Posted 4/24/2016 8:19 PM (GMT 0)
I posted this already in the anxiety forum and cannot figure out how to delete it! Maybe it will be more appropriately perceived here. Sorry for double posting! I'm a desperate newbie...
I have read countless threads and forums online searching for answers and help. I thought I would put my story out to see if anyone else has had something similar and any luck with healing.
For background info, I am a 21 year old male. 6'2 weighing 148 LBS.
In the fall and winter months of 2014 I had developed some weird stomach issues. Constant hunger, stomach pains, and weird throat gurgles were a daily thing. I am all about the natural route so I quickly started on a regimen of DGL and reduced my caffeine intake. By the end of May it had all cleared up!
This past fall of 2015 I started getting those things again. When I was really stressed I started experiencing nausea coming from the back of my throat. Also the throat gurgles I had experienced before. Waking up deathly hungry in the middle of the night and the morning. Food would help relieve it if I could get something down. I quickly started the DGL again, cut back on coffee, and watched what I ate. For a while I had it under control. As long as I followed my proper guidelines I kept all symptoms in check. After about two months of this I thought it had cleared up. I started drinking alcohol, coffee, eating pizza, candy, etc.
about two days after Christmas of 2015 I had gotten up with a weird hunger feeling in my stomach. I had to be at work at 6:15am so I decided I would drink some coffee and ignore it until I got to work and had time to eat. I went about my morning tasks and felt fine but then by about 7:45am I had felt so sick and nauseated like never before. I am a SEVERE emetophobic and don't usually have stomach issues. Especially not ones dealing with nausea. I quickly ate a handful of tums and went home sick.
This feeling continued for a few days. I wrote it off as the stomach flu(which I've never had). I felt sick every single morning and afternoon until about 5:00 in the evening. I only ate sweet potatoes, bananas, applesauce and toast. I stayed in bed for about two weeks. I stayed at my parents house as it was Christmas break. After it had ended I went back to my apartment at school and things didn't improve any.
After about 4 weeks of this I broke down and went to the doctor. I was told I have GERD. They did a stool test for h. pyroli, ultrasound, several blood tests for thyroids, urine test, and blood in stool tests. Everything came back negative. They prescribed my Prilosec 20mg in the morning and 1gm of sulcrufate at night. Getting on the meds was horrid. Constipation, indigestion, more stomach aches, different types of nausea, and extreme anxiety. Not to mention dizziness, sleeplessness, night sweats, hunger pangs, and much more. I didn't even want to get on these in the first place but I was desperate. Not sure what are med side effects and what is just my stomach. They want me to see a GI but I am terrified of having an endoscopy and have been told by countless others that it would be a waste of money. They will still prescribe me the same meds I am on now. Plus I think Chiro's can diagnose a hiatial hernia right? I feel like I don't have one because food seems to help the issues, not make it worse. Please let me know if I am mistaken!
I have tried getting off the meds multiple times but rebound kicks in immediately and get nauseated.
Over this whole thing I have barely been able to finish out the semester. If it didn't put me in $17k worth of debt I would've dropped out by now. I had to move most of my classes to an independent study and work online. I had to move home and stick to a strict diet. I only eat sweet potatoes, bananas, rice, chicken, turkey, asparagus, oatmeal, pears, popcorn (from the stove no butter), fiber one bars, fresh green beans and occasionally crackers. The only spice I use is Himalayan salt. Nothing is frozen or processed for my main meals. I cook everything myself and try to be a healthy as possible.
I've tried dairy free, gluten free, and sugar free. Nothing helped. Right now I am just dairy free and very much limit processed sugar and wheat.
Every single day I have terrible anxiety that I've never had before. All rooting from my upset/damaged stomach. Im afraid to leave the house most days. I'm afraid to eat!! Everything is a struggle. I haven't been to work since December (Its now end up April). I have a wedding I am supposed to be in in June and am so afraid I will not be better by then.
My doctor was no longer willing to work with me so I was told to seek out mental health professionals. I have now been going to a therapist and we both agree that all of this anxiety is coming from my stomach issues. I am trying to work on stress reduction. Meditating, breathing, all that. Which I already was working on before I went in... If my stomach feels fine, I feel fine. If it doesn't then everything seems to be wrong. And most days it doesn't feel good.
I also spoke with a medical intuitive (for those who believe in that). It was way too expensive for me to go forward with but I was told I've had zero adrenal glands since I was 4 years old leaving me in constant fight or flight mode. Also, lots of emotional disturbances in my stomach/solar plexus area. Problems with my heart, lots of heat in stomach, stomach moved into esophagus, swollen and inflamed esophagus, sinus issues, and kidney issues. Obviously though none of these are formally diagnosed, he seemed to know what he was talking about though in my opinion.
