Upper GI problems since puberty are getting worse

[Ecfinn]

I am suffering from bouts of nausea and chronic stabbing pain when I inhale deeply under my left lower ribs.  To give some context, when I was 12, I had a stabbing stitch-like pain in my left side, under my lower ribs that gradually got so bad over the course of a day, that my dad took me screaming to the ER. I never went in though, because I vomited in the parking lot and the pain instantly stopped.  Also, I should note that I throw up at least twice a year, usually about five hours after a rich dinner.  This latest bout of pain started a few days ago. I did vomit up my dinner, five hours after eating, but this time the pain did not subside.  Now I’m suffering from waves of nausea that make the stitch side pain seem like nothing.  I’ve been tested for celiac, which was negative.

Possibly important: was diagnosed with Mono at age 9 (I’ve read that the virus that causes mono has been known to re-emerge and associate with GI illnesses). My mother had a blood disorder (myeloproliferative disorder) that produced too many platelets and also has GI issues as symptoms, and had her gallbladder removed.  My sisters and mother have hypothyroidism (I’ve been tested and don’t appear to have it yet).

Thanks in advance for any input...yes, I’ve made an appointment with a GI doc, but, in the past, ultra sounds haven’t yielded any helpful info. Going again, but I’d love to bring in some research.

[Red_Star]

I would recommend testing thyroid antibodies - thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb). My mother, sister and myself all have Hashimoto's thyroiditis (runs in families due to genes) and we all suffered for many years with TSH, free T4 and free T3 in the "normal" range.

I recall an episode of mystery diagnosis and after a lot of doctors and tests they found her nausea and vomiting was due to spincter of oddi dysfunction. Testing includes Sphincter of Oddi Manometry (ERCP).


Of interest, hypothyroidism affects the gallbladder. I this found this info from Hypothyroid Mom's article "The Thyroid is Connected to So Many Parts of the Body"...

"Gall bladder function is also adversely affected in hypothyroid conditions. Studies have shown that the gall bladder gets larger and doesn’t contract normally.

Studies also report an increase in the number of gallstones and stones in the common bile duct.

One reason they think this might be happening is because the thyroid hormone thyroxine relaxes the gall bladder’s opening (called the sphincter of Oddi).

This makes bile not flow normally, and makes the possibility of stones forming in the bile duct more likely.

Bile also helps to break down cholesterol so when there is less bile, less bile flow and gall bladder is slow and sluggish you have the perfect situation for stone formation."