Aa
Sensitive Stomach
I have had a sensitive stomach for over five years. it started sometime around late middle school (7th or 8th Grade). Initially we contributed it to menstrual pains (it seemed likely) but around that time i had also had a nasty case of food poisoning from bad chinese food.
the pain at this time was just a strong achey feeling that made me have to lie down after meals. it especially hurt after dinner time (this is also when i have my largest meal of the day). After a while though it became a painful stabbing pain in my abdomen, which occurred right before lunch. I contributed this to stress from dealing with a friend who always made me feel very stressed to the point i would have pain in my back.
however it started to occur after dinner as well. my doctor contributed it to heartburn or gass and i started taking medications to treat heartburn, and sometimes if taken directly after eating it helped. after high school the stabbing pain went away but the ache continued.
during school my doctor tried putting me on different type of acid reducing medications. they seemed to help for a few days or weeks but then the aches would return. he also tried medications for IBS but it didn't seem to help either.
i then went to see a specialist. i had an ultrasound but it showed nothing abnormal. so then i received a upper endoscopy, to search for ulcers. the pictures again showed nothing abnormal. they said my stomach looked perfectly healthy. and that i must just have a "sensitive stomach".
it was around this time that my doctor put me on medication for anxiety/depression and that honestly seemed to help reduce the amount i had stomach pain. however after certain meals it would return. the pain seemed to reduce significantly after high school however within the last year i've been feeling random bouts of nausea. now i don't vomit, but i do feel very nauseous at times. originally i contributed to bad health or because i hadn't eaten that morning or i had too much coffee and not enough food to counteract the acidity. but now after many meals at all times of the day i feel nauseous. and sometimes all i've had was a mild breakfast (such as cereal) and i still feel nauseous. now it's for short bits of time but it's still annoying and is commonly accompanied by painful aching.
any ideas or suggestions?
the pain at this time was just a strong achey feeling that made me have to lie down after meals. it especially hurt after dinner time (this is also when i have my largest meal of the day). After a while though it became a painful stabbing pain in my abdomen, which occurred right before lunch. I contributed this to stress from dealing with a friend who always made me feel very stressed to the point i would have pain in my back.
however it started to occur after dinner as well. my doctor contributed it to heartburn or gass and i started taking medications to treat heartburn, and sometimes if taken directly after eating it helped. after high school the stabbing pain went away but the ache continued.
during school my doctor tried putting me on different type of acid reducing medications. they seemed to help for a few days or weeks but then the aches would return. he also tried medications for IBS but it didn't seem to help either.
i then went to see a specialist. i had an ultrasound but it showed nothing abnormal. so then i received a upper endoscopy, to search for ulcers. the pictures again showed nothing abnormal. they said my stomach looked perfectly healthy. and that i must just have a "sensitive stomach".
it was around this time that my doctor put me on medication for anxiety/depression and that honestly seemed to help reduce the amount i had stomach pain. however after certain meals it would return. the pain seemed to reduce significantly after high school however within the last year i've been feeling random bouts of nausea. now i don't vomit, but i do feel very nauseous at times. originally i contributed to bad health or because i hadn't eaten that morning or i had too much coffee and not enough food to counteract the acidity. but now after many meals at all times of the day i feel nauseous. and sometimes all i've had was a mild breakfast (such as cereal) and i still feel nauseous. now it's for short bits of time but it's still annoying and is commonly accompanied by painful aching.
any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks! Please feel free to private message me with any updates- I'd be interested to know. I sometimes keep threads like this on my watch list for only one week.
eck so many things that could be wrong it's somewhat exhausting.. but thank you very much for all your help. i'm truly thankful. hopefully i'll be able to figure this out before it gets any worse and i'm very grateful for all your suggestions. if i notice that something in particular helps or some significant discovery with my doctor happens i'll be sure to let you know :)
You might find the doctor's comments to someone on this thread interesting. I'd say with your struggle to gain weight, you can rule out hypothyroidism in your case!
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Undiagnosed-Symptoms/its-doin-my-head-in/show/1438430?personal_page_id=862335
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Undiagnosed-Symptoms/its-doin-my-head-in/show/1438430?personal_page_id=862335
I used to be like you, trying to gain weight.... have they checked your thyroid function regarding your metabolism? They used to check mine often. I started gaining weight largely due to taking a SSRi medication for migraine prevention.
You might not know that the ibuprofen is bothering your stomach, but it just might be affecting it. The fact that you say you feel the worst after a fatty meal makes me definitely think they ought to look into your gallbladder function. You should mention this link to the doctor and ask if they feel a HIDA scan with ejection fraction would be right for you to see how your gallbladder and duct work is doing.
However, a number of those aggravants you listed can also be detrimental to someone who suffers from acid reflux. And there are even certain teas that are too high in acid for people with GERD.
