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scared.......

5 replies

miku · 01/10/2010 18:48

ive had a stomach ache on and off every day since Jan, ive had a lot of daft stress and put it down to that, its begun to get worse, and after eating, especially sweet stuff or bread, but sometimes at night it wakes me up.
have been to doc, and asked for blood tests for celiacs disease but am secretly frightened I have cancer........im a single parent with a 6 yr old, and kindof terrified to find out......

OP posts:
Kathyjelly · 01/10/2010 19:10

I think you need to stop worrying. There are far more likely causes due to stress, like an ulcer or gall stones, neither of which are nice but relatively straightforward to fix.

Why not set a time period, say October and focus on dealing with the stress. Keep a diary of the aches and pains. Eat plenty of fruit & veg, ease off the alcohol if you drink more than one or two a day, make a conscious effort to take a walk and get some fresh air at lunchtime and get some early nights.

If after you've done that for a month, it's no better, take the diary and go back to the doc, tell him what you've done and insist he takes you serious. Good luck. I bet you're fine.

moosemama · 01/10/2010 19:47

Most likely culprit is reflux, especially if its worse after eating and waking you up at night.

As Kathyjelly said, it might be an idea to try a period of eating healthily and logging when you get the symptoms as well as trying to reduce the stress.

You could also try using either Zantac (Ranitidine) or Gaviscon and see if it helps the symptoms.

Fwiw, I have both GORD Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disorder and Gallstones and I get daily stomach pains, which are worse after eating (particularly unhealthy food) and wake me in the night. Basically, unhealthy food often contains a lot of fat as well as sugar and/or is bulky and difficult to digest (eg bread). This causes the stomach to produce even more acid, which then sloshes around and escapes through the sphincter at the top of the stomach and burns the oesophagus - hence the pain. At night, when you are lying flat, its easier for the acid to travel back up and escape. Lying slightly propped up can help relieve the symptoms.

If it is reflux, your GP can give you PPIs (Proton Pump Inhibitors) which are basically just pills that reduce the amount of acid in your stomach and relieve the symptoms. The most common are Omeprazole and Lansoprazole. Some people take one a day as a maintenance dose, but I prefer to only take them when its particularly bad.

Definitely do the food and symptoms diary though. It saves time if you do get referred to anyone, as its the first thing they'll ask you to do.

Stomach cancer is in fact really rare in the UK, whereas reflux and gallstones affect a large proportion of the population.

Try not to worry.

loopylou6 · 01/10/2010 23:31

U sound like me when I had a tummy ulcer, I bet if u take ranitidine it will sort it

miku · 02/10/2010 17:44

thanks ladies!ive been given Omeprazole, taken them for about a week, with rennies to top up.But a diary is a good idea-and laying off the 'stress'chocolate!
will let you know.....
thanks again.

OP posts:
lisad123isgoingcrazy · 02/10/2010 19:24

i have been on omerprazole for a while now, I have stomachs daily but GP cant decide if its an effect of gall baldder removal, the stomach ucler or IBS.
TBH in all likelyhood it wont be cancer, its likely to be something treatable.

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