HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

I was in the ER this morning

Support Forums
>
GERD & Acid Reflux
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 2/9/2006 4:30 AM (GMT 0)
Oh man!!

My burning pain in my stomach got to be so bad that at 4:30 this morning, I headed to the ER.  I was doubled over and couldn't take it anymore!!!

They hooked up an IV, gave me a GI cocktail and did an ultrasound-nothing unusual showed up there.  They then gave me some morphine and that helped a lot-of course it would right??

Well then they sent me to my GI dr who did an emergency upper endoscopy this morning.  He found gastritis (thats all that ever shows up).  Everything else was normal.  I told him that the morphine helped with the pain and that I didn't understand why completely.

He said he didn't understand why my pain was not matching my findings on the endoscope but did say that some people have pain that is so severe and could be linked to nerves or something??  Yes, I have gastritis but its not errosive or anything so it shouldn't be quite as bad as what I was having.

 When I was on nortriptiline and such, I didn't have the GI pain.  When I went off, WHAM!! 

I also have Lyme disease.  Maybe the pain is associated.  The PPI's do not help with this at all.  He did give me some Elavil to start trying.  Im so hoping that will help.

Sorry this got long.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.  Why is it that I felt no burning pain while on the morphine (it was a very low dose by the way) or on the sedative from the procedure, but tonight I feel like I am burning to death again??

Nancy

Posted 2/9/2006 12:03 PM (GMT 0)
Sorry to hear this Nancy!
I think you have a neuro problem... The fact that nortriptiline helped, tells me that it's probably not your stomach that hurts, but the nerves that go to your brain. I have always wondered about your Lyme causing this. I have fibromyalgia, and there are many of us who have pains out of proportion to the problem. It's still VERY real to us, though. One theory of fibromyalgia is that something is wrong with the pain-perception part of our brains. This doesn't mean that we are imagining it. It is as real as can be to us.......but it's like our brains are fooling us.
I think you should go see a neurologist (or a good internal medicine doc), and talk about drugs that help with this kind of pain........like elavil, neuronton, etc.
Also.......I think I would see an infectious disease doctor about your lyme and your stomach problems. Sometimes they find things that other docs haven't thought about. I DO wonder about your Lyme...... the Lyme organism seems to be really attracted to nerves.
Posted 2/9/2006 7:56 PM (GMT 0)
Cathy,

Most infectious disease dr's don't know diddly about chronic Lyme disease and they dismiss it. I do have a good Lyme disease specialist that I see here in town. He's trying to help as well. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia too until they discovered that what i really had was a Lyme infection!

I started Elavil last night. Im a little spacey today and haven't noticed a change in pain yet, but I do know that this takes time to get into the system

Nancy
Posted 2/9/2006 9:08 PM (GMT 0)
Nancy,
I tried 10 mg of Elavil many years ago for IBS, and I couldn't see straight for 3 days! That's how sensitive to meds I am. But lots of people seem to benefit from Elavil.....so good luck with it!
Also, I meant to ask......when they did that endoscopy in the ER, did they take another sample for Hpylori?? Some docs think that you should be treated for Hpylori, even if your tests come up negative, since you continue to have symptoms. I guess they do that sometimes, and it ends up helping.
Yes, be sure to give the elavil several weeks to kick in. I really hope it helps!
Posted 2/10/2006 3:52 AM (GMT 0)

The H-pylori was negative.  I also do not have any ulcers at all.  just some redness in my stomach.  Nothing erosive either. 

Im scared!  I don't like dealing with this kind of pain ya know??  Im going to see a pain specialist as well and see if they can help at all.  We'll see what happens then.

Not too many people post and respond on this board do they?  I notice a lot of people read the posts, but I hardly get any replies to anything I post.

Nancy

Posted 2/11/2006 3:57 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Nancy,

I'm so sorry to hear that!!  mad    It's so baffling and frustrating when no one can find anything.  Are you feeling any better now?

-Jason

Posted 2/11/2006 5:01 AM (GMT 0)

No, not really.  However I am trying!  I am going to see a pain management specialist soon.  Even if I have gastritis, I am still entitled to pain relief right??  We'll see if they can help.

I took some pepsid this evening.  I want off those PPI's.  Ill take it one day at a time.

Nancy

Posted 2/11/2006 3:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Nancy,
Okay.....let's see if we can work through this. First of all, have any doctors ever done a cat scan with and without contrast on your abdomen? Some things need to be ruled out, before anyone assumes anything. Even though your pain seems focused on your stomach, the doctors need to rule out anything else going on in there!
Next, have they done lab tests on you, like a chem profile, CBC, etc.? It would be good to make sure you don't have some sort of auto-immune thing going on.
Also.....did they do the H Pylori biopsy during the endoscope in the ER? And it's important to get samples from 4 quadrants in your stomach......even the ones that don't look inflamed. I know you said the test was negative, but I didn't know if that was from a previous endoscopy.
It's just soooo important to rule out other possibilities, and I don't want the doctors blowing you off as just over-reacting to the pain. All these other things should be done, before assuming you need something like Elavil.
And it's perfectly okay for you to see another GI doc.
I know how difficult this is for you. Pain that we can't escape from is very scary. Hang in there Nancy!
Posted 2/16/2006 12:32 AM (GMT 0)
Why don't you go back on the medicine that was helping you Nancy. Nortypiline, or whatever it was. I stick with what works. Why did they take it away from you? Elavil is great but can increase your appetite. That was bad for me as I am overweight. Take care and I'll say a big prayer for you.
Posted 2/16/2006 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
hi i usually post on chronic pain but i took some prilosec as ordered by my doc ( i have FMS and chronic pain from failed back sugery AND GERD

he told me to take otc, i took it for 4 days and on the feb13th i went into spasms w/ my colon and have watery bowels, am going to see the doc tomorrow ASAP i eat and it comes out undigested.

i am now on liquid ensure and smoothies w acidolphous so i dont become inbalanced w/ my electorlytes. i had this before, and pottasium drip is no fun in your veins.

once when i took too many AX i got bad dieahrra also and had to take flagyl a nasty med but it helped. i was on thaat for 4 weeks

i had c dificle from AX over growth of bad bacteria, now i hear it can come back time and again and is very contagious.

 

i may have it back again, or maybe something else, but after 4 days on prilosec it knocked out my ability to make H CL

that is necessary for digestion

oh boy i hate this

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply