Functional Dyspepsia?

I think you probably have gastritis to be quite honest. If you said the second scope was all clear but your stomach hadn't been hurting then it's quite likely it was healed. I get gastritis when I let reflux get out of hand. If I feel a churning in my stomach, and it's painful, then its time to reach for anti antacids.

Gastritis takes ages to heal , eat a bland diet, bananas , toast , oatmeal, jacket potatoes , small portions little but often. I had problems drinking water. Drank a lot of clear broth/soup. Boil in a slow cooker , has more nutrients. I lost 1.2 stone within 3 weeks. Only started to feel better after 3 months . Take the ppi regularly, don't worry about addictions or anything. It is better to get it well first . I take 2 x 15 mg of lansoprazole and 300 mg of ranitidine .

Depression is always felt in the beginning stages.

Hope you feel better soon

Spoke too soon, that milk caused me unbelievable burning about an hour after I had it :((((((

I can't take this anymore, my hope is fading fast and depression is taking over. I would just end it now if not for how hurt my gf and family would be, I can't do that to them but I fear I may have no other choice. :(

For now Im going to start taking my strong painkillers, hopefully they'll give me some relief

Post Edited (Andy1986) : 5/19/2014 6:16:23 AM (GMT-6)

I'm a bit better today, didnt sleep well at all due to discomfort. This morning I just had plain mash for breakfast and my stomach was burning afterwards. The painkillers help but they make me feel nauseous so not perfect. They're paracetemol and codeine so safe for my stomach although so slow emptying a bit.

Im going to try and get an appointment to see my GI again, my next one booked is at the end of July but I can't wait that long. I'm so jealous you can just go to see a GI the next day! Here in UK I am lucky if its within 2 weeks! I think I may just have to pay to see him privately and hope he will be kind and book any tests on the health service as they are the expensive things around here. Appointment should "only" be £100-200.

I've started back on the Nexium 20mg twice a day, I dont think I will be ok on only 15mg of Lans like the dr wanted. Im breaking the tablets before swallowing as that seemed to help in the past. Also taking Ranitidine 150mg twice a day, hadn't been taking it over the last few days but it seems to help with acid during the night at least.

I might see if I can get Nexium capsules instead of the tablets, I have a feeling they will work better.

Your pain symptoms are interesting, I had something similar a few years back after having a protein shake with a couple of spoons of oil in it. I got intense pain for an hour or two afterwards and it must have been the oil and acid secretion.

My problems now are less acute and more chronic, constant burning after every meal, even on all the meds, for the last 4 weeks. I've never had it so bad before on medication.

Post Edited (Andy1986) : 5/20/2014 2:46:48 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Andy, I had the exact same symptoms that you're describing when I tried to wean off Prilosec in November of 2012. An endoscopy revealed gastritis. Now I'm on the usual 20mg Prilosec every day, plus an extra Prilosec every other night, plus 20mg of Pepcid every day. Only in the past few months did I start feeling much better. Last year was awful. When I first got sick, just a sip of water would make me nauseous. I lost a lot of weight, and I was severely dehydrated. Then I started taking Xanax to help with the anxiety because I was extremely anxious and terribly depressed, thinking of ending it all just like you are. The Xanax helped immensely and it calmed me down, and amazingly I was able to eat while on it. But it's very addictive so you have to be careful. I weaned myself off the Xanax after I started feeling a little better.

The important thing is to try to reduce the anxiety, because the more anxiety and fear you have, the more acid gets pumped into your stomach. Believe me, I know how difficult it is! Lie on the couch and read a book, and use a heating pad on your stomach. DGL (Deglycchirinated Licorice) helped me a little, and it's not a drug so you can take it every day and you won't get get acid rebound if you stop. Try Boost or Ensure to get more nutrients and put on more weight.

I hope you feel better. It seems like you never will, but it will happen, it just takes time. Hang in there and try to relax.

Some doctors recommend antidepressants for functional dyspepsia. Maybe you should give it a try. I was diagnosed with Anxiety Disorder. My stomach bothered me a lot those days. After taking 5mg Lexapro everyday, my stomach does not bother me anymore, maybe a little when I eat a lot or something spicy. Btw, I was diagnosed with Grade A Esophagitis after endoscopy.

