really?" I think he was very shocked as well but I still am getting an endoscopic exam in Dec just to see if there is something with my stomach  because even though I feel 100x better, every so often I do get a slight lightheaded feeling and a little pain but NOTHING even close to before. So scar tissue is bad news, it is very common if you've had surgery before go to  bombobeach.com...they are an adhesion website...excellent. Good luck

[4gpact]

Lisa,
Mayo probably wouldn't be my first choice based upon things I have heard. I belong to a support group through Yahoo for gastroparesis. It has been a great help. I have had gastroparesis for years (GP for short), and never knew what it was, and none of the doctors thought to look for it, probably because it was sporadic at first, and then the episodes became closer together and more severe. How much domeridone was your husband taking? You can take up to 40 mg, four times a day. I take 30 mg, this seems to be the magic number for me. I would also give the drug propulsid consideration. Though it was taken off the market here in the U.S. it is still available. I got mine from New Zealand, the brand name. For several reasons, I am not taking it now, but it worked better than the domperidone. You just need to be monitored while on it for possible cardiac complications (rare, but can be dangerous)Still, a lot less dangerous than other options that are more invasive. I also take Zelnorm, prescribed for constipation predominant IBS, but can help with motility in general. It is a new drug, but it has helped me. Some also use erythromycin with success. It is a miserable thing to suffer from. Look for the group site on yahoo, it is terrific.

[ronniepwi]

A related discussion, How to cure bad breath due to H Pylori was started.