abdominal pain

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2004
abdominal pain
4
Sun, 01-02-2005 - 3:09pm

Hi, I check this board often but don't post, I guess I'm a lurker. Anyway, 4 months ago I started having a severe burning in my stomach. GI doc put me on Prevacid and after having all the upper GI tests done (barium xray, ultrasound, endoscopy, CT scan), found out I have a mild case of gastritis but everything else came back completely normal. Blood tests show a slightly elevated lipase level, but not high enough to be pancreitis. I've been on the Prevacid for 3 months now, and the burning is a lot better. I still burp a lot, occasionally have an acidic taste in my mouth, and have a very small appetitie. I forgot to mention that in the past 4 months I've lost about 16lbs and am now quite underweight.

Starting about 3 weeks ago I developed pain in my lower abdomen (up until now it had always been in mid-upper abd). Its like a cramping, feels kind of like menstrual cramps b/c of the location, except that Im on the pill and don't normally get menstrual cramps (been on the pill for years, never had any problems). Occasionally I also have a twitching/spasming sensation in my lower abdomen that is quite painful and will last for 1-2 days. I'm also on Bentyl for the spasms, it helps but doesn't get rid of all of it. My doc thinks I may have IBS since most of my tests have come back normal, but I don't have diarrhea, constipation, or mucus in my stool. I have a BM every morning, only thing different is sometimes its both dark and light brown. Also, the pain and cramps don't go away after a BM. Anyone have any ideas of what this may be? I'm going back to the GI this week, any suggestions on what I should ask him to do next? Should I have a colonoscopy even though I have regular BMs? I've been out of work for 4 months now, I just want my old life back! Any help is greatly appreciated.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
In reply to: elleyjay
Sun, 01-02-2005 - 8:11pm

Hello elleyjay

thflowers-hahd23222.gif picture by Wren53B

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-15-2004
In reply to: elleyjay
Sun, 01-02-2005 - 10:42pm

Thank you for the response. I have been keeping a food diary but so far there does not seem to be any links between days when i feel bad, except that raw fruits & veggies seem to cause some gas. My diet these days consists of fairly bland things: breads, pasta, rice, chicken, cooked veggies, applesauce, stuff like that. I do take vitamins to replace what is lost from foods I haven't been eating. I don't have much of an appetite. I eat regular meals everyday, but I don't feel hungry.

I'm only 27 years old, so I have never had a colonoscopy before. I have an appt with my GI tomorrow, so I'll ask if he thinks I should have one.

I do exercise. I either go for a 30 min walk or do yoga & meditation everyday (or sometimes do all). Stress definitely doesn't help, I've had a few days where I was stressed and i definitely felt worse on those days, so that's why i started meditation. It's been a huge help.

I don't have a fever. I occasionally have nausea, but no vomitting. I have ups and downs regularly. One day I'll feel almost normal, and the next I may have lots of cramping or spasms. I don't really have any problems after I eat, but if I haven't eaten in a while, I may get nauseous. I just wish I knew what was wrong. In some ways I'm glad my tests keep coming back normal, because that's a lot of serious illnesses that I'm able to cross off the list. But then again, it is so frustrating not knowing, because then I don't know what to do to fix it!

Thanks again for the help.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
In reply to: elleyjay
Mon, 01-03-2005 - 9:20am

Morning

thflowers-hahd23222.gif picture by Wren53B

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
In reply to: elleyjay
Mon, 01-03-2005 - 8:40pm

Hey Elleyjay!


Thanks for de-lurking.