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Extreme Bloating, Belching, Vomiting, and Abdominal Discomfort - Please Help!

Okay, this started about 14 days ago. I waited about 6 days before my GI appointment because I chalked it up to "Benzo Belly" as I was on a Xanax taper from 1mg for 3 years. I was down to .25mg without many issues before this started other than sleep which was still not horrible. I went to the docs and he ordered a CT scan with dye (drinking and IV). It apparently looked clean other than the colon looked off so he ordered lower GI and I requested upper GI since I was going to be out anyways. I have a small hiatal hernia and have for a long time. I take zantac or prevacid for acid reflux. Both came back perfect.

I know have a gastric emptying test scheduled for next week to check for gastroparesis which makes sense other than the fact that when I cleaned out for two entire days (no food, little drink). I actually went to the ER because I vomited the gatorade for the colon cleanse. They gave me an IV and a smaller powerful laxative. They did blood tests and xrays and sent me home.

Even with nothing in my gut I was still belching like crazy and have a constant pressure in my stomach that causes extreme discomfort. As I burp it lessens, but I can never seen to get it to completely go away even when I am empty. I barely have ate solids (eggs, bread, yogurt, and applesauce). The day I did not take an acid blocker (GI test day) I made it until about dinner when I ate a small bowl of cereal. About an hour and a half later I felt like dying because of the pressure in my gut and I could not burp this time or acid/bile was coming up. My anxiety was so high I needed to take Xanax. It made me sooooo uncomfortable. It hurt so bad I went to the bathroom and vomited. It was all dark green bile...like a pint. This made me feel a little better and some pressure was relieved. I then decided to make myself vomit. I did this 4 more times and at least a pint of dark green bile came out. I felt A LOT better but still could feel the little pressure in my gut. It was not back to normal. I am never nauseous so to speak. They have me on Zofran but I am not nauseous. I get so full/bloated and have the urge to burp so much that I feel I need to regurgitate my food. I have had diarrhrea since this started but have always been very regular with solid guys. I think it could be the change in diet that I had to make to alleviate the discomfort in my stomach as best I could.

Any ideas? I feel my GI doc is in and out and doesn't really listen to me. I am afraid he missed something or is looking in the wrong places. Going to the ER is pointless unless I ask them to admit me so they can run a million tests on me. I feel awful and other than the bloated feeling I feel a cramping feeling in my upper right abdominal area under my rib cage. Gallbladder? Pancreas? Bile Ducts? It just seems like an eternity. If there was a discomfort scale it would be 10/10. I wouldn't wish this feeling on my worst enemy. Please help.
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi, the pain and discomfort can occur with liver or gall bladder disorders. If the pain is due to a problem from the liver like hepatitis, you should have associated symptoms like jaundice. Are you an alcoholic?
The pain could be from the gallbladder too. It could be if there is a stone in the gallbladder or if its wall is inflamed. Peptic ulcer disease and sometimes cholecystitis and pancreatitis can also cause abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. For ruling out the probable causes you may need an upper GI endoscopy and blood tests. Please discuss this with your doctor am sure he will provide further assistance. Regards.
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Avatar universal
Nothing huh? Well, just an update if anyone ever reads this. I have had a gastric emptying test which I consider to be completely worthless unless you have EXTREME gastroparesis and I made that clear to my doc. $1000 BS test. I passed it because I couldn't eat for 12 hours and my test was at 8am and they gave me a bowl of cream of wheat. How hard can that be to digest first thing in the morning? I do not have problems with breakfast. I have problems with lunch/dinner even with small things to eat as if my digestion backs up throughout the day even though I eat very little.

My doctor agreed the test was very inaccurate and said idiopathic gastroparesis is still a very real possible diagnosis. We have eliminated everything else according to him other than small intestine bacterial overgrowth given the amount of belching i do (once a minute) and that SIBO can slow digestion. Vice versa, gastroparesis can cause SIBO too though because bacteria are not moving out of the intestines quick enough. Now I am on 10 days of rifaximin at 1100 mg although I read 1650mg is about 20% more effective in treatment if you can get your doc to prescribe it. My insurance wouldnt cover it because I passed all the other tests and did not do a hydrogen breath test to confirm so doc gave me 10 days in samples.

My xanax dose is back up to .75mg at night where I used to be at. It seems to be helping a little bit as expected because stress and anxiety is reduced, but still no where near normal digestion. Bloating is down as long as I can burp every minute or two. I will report back in 9 days when SIBO treatment is done. If it does not work I am starting on Domperidone for stomach and intestinal motility support. Thankfully a pharmacy near me in the US has it although not covered by insurance. Still cheap. $35/month. Wish me luck. I'm only 31 and would love to eat a steak again before I die. I have great sympathy for anyone that has chronic gastroparesis. Its awful.
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