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Gastritis? Gastroparesis? GERD? Low Thyroid?
PLEASE HELP!!! I'M CONFUSED! HAVING STOMACH PROBLEMS! LOTS OF BURPING! Hey guys I have a question. I've always had anxiety since I was in Jr. High, I ONLY got attacks whenever I was in class (college). My anxiety is from stress/overthinking. When class was over my anxiety was gone. I would go to the stores, friends houses, the gym with no anxiety. I decided to take anxiety medicine because I couldn't focus in class. I'm currently 23, So early September 2014 I decided to see the doctor & was prescribed Lexapro 10mg & Xanax 0.25mg. Lexapro was everyday & Xanax was for emergencies. I never understood why I got Xanax because my anxiety only acted up in class. When class was over my anxiety left.. Well in November one day after the gym on the way home I had a bad anxiety attack, I never had anxiety attacks driving. I had to pull over to the side of the road because I was about to black out. I called 911 & the paramedics said I was having a Panic Attack. That was the first time having one. I started getting more & HAD to start taking the Xanax. I went back to the doctor and she gave me 20mg of Lexapro (was taking 10mg before) & 100mg of minocycline (antibiotic) for stress acne she noticed I had. After taking the doubled dose of Lexapro I was having even worse anxiety & panic attacks. I would get derealization/depersonalization, numbness of hands & feet, shortness of breathe, heart rate through the roof. I used to get anxiety just in class, but now I would get anxiety EVERYWHERE! Even the house. I couldn't stay at the house by myself.
In late January 2015 I stopped taking the medicine cold turkey because I knew I was feeling like this because of it. I got really bad withdraws that week & called the doctor on a Saturday, a different doctor answered & said it was early stages of Serotonin Syndrome from the medicine. I went to the emergency room the next day because I almost passed out because the side effects were to much. When I was in the emergency room waiting I kept burping. I blew it off, the ER doctor told me to continue to take the medicine & talk to my doctor who prescribed me the Lexapro & Minocycline. I did the next day & she told me to continue taking the medicine & she never heard of Serotonin Syndrome -___-, I told her I wanted to stop taking it but she said to continue. I said no & she told me how to cut down. Well when I started cutting down from the Lexapro, (Minocycline I stopped cold turkey), I started burping a lot. I blew it off as something that would go away. I continued to have bad anxiety & panic attacks but the side effects I was having were going away.
My burping got so bad the top center of my stomach under my chest would feel like it was burning. I went to the ER & he prescribed me Pantoprazole. He told me to see a GI doctor. So I did, the GI scheduled an endoscopy, the guy who did it said he thinks I have "Gastritis". 2 weeks later the GI told me she thinks it's Eosinophilic Esophagitis (being allergic to certain foods). She gave me Flovent (inhaler) & told me to continue taking Pantoprazole. My pain in the stomach & burping was going away. It seems like I could eat anything, from junk food, to BBQ foods as I always have still. She wanted me to take one more test, so 2 weeks later I did a Gastric Emptying Study. I had to eat the radioactive eggs & a large glass of water. Well that day I had a bad anxiety attack. The room was in the top floor of the building with the windows open & I'm afraid of heights. Eating the food my anxiety was bad (I didn't tell anyone), then 3 minutes later laying down while the machine was on top, my anxiety was still bad! I felt like rescheduling because I wanted to walk out. I felt like that for 50 minutes of the test. I wanted to stop the test. Then I felt like throwing up the water because of the burping I was doing. The last 30 minutes of the test I had to pee so bad I wanted to stop the test but they said to hang in there. The pee was so bad I would tighten my stomach every minute for 20 seconds to hold the pee. When the test was over I got up & burped one looooong burp at once! (Didn't throw up). 2 weeks later the GI said I had "Gastroparesis". She told me my stomach muscles were working at 5% which is extremely low. I don't have diabetes, any disease, or any surgeries. Every blood test says I'm 100% normal. I looked online & YouTube & people say they can't hold food down, they throw up when they have Gastroparesis, they get nausea. Some were on feeding tubes when their stomach was working at 15%, mine is working at 5%. But again, since January till now, I haven't thrown up at all. I can eat anything, I mean anything, I ate half a whole pizza & was still hungry. Only side effects, usually an hour after I eat is I start burping a lot, I found out if I gag air or saliva my burping goes away. I looked online & saw anxiety can cause some parts of the stomach to stop working because the mind needs so much energy to cope with the anxiety. Also I heard stress can cause Gastritis. Gastritis can cause that burning feeling on my top center abdomen under my chest.
Also last year doctors did a blood test and found out my thyroid levels were a little low, they scheduled me to check at another doctor but I didn't go because I got busy. That was a year ago. Now I was wondering if my stomach gas that I always have is because of my Thyroids being low? I have memory loss, I can't really focus, I'm immune to cold weather but when it's cold in the house I feel weird. Same with the heat. I feel really lazy, sleepy, & unmotivated. This is coming from a guy who used to workout everyday, body building, last year before I got anxiety from school. I have a test this Thursday to check if my Thyroids are low. The Flonase inhaler made my throat hurt, & made me cough a lot. Making me lose my appetite. But it hurts on my lower neck.
