Please help - so fed up and been ill for months - is it an ulcer/ibs/gallstones or what?

[kuckingfunt]

I am waiting to see gastro specialist after 6 months of hell.

These are my symptoms:

dizzy/lightheaded
pain that I get under both ribs (just under boobs)
vomitting
pain goes into back
2 stone weight loss
occasional pain in chest towards right breastbone
constipated a lot

I can't see a pattern with it being worse after eating anything in particular, it just seems to be anything can set it off. It also isnt horrendous every minute of the day, it comes and goes.

I am getting desparate now though, had every blood test you can think of, had brain scan, had ultra sound for gallstones. My next step is to see the gastro specialist.

I have thought it could be a peptic ulcer, a duodenal ulcer, gallstones, ibs.

Anyone any idea and can any of the above make you feel dizzy?

I'm really getting down about this now - I can't plan anything as I never know how I will feel, I can't work as I am ill almost everyday. I had to cancel a holiday as I wasn't well enough to go, I can't even plan to even go and see friends as I just don't feel up to it. I feel like my life is on hold until I find out what is wrong. Today has been a bad day, pain and vomitting and I have spent most of it in tears to my DF - it has been going on 6 months now and I am so fed up of it.

Had to go to A&E today, pain was so bad when I woke up and felt horrendously sick.

After waiting for 3 hours the doctor I saw said that she was convinced it was an ulcer as all my symptoms matched. Felt my stomach and couldnt find anything to worry about (perforated bowel or any mass).

She gave me tablets for the nausea and basically said I just have to wait a couple of weeks until I go for my appointment with gastro specialist.

Its odd if it is an ulcer though because I don't actually get bad heartburn, just all this pain.

This must be so frustrating for you kf.
I hope you are making a clear list of questions to ask the consultant when you eventually get to see him. Suggest you list all of the suggestions from this thread and ask them how each would be tested for, whether that test has been done, and whether the results were conclusive.

Ulcers don't always cause heartburn kf. Heartburn is when the excess acid spills back into the oesophagus, the lining of the stomach is designed to withstand acid, that of the oesophagus isn't hence it burns and stings.

Someone I knew had ongoing nausea and feeling unwell, she didn't have an ulcer but had gastritis which is a general irritation of the stomach lining that may lead to ulcers if untreated, although I don't think she had pain. (She is a pain though that is another story!)

Thanks both, it is awful, really taking its toll on me now and I am so fed up of being ill. Its been months and I am quite down about it all.

I have a list of questions for consultant and need some answers and more importantly treatment!

I have thought of gastritis too Serenity, I have also now read that some gastro probs can cause dizziness.

Aaaargghhh I just want to get better, its really ruining my life at the moment. Can gastro things really make you feel so ill?

Have you been tested for coeliac disease?
I had a huge amount of symptoms for years - constipation/stomach cramps/weight loss/anaemia/dizziness and general crapness! I couldn't pin it down to anything I was eating, but eventually was tested for coeliac disease and once diagnosed everything settled down - might be worth a try?

I haven't been tested for that sparkling. Well, I dont know if I have - does it show on a blood test? I have had so many blood tests that it may have shown on one.

Today I have had a migraine - hardly eaten but drank fruit juice and had painkilers - well I have spent half the day throwing up constantly. I don't usually vomit with migraine, and it was almost burning in my throat - it seems that the painkillers and/or fruit juice have aggravated my stomach - maybe it is an ulcer after all?

Hi KF- I remember reading your other threads....I know you've been ruled out for h.pylori, but when I had it, although specific foods didn't trigger the discomfort, I couldn't digest acidy stuff, like juice, tomatoes, even stuff like pesto. So, if you're having the same symptoms it could be an ulcer? Wouldn't that have shown up on your scan though?

A friend of mine also suffered with something for years, and had really bad stomach symptoms (even coughing blood at times) and was never given any diagnosis other than "gastritis" which seems to cover a multitude of things.

Hope you get some answers soon!

I get exactly what you are describing with gastritis and oesophagitis. It's the gastritis that gets me every time.

I had a bout that lasted ages (like months) - I was virtually in despair - luckily I have been clear of it for a while now.

Hope the gastro appointment goes ok.

Be kind to your stomach in the meantime. Plain foods and no alcohol!

Yes Bucharest, its been going on too long hasn't it! An ulcer wouldnt show on a scan as it was only an ultra sound.

Can gastritis be treated foxinsocks?

I have woken this morning very weak and still feeling nauseaus - must eat something today though, will try some yoghurt for breakfast.

I had this. The pain was unbearable just under my ribs. I couldn't sleep, it truly was awful. I convinced myself I had liver cancer.

Anyway, I flew to the UK to see a gastro specialist and he told me - without even examining me - that it was Gastrointestinal Reflux Disease (GERD). I told him that I never got heartburn and he said you don't always.

He sent me away with 2 sets of pills and by the next day, it had gone. No joke, it had just disappeared. It was ruining my life for about a year, then it just disappeared after taking these pills. They were Motilium and Nexum.

Good luck! I hope you get it sorted.

I hope they are fast tracking your endoscopy

Yes it can be treated with medicines but IMO, it doesn't magically disappear. I had to change the way I ate and what I ate over a significant period of time before it made any difference. Mine still recurs quite regularly.

