What could possibly be causing all of these issues?

[Koolaidhighlights]

I know asking on a SM platform isn't the best idea but I am getting so fed up not getting anywhere with it all. I even took this list of symptoms to a private GP last week only for her to tell me it's all down to anxiety and to take antidepressants (this was after I had told her antidepressants have not helped with these issues). I genuinely no longer know what to do and am fed up to the back teeth feeling so off all of the time.

It's a long list and in retrospect I probably shouldn't have given such an exhaustive list to the private GP but I wanted to make the most of my £200, half hour appointment and thought that I may as well document all the things I'm going through.

Sorry, it is quite long winded but here goes,

Daily digestive issues:-
Nausea, lots of burping (belching as I type this), stomach pain, gas and acid
Gurgling up and down
Pain in chest and upper back from the gas/nausea/acid
Lots of gas and bloating
Feeling too nauseous to eat much at times
Nausea, burping and acid seem much worse mid cycle and just before period it eases
IBS - I have had this for almost 30 years but it's been much worse over the last 5 years:-
Bloating and lots of gas
Unpredictable bowels - can suddenly need to go at any time (I am getting scared to go out tbh)
Sometimes constipated (again, often mid cycle) and other times much looser or diarrhoea
Rectal pressure and discomfort although I do have adenomyosis and a very retorverted uterus

No amount of watching my diet, following the low fodmap diet ,as I have always done etc is helping anymore. I feel I could eat just dust and still have issues! No IBS meds have or are helping anymore and PPI's gave me awful diarrhoea.

Aching joints and muscles
Sore tongue
Tinnitus
TMJ disorder, bruxism and a very tight jaw which has resulted in worn down and chipped teeth
Pain and aching in shoulders, neck and up the back of head
Temperature issues - can not tolerate heat or cold and always have cold hands and feet
Itchy skin
Smell of cigarette smoke which is often in the second half of my cycle (that started 4 years ago)
Several times a month I have 'attacks' of what I can only describe as being similar to reactive hypoglycemia (sudden excessive tiredness, heavy eyes, weak and shaky feeling and the desire to drink coke or have a mars bar so something similar)

I have tried many things to help. Many different antidepressants over the years but they all made my IBS worse. I started Nortriptyline two days ago and am hoping this may help with the gut issues although my nausea is bad today.

I am 53 and still feel that I am having cycles and do track my symptoms, many of them do feel cyclical to me but it's hard to tell if I am still in peri or not as I haven't bled for 4 years due to a uterine ablation. I do feel very much that I am in a cycle still as many things feel worse 'mid cycle' and just before my 'period' which is usually no bleeding but pain (ablation apparently failed). I have tried HRT but it made the pain worse due to my adenomyosis and endometriosis.

All bloods come back as fine. A colonoscopy, gastroscope, pill camera endoscopy and bile acid malabsorption have all come back as ok.

I drink only water. I just can not tolerate alcohol at all so haven't drunk any for many years. I follow a low fodmap diet, avoid dairy, wheat, sugar, all artificial sweeteners and several other trigger foods. My diet is quiet restrictive and I have asked both my NHS and the private GP if I may possibly have some nutritional deficiencies but they both say they have no experience in this field but I can't afford any more private visits anywhere so stuck on that front.

I get out in nature every day even though I am exhausted but the dog needs walking, I stretch every night and have listened to gut directed hypnotherapy for months. I feel do more than a lot of people do for their health yet very little that I try makes me feel better.

Could anyone give me any tips how to bring my health back to where it once was? Could all these issues be related or am I just unlucky to be struggling with several things all at once? Or is it all in my head? (feel as though I am going crazy and round in circles all the time.

I honestly don't know what else to do.

Yes, I am gluten free which helps a little but not overly so.

The majority of those symptoms are indicative of hormone fluctuation due to menopause - gut and bowel issues, constipation and bloating, itchy skin, aching joints, tiredness, burnt toast/cigarette smell, sore tongue, tinnitus and temperature fluctuations are all included in one menopause symptom checker or another.
How old are you and are your periods regular, or are you on contraception?

I really hope it's all down to hormones, I have spent the last few weeks constantly stressed it's something serious. I have had most of the symptoms the last 4-6 years but they just aren't easing and some are getting worse.

I am 53. I started getting peri symptoms around the age of 45. I had an ablation at 49 due to heavy periods so I no longer bleed but still feel like I am in a cycle. It was discovered that the ablation failed due to pain around each period and then a MRI showed endometriosis and adenomyosis which I am waiting to have a hysterectomy for.

There is something called Hypochlorhydria, which is low stomach acid which can cause a lot of the symptoms you have described. It can be caused by eating a bland diet. Answer is (I think) to eat more protein and fermented foods. There is a test, apparently which is as follows

For the test, you’ll drink half a glass (4 ounces) of cold water combined with a quarter teaspoon of baking soda, on an empty stomach. Then time how long it takes you to burp. If it takes longer than three to five minutes, the theory goes, you don’t have enough stomach acid.

