Nausea, bloating, migraines

Hi,

I have had digestive problems since late October last year 2008.  My symptoms started with a lump feeling in my throat which came and went.  Within the first week I had acute heartburn which I went to the Dr and he prescribed Omeprezole.  Within the following weeks I felt sick in the morning (definately not pregnant!) and after a heavy meal or during a meal in the evening.  My stomach on the left side was very tender and I had problems sleeping on it (this has now subsided).  I have had a scan on the abdolmum (sorry about the spelling!) and the gallbladder appeared normal in size and shape.  The nausea has continued and in February I had an appointment with a Gastro. Consultant who thought it was excessive acid and prescribed Nexium 40mg a day.  These have made very little difference.  I have had an endoscope down my throat which has found a lax cardia and gastritis of the lower stomach.  The consultant has discharged me and I have no results back from the biopsies done.  I am having problems sleeping as the back of my head aches and gives me an ongoing migraine which lasts most of the day.  My GP has prescribed me anti-depressants which gave me panic attacks but did stop the migraines.  I don't feel I can take the ADs because of the really uncomfortable side effects.  My eyes are very dry and sore during the night and when I wake up.  I feel quite thirsty alot of the time regardless of how much I drink but this could be side effects from the Nexium which I am still taking.  I have had general blood tests for the liver, kidneys, blood count, B12, etc and all are satisfactory.  I am at a loss.

Anyone else out there with the same?

Clare x

[tedm]

Hello,

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having. I have been having a bloating pressure feeling in my upper abdomen since December and my doctors have not been able to find the cause either. They thought it was GERD or my gallbladder at first, but now they are not thinking these things are causing my problems. I had a CT scan done of my abdomen several months ago and they found I have a bulky pancreas. They advised they didn't feel this was causing my problems, but I am not convinced. I have been to two doctors for this problem and they both said my bulky pancreas is just how I am built and it is not causing the problem. I too have had all the necessary blood work done and everything came back as normal. These problems do cause anxeity, which can make the symptoms worse. I hope they find out what is causing your problems. It does sound like you are having GERD problems. GERD can cause a lump feeling in your throat and heartburn. It takes a while sometimes to control GERD. I have had GERD for the past 10 years and take medication for it, but I still have symptoms from time to time. The pressure feeling I am having is totally different from the GERD symptoms I have had in the past and is very intense.

Let us know what you find out.

Tedm

[julies123]

I have another suggestion for you. I've just learned that we can develop allergies to certain foods that can cause all sorts of havoc on our bodies and digestive systems. Look up eonsinophilic esophagitis - this can also have an affect on the stomach, but it mainly contributes to the heartburn and the proton pumps not helping. I have struggled with chronic heartburn for 10 weeks now with no help from the proton pumps. I'm going to call my doc tomorrow about some allergy testing. See this website for more info. http://www.medicinenet.com/eosinophilic_esophagitis/page5.htm#toch
They are seeing increasing #'s of people with Gerd who actually may have food allergies. I have bloating and a lump in my throat from time to time too!

[julies123]

Also-food allergies can induce migraine type headaches (which incidentally I also have)
I just talked to a neighbor today that has allergies to 6 different foods and she now has no digestive issues or headaches.

[Clare34]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the really useful feedback, I am at the start of thinking that my symptoms are connected to food allergy/allergies.  I have a good health food shop near where I live and will see if I can get a allergy test done.  There seems to be a connection to what I am eating and the nausea/stomach discomfort experienced.  I take ginger tablets for the nausea which helps a little.  Certainly high fat foods, chocolate, citrus fruits and pringles (which I used to love!) make my symptoms a hell of a lot worse.  Both my mum and dad have intolerances to certain foods (dairy products, chocolate).  Can people develop food intolerance?  I used to eat everything without much problem (probably too much!).

Thank you for all your support.

Clare x