Ongoing tummy issues - no idea what's wrong :(

[mdox]

Hey guys!

I made a post about a week ago, but just wanted to make a more detailed one on symptoms i’ve been experiencing and my worries. Sorry if it’s long!

For context, i’m 21 years old, weight about 40kg and i’m 5ft1 (bmi is within the underweight region). I’ve been this way for a few years now, so I haven’t lost a lot of weight at once or anything.

I started feeling unwell in 2019, but my symptoms weren’t anything i’d have thought were ‘a big deal’ because I rationalised It all in my head. However, December 2019 I decided to go and see the GP about my tummy issues that weren’t getting better. I had altered bowel habits, intermittent lower left abdominal pain, and a lot of fatigue. I was sent for blood tests which showed an under-active thyroid, severe vitamin D deficiency and low iron. I’ve since been on 25mg levothyroxine, otc vitamin D after taking 50,000 IU for six weeks, and 210mg ferrous fumarate.

However, my symptoms have only gotten worse since December. The left sided tummy pain as well as pain in the mid area haven’t gotten better. I also get quite a lot of pain under my ribs and also in my chest, I’m not sure if these are all related. I feel gassy a lot of the time and can get quite constipated. I’ve had an abdomen ultrasound in September 2020 which showed nothing. I’ve also tested negative for celiac disease and have tried the gluten free diet for two weeks and nothing changed. I've realised dairy definitely makes things a lot worse so stay away from it.

Recently, I’ve been feeling a pulse like sensation in my abdomen (both left and right side) and it was been scary. I get this feeling sometimes in my upper leg and i Have no idea what it is. It also happens near my heart which makes me panic because I can’t tell if it’s my heart that’s beating incorrectly or the same weird feeling I get in other places in my body. Has anyone else ever had this issue before, and what could be causing it?

I have also started experiencing acid reflux a few weeks ago (I never used to have this problem) and now find it difficult to sleep at night because of regurgitation. I don't eat greasy or unhealthy food, and don’t eat at least four hours before bed, but this regurgitation comes on a couple of hours after I eat dinner. I have no idea what the cause of it is, but I have stopped taking my iron pills two days ago to see if the cause of this is because I have been taking those pills for six months straight.

I really have no idea what to do and I am always worried sick, I have really bad health anxiety which makes everything ten times worse. Every time I bring up my stomach problems to the GP they just put it down to IBS and prescribe me different tablets and tell me that should sort out my problems, but they never work.

I am due to do a stool sample this coming Monday to check for H Pylori antigen so hopefully I may get more answers then. I would really like a scan of my entire body to see what is making me so ill but that will never happen 😢

I would really appreciate any advice/tips or if you’ve had similar experiences!

[Hidden]

Have you had a stool test for h pylori

[mdox in reply to Hidden]

I’m doing this test on Monday!

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

H pylori symptoms that I had.Reflux, bloating, wind, gas, feelings of guts turning or tension gripping. Moving lumps of air in belly. ( worst during evenings) smelly stools. Anxiety, ibs style symptoms,

Feeling you need to clear your throat, I believe it can have an interaction with the heart, as can any illness. It’s a clever little bug that 50 percent of us have but can get in or get a hold if your low. Medication is two strong antibiotics three times a day for a week and omeprozole ppi for about two months

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

Four tests in total can be done.Blood, breath test, stool and sample taken by endoscopy.

The blood test is not conclusive as it will not show the bug is present, it only looks for the antibodies that can remain for a year or two

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

If it’s any help I was fobbed off for over a year with ibs and anti spasms drugs. (Also another symptom)

[mdox in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for the reply!

I have those symptoms too, and weird twitches in my body that come out of nowhere. I'll hopefully find out next week if it is h pylori. Did the medications help by the way?

And honestly the word 'IBS' just annoys me now, they use it when they can't be bothered to carry out more necessary tests to help diagnose the real issue and it's sad. It has been just over a year for me since my symptoms have started., but they have gradually been getting worse (e.g. the acid reflux symptoms started a few weeks ago).

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

Yes your twitching could be anxiety, lack of fluid or sleep.Common antibiotics are metronidazole and amoxicillin with the ppi.

I take it your not already on omeprozole etc? As this will affect your pylori test!

Yes the antibiotics are effective for first line treatment with 80 percent of people. Ask about pro biotics if you are given antibiotics. Don’t drink alcohol with metronidazole!!! Not a sniff.

Your symptoms will improve but can take several months to get back to how it was due to the damage the bug does (assuming you have it)

[mdox in reply to Hidden]

I’m also underweight so I initially thought that was the cause of the twitches/spasms but i’m not sure anymore.

I’ve taken amoxicillin last year July for a week and it was absolutely horrible, really messed with my stomach, I really hope I never have to take it again. I took it for a dental issue so it wasn’t stomach related.

