Undiagnosed and seeking support
:sign0085:
I am here because I've been going through a LOT of digestive issues over the past year (possibly longer), and it has been very difficult to get any of the proper tests done by my doctor (who I have to wait at least a month to see every time). I have ended up in the hospital twice with symptoms, and they have done nothing for me except give me Gravol and Buscopan (with Glucose/electrolytes for dehydration) and sent me on my way. The only other option I have are walk-in minor emergency clinic doctors, and they don't seem to care, just send me on my way. After this last episode in which I haven't been able to work for a week and my next available appointment to see my doctor is not until mid-December, I'm at my wit's end!! This has been most frustrating - a diagnosis would at least help, but when I can't get tests done and hardly get in to see my doctor, it gets even more frustrating. I would like to know if anyone else can relate and let me know what the possibilities might be based on your own diagnoses...and what I could possibly do to alleviate these problems that I am currently trying to treat on my own until I can see my doctor again.
This started last year around summertime. Thinking back, I was having symptoms much sooner but I also had a bad drinking problem at the time and I thought I was just having hangover symptoms. I quit drinking last summer though, and noticed that my ill tummy didn't go away like I thought it would. Anyway, it started with on-and-off mild constipation followed by bouts of diarrhea that would last a couple of days, but not so bad that it seemed like something to be worried about. Each time, I'd blame whatever I ate. This occurred every couple of weeks. Then one day I woke up in the middle of the night with very painful stomach cramps and very bad nausea. I couldn't stop vomiting OR having diarrhea for at least 4 hours...I would have to sit on the toilet and vomit into a bucket, and pretty much just laid on the floor of my bathroom until that bout was over. Again, I blamed some fish I had the night before, because it really felt like food poisoning.
These symptoms started getting worse and worse, along with GERD and acid reflux. I started taking Zantec because that had worked for me in the past, but it didn't help the acid reflux all that much. In late November last year I started having very bad symptoms: a feeling like I had a rock in my stomach right below my ribcage, along with nausea and a mild fever, diarrhea, and bad intestinal gas (when I burped it tasted like rotting eggs). Each time I'd start vomiting with diarrhea I just kept thinking I was getting food poisoning, as I ate out quite a bit. This would come and go. Luckily I was working part-time hours at the time, and it didn't infringe that much on my work life. Then on December 29th, I ended up in the hospital for the first time. My brother and I attended a concert on the 28th and everything was fine...the minute we got back to our hotel room I felt 'kind of' sick, so I went to the bathroom and vomited. I ended up having to stay up all night, either with diarrhea or vomiting again. We drove back to our city, and he dropped me off at the hospital as I couldn't even keep water down. I was severely dehydrated. However, I was waiting in the emergency room for about 6 hours before anyone saw me and by then my nausea and diarrhea had stopped and I felt fine, other than a weak stomach and severe dehydration from all the vomiting. Because I wasn't exhibiting symptoms, they gave me Gravol and fluids, and sent me on my way. The doctors also figured it was something I ate, as we ate out before the concert.
About 2 weeks later, the same thing happened. This time I was experiencing the eggy burps, nausea and bad heartburn first, and I remembered that generally predated vomiting, so I ended up having to go home from work. The minute I walked in the door, I ran to the bathroom and threw up. I spent most of that day throwing up with diarrhea and ended up calling my mom to take me to the hospital again (it was a weekend). She waited with me for about 4 hours while I continually had to run to the bathroom down at the end of the hall where I had very watery diarrhea and was vomiting in the trash can there (although by the end, I was only vomiting mucous as there wasn't much in my stomach to throw up). She left when I started feeling better, and by the time I got in they realized there was something else wrong, and actually did some tests. I had a very slight fever, and elevated white blood cell count. Again, I was given Gravol and fluids and buscopan this time, since my stomach wouldn't stop trying to vomit. Unfortunately, the doctor that was on call and first saw me wasn't there after the IV had run its course and the other doctor had no idea why I was kept so long. Despite my protests, he made me leave (we have a small hospital and they are always over capacity), but scheduled me for an ultrasound later on to rule out gallstones or some kind of liver damage.
Meanwhile, my mom just found out that my aunt was diagnosed with Celiac, and was having similar symptoms. I got in to see my doctor, who also suggested an introduction diet to see if anything triggers my reactions. Sure enough, breads and stuff with wheat in them were a culprit. Ultrasound came back normal, my doctor prescribed Omeprazole for my acid reflux, I stopped eating wheat products (not very easily), and everything was fine again until this past month or so.