It's worth a Google. Hope you find the answer to what's causing your issues and feel better soon x

Thank you, I’ll have a google at that.

Diet, lifestyle, anxiety

Anxiety is definitely an issue but I can’t see what more I can do about diet and lifestyle tbh.

I already follow a strict diet and watch out for my trigger foods. I only drink water. I go to bed at 10, get up at 7.30. I’m not overweight at all. I walk the dog for an hour, in nature, every day. I stretch and do yoga poses every evening as well as listening to either the Calm app or hypnotherapy. I basically do all the things they tell you to do for good health.

What more could I do?

I removed all artificial sweeteners and additives quite some years ago. Artificial sweeteners in particular leave me feeling very unwell.

I will look into this, thanks.

Sorry I must have missed that the first time I read your original post. Could you pay for a really thorough allergy test? I hope you get some help with it all

I always come on to these types of threads and say please insist on an ultrasound to rule out gallstones. Your symptoms do not match what mine were exactly, but I was at my absolute wits end with gastro and digestion issues, I had endoscopy and colonoscopy, every blood test going, trips to A&E etc. After several years of utter awfulness, it turned out to be gallstones after I was admitted to hospital and put on morphine, having just had a private ultrasound scan done as my mother had suggested gallstones (GP would not refer, just ordered more blood tests). The private hospital where I had the scan said ‘go to A&E now, we are worried you are showing signs of sepsis’. They gave me the scam readout and along I went and was finally admitted. Too ill to have my gallbladder out there and then as it was too inflamed. Sorry for going on, I think I may need some therapy as I could write an essay on this, which is probably not healthy from a wellbeing perspective 😂

Really good luck, I hope you get answers soon. I too had gone through every diet known to man and nothing had helped. I was quite depressed as was gaslit into thinking it was psychosomatic and was reconciling with living in constant pain that painkillers didn’t touch.

As @MabelsBeats says might be something to do with gallstones/gall bladder

Thank you. I am sorry you went through all of that, it must have been a very worrying time. It scares me just how often people are dismissed via the NHS (mil had a similar experience although her issues turned out to be cancer, she had been dismissed by her GP for a full year).

I did have an upper abdomen US scan last year, all came back as ok, including the gallbladder. I am going to see if I can get another one done though, I will ask my GP.

I agree with others that it sounds very much hormones, especially the tinnitus, oral health problems, and even the gut issues.

I'm so sorry you are struggling so much, OP, it does sound very hard. I'm sure the stress of caring for your mum is nost likely to be affecting your gut very much too, and potentially exacerbating the other symptoms.

Are you on HRT at all?

Just to add, I'm in the middle of perimenopause and have most of the symptoms you have, apart from the gut problems. I have sore mouth, dry eyes, dry itchy skin, anxiety, tinnitus, panic attacks, gingivitis, lots that all started and I thinj were triggered by my third pregnancy and post natal period.

Your symptoms sound exactly like mine but I think it's obviously best to.get lots of tests and medical advice, to get to the bottom of it properly ❤️

Have you had a liver function or bone profile blood test? Just wondering if you have low ALP.

I think you might have several things going on. Stress causes bruxism which causes headache/ sore tongue from biting it/ sore stiff shoulders etc. when I am stressed I clench my teeth so badly when I sleep that it makes me feel really weird the next day.

Could you really try and persevere with a course of Nexium for a few weeks to see if all your digestive problems disappear? Maybe take some Gaviscon at the same time to help with the upset stomach.

Exactly what I was thinking and this is all my symptoms of fibromyalgia too.

Thank you. I did trial hrt but it made my endometriosis and adenomyosis pain worse so the hospital specialist has advised I stay off it until I've had my hysterectomy which is due sometime this year.

I'm not sure tbh. I'll have a look at my blood test results.

I had similar stomach issues for ages and they are much better now i stick to 8:16 eating. So i dont have breakfast and only eat between about 11 and 7pm.

I thought like this, until I ended up in A&E in tremendous pain. Over the following months I had every test and scan available, everything came back clear. Which although that was great news, it did not explain why I was in such agonising pain.
After some lengthy chats with a very understanding GP, we came to realise the likely cause was burnout and extreme stress. I have since changed jobs and made adjustments to my lifestyle, and the symptoms eased. I am now pain free until I suffer a period of stress, however I have now created coping mechanisms and the pain is very short lived.

I hope you feel more comfortable soon and get the answers you need

Thank you for this. Good to hear you are feeling better.

I am definitely in a stress/carer’s burnout situation but the more I stress there’s something very wrong with me, the worst I feel. I do hope it is ‘just’ stress but if it is, I’m finding it very difficult to break the cycle whilst there is still so much of it that I can’t control (ie my poor mum’s declining health and seeing her suffer so much etc).

I am working on stress reduction all the time but it’s having little impact which then keeps driving the fear I have something very wrong. Urgh, so annoying.

Glad you’re trying to manage stress better.
Stress creates a physical reaction which can do terrible things to your body. Never let anyone say to you “oh it’s just stress” Stress can cause serious issues!

I would try to get an appointment at Dr Louise Newsome’s clinic.