No i’m not on omeprozole but I was on lansoprazole earlier this month which is why i’ve had to wait until next Monday to do the stool sample! I stopped taking it in the 08/01/21. Lansoprazole did not help me though.

I also don’t drink so that’s good, and wow several months? That is a longtime

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

Same stuff. All part of the ppi family. Get plenty of sleep drink water, don’t stress. Also you could try taking vitamin B12

[mdox in reply to Hidden]

Thank you, I will do. I’ll update on here next week when I receive my results!

[mdox in reply to Hidden]

Hey! Update from just over a week ago - my h pylori test came back positive I've just posted on the IBS forum again with the details.

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

Ah there you go then

[mdox in reply to Hidden]

With the antibiotics and the ppi, do I take them all together in the morning after breakfast (so 2 amoxicillin + 1 lansoprazole + 1 Clarithromycin) and take them together again in the evening? Or do I need to space all three of them out?

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

Just as directed. It depends on the strength and the length of corse. The ppi is normally two a day of 20mg or one a day 40mg

[mdox in reply to Hidden]

It's for one week. I just spoke with the pharmacist who said it's fine to take all four together at the same time. It's going to be a long week

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

You take normally x2 or x3 of the antibiotics together over the day and the ppi in the morning and evening

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

You always space the dose but can take the tablets together is what I’m saying don’t take the whole days worth in one go! But I don’t need to tell you that

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

Don’t drink alcohol with this corse because you will lower the effectiveness of the antibiotics and pylori is a very tough bug to crack. Amoxicillin has no interaction with drink other than that. But Clarithromycin or metronidazole will make you sick and heart palpitations

[FRreedman]

Have you had your gall bladder checked? This could well be the cause of constipation, pain in the left/middle of the tummy and regurgitation (heartburn). Ask your GP to check for Bile Acid Malabsorption (BAM). If you get some blocks (wood or brick) and place them under your bed (the head end), this will lift your body up and reduce the chance of acid leaking back up your esophagus, and therefore, reduce heartburn.

[mdox in reply to FRreedman]

Thank you for the reply! I’ll do this, is gallbladder checked through blood tests?

[FRreedman in reply to mdox]

And a CT scan

[LMor]

Do you have any recent thyroid results? I had a huge amount of issues when I was undiagnosed with an under active thyroid. 25mcg is only a starter dose. How long have you been on this? I’d definitely go on the thyroid community and post your question there. Theres some amazing and helpful members. I’ve been gluten free for about 3-4 years and I can not tell you the difference. I’m not sure Two weeks is long enough to know if it helped. Your vitamins are probably low because of your thyroid and your stomach issues may be too. Thyroid absolutely effects your gut.

[mdox in reply to LMor]

Hey thank you for your message! I wanted to post this on both the thyroid community and on here but I realised it was impossible, still trying to get the hang of this website haha.

I definitely agree with you, because my gut issues started when I was diagnosed in December 2019 - it is the reason I went to the doctors in the first place. I have been on 25mg ever since, they check my thyroid frequently and say stay on the starter dose and I'm like?? I did my last test a month and a half ago (they only check TSH levels) and it came back within the normal range and was given more of the same dose.

I think I'm going to try and go for more tests (private if It comes to that) and see if I have hashimotos and try to beg the doctors to increase my dose somehow. I'll give gluten free diet a go again, it's really difficult doing it at home but will get on that once I go back to uni soon!

Thank you for the advice

[LMor in reply to mdox]

Testing just Tsh is useless, especially once on medication. It’s not even a thyroid hormone. I would absolutely advice that you get a copy of all your results. Doctors think of your Tsh is in range then you are ok but that’s so far from the truth. It needs to be 1 or below and you need to test T4 & T3. Please post on the thyroid community. You will get fantastic advice from very knowledgeable members. I order private tests from “Monitor my health”. They have 20% off at the moment with code JANMMH20. Will cost £23.80 to test Tsh, T4 & T3 so brilliant price. Doctors rarely test T3 which is why I always test privately. Good luck

[Hidden]

Hi there I’ve had very similar symptoms to you, just wondering what your outcome was? Thanks

[mdox in reply to Hidden]

Hey, I'm so sorry to hear you've been suffering with these symptoms too.

I've had a stool sample done to check for h pylori and it came back positive, I've been prescribed a triple dose of antibiotics for a week now.

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

I’ve had a blood test done for that too and came back negative, not sure if the stool sample would maybe be more accurate? Thanks

[mdox in reply to Hidden]

Stool samples are usually a good indicator, it checks to see if the infection is active. I'd suggest asking your GP if you can do that instead! What symptoms are you experiencing?

[Hidden in reply to mdox]

I’ve had basically the exact symptoms you’ve had, with the low vitamin D and iron, also had the pulse feeling in stomach too. Also had the reflux symptoms too.