I never got too awful pain but when I was discussing gastritis with someone else on here, they were on v high painkillers for theirs so it can be v painful. For me, it was the nausea and vomiting that were most difficult as they affected my day to day life so much.

I now dread getting tummy bugs as they tend to trigger another bout of gastritis. It truly is an awful condition.

Hope you find out what is causing it soon. Am surprised they didn't do an endoscopy there and then at a and e if the pain was so bad :-(. Did they check you weren't anaemic in your blood test?

(for me it was gastritis and reflux. The reflux is far better with omeprazole but the gastritis took longer to go! You can get low dose omeprazole over the counter now)

The positive thing to think about is that the endoscopy should give you an answer one way or another

I know it's not much positive news but I hope you can cling onto that and I hope they can fast track you as you are suffering so.

Did the doctor not give you some anti nausea pills? If not, I would go back and get some, at least to give you a break from the vomiting.

kf coeliac is tested by a blood test and endoscopy but they have to look for it - I had tons of blood tests before they diagnosed me but because they weren't looking for coeliac disease it didn't show up iyswim.
Would probably be worth asking if you have been tested. Some of your symptoms do sound more like ulcers/gastritis but I can identify so much with most of them, and if it is something like coeliac once it's diagnosed it's so easy to sort!
Good luck

Thanks so much for all your replies - it really is reassuring to read them and to know I am not imagining all this. I just cannot believe how ill I feel and your virtual support is really helping me.

Its the vomitting and dizziness that is driving me mad - I can't do anything. I have been given some anti nausea pills but at the moment I just throw them back up!

I hope they fast track my endoscopy too, I will stress how much I am suffering and ask them to.

I have been on omeprazole and I didn't find that they helped me that much - added to that the side effects made my dizziness even worse than it is now and I had to stop taking them.

Poor you. Omeprazole doesn't agree with everyone and it may be that you dont have reflux or gastritis!

If the anti nausea pills they have given you don't work, go back and get more. I know by now you will feel like you are forever at the doctors but there are so many different types of anti emetics and it can be a bit of trial and error to find one that works or you.

Let us know how you get on

They may work fox, but I can't keep much down at the moment so everytime I take one I vomit!! I had one last night before bed though and didn't vomit in the night so hopefully they will work.

I had had a cup of tea so far today and been sick already. Just about to eat some yoghurt because I haven't eaten since Monday and been sick so must try and eat something even if I do vomit it back.

oh you poor love. it sounds hard going. do keep on at your gp though so you can keep being referred to people who can investigate.

i've had much the same problems as you apart from the weight loss. i had my gall bladder removed years ago...my attackes were not typical either...my pain felt like i had been punched in the ribs, and the pain was a huge ache in my upper back that felt sharp when i breathed in. my bile duct was blocked with loads of "mush" which didnt show up on scans like stones do and i turned yellow....never been so ill, and yet looked fantastic...like i had had a dark spray on tan because of the jaundice. my friends came to visit and were laughing because i looked so glowy!

anyway. my nausea/stomach problem has been found..i have a tumour on my liver. it was found by ultra sound scan, so i'm sure anything like that will have been ruled out on you.

is it possible that the dizziness is unconnected? like vertigo or something?

i really hope you get some answers soon. sympathy from me xxx

Thanks Chimbar. I have only had an ultra sound for gall bladder so far, so really not sure what is going on. My doctors have been quite rubbish so far but i have pushed and now got the referral to the gastro specialist.

How did they fix your gall bladder problem? Did they remove it and it stopped the problems?

I am now worrying it is something awful - it has been going on for so many months and not getting any better at all, infact if anything it is worse.

I am sorry to hear you have a tumour on your liver - sounds awful. I hope you are getting the treatment you need and will be feeling better soon.

The dizziness could be unrelated, as it all started when I had a really bad cold. I have seen ENT for this and they dont think it is any ear problem now but are sending me for further investigations at a dizzy clinic.

fgs, bad couple of days - can't eat without being sick and am dizzy a lot.

Woke this morning, had a cup of tea - went to the loo, had the runs. Then I was sick.

Tried to eat some yoghurt for breakfast, ate it fine, within 10 minutes I had thrown it all back up. Had a drink of water, did the same with that.

I am just about to try and eat. Will take an anti nausea tablet before I do. The only trouble with them is that if I am being sick it usually comes back up.

Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh I feel so crap. Got 10 days to wait for specialist appointment.

Poor you :(

Which anti nausea meds have you got?

Have they looked at a poo sample? I wonder if you have a bug. Would avoid dairy for the time being in case it is upsetting your tummy even more :(

God that sounds awful and waiting ten days???? If I was in your shoes and not keeping anything down etc and dizzy i would go to a and e and embellish teh symptoms a bit and get admitted that way.

I went to a&e last weekend noddy - they just gave me tablets for the nausea and told me i would have to wait for the specialist appointment.

Foxinsocks - no they haven't done a poo sample. Would a bug really last this long though? This is months. I will be avoiding dairy now until I get a diagnosis, dont want a repeat of that.

I've got prochlorperazine tablets for the sickness.