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severe abdominal pain and vomiting

for the past 3 weeks i have had severe stomach pains which progress to nausea and vomiting. my dad is a doctor and suggested zantac. i used that with brioschi for a couple days and it was not very helpful. he then said to use prilosec. i am on my 8th day and it helped for a few days but has stopped working. the severe stomach pain continues to evolve into vomiting. i am not eating foods that should trigger problems. my dad suspects an ulcer from h pylori, but the treatment has not helped. i am going to the doctor next week. what should i ask him to look for or check? any help is appreciated. thanks
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Avatar universal
What were you eating for lunch?  Can you relate it to the same food/type of food when it's happened before?

I'm not sure what to suggest you ask them to check for next either.  Sorry.
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Avatar universal
ihave basically been fine for about 2 weeks now until today at lunch when the stomach pain and nausea came back. they have not checked my stools for parasites/infections. i dont know what to do when this comes back, or what to even ask the doctor to do because they seemed to have looked at as much as they know how to check
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Avatar universal
I'm not a specialist in this area but foods that are processed and high in fat are hard on the liver/gallbladder. As is alcohol. So maybe just keeping these things to a minimum along with moderate exercise would help the liver function and bilirubin count.
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Avatar universal
I'm sorry, I don't know of any way, either naturally or medicinally, to lower an elevated bilirubin count.  I don't know, but perhaps the liquid diet for a couple of days might help - like I said, I'm not sure, but I would think that maybe by letting the liver and digestive tract "rest", if the elevated bilirubin levels are because of inflammation of the liver and/or spleen, it may make a difference.

Have they checked your stool for parasites/infections?  Again, I don't know for sure, but just grasping at straws for things for you to try and/or request for testing.  I know you haven't mentioned any problems with your bowels, but wondering if there is an infection in your stomach/gi tract that they weren't able to discover the other ways, maybe something would show in a stool sample.

I'm sorry I haven't been more help.  If I think of anything else, I'll definitely let you know.

By the way - has the zofran been helping at all?
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Avatar universal
any more thoughts on this?
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also, regarding the elevated bilirubin, can i do something to get it down? i think this has to be a stomach issue and not liver/spleen because there has only been pain/vomiting after meals..thanks again for your help
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Avatar universal
thanks for replying. they did check my spleen on the ultrasound and from feeling it and didnt think that was it. today i still vomited because i took the zofran too late, and im sure it didnt work because it didnt have enough time to get in my system. im going to try a couple days of fasting, and then a couple days of easier foods. this initially helped me this week, and im guessing i tried to go back to my normal diet too fast, which caused problems today. regarding what caused this in the 1st place, i still have no idea. the gastro guy said sometimes mono can do this, but i dont know if thats true. the internal medicine said stress gastritis from college exams, but it got worse and worse once i was home for break, so im not sure of that diagnosis. is there any other bloodwork i should have done, for viruses or bacteria that could cause gastritis or these symptoms in general (other than hyplori which was negative)? id like to be certain of the underlying cause and not just hope it was from stress or something else
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Avatar universal
Have they checked your spleen since your bout with mono?  One of the side effects of mono can be an enlarged spleen and that itself can cause abdominal pain and nausea (mine was HORRIBLE when I had mono about 20 years ago).  They can check to see if your spleen is enlarged by a physical exam (the doc will push on your stomach area) or an ultrasound.  i know you've already an ultrasound, but double check if they looked at your spleen area.

if, in fact, it is the gastritis that they say, going a day or two with only liquids (wich can include jello and popsicles/ice pops - nothing dairy) may help.  After that, I would start with small, soft, easy to digest foods such as applesauce, eggs and toast (limit the butter if you use any at all)  Definitely avoid any caffeine, spicy foods (including too much black pepper) and even carbonated drinks (the carbonation can cause gas bubbles which may cause pain).  If you're then able to tolerate the softer foods you can gradually increase the amount and variety that you are eating - I would leave beef or lamb for last as they are harder to digest than poultry or fish or even pork.

You may want to consider adding only one food back at a time - that way you can kind of keep track if your symptoms reappear what you've eaten recently in case it's a matter of a food sensitivity or something like that.  If you're "allergic" or sensitive to a food, it can cause symptoms of a gastritis - dairy is a big culprit for this.

I'm sorry the zofran didn't help with the nausea today.  Do you think maybe you waited too long to take it?  You may also want to ask your doctor about a suppositorie type medication for the nausea (not sure if zofran comes in that form or not - phenergan does and usually works pretty well).  I, personally, cannot understand why doctors usually insist on giving you a pill type of medication when you're already nauseated and/or vomiting - doesn't make sense to me - if you're already having trouble keeping things down, then how can they expect you to swallow and keep down a pill?  LOL  A lot of these types of medicines also can be injected, but I don't believe any of that type can just be purchased with a prescription - I believe they have to be injected either at a doctor's office or a hospital setting - all about the needles I guess.  Again, this mode would bypass the stomach so not only would work faster, but also less risk of vomiting it back up.

I hope you start feeling better real soon - it's definitely no fun being sick - if you're like me, when you're nauseated you simplly cannot function - any type of movement makes it worse.

Keep me posted.
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Avatar universal
well, i was gettingbetter all week but today i got really bad pains in my stomach, and felt nausea coming so i took a zofran. it did not help and i ended up vomiting still. if this is gastritis like they say, what do i do to prevent and relieve symptoms? would fasting a couple days and easing back into eating help? because nothing came back not normal on the tests they didn't really tell me any ways to deal with this (if it is in fact gastritis)
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Avatar universal
i recently had mono and was using acetaminophen codeine for pain, but that was around thanksgiving time (i dont know if that could still cause elevated levels of bilirubin since it is now january). it was only elevated .1 above the normal level, which they said was very slightly high and according to them everything else was normal so i should not worry about it. they tested for hepatitis c also but that was negative. they really didnt have a diagnosis for me. the internal medicine guy thought stress gastritis because it started around exam time, but it became very severe over a 2-3 week span once i was home for winter break. i dont know if mono could cause gastritis or not either. the biopsy showing nonactive chronic gastritis does not make sense because i really have never had stomach pain before. im confused because they really had no explanation
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Avatar universal
An elevated bilirubin means that something is going on with the liver.  I never did think to ask you where your stomach pains were - are they more in the upper right side?  Liver problems definitely can cause stomach pains and nausea/vomiting.

If you drink alcohol, I would suggest staying away from it as alcohol can definitely cause liver problems.  Also, if you happen to be on any of the statin drugs for high cholesterol, that may cause a rise in liver enzymes.  Also, try to limit your intake of anything containing acetaminophen if you take anything like that - it's found in things such as Tylenol and some cold/allergy medicines.

I believe, but am not sure, that elevated bilirubin levels can be caused by infections.  Again, I'm not sure about that, but I thought I had read or heard that somewhere

More than likely, unless your levels are very elevated, they will simply keep an eye one them to make sure they don't continue to rise.  If you start with any signs of jaundice, definitely contact your doctor immediately.

Sorry, I can't help with anything about the igg - I've never heard of that.  Do you know what that tests for?
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Avatar universal
the burping eases stomach pain. the biopsy showed chronic gastritis, but i have never had stomach issues in the past or used medicines for anything like this before. i thought they had all the bloodwork back, but apparently not. of the bloodwork completed, they said there was slightly elevated bilirubin levels.im not sure whatthat means. no hpylori was found. they said i was waiting for an igg test also and some other ones
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Avatar universal
It could be - especially if they pumped any gas into you during it, which they do sometimes.  Does the burping help alleviate any of the other symptoms?
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also, burping has picked up a lot over the past couple days. i dont know if thats normal after the endoscopy.
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Avatar universal
thanks for your help. i don't know what to do if this becomes a recurring thing, the doctor really just said get back to exercising (which i had to stop from mono)..no medicine or combination of foods worked to ease stomach pain so if it happens again i dont know how to handle it
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Avatar universal
So glad to hear that you're feeling better and you've been able to stop the anti-nausea meds (Zofran works great for me too, but is soooooo expensive!!).

I suppose stress could have been a cause of your problems, but I, like you, can't quite figure out how it would make you SO sick.  Maybe you had a touch of a viral gastroenteritis that was aggravated by stress??

At any rate, it's good that you've had the testing and the results so far have been normal - the best part being that you're feeling better.
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Avatar universal
i also havent tried prevacid, and stopped prilosec and zofran (antivomiting medicine) over the last 2 days. it is so far much better than it was this weekend where i couldnt stop vomiting and could barely walk
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the bloodwork came back normal, still waiting on the biopsy but it will likely be normal. my internal medicine guy believes it was stress gastritis based on the fact that it started during exam week and there hasnt been anything showing up from these tests. i am somehow starting to be able to hold foods now and the pain is less, so maybe that is actually what it is. its hard to believe it could cause pain and vomiting like that though  
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Avatar universal
I'm glad, but sorry that the endoscopy didn't show anything - glad that they didn't find something horrible, but sorry that it also didn't show definitive as to what's going on.  I hope you have better luck with getting results from the bloodwork and biopsy.

