Please help me work out what is going on with my body

[Nogodsnomasters]

I don't even know where to start, so for background I am 35yrs old. For the last 2yrs I have suffered with acid reflux symptoms and high levels of tiredness, I also suffer with anxiety. I've been on Omeprazole for 2yrs for the reflux which has helped but not fully controlled - I have also made big changes to my diet and quit smoking 6 months ago (I am not overweight).

Feb 2023 my anxiety began to get worse, April I decreased my hours at work because I wasn't coping with the anxiety and tiredness. May 28th I decided to come off my mini pill that I was on for 9yrs to see if this would help with anything (my headaches, my tiredness, my anxiety). The first 4wks off the pill were okay ish but the last 3/4wks have been hell and I don't know if it's related or coincidence.

Since 25th June I have been so fatigued, nauseous every day, reflux flaring up and severe anxiety, repeated panic attacks and now something going on with my bowels. Spoke to GP who started me on propanolol for the anxiety, it's helped somewhat. Had a blood test this week, they said everything came bk normal bar my liver was slightly out of range which they'll repeat in 8wks. She felt my stomach and said it seemed okay. Blood pressure was done a month ago and was fine. She gave me anti nausea medicine but I feel like it's just masking the symptoms. I'm hungry but I can't eat because of how nauseous I am and the longer the symptoms continue the more anxious I feel about what's going on with me. I still haven't had a period at all since coming off the pill, is that the problem?

She has suggested a stool sample to check for H pylori but I have to come off my Omeprazole to get an accurate result and I'm terrified if I do it's only going to make symptoms worse. I'm scared of everything my body is doing right now. She also gave me fybogel to try every day because although I'm going to the toilet every day sometimes more than once, I'm having to strain and there are several other times during the day where I feel the need to empty my bowels but nothing comes out.

Any suggestions welcome, please nothing scary - I'm already a wreck as it is. I just want to function for my children.

Just to add that I had a H pylori stool test done 2yrs ago before I was started on the Omeprazole and this was negative but she said it can be contracted or activated at any time so worth another check.

Are you taking your omeperazole one hour before food and drink with just a little water?

Yes I take it first thing in the morning before I even get out of bed, I keep it in my bedside drawer. Then an hour later I try to have breakfast. This is how I've always taken it before this madness started last month.

I've had similar issues which I've discovered were entirely food related, or at least I think they were... Severe reflux that has been so bad that even drinking water was painful, nausea and vertigo, extreme bloating where my stomach inflated to the point it was hard and I looked about six months pregnant, on/off constipation/diarrhoea, all-day fatigue, anxiety which I'm not sure is related to the fact I was afraid to eat for fear of the symptoms coming back or if it was just "regular" anxiety, also just had this constant, underlying sense of toxicity inside my body.

Acid reflux medication has been helpful but I feel like it treats the symptoms rather than actually helping with the issue iyswim. Doctors have said there isn't anything seriously wrong with me and likely "just" an intolerance to certain foods. They recommended trying a FODMAP diet, which is basically just an elimination diet to help pinpoint the foods that are affecting you - for me it's onions and gluten (the best foods), but cutting them out has just about erased all of my symptoms. I'm not sure if you can relate or if you are experiencing the same thing that I did but it might be worth looking into.

Honestly, I would try therapy to deal with your anxiety as it could be causing you the physical pain you are in. I’m obvs not a doctor but I’ve had similar issues to you and therapy helped me address the issues that were causing the physical pain. This might not be the case for you but worth a shot. Best of luck.

Thank you, I've had therapy before but when I saw the doctor this week she has referred me again for more.

Omeprazole can cause B12 deficiency in some cases and B12 deficiency can cause irritability and depression. Just a thought. Did they check your B12 and folate with your blood test?
I second the Fodmap diet to see if this helps but absolutely stop all caffeine and alcohol and spicy food at this point .

Thank you for your reply. I've eliminated usual trigger foods for reflux such as caffeine, alcohol, carbonated drinks, citrus fruits, chocolate, anything tomato based and quitting smoking. I've never tried to go gluten free - I'm not really sure I know what gluten is in? Yes I feel the same as you described like a toxicity in me that I can't pinpoint - and same as you I'm getting frightened to eat for fear of more nausea etc.

Yes they checked B12 vitD folate and iron and thyroid this week and said everything was normal. Just the out of range liver but she said that on its own was no cause for concern and just to repeat it in 8wks which I'm booked in for.

Kindly, every symptom you've described can be attributed to anxiety. When I went through a really awful period of anxiety I had every symptom you describe. And, of course, the worse you feel, the worse the anxiety gets so it becomes a vicious circle of snowballing symptoms. I would focus your energy on treating the anxiety and I'd bet fairly heavily on the fact that you feel better physically. It still blows my mind how anxiety can manifest in such wide-ranging physical symptoms.

Some tips:

1. Give up caffeine - this is a game changer with anxiety. Once I stopped caffeine (even my one morning cup of tea), I really turned a corner.
2. Take gaviscon for the acid reflux - it's a fairly benign medicine but it does really help.
3. For the underlying anxiety, remember you have the power to stop it - it's a part of you, and you can change the way you choose to react to it. This sounds a bit wafty but it's the absolute key - once you empower yourself to ignore the anxiety (I used to visualise it as a shitty little goblin that liked to feed off my fear - I then took pleasure in starving the fucker!), it will stop. It really will.
4. Avoid hormonal contraception if at all possible.

@Nogodsnomasters did you ever find out what was causing your symptoms? I am experiencing similar

Hi, the bowel issues were constipation - I tried the fybogel medicine for months and wasn't getting better, I ended up in a&e at the start of this month where they gave me a stomach x ray and told me I was full of stool so they switched the medication to laxido, I did a week of disimpaction dose and am now trying to work out the best maintenance dose for myself.
My GP changed my acid reflux medicine from Omeprazole to pantoprozole which is slightly better but still not fully controlling the symptoms, they tried to do an endoscopy on me which failed so I had a barium swallow test instead which showed no hernia, no ulcers, no tumors but just moderate to severe chronic reflux so GERD. I have been referred for an abdominal ultrasound which I'm waiting for an appointment for.
The anxiety got steadily worse particularly with PMS so I returned to my contraceptive pill after 3 months off it I couldn't take it any longer, my anxiety over my symptoms is still quite bad but the referral for counselling has finally come through and I have my first session tomorrow which I'm dreading, I've had counselling several times before so I know it's not going to fix me.