I have had luck with probiotics you may want to look into that

Im so sorry to hear you are having problems! :(

I have been disgnosed with functional dyspepsia last year.
I have been very bad pain for a long time
How ever my pain is different.
My doctor described this disease as "IBS of the upper gastro track"
I get...

Chest pains,
Lump in throat,
Pain in throat and neck,
Swollen neck

Also antacids did not help they made it worse because i dont have "acid issues"

But diseases effect people differently so possibly you have it.

This "disease" sucks as nothing really helps.

Licorice has been the only thing that helps.
My doctor also perscribed me nortriptyline for it as well. Which i think maybe helps a little.

Give licorice a try it os supposed to be very calming on the stomach

Stay positive and feel better.

Keep me posted!

It took about 6 weeks before I noticed an improvement

Hi all,
I have been 95% better for over a year now after over 3 years of suffering from what was eventually diagnosed as functional dyspepsia, non-erosive reflux disease (NERD), and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). I just wanted to share my story and tell what worked to help others and give hope!

My main symptom was a burning pain that was impossible to ignore. It came every time I ate something but was also bad when my stomach was empty. I also had bloating, gas, GERD, and all kinds of chest pain and discomfort. The burning was most annoying at night because it would wake me up every 15 minutes or so and was so intense that I often couldn't get back to sleep. As a result I became incredibly fatigued and got sick often. My bloodwork went from normal to showing anaemia, extremely high cortisol levels, and higher than normal blood glucose levels. I had an endoscopy, barium swallow, chest x-rays, pH test...everything. I saw all kinds of doctors and paid thousands of dollars to get advice from specialists outside of my country. I was unable to perform at work or school and had to take a year and a half off.

The whole thing had started with a stressful move abroad to work in a small community where I knew no one and couldn't speak the language very well. It triggered some anxiety in me and I think the prolonged anxiety/stress manifested as this health condition, though I have no idea why it lasted for so long after I moved back to my home country (I was only there for 1 year). It could be that the stress of going through something like this prolonged the anxiety. What triggered your condition?

I could list every diet (fodmaps, paleo, low carb, Specific Carbohydrate diet, elimination diets...) supplement, medication and therapy that I tried but if I did that I would be writing a book, so I'll just tell you what actually worked for me.

I talked to SIBO expert Dr. Allison Siebecker and she helped me to understand that the burning pain was most likely not related to SIBO, but the bloating, anaemia and fatigue was. She didn't know what I had but recommended something called zinc carnosine, what is a special type of zinc that is used to heal the stomach in asian cultures. It has worked wonders for me and I can't recommend it highly enough for people struggling with burning pain. The other thing she and others recommended was licorice DGL. It helped a little bit if I took it as soon as I felt the burning pain. I am not sure if l-glutamine and probiotics did much but I took them religiously for 3 years so they might have helped as well.

To address the SIBO, eating lower carb in general but not getting too strict about paleo, as well as greater spacing between meals (often 6+ hours) helped. The intestine's cleansing waves can't do their job if we snack all the time. This also helped with constipation. In addition, I went from being vegetarian to eating meat to reduce my carb intake (all bacteria ferment carbs, so if you have too many bad bacteria you have to reduce carbs) and started making bone broth. Homemade bone broth is an incredibly nourishing traditional food and I believe it helped in my healing.

I also had to figure out which foods triggered the pain for me and avoid them like the plague. At first this list was endless but gradually my tolerance for certain foods increased. The challenge is that once I thought a food was on my "safe" list I would eat it freely, but often you have to eat a food sparingly and gradually when reintroducing it. Foods I had to avoid were: coffee, black tea, wine or alcohol of any kind, chocolate, mint, too much sugar, tomatoes, anything spicy, oranges and citrus, grains, bread or really starchy foods, and gluten. Basically a similar list to the GERD diet. I knew which foods I couldn't eat because they caused me instant pain. Make a list and don't give into temptation! (At one point I was down to eating only 2 types of cooked vegetables and meat 3 times a day but I gradually expanded my diet and now I can eat almost anything again, except for coffee and alcohol, without pain/symptoms.)

