Stomach pain and anxiety

[Enigmatic_soul]

For the lst 6 months i have been having probems with intermitent stomach pain. Every few weeks the pain will kick off for a couple of days and then ease up for a week or so before kicking off again. The pain seems to sit on the left hand side of my upper abdomen just under the rib cage and towards the center. Sometimes its a sharp searing pain alternating with a knawing/aching/cramping pain and at others its just the knawing pain. It can be quite intense. I also sometimes get acid indigestion with it as well. My dr said its reflux with gastritis (after a brief physical examination) however im wondering if it could be anxiety related.

I have also been having problems with migraine type chronic daily headaches and fatigue for a year and a half now, both of which have been put down to anxiety/depression as the cause. Im on anti depressants and have been for 6 years but they dont really help with the physical symptoms. Relaxation and dietary changes have also failed to help with the headaches and fatigue although they can help to reduce the frequency of the stomach pain.

Is it all connected? or could the stomach pain be a different issue to the headaches and fatigue?

Also is there anything i can do to alleviate the stomach pain without taking painkillers as i dont want to irritate my stomach any further.

[Enigmatic_soul]

HI thankyou for the post. Is there another form of exercise i can try? I have tried yoga, brisk walking and aerobic exercise in the past and it seems to make the fatigue and headaches worse. I have tried a few times to introduce gentle aerobics back into my routine but feel so bad for a week after doing them ive not been able to do it on a regular basis.

Yogh had no effect at all, aromatherapy hasnt helped, breathing exercises have also failed. Dietray changes reduce the frequency of the stomach pain but doesnt affect the headaches or fatigue.

I find cross stitching relaxing but again although it relaxes me it doesnt stop the headache or fatigue.

I tried changing anti depressants but i had an allergic reaction to the new tablet and had to go back onto my old ones again.

Im completely out of ideas as to what to try to lower my anxiety levels if indeed it is anxiety/depression related and im just incredibly tired of feeling bad every day of my life now. Its affecting my quality of life and limiting the things i can do because any kind of intense physical activity makes it worse.



Some

[jenny2008]

hi,
You are right all your symptoms are interrelated. Anxiety , headache and gastritis.

You should try to decrease your anxiety by brisk walking or yoga and other symtoms will decrease automatically.

Stop smoking , if u do as it can aggravate both gastritis and migraine.

Drink lot of water and eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Also don;t take painkillers for stomach ache.Painkillers can aggravate the condition.

Antigastritis drugs like Pantaprozole which has to be taken empty stomach or Famotidine will help.

Lifestyle modification helps in dealing with these symptoms.