So I'm asking do I really have Gastroparesis or was I misdiagnosed because of the anxiety attack during the gastric empty study & it's really Gastratits? Or could my thyroid be the cause of all this? Personally I don't think I have Gastroparesis because I NEVER throw up any food & I eat anything, from pizza, red meats, double cheese burgers from McDonald's, & I don't throw up or feel any nausea. Only problems I have is A LOT of burping, sometimes stomach burning under my chest on top abdomen, bloating, & sometimes some pain under my left ribs, but it goes away (both the pain & burping) when I gag/fart out air. I've noticed when I'm stressed/worried I have no appetite, but when I'm happy I can eat A LOT. Please help.
In late January 2015 I stopped taking the medicine cold turkey because I knew I was feeling like this because of it. I got really bad withdraws that week & called the doctor on a Saturday, a different doctor answered & said it was early stages of Serotonin Syndrome from the medicine. I went to the emergency room the next day because I almost passed out because the side effects were to much. When I was in the emergency room waiting I kept burping. I blew it off, the ER doctor told me to continue to take the medicine & talk to my doctor who prescribed me the Lexapro & Minocycline. I did the next day & she told me to continue taking the medicine & she never heard of Serotonin Syndrome -___-, I told her I wanted to stop taking it but she said to continue. I said no & she told me how to cut down. Well when I started cutting down from the Lexapro, (Minocycline I stopped cold turkey), I started burping a lot. I blew it off as something that would go away. I continued to have bad anxiety & panic attacks but the side effects I was having were going away.
My burping got so bad the top center of my stomach under my chest would feel like it was burning. I went to the ER & he prescribed me Pantoprazole. He told me to see a GI doctor. So I did, the GI scheduled an endoscopy, the guy who did it said he thinks I have "Gastritis". 2 weeks later the GI told me she thinks it's Eosinophilic Esophagitis (being allergic to certain foods). She gave me Flovent (inhaler) & told me to continue taking Pantoprazole. My pain in the stomach & burping was going away. It seems like I could eat anything, from junk food, to BBQ foods as I always have still. She wanted me to take one more test, so 2 weeks later I did a Gastric Emptying Study. I had to eat the radioactive eggs & a large glass of water. Well that day I had a bad anxiety attack. The room was in the top floor of the building with the windows open & I'm afraid of heights. Eating the food my anxiety was bad (I didn't tell anyone), then 3 minutes later laying down while the machine was on top, my anxiety was still bad! I felt like rescheduling because I wanted to walk out. I felt like that for 50 minutes of the test. I wanted to stop the test. Then I felt like throwing up the water because of the burping I was doing. The last 30 minutes of the test I had to pee so bad I wanted to stop the test but they said to hang in there. The pee was so bad I would tighten my stomach every minute for 20 seconds to hold the pee. When the test was over I got up & burped one looooong burp at once! (Didn't throw up). 2 weeks later the GI said I had "Gastroparesis". She told me my stomach muscles were working at 5% which is extremely low. I don't have diabetes, any disease, or any surgeries. Every blood test says I'm 100% normal. I looked online & YouTube & people say they can't hold food down, they throw up when they have Gastroparesis, they get nausea. Some were on feeding tubes when their stomach was working at 15%, mine is working at 5%. But again, since January till now, I haven't thrown up at all. I can eat anything, I mean anything, I ate half a whole pizza & was still hungry. Only side effects, usually an hour after I eat is I start burping a lot, I found out if I gag air or saliva my burping goes away. I looked online & saw anxiety can cause some parts of the stomach to stop working because the mind needs so much energy to cope with the anxiety. Also I heard stress can cause Gastritis. Gastritis can cause that burning feeling on my top center abdomen under my chest.
Also last year doctors did a blood test and found out my thyroid levels were a little low, they scheduled me to check at another doctor but I didn't go because I got busy. That was a year ago. Now I was wondering if my stomach gas that I always have is because of my Thyroids being low? I have memory loss, I can't really focus, I'm immune to cold weather but when it's cold in the house I feel weird. Same with the heat. I feel really lazy, sleepy, & unmotivated. This is coming from a guy who used to workout everyday, body building, last year before I got anxiety from school. I have a test this Thursday to check if my Thyroids are low. The Flonase inhaler made my throat hurt, & made me cough a lot. Making me lose my appetite. But it hurts on my lower neck.