You could try drinking lactose free milk to see if you have less gas with it than regular milk- which would be a good sign that you are lactose intolerant. I used to get diarrhea with regular milk. You might also ask the doctor if you could have a blood test to rule out celiac disease. H. pylori is a bacteria that can lead to the formation of ulcers- they have a blood test for it. I've also been tested for it by biopsy during I think it was a look at the upper GI tract.
Looking for occult (hidden) blood in the stool is a different test than looking for parasites and worms in stool. They don't tend to look for anything more than what the doctor orders, so if you are concerned something may have started with bad Chinese food, it's worth asking the doctor if it's possible you could still have something in your body from it this far down the road & whether you should be tested to make sure there aren't any parasites inside you, if that would help to ease your mind about it.
Regarding stress management- I failed big time in that myself, which is one of the reasons I am disabled. But if you are a Christian, rolling your burdens off your shoulders and giving them to God is a big one. Taking breaks when you are working and doing something you enjoy- whether it is listening to music or taking a nature walk and try to avoid, when possible, things that really stress you. Since it sounds like you do have a stress link to some of your stomach trouble, you will want to seriously consider if you are planning a career, getting into one that does not come with a high stress price tag. If you are burning the candle at both ends, consider what is most stressful to you in your many activities and what activities are not essential to what's most important to you and cut out the extras. You might try deep breathing exercises, and try to relax each of your muscle groups- start with trying to relax your face, try to relax those stomach muscles... use a heating pad if that helps in your effort.
You don't want to lay at an angle where your neck is propped up on a bunch of pillows- it needs to be the upper half of your body- if you don't have a hospital or futon bed, you might want to put a wedge under your mattress.
You might not know that the ibuprofen is bothering your stomach, but it just might be affecting it. The fact that you say you feel the worst after a fatty meal makes me definitely think they ought to look into your gallbladder function. You should mention this link to the doctor and ask if they feel a HIDA scan with ejection fraction would be right for you to see how your gallbladder and duct work is doing.
However, a number of those aggravants you listed can also be detrimental to someone who suffers from acid reflux. And there are even certain teas that are too high in acid for people with GERD.
You could try drinking lactose free milk to see if you have less gas with it than regular milk- which would be a good sign that you are lactose intolerant. I used to get diarrhea with regular milk. You might also ask the doctor if you could have a blood test to rule out celiac disease. H. pylori is a bacteria that can lead to the formation of ulcers- they have a blood test for it. I've also been tested for it by biopsy during I think it was a look at the upper GI tract.
Looking for occult (hidden) blood in the stool is a different test than looking for parasites and worms in stool. They don't tend to look for anything more than what the doctor orders, so if you are concerned something may have started with bad Chinese food, it's worth asking the doctor if it's possible you could still have something in your body from it this far down the road & whether you should be tested to make sure there aren't any parasites inside you, if that would help to ease your mind about it.
Regarding stress management- I failed big time in that myself, which is one of the reasons I am disabled. But if you are a Christian, rolling your burdens off your shoulders and giving them to God is a big one. Taking breaks when you are working and doing something you enjoy- whether it is listening to music or taking a nature walk and try to avoid, when possible, things that really stress you. Since it sounds like you do have a stress link to some of your stomach trouble, you will want to seriously consider if you are planning a career, getting into one that does not come with a high stress price tag. If you are burning the candle at both ends, consider what is most stressful to you in your many activities and what activities are not essential to what's most important to you and cut out the extras. You might try deep breathing exercises, and try to relax each of your muscle groups- start with trying to relax your face, try to relax those stomach muscles... use a heating pad if that helps in your effort.
You don't want to lay at an angle where your neck is propped up on a bunch of pillows- it needs to be the upper half of your body- if you don't have a hospital or futon bed, you might want to put a wedge under your mattress.
I am still on the anti-anxiety medication.. as for stress management do you have any particular suggestions? i do take ibuprofen from time to time when i have a headache or menstrual cramps but haven't noticed a connection to my stomach pain, it doesn't seem to directly help or hinder.
they didn't check my gallbladder function.
I'm 115lbs and 5'6" with high metabolism so i've never had to watch my wait (i've actually tried gaining weight in the past) but i have a very hard time avoiding saturated fats (such as butter, ice cream, cheese, fatty chicken dishes, beef, pork ) unless i'm feeling nauseous already.. mostly because it's what's available for dinner, and it's delicious.. however after a fatty meal i do notice is when i feel the worst.
and i only eat trans fats (such as cookies, snack foods, doughnuts, cake, frozen foods, potato chips) in small amounts.. most frozen dinners (the kind filled with preservatives) make me sick immediately.
the intensity of nausea or stomach pain comes and goes and some days i feel fine.. i've been living with this for a while so i often just assume my stomachs going to hurt after eating.. sometimes it doesn't but lately within the past year i've noticed it's most likely it will.
