Pain in STOMACH and BACK

[joedev51]

Every morning I wake up with this pain in my stomach that goes through to my back. It seems to ease up when I get out of bed, but before that it feels like someone is sticking a knife threw me. Does anyone know what could be causing this. I take Nexium 40mg twice a day. Any help would be appreciated.

[Matthew007]

ooo I know a girl (rachel) that might have the same problems you're having..

upper abdominal pain/upper back pain..nausea..

probably an ulcer, caused by h.ploryi.  It's confirmed usually by a test or there's a not so accurate breath test.  Usually treated with triple therapy antibiotics. Even though you're taking nexium, h. ploryi still can live and prosper in a stomach..so you probably need that blood test asap.  Your primary doctor can order the test for you.

**i've heard of people using nexium long long long term can cause erosion due to lack of acid or something like that so there's that too..long term use of nexium does cause problems so *shrugs* I dunno something to ask your doctor about.  I'm guessing you have reflux or GERD for that.

[Matthew007]

or it could be pancreatitis.. if you've been drinking or hitting NSAD's really hard lately..the pain is pretty high with pancreatitis and you'd be doubled over..but not always.  A blood test for pancreatitis can be used if you've been drinking a lot.. either way with an ulcer i'd avoid alchohol/tylenol/asprin like the plague.  That'll kill your stomach.

[joedev51]

I only drink about six beers maybe once a month. I had to stop taking motrin because it did give me a small ulcer a few years ago. If I had pancreatitis or some kind of liver problem wouldn't that show up in my blood work ? I do have GERDS. All the blood work that I had over the last couple of years and it all came back as my doctor put it. BEAUTIFUL !

[Matthew007]

mm not always..

well normally if you drink quite a bit you can develop fatty liver or pancreatitis (even small amounts of asprin can set it off).  Liver tests would be elevated and accurate but testing for the pancrease is only accurate during the acute phase but over time (let's say this is chronic weeks and months long) then the testing is not as accurate because the pancrease gets used to not functioning 100% and elevated enzymes are not caught in blood tests.  Possibly could be gallbladder as well since gallbladder symptoms are so wide...but with a past history of ulcers you might have a really deep ulcer now.

You probably need a repeat h.ploryi blood test/liver/pancrease panel and possibly a endoscope to find out what is going on in your stomach.  A gi specialist would probably be best.  If this is truly pancreatitis you would need to stop drinking to let the pancrease heal before permament damage is done...(normally)

BUT i'm not a doctor.. a visit with a gi specialist would be the way to go..I know anxiety is a common symptom with an ulcer and having upper abdominal pain both front and back would suggest a perforated ulcer or pancreatitis.  And since you're already taking nexium, decent chance it could be h.ploryi since nexium doesn't cure an h.ploryi ulcer (which requires antibiotics to fix)  Are your stools dark?  That would also suggest ulcer, sometimes also causes insomnia..perforated would explain the upper back pain as it's worked deep into your stomach layer..  pancreatitis is usually very strong pain but chronic pancreatitis is not as strong.

**could be a bunch of things but those symptoms sound like a bad ulcer or acute pancreatitis to me

[joedev51]

I'm due to see my GI doctor in two weeks. I seen him two years ago for a endoscopy and he said, everything looked good. I went back to see him last year and told him about the pain in my stomach and back and he just felt around my stomach and said, your fine. Its anxiety ! He said, stress and anxiety disorders can make things feel ten times worse then they really are, stop worrying. See you next year. I haven't lost any weight in fact I put on about 10lbs. since I last seen him. No my stools aren't dark, in fact they are a light brown. He already told me that was normal. I am overdue for a colonoscopy, I should of had one last year, I was so busy I just never got around to it. I'll be moving to another state soon so I have to get both done before I move.

[Matthew007]

well I could be totally off but it could be just chronic/acute pancreatitis caused by alchohol..it happens and I bet soon as you mention your symptoms your doctor will probably wonder about doing a blood test...

But you're right it could be anxiety/IBS, which causes nausea and pain at times..but who knows, Good idea to get to a doctor to rule things out and figure it out.  Normally sharp sharp pains in your upper abdominal area would be stomach/pancrease or even possible gallbladder (stone) so you probably need a test, but in the meantime i'd take it real easy on the beers until you get an answer :)  and since you have 2 weeks to wait you *could* test yourself....

try adding fiber and water to your diet, or eat something super spicy or get some orange juice and note your reaction to it.. if the pain increases you got sort of an answer there on the ulcer part...if you try drinking something strong that would also back up the ulcer/pancrease theory...you could also note the pain if there's any increase, or like I said do some fiber for 2 weeks and note the pain increase or decrease.. could be just simple IBS.  Good luck, hope the GI helps you out!

[joedev51]

My sister-in-law came up with this idea that I might have Celiac disease, but I don't think so because that seems to run in families. I don't know of anyone in my family that has it, but I'll bring it up to my GI doctor when I see him.

[Matthew007]

yeah another good idea to test for.. usually it gives you IBS-D..brain fog, nausea and such..that's what I think I have