Stomach Troubles. Has Any One Else Gone Through This??

In one word probiotics. Go to a Health food store. If you are in Seattle area Super Supplements is great.

I have been reading a lot recently about gluten intolerance and celiac's disease. Some of these symptoms sound familiar so something to talk to the dr about.

Find a different doctor. Get a specialist. I have no idea what is wrong with you. But it sounds potentially autoimmune related to me. Autoimmune diseases are common among women, difficult to diagnose, often go undetected for years while the poor woman make a million trips to the doctor totally confused and worried only to have her symptoms minimized. I can sooooo relate, I went 5 years without a diagnosis, I thought I was going crazy. Again, find a different doctor. Ask to see an endocrinologist, they are good at finding autoimmune problems.

The black sounds like blood. I have had severe stomach issues and the best person to help me was a gastroenterologist. He was able to go down my throat with a scope and see what was wrong with my stomach and identify my issue. I went 5 weeks in exruciating pain, completely unable to eat or drink and near dilerium. I had a choice of going to a hospital and being hooked up to an IV or tracking down a specialist that could get me in (at the time they all had a 4 month wait!). Luckily I found a doctor in Silverton that saw me immediately and he scheduled the scope for the next day. In 4 days I felt 100% better and I was able to eat and drink again!

Definitely get this checked out. Sounds like it could be a bleeding ulcer which can become serious if left unchecked.

I would suggest bieng tested for a bleeding ulcer. My aunt had one of these a few years ago, and she had the same symptoms you are describing. One way to tell is to check your fingernails. If they are white where they are supposed to be pink, this is an indication of internal bleeding, which can be an indication of a bleeding ulcer. If the pain were on the right side, I would say gallbladder, but the fact that it is on the left side makes me 99.9% sure that it has nothing to do with your gallbladder.

Black stools usually mean you are bleeding somewhere higher up in your digestive track, with the pain and vomiting I would be concerned about an ulcer, gallbladder problem or perforated colon. You need an emergent referral to a GI doctor for upper endoscopy and possibly colonoscopy. This isn't something to take lightly. Most GI doctors are booked for months so ask your primary care doctor to call a GI doctor personnally and ask for a work in. They should be able to get you in within a day or two with your symptoms. Don't wait another day to push for this.

Demand an endoscopy from your doctor immediately! I am not trying to frighten you but this all sounds very similar to my mother. The drs continued to treat my mother for heartburn and gave her a list of things to cut from her diet.(salt, dairy, soda, anything with spice etc..) After 7 months of continued pain, the doctor finally offered an endoscopy. (in office proceedure where a camera is put down your throat and they view the inside of your stomach). They found that my mother has an ulcer and unfortunatly after they biopsied it, they found that she has cancer.
The endoscopy is slightly uncomfortable but your are sedated for it. Please get this checked out to make sure it not something serious. I wish you the best of luck and an end to your pain!

Hi R.,
I would also second going to see a naturopath. Naturopathic medicine gets to the root cause of the problem and then implements strategies to eliminate the problem, whereas allopathic (western) medicine tends to just 'treat' the problem. Ayurvedic medicine can be especially helpful for any issues related to the GI tract. There is a great doctor that I see in Bellevue, WA named Dr. Virender Sodhi. Here's a link to their website. http://www.ayurvedicscience.com/

I had serious stomach issues and was suggested to see this physician who looks after her patients a little better than the rest... Yes - she actually listens! She specializes in preventive health and it turned out I had Candida which made it so I was having a hard time to digest my food as well -hence the sore stomach and why the antacids were not working. Now - I am NOT saying that is what you have going on, I am just saying that this doc figured it out and it got me back on track.
The name of their clinic is Emerald City Health and the Dr's name is Dr. Loren Riccio.
Good luck!

Hey R.! I have also had stomach troubles this year, where I never really have in my life before...my husband thinks it's because I am in my 30's! Anyway, Mine are not as severe as yours, I more have had trouble with constipation/diarrhea and cramping/nausea, but the only thing that has worked for me, is a little probiotic drink called "goodbelly". It is not a yogurt drink, more like a juice drink, and it has billions of live cultures and it kinda resets my stomach per-se. Anyway, They come in 4-packs, and I drink one a day for four days, and it is gone! It will eventually come back, and I just do it again, but the drinks are good, and they have lots of vitamins and minerals as well. It's worth a try, right? Good luck to you!

Hi R.!

Try also taking wheat/gluten out of your diet. See if that helps. If it does you might want to look into celiac disease.You could also do the Elimination Diet. That way you find what you might be allergic to. The top allergy foods are dairy, wheat/gluten, eggs, soy, peanuts/nuts, and corn.

In the mean time I would get some digestive enzymes, aloe vera water(I like Georges), and some probiotics. Go to another doctor for a second opinion. Sometimes when you do that you finally get some answers.

I hope you feel better.

L.

Hey, this sounds a lot like what one of my good friends had. When she saw a doctor for it, they finally concluded that she had an stomache ulcer and put her on some medication for it. I'll have to check with her about what kind of medicine they gave her, and how she dealt with the pain, if she could at all. I know she missed a lot of work and couldn't really do a whole lot cause of the dizziness and non stop pain! I felt really bad for her, so I feel for ya! I will get back to you with some recommendations from her as soon as I speak to her! Sorry and Good Luck!

