As a few of you know, I've been sick for over 4 months now. It really start about the beginning of March with a lot of nausea and all that nastiness. After a couple weeks, I went to the ER, and the doctor there told me it was probably gastritis, maybe an ulcer, and just to take Prilosec OTC twice a day for 30 days. Two weeks later, I'm still as sick as ever, so I go back, and this time I'm told there's nothing more that can really be done at the ER - I'd have to see a regular physician and get referred to a surgeon.

A few more weeks go by, and I've switched to a different diet, which has been helping, but then I have to go out of town on a business trip, so the diet was left behind. I alternate between feeling better and feeling worse, and a few days before the end of May, I see a regular physician. He says it's probably an ulcer and gives me a prescription for something similar to Prilosec. I continue to be sick and go back to the doctor. This time, he orders a blood panel to check for Celiac disease (gluten intolerance), irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease.

I wait two weeks and finally get the results - however, they came back negative. Now I'll be seeing a surgeon in a couple weeks to see about having more tests done. At this point, I can't eat anything without getting nauseous, and I'm having pain in my right side. I'm really starting to believe it's my gall bladder, but I'll have to wait for tests to know. All I know is I'm sick of being so sick all the time.

The only good thing to come of this is I've lost 40-45 pounds now. I weigh less now than I did over 10 years ago.


Short version: I've had digestive issues for months and still don't know what it is. I can hardly eat, and I've lost a lot of weight in the process.

So, share your thoughts, opinions, and stories.

Get better, fatter soon.

I hear ya. In a few weeks I'll find out if I have celiac disease, lactose intolerance, both, or worse. I've had symptoms of various kinds since 2005, had a doctor stick a hand up my ass in 2008 but only last week I finally decided to maybe do something about it! Oh the times!

I don't know you that well, but I've always enjoyed your contributions from what I can recall, and our dwindling community would be damaged if something were to happen to you, so please get better: Dammit. I am setting my wheelchair to excessively vibrate.

While I want to feel better, I have no desire to get fatter. I'm still considered overweight for my height, and it would probably take another 10-15 pounds lost to be in the ideal range.

I went on a gluten free diet after I started thinking that was what I had. It helped, but it's definitely not a sure way to know. For me, it's been hard to figure out because up until recently, symptoms were general stomach problems that could any number of things. It's only been in the past few weeks that I've started to really have pain.

I have no plans for anything to happen to me. As long as they find out what's wrong with me soon, it should be fine. I've been at Massassi for 11 years, and I imagine I'll be here for many more.

Sorry, my post is morose because I spent yesterday reading through old NTG posts when me and Vegie would help eachother guess in AIM, and it made me really sad and paranoid, so this thread had me incredibly quick to worry. I'm sure it's something with an ass you can kick!

I certainly know what it's like being sick for long periods. I was basically in and out of the hospital and running a fever for all of high school and most of college. It sucks, it's madly depressing, but luckily for you they still have things they can try. So keep up working on it, and you'll get it figured out.

Sounds like you need a real life Dr. House. I can't imagine what that mist be like though, I hope you get better soon. Don't lose hope.

I know how that is. Strange, and ultimately undiagnosed gastric issues forced me to drop out of high school. Two AP credits, three years of Japanese, and now here I am five years later wondering if I have the time or resources to get a GED.

-All I can tell you is... just let the universe handle it, I guess, because there's not really that much that's really in your control, when you get right down to it.

So some general questions to look for an organic cause, because I like to enquire into stuff like this...

Is your discomfort related exclusively to your meals (shortly after?) or do you feel it outside of meals as well?
Do you have a bloated feeling in your abdominal area?
Satiated sooner than before?
Is the pain more pronounced after eating fat-rich foods?
Change in voiding pattern, consistency, color, ... etc?
General fatigue?
Better/worse in certain positions (lying down, sitting back, ...)?
Sharp pain? Diffuse pain?
You say 'right-sided' : where exactly? That area exclusively?
Diabetes? Medications?

I think gall bladder inflammation is improbable (you'd be convulsing on the floor and vomiting because of the pain).

Irritable bowel syndrome seems most likely at this point (your doctor hasn't ruled this out, I don't think there's a blood test for this - it's a diagnosis of exclusion) then again you said it's getting worse, so maybe IBS doesn't really fit.

That sucks. I also had a similar problem in high school. Spent years having the doctors try to figure it out and finally went to a specialist who told me what it was, but couldn't really do anything about it. Basically my stomach got paralyzed by an infection or virus or something, we don't know what. Anyway, it slowly healed itself and I'm pretty much back to normal as of about 6 months ago (which is like 7 years after the problem started).

So I hope yours is nothing like that, or I hope it IS because even though they couldn't do anything, it fixed itself eventually.

I'm rooting for you, Zecks. Pain is no fun.

Also, I didn't quite realize how much company I have the site as far as being screwed up. I thought I was one of the only ones.

