I am a 42 yo female, and I have had some GI problems for the last 8 months or so. Right before lunch or dinner, or sometimes just as I am beginning to eat, I will feel rumbling and bubbling in my intestines and my stomach will fill up with gas and I will become very bloated. It is often painful and lying down relieves the pain somewhat. Large doses of TUMS (2 Ultra 1000s) seem to help with the pain. I have very frequent belching and flatulence, and the belches seem to come from deep in my gut.
I have had a gall bladder ultrasound (negative for gallstones) and an endoscopy which showed "inactive gastritis" --if this is inactive, I'd hate to know what active gastritis is like!
I am currently on 40 mg omeprazole twice a day, which doesn't seem to help much. The problem seems to be getting more frequent, and this week, I've experienced new symptoms. I went out of town and became constipated (a frequent occurrence for me). I took some mineral oil, and after having several bowel movements the next day, I felt great--no gut problems for about 24 hours. However, two days later I was constipated again (no BMs), so I took more mineral oil. This time, I only had a small BM, and by lunch, I felt extremely bloated, like I had eaten a huge meal when I had only had a small lunch. This was yesterday. I've since taken a citrucel with lots of water, and had yet another dose of mineral oil, but I've only passed a small amount of stool, and my abdomen feels sore, like I've been punched in the stomach.
I typically have a BM at least once a day, usually twice a day, but I am hypothyroid and have a history of constipation and episodes of crampy diahrrea (this has been much less since I began treatment with thyroid hormone about 4 years ago). Any ideas?