i've never considered anything to do with my gull bladder, but if it sounds to you like a possibility i'll try to look into that.
i've thought maybe the possibility of a smaller form of lactose intolerance or maybe even a gluten allergy but when i drink milk sometimes it actually helps and even when i avoid foods with gluten i still have stomach pains..
spicy, greasy, and fried foods are all things that i try to avoid because i notice a direct link to stomach pain.. coffee depends on the acuidity, i've noticed my mothers coffee hurts my stomach while most diner coffee is just fine.. if however my stomach feels off i avoid coffee and go for tea which i haven't noticed a problem with. too much coffee definitely is a problem however so i usually stick to no more than one refill when i'm out.
i haven't tried not eating at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime or napping or laying at an angle in bed.. but i'll try that out and see if it helps at all..
and i haven't been tested for H. pylori, is that something i should ask my doctor about?
i have had (in the past) my doctor take a stool sample but that was to look for blood.. but either way they didn't find anything like that (i would assume they would notice).
they didn't check my gallbladder function.
I'm 115lbs and 5'6" with high metabolism so i've never had to watch my wait (i've actually tried gaining weight in the past) but i have a very hard time avoiding saturated fats (such as butter, ice cream, cheese, fatty chicken dishes, beef, pork ) unless i'm feeling nauseous already.. mostly because it's what's available for dinner, and it's delicious.. however after a fatty meal i do notice is when i feel the worst.
and i only eat trans fats (such as cookies, snack foods, doughnuts, cake, frozen foods, potato chips) in small amounts.. most frozen dinners (the kind filled with preservatives) make me sick immediately.
the intensity of nausea or stomach pain comes and goes and some days i feel fine.. i've been living with this for a while so i often just assume my stomachs going to hurt after eating.. sometimes it doesn't but lately within the past year i've noticed it's most likely it will.
i've never considered anything to do with my gull bladder, but if it sounds to you like a possibility i'll try to look into that.
i've thought maybe the possibility of a smaller form of lactose intolerance or maybe even a gluten allergy but when i drink milk sometimes it actually helps and even when i avoid foods with gluten i still have stomach pains..
spicy, greasy, and fried foods are all things that i try to avoid because i notice a direct link to stomach pain.. coffee depends on the acuidity, i've noticed my mothers coffee hurts my stomach while most diner coffee is just fine.. if however my stomach feels off i avoid coffee and go for tea which i haven't noticed a problem with. too much coffee definitely is a problem however so i usually stick to no more than one refill when i'm out.
i haven't tried not eating at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime or napping or laying at an angle in bed.. but i'll try that out and see if it helps at all..
and i haven't been tested for H. pylori, is that something i should ask my doctor about?
i have had (in the past) my doctor take a stool sample but that was to look for blood.. but either way they didn't find anything like that (i would assume they would notice).
If you still wonder about that nasty Chinese food poisoning, if it may have been the start of your problem or not, may I suggest you see a GI specialist and ask if there is any way something like that could precipitate a long standing medical condition? For instance- is it possible there was some kind of parasite in the food and could you have that stool test for worms and parasites to be sure you don't have any?
Suggestions- since the anxiety medication helped, are you still on that? Have you taken any practical steps toward stress management and helping your abdominal muscles to relax? Do you take NSAIDS (like ibuprofen, naproysn, that sort of thing) or aspirin which can aggravate the stomach?
Did they check out your gallbladder function? You mentioned after taking the anxiety/depression pills, you still had a problem after eating certain foods- were these foods that might trigger acidity? Were they foods, such as fatty foods, that might trigger a gallbladder attack?
Have you taken any steps to lower the amount of acid reflux aggravating type foods, like spicy, dairy, citrus, full acidity coffee, fatty and fried foods for examples? Have you stopped eating at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime or napping and are you laying at an angle in bed and not flat, which can make acid reflux worse? Have you been recently tested for H. pylori, to make sure that bad bacteria is not inhabiting your stomach?
Did they check out your gallbladder function? You mentioned after taking the anxiety/depression pills, you still had a problem after eating certain foods- were these foods that might trigger acidity? Were they foods, such as fatty foods, that might trigger a gallbladder attack?
Have you taken any steps to lower the amount of acid reflux aggravating type foods, like spicy, dairy, citrus, full acidity coffee, fatty and fried foods for examples? Have you stopped eating at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime or napping and are you laying at an angle in bed and not flat, which can make acid reflux worse? Have you been recently tested for H. pylori, to make sure that bad bacteria is not inhabiting your stomach?
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Gastroenterology Community
Learn which OTC medications can help relieve your digestive troubles.
Is a gluten-free diet right for you?
Discover common causes of and remedies for heartburn.
This common yet mysterious bowel condition plagues millions of Americans
Don't get burned again. Banish nighttime heartburn with these quick tips
Get answers to your top questions about this pervasive digestive problem