Lately I have been waking up at night with very painful cramps in my upper abdomen and mild nausea. Sometimes I throw up, but not often. Sometimes when I wake up, I have watery diarrhea as well as that pain. This lasts several hours and is now infringing on my ability to work my full-time job. Clinic doctors I have to see (due to calling in sick so often I am now required to get a doctor's note each time I do) recommend eating only soup and drinking lots of water when I have this pain (keep in mind that when I go to a clinic, it is generally a different doctor each time). This has generally helped up until this past week. Last Thursday I felt really ill all day, and a little crampy. On Friday, I woke up with this feeling like there is a lump in my stomach, along with waves of cramps as though somebody was grabbing and squeezing my stomach from the inside. That lasted a few days. Sometimes the cramp hits on my right side, but never painful enough to warrant going to the hospital again (and waiting another 6-9 hours to see someone, which is what I am really avoiding). For 2 days I was constipated and started getting bloated, so along with that lump in my stomach it started feeling as though I was pregnant, carrying this bloated weight around in my stomach. I was eating nothing but chicken and rice soup and finally took some laxatives, and that helped lift the weight off, but the minute I ate solid foods again I started feeling bloated and constipated again, so I'm either running to the bathroom every half hour and having diarrhea, or running to the bathroom and nothing is happening. I tried going in to work and had to leave because moving around made the pain WAY worse. The other night I woke up with that cramping pain and felt really nauseous...I threw up some meat I had eaten for dinner the night before, and it didn't even look like it had digested at all. I had to take more laxatives to get things moving again and now I'm starving, but I'm scared to eat because at least right now my bowels feel somewhat normal for once!
It's frustrating that I can't see my doctor until mid-December, and can only rely on these stupid walk-in clinics for 'treatment', which is just them giving me pills. What is frustrating is that they treat me as though I'm a hypochondriac or something, wasting their time with my 'trivial' illness (makes me wonder if there is something written on my record, the way they dismiss me). It's frustrating that I can't work, and it's also frustrating for those I have to work with, because not even I can rely on myself right now. Like, I had diarrhea early this morning again but I feel defective, and angry, like my own body is declaring war on my life. I want some answers, but they are difficult to get when my medical system doesn't want to acknowledge that I might actually have a problem. And the worst part is, there aren't a lot of people I can talk to candidly about this even just to get it off my chest.
:sign0085:
I am here because I've been going through a LOT of digestive issues over the past year (possibly longer), and it has been very difficult to get any of the proper tests done by my doctor (who I have to wait at least a month to see every time). I have ended up in the hospital twice with symptoms, and they have done nothing for me except give me Gravol and Buscopan (with Glucose/electrolytes for dehydration) and sent me on my way. The only other option I have are walk-in minor emergency clinic doctors, and they don't seem to care, just send me on my way. After this last episode in which I haven't been able to work for a week and my next available appointment to see my doctor is not until mid-December, I'm at my wit's end!! This has been most frustrating - a diagnosis would at least help, but when I can't get tests done and hardly get in to see my doctor, it gets even more frustrating. I would like to know if anyone else can relate and let me know what the possibilities might be based on your own diagnoses...and what I could possibly do to alleviate these problems that I am currently trying to treat on my own until I can see my doctor again.
This started last year around summertime. Thinking back, I was having symptoms much sooner but I also had a bad drinking problem at the time and I thought I was just having hangover symptoms. I quit drinking last summer though, and noticed that my ill tummy didn't go away like I thought it would. Anyway, it started with on-and-off mild constipation followed by bouts of diarrhea that would last a couple of days, but not so bad that it seemed like something to be worried about. Each time, I'd blame whatever I ate. This occurred every couple of weeks. Then one day I woke up in the middle of the night with very painful stomach cramps and very bad nausea. I couldn't stop vomiting OR having diarrhea for at least 4 hours...I would have to sit on the toilet and vomit into a bucket, and pretty much just laid on the floor of my bathroom until that bout was over. Again, I blamed some fish I had the night before, because it really felt like food poisoning.