My friends and family are so concerned and irritated because they don't understand and they think I am being "dramatic". This is so out of my nature to cut myself off from the world but I just feel so sick and worried and anxious about everything. Occasionally I will get an anxiety/acid attack. I feel like I can only take shallow breaths, I feel like I will be sick, I sweat and shake uncontrollably, and the only thing that helps is laying down propped up and closing my eyes with hand on my chest and stomach giving it positive energy. They can last anywhere form 30 minutes to 4 hours.
Day-to-day, I wake up feeling so nauseatedly hungry. I usually eat half a banana whenever that happens. Sometimes at 2:30am.. Throughout the day I either feel bloated, constipated, have a stomachache, feel like food isn't being digested, have gas, and I hiccup constantly. My body does not know how to burp no matter how hard I try. It always hiccups instead. Especially after eating or drinking anything. I stop eating 2 hours before bed but this always makes me wake up super hungry in the middle of the night.
I have been seeing an acupuncturist but I am usually too anxious to get there on a normal basis. I usually feel really sick afterward too.Sometimes during the treatment... Sometimes that means its working but it is so terrible! They tell me I have Damp Heat. I try to walk/jog on days I feel well to work out the heat and dampness but I feel as if I am not doing enough. I also based my diet off of their recommendations.
School is finishing this week so I am hoping I can be more consistent with that once that stressor is off of my back.
On a personal note, I have had a lot of stress this past year. Parents divorced, terrible roommate/living situation, new school, losing several family members, losing friends, moving, other family issues, etc. My therapist thinks I need to take a year off of school and decompress. That this could all be contributing to my condition.
Part of me wants to do that, however I am a go-getter. I want to be done with school and graduate, I want to work, I have never just sat idly not doing anything! However, I am just way too anxious to do that. A med provider wanted me to try and SSRI but I said NO WAY. As I have tried them before and they messed me up! I do have some Lorazepam for emergencies however, I am not a fan of that either.
In conclusion--sorry for the lengthy post--, my stomach is ruining my life. I have no more social life (which used to be very vibrant), moved home, cannot work, CAN'T HAVE COFFEE :(, even too anxious to go visit a friend.
Symptoms:
Nausea in back of throat
Nausea and acid feeling in throat and chest- increase when anxious or stressed
Feeling of gas stuck behind breast bone
panic/acid attacks
stomach so sensitive to anxiety or stressors (way too empathetic)
little to no appetite although feeling constantly hungry
lost 10 pounds in the past 4 months
Anxious about anything and everything
Afraid to leave house most days
Must eat at least every 2 hours or I will feel sick
Things I am currently trying:
DGL
Digestive Enzymes
GI-Revive Supplement (just started)
Vitamin D3 (2,000 IU)
Fiber
Exercising when I feel well
Sleeping on left side or propped up
Acupuncture
I have heard Chiropractors can help with these things as well? Moving stomach lining or correcting posture? Those thoughts make me a little anxious however I am desperate to get my life back. I have been told by two other people in my life that they've had something similar to this. It ended up going away in a few months which I am praying will happen to me. They just had to do some stress reduction techniques and watch their diet.
I want to start probiotics but those also make me feel really sick with the die-off symptoms. Any advice on that? I try to have kefir a couple of times a week but I doubt that does anything.
I want to get off of these meds ASAP! I feel like they may be preventing me from healing all the way. However, I don't want all of the rebound and the the more severe nausea to kick in and be stuck at square one again. Its just so hard to determine whats going on with my body because of the meds. Is it the meds or is it my body? Any advice with rebound? I have tried ACV and tums. Not sure if either do anything anymore at this point. I eat WAY too many tums. I'm trying to cut back... My urine Ph is super basic, not sure If thats good or bad, however its definitely because of the meds. When is basic too basic?
I am open to any and all advice! Should I feel better before I get off of the meds or should I get off of them and then try to feel better? Should I try going to acupuncture more regularly? Should I try the Chiro?
Has anyone had any luck with GI-revive?
Now that school is ending stress will be going down. The nicer weather seems to help too. I am from the freezing north. I have read posts about people dealing with this for years and years and that is just not an option in my book. I NEED my life back. I need my friends, family, work, and social activities to be apart of me again. This whole thing has brought on a depression that I hope will never touch me again. Most of all I just want to be able to drink coffee again! Do you think thats at all possible?
Thank you for taking time to read about my struggles, I really do appreciate it. Prayers go out to anyone dealing with something similar. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
Thanks again guys and gals