Hi there, I'm writing on here to gather some advice and see if anyone else has been in a similar situation.
I've had IBS symptoms for years, but these 'episodes' have always been irregular and would always be mild enough to not affect my life too greatly. However, in the past 10 weeks or so, I've developed these strange symptoms which are progressively getting worse, to the point of where I can't function at work and I've had to cancel any social arrangements.
- Throughout the day, I feel mildly nauseated at all times, have a grumbling/slightly uncomfortable stomach, loss of appetite, mild feverish feeling and a gripping/gnawing feeling in my lower right side. This extends to around my groin and sometimes feels bubbly, 'itchy' or almost like there's a burning sensation (this is not painful - more uncomfortable and nauseating than anything). Colleagues, friends and family have commented that I look much paler, tired and like I've lost a bit of weight
- About 1-2 times a day (sometimes more, sometimes less), I have an 'episode' where I become very nauseated, get an extremely grumbly stomach and feel the urgent need to go to the toilet. This is usually accompanied by heartburn and sometimes a headache. I rush to the toilet and have horrible diarrhoea that's (sorry to be gross) fiery and smells foul. Sometimes, I retch or vomit this horrible acid, but I'm very good at stopping myself from vomiting, so there have been times I should've vomited but didn't. At times, the heartburn has been unbearable and lasted for 5 hours along with the other symptoms
I went to the walk in centre at the hospital today after getting advice from NHS 111 and they tested my urine and listened to my stomach. The nurse said I had protein and blood in my urine and suspected I had a UTI. She also said that my stomach was extremely active and sounded like the stomach of someone who has a tummy bug. She was going to refer me for blood tests and a scan, but then 10 minutes later dismissed me and sent me off with a prescription for antibiotics for the 'UTI'. However, I don't have any UTI symptoms?
In previous blood tests, I've also had low vitamin levels (for example, my B12 was at 212 or something so not critically low but unusually low). My urine has also showed up abnormal in the past. I feel like something underlying is going on that's linked to all of these results (the low vitamin levels, the abnormal urine test etc.) but the doctors just seem quick to dismiss me.
Can anyone offer any advice or similar experiences?