Tightness in upper abdomen?

Hi guys. I'm a 21 year old female.
So for the past two months I've been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety which I believe is causing my stomach to be completely out of whack..

Lately I've been experiencing tightness in my upper abdomen. It's between my belly button and my sternum. It's worse when I'm standing up. Just feels extremely crampy and tight like if you were holding your breath or if you got the wind knocked out of you. It's not extremely painful, just very uncomfortable and irritating. It's been almost constant these past two days and has been on and off for weeks now.

I finally have an appointment with my GI this coming Thursday. I've waited three LONG and stressful weeks for this appointment. I've literally been driving myself crazy.

Has anyone ever experienced this before? Could it all just be caused by my anxiety?

I've been feeling really lightheaded and yucky since I've had the lactose test and I've been having this tightness in my upper abdomen quite often since that test too. I get my results for that on Monday.

But I've been having this tightness for weeks. It seems to come and go throughout the day but definitely gets worse when I stand up. I get it at work a lot because I'm standing throughout my whole shift. Sometimes it feels like hunger and then other times it feels very crampy and tight.


I'm so scared that it's a stomach ulcer.

Thanks for that post SC, it always feels good to know I'm not alone.

It's like with each passing day, if something seems out of the ordinary I over analyze it and freak out. I've literally become obsessed with checking my stools after I have a bowel movement just to make sure everything looks normal. I literally can't wait for this doctors appointment, I'm driving myself nuts! I really hope it's all anxiety related. But if it is, I never knew anxiety could have that much effect on your body!

Thanks Jocipher, I really hope these are all symptons of anxiety and will go away. They're tough to deal with and I've been waking up every day for the past two months not knowing what to expect from my stomach. Some days are okay, and some days are worse.

I just know that by seeing a doctor and having tests done and hearing an explanation from my GI of why my body is acting the way it is will definitely ease my mind. Thursday can't come soon enough! Just can't wait to finally get some answers.

So I got my results for my lactose tolerance test today and it came back negative! I'm happy about this because now I can have dairy again :) but I'm also not happy about it because that means that something else has been going on with my stomach for the past 3-4 years :/

Hopefully I'll find out at my GI appointment on Thursday.

Srg08.,

Two more days...and hopefully some answers. Hang in there!!

Let us know how your appointment goes.

Thoughts and prayers.:)

S.C.

Tomorrow can't come soon enough :(

Now I've been looking up symptoms of parasites and I'm freaking myself out.

Hi guys!

Just got home from my GI appointment. I was basically diagnosed with IBS. I'm just a little confused because I always thought IBS was either dealing with constipation or diarrhea and I've had none of those. But, I'm just glad that I have some sort of an explanation for what's been going on with my stomach. My doctor said the anxiety is definitely causing my stomach to act up.

I really didn't want it to be IBS because I didn't want to deal with something that was going to last for the rest of my life but I guess I'll just have to take it one day at a time!

He's having me do stool samples to check for blood and parasites and I'm also going for an x-Ray on my stomach next Tuesday just to make sure everything's okay. :)

Good Afternoon,

I have your dx but trust that it is not an everyday problem.  I am rarely bothered by it anymore. 

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional disorder of the gut. (The gut includes the bowels.) A functional disorder means there is a problem with the function of a part of the body, but there is no abnormality in the structure. So, in IBS, the function of the gut is upset, but all parts of the gut look normal.

Pain and discomfort may occur in different parts of the abdomen. Pain usually comes and goes. The length of each bout of pain can vary greatly. The pain often eases when you pass stools  or gas. Many people with IBS describe the pain as a spasm or colic. The severity of the pain can vary from mild to severe, both from person to person, and from time to time in the same person.

Bloating and swelling of your abdomen may develop from time to time. You may pass more gas than usual.

A healthy diet is important for all of us. However, some of us with IBS find certain foods of a normal healthy diet can trigger symptoms or make symptoms worse. Evidence is emerging that using the FODMAP diet may improve IBS bowel symptoms.

Here is a link to the FODMAP diet:

http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/low-fodmap-diet

Be well,

Kitt

Sam,

You are off to a great start, so I hope you give yourself credit for that. Imagine, if you will for a moment, that you didn't do anything, and just suffered in silence? Where would that leave you? Hmm?

But,...you chose a different path for yourself!! You chose to get checked out, and you are choosing to follow up with these additional diagnostics. These are all positive and affirmative actions in taking care of your health.

I've found the more we take control of what's going on with our minds and bodies, the more empowered we feel overall, and that carries over!

Good for you, that's what I say!! :)








M.

Hey guys, guess who's nervous again? This girl! :(

Next Tuesday I have to go for an upper GI x-Ray series with a small bowel follow through. I have to drink barium for this procedure and that's what's making me nervous. I've heard that this stuff tastes awful and I'm terrified that it's gonna make me throw up.

I guess I was more nervous for my lactose test because I didn't know how my body was going to react to the lactose. But with barium, once it's in you then you should be fine right? It's the drinking it part that worries me. I heard that the texture is similar to pepto bismol and I have a hard time taking pepto because of it's texture :/

Does anyone know exactly how much of this stuff I'll be drinking? Any suggestions or advice?

Srg08, have you had any updates on what you have done or how you are now? I have the same exact issues.