If you don't get any definitive results from those, I, also, am not sure where you should go next.  I did have a thought of possibly a hiatal hernia, but I would have thought that would have been visible on the endoscopy (not sure though, so it might be worth a question to your doc).  A Hiatal hernia can definitely cause some of the symptoms you've been having, especially if it is what they call a sliding hiatal hernia.  The way they diagnosed mine was with an upper GI series where you have to drink the nasty tasting barium stuff and then get pictures taken of your digestive tract.  Then they had me drink an even more nasty tasting bubbly type drink and took more pictures, including some laying down on my back and then on my stomach.  they could definitely see the hiatal hernia and where the "medication" they had given me was coming back up into my esophagus.  Again, mine ws diagnosed quite a few years ago, so they may have other way to diagnose them now and endoscopy could be one of them - it might be something they automatically look for, but I don't know.

did you get a chance to try the over the counter Prevacid?  If so, did you get any relief from it?  It's not a "quick fix" like a tums or rolaid would be, so you'll have to give it some time to really see if it's going to help or not.

I hope you start feeling better soon and get some results from the testing.  Keep me posted.
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endosocpy showed nothing, as did the ultrasound (according to the technician). waiting on results from bloodwork and biopsy of the stomach. if these dont show something i dont know what to do next
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Oh, by the way - my ulcer symptoms were worse when my stomach was empty, as opposed to after eating like yours seems to be.  Obviously symptoms can vary person by person, so take that with a grain of salt.  I just realized I had never answered your inquiry as to whether your symptoms sounded like an ulcer or not.

Again, best of luck and I'll keep looking for good results being posted!
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Avatar universal
You're more than welcome.  I hope some of my suggestions/ideas have been at least a little help.  Best of luck with the endoscopy and bloodwork tomorrow - don't be worried about the endoscopy - I've found it to be a very easy procedure - you're very well sedated during it and don't remember anything (at least I never have).  You may have a slight sore throat afterwards from the little camera thingie that they put down your throat, but a few popsicles later you should be fine.  You may also have some nausea afterward from the sedation they give you, but don't hesitate to ask the nurse/doctor for some medication to ease this if it happens.  If they happen to take any samples/biopsies while they're there, your stomach area may be a little sore from this - again, whenever they've done this during one of my endoscopies it hasn't been a big deal - very manageable discomfort from it.

When they do your bloodwork, I would suggest that you request they also do a h pylori test.  This is a type of bacteria that can/does cause ulcers - it's very common and relatively easy to treat with antibiotics and anti-acid type medications.

Please keep me/us informed as to how you're doing and what results you find out.

((HUGS)))
Robyn
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Avatar universal
thanks a lot for your help
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Avatar universal
I'm glad to hear that you are having an endoscopy and bloodwork done on Monday - I think that is the best way to determine what's going on.  I'm sure your stomach is very irritated from the vomiting and that could be part of the continuing pain, although that doesn't explain why it started in the first place.

you may want to try an anti-gas medication such as Gas-X to see if that helps to alleviate any of your symptoms.  I'm thinking maybe the bubbling that you are talking about could be gas - which definitely can be VERY painful and cause nausea/vomiting.  I, actually, am suffering from a bad case of gas this evening - however mine is pretty much self induced since I overate some delicious cabbage for dinner!  My symptoms are abdominal pain, nausea and bubbling in the stomach - fortunately, so far, no vomiting, although I feel like I could.  You'd think I would have known better with my gastro history, but it was just soooo yummy!!

I would also suggest sticking with the easy to digest foods - even staying on the BRAT diet might be a good idea.  Bread and pasta, although not fatty or spicy, may simply be too heavy on your stomach at this point.  Maybe start off with things like jello, soups such as chicken noodle (or even plain broth), popsicles - even scrambled eggs are usually pretty easy to get down and keep down (go easy on the salt and especially pepper).  Then if those things stay down and don't cause much pain, try increasing both the amount of food taken and also the types of food.  I would definitely stay away from spicy foods, as well as fatty foods.  I personally find dairy hard on my stomach, but yogurt is usually a better choice than say ice cream or cheese.  Also try to steer clear of anything with caffeine in it - including chocolate.  Sometimes ginger ale can help settle the tummy, but also sometimes the carbonation can cause extra gas and therefore cause pain - if you want to try some ginger ale, maybe either leave it out on the counter open for several hours to "de-fizz" or even pour it through a piece of cheesecloth or a clean handkerchief to do the same thing.  ginger tea is also good on the tummy - but make sure it's decaffeinated.  you can make your own ginger tea by steeping a tea bag with a piece of fresh ginger for several minutes.  Don't overdo on the ginger because ginger can be "bitey" and having too much could cause a problem.

Keep us posted on how you're doing and best of luck with the testing!
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