I had something like this about 7 years ago... They never could figure out what was wrong with me either - stool tests, blood tests, etc. What they finally decided to do - after a long time of going thru this - was hydrate me. They gave me 3? bags of IV fluid. I walked in there limp and hurting - and walked out of there doing kartwheels. It was the strangest thing. and I never felt that way again.

Maybe you are dehydrated too??

Hope you feel better soon!!!

I have not very much experience, but, i'd look for a second opinion.
Or at least ask your doctor if there are other diagnostics that he could run. It seems to me that it may be a good idea to have a colonoscopy to make sure there isn't something more serious wrong, or a test for H Pylori (a bug that causes ulcers). Good luck.

(ps. i went through some similar issues recently, although not with exactly the same symptoms. I think i've figured out that it is soy that is the most aggravating. Taking lactase (to help break down the lactose in milk) did help, too. Also, if you haven't tried eliminating gluten you could try that - another thing my doc suggested as a possible culprit.)

sounds a bit familiar (although much more intense) than the pain I had that was attributed to gall bladdar issues - I would make an appt. to see your doctor. Apparently, it is relatively common for women to have their gall bladdar removed after having a child (I know 5 or so people who have had to do so)...it isn't a big deal, and I am not sure that it is your issue, but it is a suggestion. Again, your pain sounds much more severe than mine was, but it might be what you are experiencing.

Hi R.,
For years I had the same problem and was treating it with antacids of every kind, even prescriptions from my doctors. About 5 years ago I was telling my Chiropractor what I was dealing with and he said that it sounded like I didn't have enough acid in my stomach to break down the food that I had eaten and get it out of my body, I was would get constipated real easy. He gave me a digestive supplement that I took with every meal and not only did it help my stomach it helped me eleminate on a regular basis. Getting my system cleaned out and taking this supplement has been a real blessing. A couple of months ago I was introduced to a new coffee that has been enriched with ganoderma lucidum from the reishi mushroom and it has helped even better and I am no longer taking the supplements with each meal. If you want more information about this coffee let me know, you can call me at ###-###-#### and I will explain it to you.
Since you have a doctor's appointment in a few days...you might want to ask him/her if it could be that you DO Not have enough acid in your system to break down the foods you have eaten so that you body eleminates on a regular basis.
Hope this helps,
I. Lockhart

I would go see a natural path that can muscle test, or a body talk practicioner. Maybe you have some temporary food allergies that are messing with you. Good Luck!

Start asking questions about your gall bladder. A lot of times this is actually the culprit. You described the location of your pain now, and that's what it sounds like. My mom and a good friend of mine had theirs removed to much relief! Good luck!

If you are having black looking bowel movements I would get a second opionion SOON. BM's or vomit that seems black or like coffee grounds means blood and that is NOT GOOD. I had symptoms very similar to this for a while that I thought were various bowel issues (constipation, bad gas, cramping, vomiting, etc.) they would come and go until one day they just didn't go away. It turned out I had a perforated bowel with a partial blockage and it went septic (bad infection). I very nearly died over Christmas because they had me in the hospital for a week before they operated on me. If they had caught it sooner it wouldn't have almost killed me. It is a problem OFTEN mis-diagnosed, please see someone else if you can. I would suggest a gastroentorlogist or sugeon. I have excellent referrences at St. Vincents hospital if you are interested, PM me personally.

The black bowel movement is probably from blood if it is tarry in consistency. Do not let your doctor treat this lightly – it is debilitating. This could be anything from a bleeding ulcer to an autoimmune disease/allergy/sensitivity, to an infection, to a tumor. If your doctor is just checking off a possibility every few weeks and you're not getting relief, ask to see a specialist.

I tend to experience hard cramps periodically, ever since taking antibiotics for a bronchial infection. Taking acidophilus capsules or eating Nancy's yogurt for a week or so helps. What you describe sounds far more extreme, though.

My best to you, R.. You sound like you're living with some real misery. Please insist on a more thorough medical workup.

Hi R.,
I'm so sorry to hear you're having a rough time with your health :( I haven't experienced these sorts of symptoms, personally, but they sound like a patient of mine. She was nauseous, vomited daily and had diarrhea for 3 years, with no relief from biomedicine, and no answers regarding what the heck was going on! What finally worked for her was acupuncture, herbs and an elimination diet. After several months of getting SOME results with acupuncture and herbal formulas, she was diarrhea and vomiting-free, but was still nauseous a lot of the time. I had her do an elimination diet (to rule out food sensitivities). Turned out she was sensitive to gluten and dairy. After just 2 weeks her symptoms were completely gone. After several months of keeping "clean" from gluten and dairy, she tried adding certain things back in. It turns out that for her it was the combination of gluten and preservatives that was her main problem. She could eat small amounts of gluten otherwise.

You may consider an elimination diet to see if you're suddenly (it happens, unfortunately) sensitive to some food other than dairy.

