So, I've been through a really rough time the last 2, nearly 2 and a half months. Been very stressed, very unhappy, just rough. And around late January started having a host of stomach issues that quickly got worse and worse. I've had stomach issues since I was around 16, a lot of times anxiety related but this seems a little different, maybe it's because my circumstances are different (I'm an adult with a full time job and responsibilities I can't escape) but I am 26, I do not smoke, I do not drink and I lift weights 4-6 days a week.
Mid February I started getting this very quick, very acute stinging pain just to the left of my sternum right around my bottom left side rib. It's not like heartburn traditionally is where you feel it throughout your chest or in your throat. It's like a pinch/sting right in the same spot and it's really worrying me. I had bloodwork done for a host of other concerns 3 weeks ago and everything came back normal. The pain does not depend on what I eat/my activity level. It does seem to sometimes get worse at night (only some nights).
Along with this stomach sting, I have nausea pretty frequently, indigestion, bloating, distension, feels like there's a brick in my stomach, lack of apatite, and just generally don't feel well. All of this has caused me to start eating less which has made me lose some muscle/size and that's really effecting my mood and makes me even more upset. I've suspected an ulcer but I am TERRIFIED of going to the doctors and especially of the gastro doc because of the types of tests they have to run. I'm also terrified of what they may find.
Anyone else ever have something similar? Can this all be anxiety? I just want to enjoy food again, enjoy my life again. Not feel like there's a rock in my gut and a bee stinging me in my sternum.
