I wake up every day with a sick feeling in my upper abdomen. A lot of times its pain. It hurts to the touch. I've been dealing with this for 4 years. I dont have any other symptoms. No vomiting, runs, stomach pain, etc. I'm so sick of this. Seen a couple gastroenterologists and had many tests done. Tried a lot of meds. Usually if I have a lot of pain, the only thing that will help is a pain killer. I dont like having to take that, but I have to in order to function. I spent most of 2014 on the couch feeling so sick. Did the fodmap thing, tried being gluten free, etc. Any other suggestions? Anybody else have this? Once I get moving in the morning, it settles down a bit, and sometimes the weird pain goes on all day. I can function otherwise. I also have a bit of anxiety. Who wouldn't?..
Always pain: I wake up every day with a sick... - IBS Network
Always pain
Can it be gas? Maybe a dietician could help.
I've been to a dietician at University of Michigan hospital. She had me try the fodmap diet. I didnt really have any triggers. I have no gas. I go fairly regular. I'm stumped and disappointed in my doctors.
Could it be something wrong with the muscles in that area? Or maybe you wear clothes that are a bit to tight?
No, I'm 69 and dont wear tight clothes at all. Its been 4 years and always in the same area. The doctors dont seem to want to concentrate on THE area!
mine is upper middle of stomach
When you say upper abdomen do you mean the stomach?
What tests did you have was it a gastro or colon test?
I've had an endoscopy & colonoscopy.Plus they tested my pancreas, kidneys, etc. Could not find anything wrong.The pain is in the area right below the sternum.I do have Barretts Esophagus & a small hiatal hernia. But the gastroenterologist says neither causes pain. I had to take some pain meds today to get thru it. I feel fine now. We'll see how I feel after supper. If I eat too much, theres pain. So, I watch my intake.
Everyone's different and I know of 2 people who have hernia's one was my mum and she had pain. Looks as if your doctor has been very good. Wish you well
I have a hiatel hernia that I just had repaired. I had a lot of pain from my hernia. Omg even if I didn't eat. Your hernia can cause excruciating pain.
Was your pain in your upper abdoment? Are you better now, and have no pain?
Hello there - you sound like you’re having such a miserable time. It’s no wonder that you feel so anxious. Have they checked your gallbladder?
I have a hiatus hernia and have very similar symptoms to you, pain-wise. I have IBS also and I’m positive the hernia makes it worse. I get terrible pain where the hernia is and sometimes I feel like I can’t get a decent breath. It’s painful to touch too. My gastro also told me “oh you’ll not get any pain with a hernia!”. But I know lots of people who have pain from their hiatus hernia and one person who says “it’s of the devil”! Hiatus hernia is also called “the great mimic” as it can mimic so many serious conditions. I don’t know why doctors refuse to agree they cause pain.
It might be better for you to prop yourself up in bed a little at night - I’m wondering if that might take some pressure off the hernia while you are sleeping...xx
I've tried propping myself up. Doesnt help. I cant believe someone cant fix this, and all of us have to suffer every day. I'm in the USA.
I can’t believe it either. It’s such a simple, but horrible thing and loads of people suffer in silence. I happened upon a medicine called Kolanticon Gel, during my research about it (since I was getting no help 🙄). It’s a chalky, liquid medicine and it does help take the edge off. It comes in tablet form, but the suspension is best. I don’t know if it’s available in the USA - but please do ask about it. So sorry you’re suffering so much xx
I, too, have a hiatus hernia which causes me great pain when it occurs (it swells me up, raises my temperature and causes me to throw off my underclothing!) - always out of the blue! Omeprazole helps if I take in time, but I hate to keep taking tablets in case- the only thing to do is guzzle down Gavescon liquid and wait the pain out! As I also have IBS it seems often to exacerbate that and I have to rush to the loo with diarrhea.... I can't connect it with any particular food, but it always seems to happen after my lunch which is often just a ham roll. I may have to give up on lunch altogether!
I take esomeprazole twice daily - it’s kinder on the bowel - a brand name example is Nexium. Have you tried that? Gaviscon is pretty useless - see if you can get Kolanticon as it works on gut spasm too. I’ve cut out wheat from my diet in the last 12 years and it’s helped. Wouldn’t it be great if gastros and doctors would listen to us and understand this is not a joke??
You're right. They just dont listen. I've taken omeprazole but dont like to. Its murder on your kidneys. I'm in the USA & cant get Kolanticon. Someone else mentioned it also. Companies wont ship it here. I'd like to try it. I'm going to try meditation next. I think it will help. At least with the anxiety. I tried going gluten free, but it didnt make a difference. I'm going to start bothering the gastro doc in september because we're too busy in August. When I'm going bad, I take a pain pill. Its the only way I can get thru the day. I would rather not, but its all I can do.
That is a total bummer about Kolanticon. I really hope you have some success with your gastro in September. Hot water bottles and heat pads help too....thinking of you x
Thank you...
I have exactly the same symptoms as you and have also a hiatus hernia. I’ve had it for 3 and 1/2 years, then it went away for 1 and 1/2 years, then came back with a vengeance last October. I basically totally lost 4 years of my life. I have no life, mostly lying down, feeling often sick as well. I also had all the tests like you, was given mega antibiotics, Fodmap diet, you name it, and many many drugs including PPIs and Probiotics. None of them worked but they made it much much worse. You can’t take any NSAIDs like Aspirin or Neurofen as they’re known to damage your stomach. What do you take ? I find Paracetamol doesn’t help. And you ? Sadly the doctors have no clue and I know there many people who suffer this. My GI Consultant told me and I find thousands and thousands on the Internet. Regarding Gastroenterology, unfortunately, we’re still in the Middle Ages. There’s almost zero research done on this subject. The doctors usually call it FD functional dyspepsia/gastritis (which is like IBS in your upper abdomen) ....that means ‘we haven’t got a clue what it is, nor what causes it nor how to cure it’. It means that your stomach and/or gut is upset and they have excluded sinister things like cancer . After this they’re not interested any longer as they don’t like to deal with conditions they have no clue of and can’t cure. Some doctors give peopke drugs they always prescribe when they haven’t got a clue : Antidepressants and/or Valium like drugs. Thank you very much .... not for me! This would make problems even worse ..... one would get even more depressed and anxious and also you get dependent on those drugs. Luckily my GI Consultant (in a top London Hospital) also doesn’t believe in this approach. There are likely different causes which result in this condition but they don’t know. Im now very careful in what I eat. I have to observe every bit of food I eat. So I can eat only a few things at present. Therefore my life is pretty boring. I can’t go out to eat as most food makes me ill. I’m very careful with any processed food (there are many unhealthy additives in there). I also found that high fiber causes hell for me. So I’m locked up at home having to cook everything. Then I have sometimes good days.
Couldn’t agree more with you about nobody wanting to help you once they’ve (thankfully) excluded anything sinister. I’m so sorry you feel so terrible. It really does make you feel so sick and grim.
I discovered a liquid medicine called Kolanticon Gel, which often helps me. I had to do all my own research of course and then suggested it to my GP. I find it does help with pain and regurgitation. Xx
I had a weird thing whereby the sphincter muscle at the top of my stomach was LOOSE caused by what the doctors called an excess of female hormones! I was diagnosed with Acid Reflux in 2001 and the endoscopy showed an excess of scarring tissue right up the inside of my gullet and I was put on PPI - proton pump inhibitors - might you have something similar as my pain was all at the top of my stomach, where the muscle was too loose in effect causing all my stomach acid to leak up my gullet when I lay down......it was very painful. I hope you get it sorted. May I suggest tai chi to help with anxiety? Google Dr Lam Tai chi for health or Brett Wagland and Fontane Ip, Tai Chi Academy of Australia - both fantastic ways to keep calm and carry on!!
i indeed experience this mornings are the worst , but i also have cramps bloating, pains, diarrhea and nausea most days. i do have LC with IBS no one understands how bad this can be! i also suffer fecal incontinence at times which makes it hard to hold a job, travel ect.... i have missed a lot of family events and was fired from my job two years ago for excessive absences.
That’s terrible - I’m so sorry. I too have missed many occasions thanks to IBS-D. My biggest problem has been to get Upper Gastroenterologists to work with Lower Gastroenterologists - in a holistic way. I’ve had IBS for years, but here in Scotland I only get to see either an upper or lower gastro. Neither will talk to the other. I’m convinced hiatus hernia causes a whole heap of trouble for the bowel eventually. But I just get patted on the head and told not to worry about it 😡
Oh, how frustrating!
I had always assumed that if you had a hernia then it could be surgically repaired. Is it possible for you to have surgery for yours? It is certainly true that the whole gastrointestinal tract is a big mystery and even gastroenterologists don't really understand it. Generally they just sort of throw random darts at the problem and hope something works. The fodmap diet has helped me about 60%, but as you say, you have tried it. Your problem is a a little different than standard IBS, also.
I will ask the gastroenterologist if surgery might help my pain, or if it has anything to do with it. Thanks...
I see lots of good suggestions here. I'd like to encourage you to take a second look at JimmyJimmy's idea - it's not clear from your response what you thought about his suggestion that muscles could be the problem. I have a diagnosis of IBS, and symptoms of fatigue and mild indigestion developed in tandem for me; I am fairly confident that after several years I have finally identified my underlying problem and it's stiff joint muscles in simple English. The medical description that seems to fit best is TMD or Temporomandibular disorder, which usually manifests as pain in the jaw or shoulders, but I was experiencing very little pain as such, only a bit of back pain occasionally and the fatigue, which possibly may have been the pain signal coming through in muted form. The reason I think you might want to read about TMD, if you don't know about it already, is it's quite typical for symptoms to be bothersome first thing in the morning. Also my dentist said it's surprisingly common. Any stored tension in the joint muscles seems (from my own experience) to rebalance itself overnight, returning to its equilibrium after the activity of the day. In a totally healthy person that would mean all muscles relaxed during sleep, but if there are blockages, or little muscles that aren't for some reason able to receive the "relax" signals the brain sends out, then those muscles stay tight, and the loop of muscles in between any two such blockages also seem to not relax but do seem to spread the tension evenly around between themselves. That's what it feels like to me anyhow. Although I wasn't getting jaw pain as such, I was getting what I thought were frequent mild cold symptoms in the mornings, and I have managed to clear those up though the larger problem is still with me. I also have a sizeable hiatus hernia - causing no pain as far as I'm aware - perhaps the conditions are related. I experience a body-mind loop with stress/anxiety where if the gut/bowel are uncomfortable then I am experiencing some of the physical symptoms of anxiety, and my mind tends to generate and fix on anxious thoughts and blow them up out of all proportion, as well as thoughts being able to cause anxiety, so I wouldn't be surprised if your pain is further aggravating your anxiety about your illness which is of course totally understandable anyhow. I've done my best to minimize possible stress in my life the last year or so because I'm aware I overreact to what could be seen as minor problems when my health is bad; but that's not a cure. I'm hoping the answer for me may be using my inner awareness to find the blockages and clear them with a combination of stretches and relaxation, but have only partial success so far. There seem to be a lot of possible causes of gut pain, and yours may be from some totally unrelated cause. I hope you find a path back to good health soon.
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