MASSASSIANS SCREWED OVER BY ILLNESS UNITE! >.>

Is your discomfort related exclusively to your meals (shortly after?) or do you feel it outside of meals as well?

I have nausea primarily in the morning and after I eat. I have a tingling kind of sensation at the bottom of the sternum/top of the stomach that stays around. I have sharper pains that happen at times further up into my chest and in my left shoulder blade. I have sharper pain under my right ribs after eating, and duller under the ribs and right side in the evening. I have also been having headaches more often, typically stress headaches that start in the back of my neck.

Do you have a bloated feeling in your abdominal area?

I have excess gas constantly. I can feel it in my abdomen and even into my chest, making it tighter and uncomfortable when breathing at times.

Satiated sooner than before?

I feel full when eating pretty quickly, however, at this point, I have not been eating much for several months.

Is the pain more pronounced after eating fat-rich foods?

I cannot say for sure, as it's been a lot of lunch meat that I've been eating, especially since the pain has really started.

Change in voiding pattern, consistency, color, ... etc?

It's not too terribly different than what it has been for some time, however, I don't think it's ever been as it should be.

General fatigue?

Yes, a good deal at times, as well as an overall feeling of weakness at times.

Better/worse in certain positions (lying down, sitting back, ...)?

I typically feel better if I'm standing. Unfortunately, I work at a desk for 8 hours a day during the week, and feel worse during the week than the weekend when I get a chance to be up and moving more.

Sharp pain? Diffuse pain?

It's a mix, really. Sometimes it's sharper, sometimes duller, and it varies based on location, sitting/standing, and if I've eaten.

You say 'right-sided' : where exactly? That area exclusively?

The biggest affected area currently, as far as pain goes, is my right side underneath my ribs and goes into my side and sometime into my back. This occurs most in the evening.

Diabetes? Medications?

No diabetes. I'm currently taking medication to reduce the amount of acid in my stomach, which I've been taking for about a month now. It may have something to do with the excess gas, as well, as it happened before when I was taking Prilosec.

I will say that there is gallbladder problems on my mom's side of the family, and my brother has/had a hiatal hernia. Also, I've had problems with my blood pressure going up after eating or when the discomfort's the worst, especially when gas/pressure has built up in my chest.

Have they tested for diverticulosis/diverticulitis?

They haven't tested for much of anything... I've had normal blood work done, which came back fine, and I had the blood panel for celiac disease/irritable bowel syndrome/inflammatory bowel disease, which came back negative. The only other thing any of the doctors have done is tell me take these pills or those pills and see if they help.

Well....

Left shoulder pain is interesting, as it may indicate irritation of peritoneum (covering of your intestines). Chronic cholecystitis is possible, as well as pancreatitis and hepatitis given the relationship to your meals. If you want to do a bit of preliminary diagnostics yourself, nausea should diminish on a low-fat diet with these possibilities. Being overweight, as you mentioned, is connected to these as well.

Ischemia of the inferior part of your heart is possible, can be accompanied by tricky 'digestive' symptoms, as well as the shoulder pain and chest discomfort.

Sclerosis of the intestinal blood vessels might produce some of these symptoms (again, meal-related).

I think you may have pinpointed the problem yourself... Chances are echo will show gallstones and chronic inflammation of the gallbladder.

Keep us posted, all the best

Well, it's not quite in the shoulder blade. It's in that area, but a little further down and closer to the middle of my back. Much of the chest discomfort is definitely gas, as burping tends to help. My diet currently is pretty much low-fat, but the nausea has remained. But yes, I do believe it's likely my gallbladder, and I'm beginning to wonder if it's even functioned properly for several years. I suppose a hiatal hernia is also possible.

Pretty sure it ain't this. The pain would be much sharper, colicky, and he would maybe be dead by now.

I had an inflamed gall bladder a few years ago, for 2 days I had no idea what the problem was and was just taking painkillers (no effect), by the 2nd night I was hallucinating like crazy, unable to eat (and keep it down), and in agony unable to sleep. Then I got hospitalised for a few days during which time I eventually got the right treatment. Basically, if you had an inflamed gall bladder you'd really know about it, unless it's much much milder than what I had. In my case it came out of nowhere.

I can relate to this I had to have my gallbladder removed because gall stones completely blocked my bile duck. I would get inflammation events like you describe, at first only lasting a few hours but gradually they got worse in duration and pain, lasting more than 24hrs. Also, if you get another attack DONT try to treat that pain with alcohol, I learned the hard way it will make it much worse. I doubt thats Zeck's problem because the pain is pretty intense and if it's stones they show up on an ultrasound. Also your blood work would show a bunch of enzyme levels out of wack if it was gallbladder related.

Well, what the both of you are describing is *acute* cholecystitis, which is characterized by this intense, visceral, 'colicky' pain. You'd see inflammatory parameters here (white blood cell count +, C-reactive protein +, red blood cell sedimentation rate +) and maybe alkaline phosphatase+ , and elevated liver enzymes (AST, ALT +). *Chronic* cholecystitis can exist without any of these so this hasn't been ruled out at all in my opinion.