These symptoms started getting worse and worse, along with GERD and acid reflux. I started taking Zantec because that had worked for me in the past, but it didn't help the acid reflux all that much. In late November last year I started having very bad symptoms: a feeling like I had a rock in my stomach right below my ribcage, along with nausea and a mild fever, diarrhea, and bad intestinal gas (when I burped it tasted like rotting eggs). Each time I'd start vomiting with diarrhea I just kept thinking I was getting food poisoning, as I ate out quite a bit. This would come and go. Luckily I was working part-time hours at the time, and it didn't infringe that much on my work life. Then on December 29th, I ended up in the hospital for the first time. My brother and I attended a concert on the 28th and everything was fine...the minute we got back to our hotel room I felt 'kind of' sick, so I went to the bathroom and vomited. I ended up having to stay up all night, either with diarrhea or vomiting again. We drove back to our city, and he dropped me off at the hospital as I couldn't even keep water down. I was severely dehydrated. However, I was waiting in the emergency room for about 6 hours before anyone saw me and by then my nausea and diarrhea had stopped and I felt fine, other than a weak stomach and severe dehydration from all the vomiting. Because I wasn't exhibiting symptoms, they gave me Gravol and fluids, and sent me on my way. The doctors also figured it was something I ate, as we ate out before the concert.
About 2 weeks later, the same thing happened. This time I was experiencing the eggy burps, nausea and bad heartburn first, and I remembered that generally predated vomiting, so I ended up having to go home from work. The minute I walked in the door, I ran to the bathroom and threw up. I spent most of that day throwing up with diarrhea and ended up calling my mom to take me to the hospital again (it was a weekend). She waited with me for about 4 hours while I continually had to run to the bathroom down at the end of the hall where I had very watery diarrhea and was vomiting in the trash can there (although by the end, I was only vomiting mucous as there wasn't much in my stomach to throw up). She left when I started feeling better, and by the time I got in they realized there was something else wrong, and actually did some tests. I had a very slight fever, and elevated white blood cell count. Again, I was given Gravol and fluids and buscopan this time, since my stomach wouldn't stop trying to vomit. Unfortunately, the doctor that was on call and first saw me wasn't there after the IV had run its course and the other doctor had no idea why I was kept so long. Despite my protests, he made me leave (we have a small hospital and they are always over capacity), but scheduled me for an ultrasound later on to rule out gallstones or some kind of liver damage.
Meanwhile, my mom just found out that my aunt was diagnosed with Celiac, and was having similar symptoms. I got in to see my doctor, who also suggested an introduction diet to see if anything triggers my reactions. Sure enough, breads and stuff with wheat in them were a culprit. Ultrasound came back normal, my doctor prescribed Omeprazole for my acid reflux, I stopped eating wheat products (not very easily), and everything was fine again until this past month or so.
Lately I have been waking up at night with very painful cramps in my upper abdomen and mild nausea. Sometimes I throw up, but not often. Sometimes when I wake up, I have watery diarrhea as well as that pain. This lasts several hours and is now infringing on my ability to work my full-time job. Clinic doctors I have to see (due to calling in sick so often I am now required to get a doctor's note each time I do) recommend eating only soup and drinking lots of water when I have this pain (keep in mind that when I go to a clinic, it is generally a different doctor each time). This has generally helped up until this past week. Last Thursday I felt really ill all day, and a little crampy. On Friday, I woke up with this feeling like there is a lump in my stomach, along with waves of cramps as though somebody was grabbing and squeezing my stomach from the inside. That lasted a few days. Sometimes the cramp hits on my right side, but never painful enough to warrant going to the hospital again (and waiting another 6-9 hours to see someone, which is what I am really avoiding). For 2 days I was constipated and started getting bloated, so along with that lump in my stomach it started feeling as though I was pregnant, carrying this bloated weight around in my stomach. I was eating nothing but chicken and rice soup and finally took some laxatives, and that helped lift the weight off, but the minute I ate solid foods again I started feeling bloated and constipated again, so I'm either running to the bathroom every half hour and having diarrhea, or running to the bathroom and nothing is happening. I tried going in to work and had to leave because moving around made the pain WAY worse. The other night I woke up with that cramping pain and felt really nauseous...I threw up some meat I had eaten for dinner the night before, and it didn't even look like it had digested at all. I had to take more laxatives to get things moving again and now I'm starving, but I'm scared to eat because at least right now my bowels feel somewhat normal for once!
It's frustrating that I can't see my doctor until mid-December, and can only rely on these stupid walk-in clinics for 'treatment', which is just them giving me pills. What is frustrating is that they treat me as though I'm a hypochondriac or something, wasting their time with my 'trivial' illness (makes me wonder if there is something written on my record, the way they dismiss me). It's frustrating that I can't work, and it's also frustrating for those I have to work with, because not even I can rely on myself right now. Like, I had diarrhea early this morning again but I feel defective, and angry, like my own body is declaring war on my life. I want some answers, but they are difficult to get when my medical system doesn't want to acknowledge that I might actually have a problem. And the worst part is, there aren't a lot of people I can talk to candidly about this even just to get it off my chest.
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