So I'm asking do I really have Gastroparesis or was I misdiagnosed because of the anxiety attack during the gastric empty study & it's really Gastratits? Or could my thyroid be the cause of all this? Personally I don't think I have Gastroparesis because I NEVER throw up any food & I eat anything, from pizza, red meats, double cheese burgers from McDonald's, & I don't throw up or feel any nausea. Only problems I have is A LOT of burping, sometimes stomach burning under my chest on top abdomen, bloating, & sometimes some pain under my left ribs, but it goes away (both the pain & burping) when I gag/fart out air. I've noticed when I'm stressed/worried I have no appetite, but when I'm happy I can eat A LOT. Please help.
Your symptoms are consistent with a lazy thyroid. Your TSH should be under 2 according to the latest guidelines. Even with normal TSH you can have subclinical hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is associated with gastric pariesis. Maybe you had an eposode that caused a thyroiditis and the decrease in thyriod hormeon production caused the symptoms.Your thyroid seems to have recovered. At present you have enough thyroid hormone to empty your stomach but not very effectively. Yes anxiety can decrease the availability of thyroid hormone as the increased need for the thyroid hormone is not tended to quickly. You can try thyroid tonics that support the production of thyroid hormone such as selenium, zinc, b vitamins, vitamin A and C and tyrosine
Herbs that help:
Shilajit (Asphaltum puniabiunum)
Kanchanara (Bauhinia veriegata) "purple mountain ebony"
Bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus)
Licorice
Ashwagandha root
Diet
- Vegetable juices, unrefined sea salt are healthy foods can improve thyroid functioning
- Avoidance of excess wheat flour, refined sugars, potatoes, and other glycolic f foods also helps
- Essential fatty acids are required for thyroid metabolism Progesterone metabolism in females is critical for the support of thyroid peroxidase activity
PS
I can't believe that your MD didn't know about serotonin syndrome. Is your MD a psychiatrist?
Herbs that help:
Shilajit (Asphaltum puniabiunum)
Kanchanara (Bauhinia veriegata) "purple mountain ebony"
Bladder wrack (Fucus vesiculosus)
Licorice
Ashwagandha root
Diet
- Vegetable juices, unrefined sea salt are healthy foods can improve thyroid functioning
- Avoidance of excess wheat flour, refined sugars, potatoes, and other glycolic f foods also helps
- Essential fatty acids are required for thyroid metabolism Progesterone metabolism in females is critical for the support of thyroid peroxidase activity
PS
I can't believe that your MD didn't know about serotonin syndrome. Is your MD a psychiatrist?
I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis (this autoimmune disease is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in developed countries) and had a long list of symptoms but to match yours - gastroparesis (my only notable symptom of gastroparesis was being very full after a bit or two), anxiety, even worse low dopamine levels (no movtivation, procrastination to name but two symptoms of not enough dopamine), fatigue, memory issues, brain fog. Hypothyroidism lowers stomach acid too and could be the reason for your burping issues. Low stomach acid is a cause of gastritis actually. I have gastritis but mine is due to autoimmune pernicious anaemia.
You need Free T3, Free T4 and Reverse T3 to rule out type 2 or thyroid resistsance which cannot be detected by standard tests!
All 3 are needed. RT3 you probably have to pay out of pocket.
Cheers!
Niko
All 3 are needed. RT3 you probably have to pay out of pocket.
Cheers!
Niko
I did take the thyroid test and they said everything is normal. I'm not sure where to go from here now.
You should really follow up on the low thyroid.
Being too busy means that you're OK with the potential consequences,
since other matters are more important and take priority in your life.
But this IS a priority!
Your body is your temple, your vehicle in this life.
Treat it with respect and if you don't, it will let you know!
Without a properly functioning thyroid, honestly, nothing else should be pursued, until this is totally ruled out.
Proper Thyroid function is critical for maintenance, repair and healing of your cells in your brain, your gut, your cardiovascular system as it controls metabolism and energy processes in every organ and every bodily system
While you pursue this, I strongly suggest doing an elimination diet,
starting with wheat/gluten/grains and next dairy elimination.
These 2 groups are the most common for intolerance and sensitivities.
And it might be a good idea to optimize your nutritional intake and avoid anything artificial, fake,processed and unhealthy for you.
I'm sure you know the basics in good nutrition.
Best wishes,
Niko
Being too busy means that you're OK with the potential consequences,
since other matters are more important and take priority in your life.
But this IS a priority!
Your body is your temple, your vehicle in this life.
Treat it with respect and if you don't, it will let you know!
Without a properly functioning thyroid, honestly, nothing else should be pursued, until this is totally ruled out.
Proper Thyroid function is critical for maintenance, repair and healing of your cells in your brain, your gut, your cardiovascular system as it controls metabolism and energy processes in every organ and every bodily system
While you pursue this, I strongly suggest doing an elimination diet,
starting with wheat/gluten/grains and next dairy elimination.
These 2 groups are the most common for intolerance and sensitivities.
And it might be a good idea to optimize your nutritional intake and avoid anything artificial, fake,processed and unhealthy for you.
I'm sure you know the basics in good nutrition.
Best wishes,
Niko
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