Constant abdominal pain

[Loreeli]

When I was a child, I had severe abdominal pain,diarrhea and constipation with severe joint pain especially my hips fingers and toes. I was a stick thin child and was very picky about what I ate because, most everything made me sick, so I hated eating. My doctor told my parents I was spoiled and was just being dramatic and overly picky. I would have such bad abdominal pains that I would curl up and rock back and forth in agony and anxiety with cold sweats.  My mother had been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when she was in her mid 30's She eventually had a colostomy.In fear this would happen to me I stopped complaining and lived in pain secretly.  As a teenager, I ate simple and found I could tolerate things in moderation and I was still thin and athletic. Now skip to my twenties, after the birth of my daughter, I started to have even more pain , I gained weight and was hardly eating, my doctor checked me for thyroid issues as they run in my family, all normal; they said it was common to have slowed metabolism after having a child, so eating a strict diet and exercise is what he prescribed, I failed to lose the extra pounds. Then after having my twins, I had a body reboot, no pain and the weigh came off. Then when my twins were two, I experianced the worst abdominal pain ever, my husband took me to the ER, they said I had diverticulitis. and gave me pain meds and Prilosec & Tegratol. It did not help just made thing worse. Then in my 30's they said that I probably had a mild case of an IBD, and not IBS. and that was that, then I experienced the most horrendous pain in my life, I thought I was going to die, I could not stop vomiting and the pain was so severe, I told my husband to leave me on the side of the road to die.
We were on our way home from NM, and I had this attack, what was a normal 7 hour drive turned into a 12 hour drive because of the constant stops. My husband wanted to take me to the ER but there was not one in this rural part of NM. We eventually made it home. The next day I went in to see the doctor, which happened to be my childhood doctor that said I was spoiled, he was on call for my doctor. He looked me over and told me I was obese and proceeded to tell me he thought I had an eating disorder because my hair was brittle, and I was fat, I was appalled by him, I left and never went back, That day I lost respect for doctors, and lived with the pain. Now to present days I am in my 40's. They found out in 2009, that I did not have a cystic duct and my gallbladder  was the size of a pea. I continued to have weight issues, I cannot lose, even on a strict diets, and lots of exercise , In August 2015 while at work I began to have pain, then I started to feel like I had to use the bathroom, I went to the bathroom and I had diarrhea with blood, and lots of it. I told my boss and she sent me home, I went to see my current doctor but she was on maternity leave, and the doctor who filled in for her said I must be having a flare up and put me on prednisone, and something for pain. I continued to have severe pain, I could not eat or even walk, and I kept having diarrhea, the blood stopped. Then I got sent to see a GI doc, it took until October to see them because they were booked by then most of the painful symptoms stopped except the diarrhea.They did the normal colonoscopy, an endoscopy, and various other test and they all came back completely normal, in fact she said I had the healthiest intestine she had ever seen in her 8 years as a doctor.  In the past blood test showed I was malnourished, but now I was a little low in sodium and everything else was very normal in fact abnormally normal is what my test said. I continue to have bowel issues and pain. What do I do, I can't even take pain meds because my body does not absorb them, so they do absolutely no good. I can hardly go anywhere, because I constantly have to use the bathroom, even if I drink plain tea or water or eat nothing in fear I will have issues, I still have diarrhea. I get a distended belly  and cannot wear my normal clothing, my fingers swell and my joints hurt. But no body seems to help. At times I just want to give in and die. I am frustrated, I have not been back to work, I do not get disability because of everything coming back normal. I would be happy if I knew what was wrong with me. I just need some help.

[cnoevl21]

Sounds like IBS to me. you need to see a doctor that practices functional medicine or a holistic doctor. When i comes to digestive trouble, most doctors dont have a clue unless you have crohns. and they dont do much there either. All doctors do is prescribe antibiotics (the worst thing in the world for digestive system) or meds for acid reduction, which unless you have acid reflux is completely pointless and will do more harm than good.
Have you been tested for MS? the joint pain is making me think of this. I would def look into that. would account for most of the pain you feel. the fact that no one has tested you for it is just another example of the lack of medical knowledge in this country.
If you do not take probiotics, start. A high quality one, at least 50 billion live cultures.
Start a food journal of everyhting you eat and drink. Try to figure out what foods give you the bad reactions and eliminate them. Stay away from gluten, dairy, processed, greasy, and fast food. Highly acidic foods arent good either. Eat whole foods. chicken and fish. veggies and fruit. eat them bland. steam them and add a little sea salt for flavor. See if this helps.