Best of luck to you, and I truly hope you find something to help you through this!

I think its time to ask for some testing to be done. I am not sure if bloodwork would sure anything , but definitely an MRI so they can see whats going on.

R.,

Hello yes I have been through the same thing. When I was pregnant with my 2nd daughter back in 2005 in Dec I started having bad heartburn or what they thought was heartburn and everything gave me diaherrea or I would get really bad stomach aches. They told me it was just b/c I was pregnant. Well 2 years after I had my daughter I was still having the issues. I was in the ER 3 x's in one week. Finally on the 3rd time I got a DR who looked at me and said have you ever had pancreatitis? I was like what's that he said it can be caused by the gall bladder. What do you know the next month I was in surgery for my gall bladder. HAVE THEM CHECK YOUR GALL BLADDER!!! Do not let them tell you it isn't the issue. My gall bladder was spasming and sending to much bile into my pancreas which in turn was giving me issues they told me that good thing they caught it in time b/c it can lead to other issues also. The test they put me through for my gall bladder were awful but so worth it b/c now I feel so much better. I am not trying to scare you but I feel your pain :). If you need anything or have anymore questions feel free to email me. ____@____.com me know how it goes. I will keep you in my thoughts :).

Why haven't the doctors gone in with a scope and seen what the damage to your stomach is? Sounds like they are just trying to make the pain go away. Since this has been going since beginning of June, you need to insist that they find out what the problem is so they can treat it right.

I've had several friends this last year who have gone through very severe and very strange stomach issues similar to yours. The first was told over and over that she just had heart burn and anxiety until she switched doctors and was found to have Celiac Disease. The second was originally diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome but, with symptoms not getting any better, they are now testing her for Celiac as well. I would definitely bring that one up at your next appointment. Apparently it is much more common than anyone has been lead to believe and, if it were properly diagnosed earlier on, it could save the person a lot of heavier health issues down the road. Celiacs disease is an allergy to gluten - which, unfortunately, is an additive in almost everything! However, the friend who has been properly diagnosed, is now doing much better, is much healthier and will hopefully avoid all the other problems that she would have faced had she continued with her antacid loving previous doctor! Good luck!

Ask your dr about the possibility of it being an ulcer if they haven't mentioned it already. Especially is your bm is sometimes black.

I agree with Jeannette. Sounds like the symptoms for a bleeding ulcer for sure. My grandmother used to get them all the time. I'd definitely bring that up when you see your doctor!

I would check out and see if it's Gallstones - you will need to get an ultra sound done to make sure.

I had a similar problem back in March. I was so sick I had to stay home from work for two weeks and it wasn't until I started taking an antibiotic that I started feeling better. I had some sort of bacterial infection, but they were never able to figure out the cause or the specific bacteria. I would suggest talking to a Gastroenterologist after your visit with your physician. My regular physician was able to prescribe an antiobiotic as well as a pain killer and that solved everything. I did have a procedure done after I felt better just to make sure there was nothing serious going on in my stomach/colon. . . they put little camera's in there.

Also, I just read that some of your responses have suggested probiotics, which are great, and the immediate care doctor I saw suggested the same thing. However, my regular physician said that they would do absolutely nothing to cure the pain and symptoms of an infection. And when I tried the probiotics route, it did nothing but make me throw up more. Good luck!

I've known two friends who had this random total stomach issues - one turned out had gluten/celilac the other had some colon issues.

Ditto on autoimmune diseases - I have RA and have random bad stomach issues for months at a time - due to meds that I am on. So also what are you taking or medication especially over the counter stuff because that can cause issues.

I would find a doctor that will work better for you - and I'd also consider a naturalpah to work on identifying food allergies. It takes a really great doctor to identify autoimmune diseases.

Good luck!

I know this is not on your left side but it sounds an awful lot like symptoms I had for years and then it turned out to be my gallblader. Had it removed and now experience this very little. Have they done an ultrasound? I would insist that they do this at your next doctor's appointment. Women have this a lot and very few doctor's realize to look at the gallbladder even though that is the #1 cause.

Have you been evaluated for gluten intolerance/celiac disease? The severe pain below the ribcage (worse after eating) and fatigue were also symptoms I had before I was diagnosed. And it could change your stool, since absorption is affected. I hope you get some answers soon! Best wishes to you.

R.

I would like to second the responses I have seen that you should see another doctor if this one isn't taking this seriously. The other posters who have said black stool means you are bleeding somewhere along the digestive tract are correct. Because you are tired from all of this it sounds like you are already anemic from the loss of blood. This is not something to take lightly! Also, I am not anti-naturopath. In this case, however, you definitely need to have this treated ASAP by a medical doctor. It is theoritically possible that you need a transfusion if you have lost enough blood, which you probably won't know until you have a cell blood count(CBC) done. Please, please, please, call another doc, preferably a gastroenterologist and make sure they know you are actively bleeding! Even though you have been bleeding for a long time this could become a critical situation in a big hurry!

Good luck
Hope you feel better soon
S.

Classic bleeding ulcer! Get to a gastroenterologist!

Sounds like gallbladder to me.