really need help.

[erin626]

My stomach is going crazy and I've exhausted my finances at the doctor since I don't have insurance.

My stomach makes horrible gurgling noises after I eat. They are so loud its embarassing. If I put my hand on my abdomen sometimes I can feel I guess its gas moving around. I rarely have an appetite and feel nauseous a lot. My bms are never normal..they go from either small, semi hard to pass to soft and easy to pass to diarrhea throughout the week. My gi wants to do some tests (endoscopy, bloodwork, ultrasound) but I don't have insurance and the endoscopy alone costs $900. Does anyone have any idea what I could be dealing with?

I'm a 25 female, not overweight, don't drink alcohol or do drugs, but I do smoke cigarettes.

[erin626]

thanks. i'll have to try the potato thing. my safe foods are chicken noodle soup and the lance peanut butter and honey crackers. i somehow managed to eat two slices of pizza today. it just looked and smelled so good. ive been drinking a lot of ginger ale and some coke..but only warm, flat coke. im actually moving back to maryland with my mom and where she lives they have a free clinic that you can visit if youre a resident of the county. they do a lot of tests and bloodwork there so im hoping that once i move in with her and get my drivers license switched over i can visit the clinic.

i decided against the protonix after doing some research on it. the side effects seem to cause exactly what im trying to get rid of and more. it listed nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, joint pain, headaches etc etc. and ive tried gerd meds before with no result so no point in causing myself more grief over a med that probably wont work. i hope i can get some relief soon. im getting incredibly frustrated over always feeling sick. its really ruining my life right now. no job, end to my relationship, no friends because i can never go out.

[GoldFishy222]

Im pretty sure protonix  is used for treating GERD or to calm an overproduction on acid in the stomach.  Im not sure how that would help with your "IBS" though.  Im sure your doctor had a plan when they gave it to you.

  I can't really seggest anything for you to try, anything my doctors have put me on hasn't seemed to work.  Except for Promethazine which is actually an antihistamine I think, but the only reason that worked was because in knocked me out so i coulden't feel sick.  I think it causes neurological damage with long term use or something, so they took me off of it.  I've also found that Benadryl helps unless I'm really nauseous.

I get scared to eat too, so I have a list of like safe foods.  Crackers and dry cerial always seem to be ok.  Tea's, ginger ale, or pedialight.  Warm cinnomon applesauce is always good.  When I had originaly gotten ill, i met another girl on here that was having really similar problems (she got mostly better after about 6 months) and the best thing she reccomended was to get the instant mashed potato's and mix an egg and some peas and carrots in with them.  Since eggs are so nutrient dense.  I try to keep a pretty strict vegan diet, but when its been a few days and all I've eaten i crackers and ginger ale I'll make the potato's.    

I can't remember if you mentioned weather or not you were still working with a therapist?  I take Clonapin and I think its not something people abuse like xanax.  For the most part it helps me stay calm when I start freacking out about being ill.  If you think you can take it, it might be worth a try.  I doubt that you anxiety is causing your "IBS" but I'm sure it's not helping you either.  Are you on any antidepressents at all?  I'm hoping if I can get in touch with my old therapist he can put me back on prozac or something, because I'm worried that my wanting to die might turn into thoughts of taking action tword it... and it scares me.

Sorry I'm sure you'd rather get advice from someone who's been there and gotten better (hey potato girl got better) and not from some misserable person who's not getting any better.  Don't loose hope though!  Try and see if there is anything you can do to get that pennsylvania medical card any faster.  If your not a pushy person find some one who is and who won't take No for an answer to talk to them for you.  I  signed a release form with my insurance company because I'm wicked shy over then phone (well I'm shy most of the time now) they just try and lead you around in circles till you give up, but he would talk to them and then rip them a new hole if he had to, to get stuff done.  Hope I've at least helped you out a little.  

[erin626]

I forgot to mention that I was taking compazine to manage my nausea but was advised to stop taking it bc I was having uncontrollable muscle spasms. But it was never clear if it was the stopping of the xanax or a side effect of the compazine causing the spasms. I'm wondering if I should try the compazine again to at least try to help with the nausea. My doc also gave me a 5 day trial of protonix. She didn't quite explain what it was for though. Does anyone know what protonix is?

[erin626]

I haven't taken any antibiotics in over a year. I did stop taking xanax at the beginning of september which is when the worst of my stomach problems started happening. I don't know if that could have something to do with it or not. A lot of people seem to think its my anxiety and its leading to ibs. My primary doc gave me lexapro which I only took one dose of. It made me so nauseous and anxious it seemed to defeat the purpose of taking it. I just don't know what to do. There are payment plan options but I have so many er bills I'm paying off I can't afford more bills. I'm on the waitlist for the pennsylvania medical card but its apparently a 2 year wait. I'm at my wits end. I am literally scared to eat because my stomach gets so upset afterward and I'm never hungry anyhow. I don't know what to do. I just want to cry all the time.

[GoldFishy222]

Heh sorry, I just read the responce you gave my comment and basicaly said the same thing about IBS that I did.  Try to hang in there.  Have you considerd consoling for your boyfriend and you?  That help a little with my relationship....

[GoldFishy222]

Without having the test done I feel like any doctor would just say it sounds like IBS (which I feel is a crock of **** and means they just don't know whats going on in there, and from what I've read on here a lot of people feel the same way).  If I didn't live in MA I'd never be able to afford the test either,the price is still over my head but not high enough that I'm not willing to spend it.  I have to go in for my 3rd endoscopy next week (I don't know why since the first 2 didn't show anything abnormal).  

We have really cheep health care in MA (unfortuneltly the people that work for the providers are all idiots, but i wont get started ) as long as your in a low bracket income. I wish, for your sake, it would be easy for you to just move up here and get your test done.   LOL it would also be nice to have someone else around who under stands (wait does that sound creepy?)

Anyway if I were you I would talk to your doctors and see what they feel is the most important test for you to take and then try to work on some sort of payment plans from there.  I know it ***** but you could have something easy to fix as soon as they find it... and not some fluke like me.  Have you told your doctors you cant afford the test they would like to run?  I think some places will charge you a smaller fee if you don't have health care... but I'm not 100% sure about that.

Whats your diet like?  Have you recently taken any antibiotics?    Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.