am i crazy!?

Question

...i guess not after reading some posts on here!... it kind of makes me feel better. it's been a HELL of a 3 months!!! i'm 23 years old and i've never gone through something like this in my life! you have friends and family to be there for you but honestly, if it's not their problem, they can't understand how you feel - which makes the comfort limited. i went to the doctor in october because i was sick of having stomach "grumbles" all of september. when i went to my primary she gave me some antibiotics which she didn't really even tell me what they were FOR. these things did nothings but make me sicker. not only did i have stomach indegestion, grumbles, diarrea, and anxiety - now i was bloated/full 24/7 also. she then did a stool sample and a blood test. both came back negative. next we did an ultrasound - nothing. i went back again and it was the practitioner in the office who knew nothing of my case and suggested it might be my appendix so i was off to my first cat scan. my cat scan apparently showed a hemangioma on my liver. um, i'm 23 what the hell is a hemangioma and am i going to DIE?!?! i brought my mom in with me and she was a wreck. we both had no idea what that was or meant for me. the doctor explained it's like a "birthmark" on the liver and is not life threatening and doesn't become cancerous. yet, wants me to do a pet scan for "peace of mind." oh my lord. i am at my witts end by this point. please, no more tests - get me better. she then directed me to a GI. on 12/3 i visited my GI who said it sounded as if i had IBS but we were now going to do an upper endoscopy. what!???! i have never [thank you jesus] been sick enough to be in a situation anything near hospital like so i was freaking out. my mom and my boyfriend came with me 12/4 for my procedure. it really wasn't that bad - not that i'd want to do it again. my endoscopy shows i have gastritis but a biopsy was taken to deliberate what infection is causing it. now i wait, with more anxiety and stress which has now given me symptoms of a tight chest and sore musle feeling. i pray it's all related to my stomach issue but now i sit for 2 more weeks and through christmas suffering...before i get any medication. it really is enough to make someone depressed and crazy!...

anyone else experienced soreness/chest tightening? this just came on in the last 5 days. i hope it's stressed related. i'm making myself sick. also, GI says hes not worried about hemangioma but wants a MRI done. if nothing, why worry me and my clausterphobic self - with another test?

This discussion is related to lets all talk about gastritis and how long could it last after h.pylory tx..

kris4013 · Answer

HELLO! No you are not crazy but sometimes we feel that way! Doctors never cease to amaze me these days! I also had a liver hemangioma, mine was found when i had an exploratory lap done when my husband and i were trying to get pregnant and couldnt. my surgeon did not do a biopsy so i had to be re opened up and come to find out it was a hemangioma! My stomach has also been grumbling for over a week now along with some diarrhea and every one keeps telling me its a bug! Who knows, but you are not crazy and i understand your frustrations!! Take care

CalGal · Answer

Relax a bit, if possible. They're looking to see if you've got H. pylori which can cause gastric issues like elevated acid production. If you do have H. pylori, they'll put you on 2 antibiotics and an acid suppression med, and it's not going to be a walk in the park, unfortuantely, but they need to knock it out. And after you're through with the meds, wait a couple of weeks and make sure it's gone by doing a breath test.

All of the feelings you're currently having can probably be attributed to gastritis and stress- and the stress won't make things any easier. 

In the meantime, start on a GERD friendly diet, it may help since some foods are more acid-provoking than others. You can find a representative example at gicare.com.

Make sure if you're dosed iwth antibiotics that you also get some good probiotics in your system. The antibiotics will hopefully kill off the H. pylori but it will also knock out some of your good bacteria as well, and that's not so great. So take the probiotics at least 2 hours after you take the antibiotics to try to keep the probiotics in your system - because the antibiotics are going to 'attack' the probiotics, too. And continue the probiotics for quite awhile after the antibiotics are gone. (Weeks, not days.)

A hemangioma is a tangle of blood vessels and it's probably something you had when you were born. Many people have them but they never know about it until it turns up on a scan for something else. The doc is probably trying to find out specifically where the hemangioma is located. Some places can make a 'tangle' more problematic than others, but it's typically not a big thing. 

In the meantime, talk to the doc about some 'un-stress me' meds. It's not going to help your stomach to be pouring out acid because you're under pressure. And there are a lot of meds that are considered 'head meds' that can have a very beneficial effect on the GI tract as well. Both the gut and the brain have the same neurotransmitters. So in many cases what works on the head also works well on the stomach.

britt82 · Answer

you may have IBS-D and never have it diagnosed based on test results... IBS is generally diagnosed based on symptoms. 

You can read more about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irritable_bowel_syndrome

The ROME criteria is generally used for diagnosis: http://www.helpforibs.com/footer/rome_guidelines.asp

Your chest tightening may be the result of GERD, which should show up in the upper endoscopy. It could also be resulting for the additional stress you're feeling from the situation.

Consulting with a gastroenterologist is probably your best bet.

Good luck!