What the hell is wrong with me? Anyone fancy a diagnosis?

[Pantone363]

Feel sick after eating (like i'm too full) even after a snack
Belching constantly
Minor heartburn but only when belching
Very painful xiphoid process (i googled to see what it was called) it's swollen and painful to touch
Pain is worse when lying down
Yawning constantly, feel like I can't get a 'good breath'
Weight lose, under 8 stone now. Mostly because I feel sick half way through a meal so i'm not eating much

Just had simple egg and toast for lunch and my stomach feels like a drum and i can't stop belching (gross)

I will book a GP appointment but would rather wait and see if it passes in the next month or so. Google says i'm probably dying of cancer and or some tropical disease

Just a few questions:

How long have you felt like this for?

Sorry to ask but how old are you?

Do you drink alcohol?

Any problems swallowing?

Normal bowel movements?

How much weight have you lost, you say you're 8 stone but how much altogether have you lost?

Also the xiphoid process is cartilage, is it that that's hurting or is it pain radiating from that area?

About 6 months but mild at the beginning. Pain on pushing xiphoid is the last month or so but getting progressively worse (also hurts if hunching over).

32 years old

Yes to alcohol. 2/3 glasses of wine a week. Gin and tonic on a Friday night.

No problems swallowing

Bowels seem fine if a little ahem loose and more frequent

Half a stone give or take a few lbs. 7 stone 10lbs at the moment. 'natural weight is around 8 and a half stone.

Very painful to touch. It hurts to touch and is visible/swollen when looking in the mirror. Not been like that before. When pushed down/released pain radiates over chest/ribs. Also hurts when I twist or hunch down. When not touched or just sitting normally it is fine.

Also hurts if I shout loud at kids/tense chest

Do not wait, make an appointment at your surgery today!

You've lost about 10% of your body weight which is something I find worrying, coupled with your other symptoms. I really really would advise you going your GP now not in a month, you've waited long enough.

You're young which means it's much less likely to be anything scary, but this sort of unexplained weight loss and loss of appetite can be an indication of quite a few problems, including things like ulcers, pancreas conditions, oesophageal conditions, gastro, reflux... which is why you need investigations starting with blood tests because there's so many things it could be.

Not only that but you're at risk of malnutrition so at the very least until you get to the bottom of it you need some sort of supplement to ensure you're getting what you need, as well as some symptom control so perhaps a proton pump inhibitor to aid the reflux, anti-emetic for sickness and a decent pain killer.

You aren't drinking much, but perhaps try not to until it's figured out what is going on.

I hope you get some answers soon, sorry if that wasn't terribly helpful

No thats really helpful thank you! I'll make an appointment today.

Keep us updated if you can/wish to

Will do, no appt for three weeks anyway so I'm glad I called today

Hello!

Just back with an update, managed to get an earlier appointmentz. GP suspects a stomach ulcer . Blood tests and stool sample ordered

I was just going to say stomach ulcer since it hurts when bending over :)

Does this not warrant a gastroscopy at the very least?

She didn't mention one. Suppose we'll wait on results of blood tests etc?

Pantone, can I ask what age you are? Are you menopausal type age? I started getting those symptoms too. I had a tiny trace of helibacter in the stomach but just got diagnosed with 'minor inflammation' in the stomach. They gave me the 'triple therapy' which is 2 types of antibiotics and a higher dose of the PPIs' now I take 20mgs of Omeprazole now every day (Losec) and have very few symptoms now. Wine does give me indigestion and some foods like red sauces or chilli can cause the stinging a little on the left hand side under the ribs. Spirits like Gin I can only do very occasionally as it stings for a few seconds like I've swallowed battery acid. If I am having wine now I would eat something with it.
I was told the size and extent of inflammation is not proportional to the symptoms. So you can get a lot of symptoms from some very small inflammation and vice versa.

32, not menopausal just yet! Yes they are testing for H Pylori I think

I have all your symptoms apart from the weight loss. I have an awful kind of pressure feeling in my chest, like a contraction, it is relieved by belching but just comes back again!. I am on full dose Ranitidine as it does help. All my bloods were normal and I went on to have a gastroscopy which was completely normal. I do have IBS so it is all thought to be functional. I notice certain foods make me worse. I am seeing a dietitian in February so hope to get some advice there on how to help the symptoms.

Even if your bloods are normal, and you are no better, I would push for the gastroscopy, even if just for peace of mind, especially considering the weight loss, which is an alarm symptom.

Thanks for that info. Yes will see what the bloods say.

She weighed me today and said "oh it's about 3 kilo loss" from the last time I was weighed. But I'm nearly 7 and a half stone now so 3kilos is a lot to me

I see you have been to your GP. Did you mention weight loss to GP?

Look I don't want to frighten you but please go back to your GP as soon as possible and push very hard to get the ulcer confirmed or discounted as soon as possible. Take a day of work if need be. There are many tests you will need before you can be diagnosed. It may not be an ulcer. Please don't just give up if the ulcer test comes back negative. Push for further tests. A negative test does not mean 'there is nothing wrong with you'.