The other aspect was addressing my mental health. I started doing meditation and heart math (look it up) and got help for my anxiety. It helped but after a year of trying with limited results I finally got on an anti-depressant that helped with anxiety and it has helped me more than any other medication I have tried (including proton pump inhibitors etc.) It just helped me not react with so much fear when I felt pain. Being ill is a very stressful experience in itself, especially if you are young and expect to be healthy (I'm 28).

One doctor explained to me that the stomach/GI tract is like our second brain. It wasn't something physiologically wrong with me, but the way that my brain was responding to normal sensations in my stomach. For example, when alcohol hit my stomach, my stomach would send a message to my brain saying "I'm on fire!" and it would feel like I had an ulcer. You have to re-train your brain in the way it responds to pain signals. The book that helped me the most with re-training the pain response cycle is called, "Trust Your Gut, Get Lasting Healing From IBS and Other Chronic Digestive Problems without Drugs" by Gregory Plotkinoff, MD and Mark Weisberg, PhD. Doing the exercises in this book combined with the antidepressant and relaxation techniques helped immensely.

In sum, I would recommend: zinc carnosine (buy online), avoiding trigger foods, greater spacing between meals if you have any bloating/IBS issues to give your digestive system a break, bone broth and lower carb, talking to your doctor about an antidepressant, the book, "Trust Your Gut" and finding ways to enjoy life and enhance your mental health and well being despite your suffering. You can and will find a way out of this, I know it is incredibly hard, but try to find something to be thankful for every day.

I hope this helped some of you! Blessings and health to all of you. :)

Andy1986 said...
Thanks for the kind words. Luckily I figured out I was taking my PPI wrong and have sorted the burning now but still having a lot of issues, my entire GI tract is a nightmare. The doctors are now thinking this is all linked with my mental health so like you I am on a long road to recovery.I have a good idea of what I can and can't eat which really helps but I have not been doing well mentally. I'm currently trying to switch to another antidepressant which works well for pain as my current one doesn't seem to be helping either pain or mood. Which one did you have success with?

The mental side is so tough when you feel like throwing up all the times and it makes it hard to get out and do things :(

The mental side can do so much damage, I can relate there. Have you ever tried Venlafaxine? I have had major depressive disorder for about 10 years now and about 4 years ago started having severe panic attacks and was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder as well. It was hellish trying to get both of them under control and the anxiety in particular was very hard to treat. I went through heaps of combinations of SSRI's then I was put on Venlafaxine which is an SNRI and its the only thing that has got them both at a manageable level and hasn't left me an emotionless zombie.

I was having terrible stomach issues (cramping and pain), along with heartburn. I was taking 12 Tums a day; that didn't solve the stomach issues, but somewhat the heartburn. After a terrible bought of stomach problems, where I couldn't work for 2 days, I finally went to the Dr. He put me on 4 prilosec a day. That didn't help the stomach issues either. Finally, after an endescopy and colonoscopy ( and test of my gall bladder and liver), he said I have functional dyspepsia. He prescribed 10 mg of Nortriptyline, which has changed my life. He explained that it was like irritable bowel, only it was 'irritable stomach'. I am better than I've been in over a year. I also take cider vinegar and honey twice a day for occasional heartburn.

Hi All,

I’ve been suffering from stomach discomfort after eating for my whole life (28y.o). I can mostly describe it as nausea and a feeling like my stomach was churining after only a few bites of anything I tried to eat. I was eventually diagnosed with functional dyspepsia about 10 years ago and put on 25mg of Amytriptyline, which I’d say helped dampen the intensity of my symptoms by 30%, but were still very intense especially during times of stress or emotional unease. During this time I’ve come to realise that my “Functional dyspepsia” was due to hypersensitivity in the nerves in my stomach to the point of causing discomfort and heavy bouts of continuous vomiting and whole days of being unable to eat. After doing a bit of research I tried using Pregabalin 100mg x 2 a day and can honestly say that my symptoms have completely disappeared from the first pill. I still take 10mg of Amitriptyline as cutting it out causes very slight symptoms to return, but Pregabalin has ended 28 years of discomfort after every meal and has completely changed my life living with functional dyspepsia. It may be worth looking into for some of you here.