Doctors can't figure it out, help me!

[grammecl]

I am a 19yr. female and have been ill since June. It began with strong stomach pain and diarrhea for hours. I was okay for a week. I began having extreme pain below my belly button that crippled me. Diarrhea was also present. I've gone to the ER over 10 times, my primary care 5 times, and my gastroenterologist at least 10 times since. Gynecologist has ruled out any problems with my womanly parts. My bowel habits are off. I now am either constipated or having diarrhea. Pain below belly button. Cannot eat fried foods or dairy products now vegetables are irritating it. Acid reflux occurs after I eat and sometimes when I don't. Stomach feels like a burning sensation. Everyday I have symptoms. I have lost over 10 pounds. Every test I've done comes back normal (colonoscopy, upper colonoscopy thing, gastric study, hida scans, ultrasounds, blood tests, stool samples, urine samples...) I don't know what to do. My doctor did say my stomach was inflamed a little so I am on Lanzoprazole, Bentyl, and Odansetron. If anyone knows anything please help me. I am desperate at this point. Thanks.

[TheLightSeeker]

Hi grammecl.
Since many things have been ruled out, I'm going to suggest the following alternative/holistic medicine considerations, which are not normally approached by conventional medicine (please disregard anything you may have already explored in the past):

1. Candida (you may do an online search for "saliva test for candida"-you tube has a video clip of this test that is simple & easy to do on your own).

2. Leaky gut syndrome (not an established diagnosis according to Gastroenterology, as there's very little reference of this in medical schools)
Look into PEG ( PolyethelyneGlycol) test  or mannitol and lactulose urine test.

3. Grains/carbs/gluten intolerance
Look into Gliadin test (urine), by Cyrex labs. They test 12 forms-not just the alpha ordered by most doctors- of gliadins regarding gluten intolerance.

4.One thing that you can do on your own-before you explore this Gliadin test further- is Dr. Coca's Pulse Test, it's a free download, and it will indicate within a week,any reactivity, any allergies, any intolerance and sensitivity to anything ingested,that is considered offensive by the immune system.
It is a great self-test, for the degree of accuracy, however, should you find it too difficult to do because of your schedule (school or work), there's a simplified version that I can send you, as second option.
Never mind; It takes just an extra minute. Here it is:
Dr. Cocoa's Pulse Test (simplified version)Just sit in a chair and come to rest for about 5 minutes. Take your pulse for a full 1 minute (not the 15 sec. multiply by 4 thing). Then put whatever you want to test in your mouth and chew it for 30 seconds. Then take your pulse again. If you find it is faster by 6 beats, you are allergic or have a sensitivity to it. If you have type “O” blood, use 4 beats as the criteria instead of 6. It’s that simple.

5. Studies have found that restricting FODMAPs can significantly improve the symptoms associated with IBS, IBD..
FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-, Di- and Mono-saccharides And Polyols. Look up these to familiarize yourself.

6.Adrenal fatigue
.Because there is no specific conventional laboratory test for this potentially debilitation condition,
-I can send you an adrenal fatigue questionnaire which is like a screening tool before considering  an adrenal stress profile test.
My daughter has been recently diagnosed with adrenal exhaustion (stage 3 adrenal fatigue), with symptoms similar to yours and more after being in medical limbo for years!
Please be careful with many of the drugs that are easily prescribed without careful  risk/benefit assessment, specially when the underlying causes have not been verified! Like Lanzoprazole, a PPI med which reduces gastric acid, yet contra-indicated when gastric acid levels are low, right?
So when prescribed for acid reflux-the symptoms are the same whether low or high gastric acid!- it makes the situation much worse for the already suffering patient and yet the Gastro doesn`t even blink an eye, when this is brought up!
This is just an example and I don`t imply that you have low gastric acid,
however, it needs to be checked.
You can do on your own the Betaine HCL challenge test or the baking soda
burp test, to check this on your own. Just search for these online.
My daughter is also on a  FODMAP restricted diet, consuming mainly coconut oil, olive oil (fresh & unheated), pastured grass fed meat, cold water low mercury fish, organic vegetables, some select nuts and seeds.
Studies have found that restricting FODMAPs can significantly improve the symptoms associated with IBS.

For all these suggestions, as they are mostly outside the scope of conventional medicine, I would suggest, after you look into them carefully
and do some of the self-testing, to consider finding a Naturopathic or holistic doctor to help you sort out your health issues more efficiently,
instead of suffering unnecessarily  for many years.

This is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.

Please post again or message me anytime.

Best wishes.
Niko

[mkh9]

You have ruled out many things. Helicobacter pylori is a bacteria that can cause an ulcer in the stomach and intestine. I would think they would have seen an ulcer on the colonoscopy though. You can call and ask them since you have been to the GI and had the colonoscopy (don't know if that is a different doctor) if they checked for an ulcer or kinked bowel etc. I mean since you have been there so many times I don' t see why they can't answer that question on the phone.I also assume they checked you for appendicitis? Is the pain straight down from the belly button or off to the right? I know your frustration. For me it took 8 years to get diagnosed. I kept asking for pain meds and they thought I was a drug addict. It was so humiliating. Now the disease is quite well known. I was glad to see it in the newspapers after all those years. I thought I was nuts. I hope you can figure this out.
mkh9

[grammecl]

They ruled out it wasn't anything with my gallbladder and prior I was on no medications. I don't believe they checked for any bacteria? I have eliminated most things from my diet including all fried foods both out to eat and home, all dairy products except some cheese, greasy foods, and some vegetables that include olives and corn. No headaches present and usually I am awoken around 7-8 AM because of discomfort in my abdomen and after urination it is okay or if I sit straight up. Throughout the day though I will have discomfort especially if I have to poop. I haven't been to any foreign country, the last time I traveled was to Florida when halfway through the trip this started. It's just very frustrating to spend so much money and time and feel so ill and never get answers.

[mkh9]

So, they ruled out that it isn't the gall bladder? Have you been on antibiotics before this happened? Have they checked you for the bacteria Clostridium difficile? It is a special stool test. It could be a food allergy. You could try an elimination diet where you take out one thing at a time. Do you get migraine headaches? Does this happen at any particular time of day or after stress or excitement? Have they checked you for an ulcer by doing an endoscopy? You could have the bacteria Helicobacter pylori which causes ulcers. These are some things to start with. I'm sorry you are going through all this. They will get to the bottom of it. When I was 23 I went through a similar problem and it took me a  long time to get diagnosed. Mine turned out to be a migraine variant (I had no headache and no aura). So I'm trying to think of all the possibilities. Have you had any foreign travel? I was thinking of possible parasite? So these are all things you could get checked. So far it sounds most like an ulcer or food allergy.