Please diagnose my stomach problems for me MNers. Getting desperate....

[shinybootsofleather]

I went to the doctors after what I suspected was two gallbladder attacks in June. I had pain under my ribcage on the right hand side, pain in the right shoulder blade and pain when I inhaled. He decided to refer me for an ultrasound to check for gallstones. The ultrasound showed absolutely nothing apart from a "folded gallbladder" and I am still none the wiser as to what is wrong.
I am obese. I am 5ft 2in and 14 and a half stone but have lost 2 and a half stone recently with a combination of Slimming World, walking, the gym and the 30 Day Shred. I had an emergency CS 13 months ago and have been feeling really crappy since then. I have been feeling really nauseous since June and I have had pain in the top of my stomach when I eat or drink anything (even water). I am also really bloated and my stomach protrudes at the top even though I am exercising a lot. Unsure if this is due to muscle tone being lost during pregnancy or general stomach problems.
Before pregnancy I suffered from IBS (apparently) and was in the stages of being tested for other things. I was being checked at the hospital as I had been having what I thought were constant stomach bugs as well as bouts of stomach pain for ages. Was checked for Crohns and coeliac disease with negative results. Ended up having a colonoscopy (which was "normal"), and was due to have a tube put down my throat before I got pregnant as I couldn't control the symptoms. I had so much time off work with it, I was in danger of being fired. I suffered from pain in the bottom of my stomach as well as the top. Pregnancy seemed to alleviate IBS symptoms however. The stomach problems are now back with a vengeance. The pain now is mostly at the top although I still get occasional cramps at the bottom of my stomach. This is much less frequent than before DS was born however. Stomach problems and stomach pain have been dragging on for around 4 years now. It seemed to kick off when I was completing my MA dissertation leading most doctors to decide that it was stress-related.
The doctor recently prescribed me Omeprazole followed by Lanzoprazole (when that stopped working) for the upper stomach pain as he felt I may have excess acid. I still have pain under my rib cage on the right hand side, in the middle of my back and in my right shoulder-blade. My chest feels really tight as well. Both of these pills made me feel dizzy with blurred vision, constipated and sick. I also felt completely weak and exhausted on Lanzoprazole, which for me was by far the worst of the two. He has since prescribed me Ranitidine (Zantac) which has done very little so far. At least I am not having the bizarre symptoms I had on the the other PPIs though. I have been on Ranitidine since Friday and I know that I may probably need to wait for it to work.

Feeling a bit miserable and sorry for myself at the moment. Any advice from any MNers who have had similar problems or anybody with some advice to alleviate the symptoms? I have to go to the hospital for gastro checks at the end of November.

shiny i have heard of so many people getting gall stones just after giving birth normally and by csection. get a scan done.

its really scary having chest pains especially when they are virtually in the centre. it makes you paranoid about yor heart.

shiny has the doc tried you on motilium to get your bowl back in synch..

have done a bit more today in the garden but feel totally whacked out and really pasty faced.

glad you are feeling a bit better shiny

I have had an ultrasound for gallstones but nothing was found apart from a folded gallbladder. I haven't tried motilium. Lactulose is making me a bit sicky-feeling at the moment so might ask about that if nothing happens.

lactulose did the same for me,movicol was much better for me. Are you constipated. Im not suprised you feel sickly with both lactulose and fybogel.

Fingers crossed...feeling a bit better today...hope it lasts. Has slightly less pain last night...day 6 of omeprazole

I am constipated unfortunately. Doc said to take Lactulose 10ml and one Fybogel a day to "unbung" me (her words)! It seems to be a side effect of both PPIs I had as well as the current drug I'm on (randitidine). Glad to hear that you are feeling better alypaly.

i reckon you should ask to change to movicol it doesnt cause as much bloating as fybogel and lactulose.

Managed some pizza this lunch time with very little tummy pain so far

spoke too soon,feeling crap again tonight.....stomach really bloated again. Really beginning to feel panicky about this now. thinking the worst. I know its a silly question but would cancer show up on routine blood tests?

By reading your symptoms and obviously not knowing your pain threshold, I would say it could be:
Gall stones

H.Pylori

Something to do with the anaesthetic from ECS 13 months ago???

hi lucie had my gall bladder ou last june....and not had any problems for 14 months. hopspital have done blood teats for liver,kidney and pancreatic function. All of them have come back normal.

I have a very high pain threshold,so i have been told and for ne to complain constantly about pain is not normal for me.

Hi alypaly - was it keyhole? I had mine out but never had any probs after it'd gone.

You know you're still not supposed to eat much saturated fat? Apparently, stones can form in the bile duct.....not good!

hi lucie,yes it was keyhole. The hospital doc said they had ruled out stones blocking the bile duct as my liver function test was normal. I guess that doesnt rule out mobile ones.

shiny...my doc has just added in domperidone today to see if my stomach and guts are in spasm. god i hope it works. How are you today.

Not great today alypaly. Have been exercising for the last 3 days in the hope that it will help and it seemed to improve my stomach slightly, but it's kicked off again big time today. I am really bloated and getting back and shoulder pain again. It was almost gone yesterday which makes it more frustrating. I am officially unbunged though! I think that was causing a lot of pain that has now gone but the underlying cause is still there. It just seems silly that I take randitidine to supress the acid, that makes me constipated, then I have to take something for that. I am also taking a multivitamin as I am concerned that I may not be absorbing nutrients from food properly. Added to that I have paracetamol for stomach pain. I feel that if someone shook me I would rattle at the moment. I hate, hate, taking all these unnatural drugs and putting crap in my body.

Good luck with the domperidone. I hope it works for you.

sorry your feeling rubbish shiny.does it lull you into a false sense of security. yestaerday i wasnt too bad in the morning and early pm and then in the evening it just came on with a vengeance. have you had tests for h pylori.

im sure ill be on here until the early hours. looks like we both need some TLC hugs

Thanks alypaly. I have a H.Pylori test on Friday next week (the earliest that they can do). The GP does not think that this is the problem though. She thinks that I have severe IBS.

Shiny

Sorry to read of your health problems.

I am also wondering if some of this is linked to your previous c-s; any abdominal surgery can give rise to adhesions. These are sticky strands that tether organs together and can cause pain. Drug treatment on its own will not touch adhesions once they are formed, the usual way to remove them is surgery.

Pregnancy also alleviates endo symptoms as well.

I would push your GP to refer you to a consultant gynae. Some women who have been told they have IBS actually have endometriosis instead.

HonneyBunny

Endometriosis is usually only diagnosed through a keyhole surgery type op called a laparoscopy. No other test be it internal ultrasound or blood test will detect it as the endo deposits are very small.

Again would urge you to tell your GP nicely to refer you to a cons gynae who knows what they're talking about. The best results for endo patients are achieved by gynaes with up to date knowledge and vast experience in treating endo patients. It is very much under diagnosed considering that it is the second most common gynae problem seen in women after fibroids.

Thanks AttilaTheMeerkat. I will mention that at my hospital appointment at the end of November.