What I forgot to mention as possibility is dyspepsia (stomach has trouble voiding because of an organic or functional problem). If the investigations turn out normal, they'll probably decide to label it IBS, although things like shoulder pain and right sided discomfort strongly suggest against this diagnosis. Zecks, you suggest hiatal hernia as well, but this one is pretty much constantly accompanied by a burning senssation behind the sternum ('pyrosis') and many of your symptoms don't fit.

how fat were u to begin with? thats one thing to be taken into consideration 1st.

Sounds like irritable bowel mixed with something more serious.

Its really depressing when doctors are no help.

Have u tried leaving life behind for a few months? go to another country, or just the middle of nowhere, free from civilisaton, away from flashtube lighting, awayt from computers. away from bullsh** processed food and dust etc. sounds odd, but many odd illness are linked to our distance from nature. Lack of parasites and viruses etc.

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elseif(getThingFlags(source) & 0x4){
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Before this all started, I weighed about 220 pounds, which was probably about 60 pounds more than what I should weigh. I now weigh about 175 pounds, a loss of about 45 pounds. This is quite odd, as I had stayed about the same weight for 7 or 8 years. I've always been heavier. Now, I probably weigh as much or less as I did when I was 13 (I'm 24 now).

As far as leaving life behind, I simply can't unless there was a doctor that said I had to do so. I only started my job back in January, plus I have a number of bills to pay (hospital/doctor bills included). I'm guessing that consuming too many of the wrong things has just finally caught up with me. As far as getting away from civilization, I don't live in a city. The area I live in is not that big, and there's plenty of nature around here. I was outside this morning and saw a rabbit come scurrying past my apartment. Definitely not city living.

I should also say that prior to this, it had been about 6 years or so since I had been to a doctor. I rarely got sick (maybe once or twice a year), and I almost never took any medications (that includes pain relievers).

It's taken you 3 years to get the doctors hand out of your ass???

Yup!

Some people keep watches in their cavities... but, uh, I don't!

(I should probably learn to proofread my posts more often)

Nah, it's much funnier when you don't proofread.

just everything up to the watch, emirite

sup dude, it sounds like you might need to have your appendix out

if the pain is below your belly button and kind of in between that and your hip, that might be it

and yea, it also might be your gallbladder. I haven't had mine out, but my friend tells me he had pain like that for about a month as well before they took it out (they thought it might have been his appendix as well).

My only advice is that you should never be afraid to ask for other opinions. Talk to other doctors and other doctors outside of your current hospital system. Not all hospitals are created equal. Some places just suck and will struggle for months trying to get you treated what a better hospitals' doctors could do in a week. And, even if your place of care is awesome, it never hurts anyway, someone might have more experience and can better diagnose you.

This pain is above my belly button, just below my ribs. It just happens to spread out into my right side, although I'm not sure how much is related to my back. I talked to my brother last night as he's had digestive issues for a number of years now. Apparently many, if not most, of my symptoms are what he deals with. His have grown milder and not as frequent since they initially started, although he doesn't have the pain in his right side. He also said that our grandmother swears up and down that our dad had issues, as well, but I can't know that for sure. As for today, I am much better than I was for most of the weekend, and it's not been the pain in my side that's bothered me so much - it's been the other pains and such that my brother deals with that have bothered me most.

As to getting more opinions, I have seen 3 different doctors. The first 2 were at the ER and basically said if problems persisted, I would need to see a surgeon to have more tests done. The doctor I am currently seeing is not at the hospital and has a number of good reviews, which is why I chose him. However, it now does come down to seeing a surgeon and having other tests done. There's no other way to really know what's going on without having more "invasive" (invasive being an endoscopy and ultrasound on the gallbladder, most likely) tests done. I would prefer if it would have resolved itself, but that's obviously not going to happen.

That's good. I only bring it up because a lot of people just "go to the hospital" and don't think twice about the quality of care they might be getting.

An ultrasound really isnt invasive at all. It's completely external, it's quick and painless. I would definitely push to get this done asap. I've had the endoscopy done too, thats not bad either but it does involve anesthesia so obviously a lot more prep involved.

I know the ultrasound's not invasive at all. It's just more than what's been done already. Poking at my stomach, taking blood, and throwing pills at a problem is what I would consider non-invasive.

Emon: I have no urge to go back to that ER unless I was dying. I spent 13 hours in 2 trips there for nothing.

Well, what did you expect, bothering overworked, fatigued ER doctors with a chronic pathology. You did that to yourself!

You yanks go see an ER doc before seeing a general practicioner?

When something is wrong, it can be the fastest, cheapest way to get relief. If you're not ensured, a single doctors visit, especially if it ends up including an appendectomy can get awful expensive quickly. Not that this was the case with Zecks, but yeah, our Emergency Rooms are really backed up and ineffective at treating people with serious and immediate injuries because people can't afford to take their less serious ailments to a general doctor.

So why doesn't anybody change that?