Stomach issues

[Hammerboy]

Hi , I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas regarding my ongoing discomfort.

I've had stomach issues for many years and have had 4 endoscopies , one last month and a colonoscopy in June which was clear.

The main issues have been mild cramping, some reflux , nausea and chest pains.

I had been on Lansoprasol 30 mg for about 20 years before the endoscopy but after finding H Pylori on the latest procedure I was given antibiotics and Omeprasol 40mg for a week .

Thinking this was the answer to all my problems I looked forward to a better QOL but within a week or two some of symptoms came back .I had tests to check the bacteria was gone and it was but although the nausea had stopped and also the reflux , the mild cramping and stinging chest pains returned .

I have mild aortic stenosis and occasional Atrial fibrillation so being concerned the chest pains were a possible warning of a heart issue I went back to see the GP.

Im also waiting for the results of a routine CT aortic angiogram ordered by my cardiologist on my annual echo to check any progression of the stenosis which has been stable for many years.

The GP thinks the chest pains are stomach related but I've found them quite scary .

He's now put me on Esomeprasol 40mg for the next two weeks to see how it goes .

I really don't enjoy these pains and am now panicking it's nothing to do with my stomach and there's more to it

Last night I felt really strange , hot flushes , tender stomach , mild sweating and these stinging pains in the centre of my chest that come and go and having a bowel movement at 3am which is very unusual for me .

Any thoughts would be appreciated, my GP doesn't think it's IBS so I'm at a loss .

[Maureen1958]

Did the symptoms you had last night go away after going to the toilet at 3am. If so I would guess they were IBS related!

[Hammerboy in reply to Maureen1958]

Not really , just eased slightly

[Maureen1958 in reply to Hammerboy]

I get the tummy pain and the feeling I need to go, along with nausea and I can get hot and sweaty and get a prickly heat sensation too. But not the stinging pains in chest. But I have had indigestion pains in my chest on occasions, but not whilst on the loo. If you are worried, as you seem to have a lot of other things going on, perhaps have another word with your GP.

[Hammerboy in reply to Maureen1958]

Thanks , I have an appointment in 3 weeks to see him He wants to rule out any heart or artery issues but still feels my stomach is causing the pain

[Hidden]

Ahh make no bones, if you had h pylori then your symptoms will take at least 6 months or more to settle down. You need to keep talking omeprozole for 8 weeks after your initial eradication with your metronidazole and amoxicillin. The trouble is the more the you think about it the more the anxiety take over and makes the symptoms feel higher.With pylori you have to be patient I’m afraid as the lining of your gut takes a while to repair from the damage of the bacteria

[Hammerboy in reply to Hidden]

Hi and thanks, that makes sense . My GP doesn't seem to understand that waking up every morning with a tender and unpleasant stomach ache is a major issue. It can really get me down and I'm sure anxiety makes it worse because you feel that having taken the antibiotics you should be back to normal .

I simply don't know what to eat anymore because it seems everything has an effect .

Can I ask how you found out about the recovery time of the gut after H Pylori as again , my GP has not explained anything . The only change I've noticed is the nausea has almost gone

[Hidden in reply to Hammerboy]

Just reading on the internet really. And by others who have had this bug. Trouble is you can’t really say how long you had if for as 40 percent of us have it with only 10 percent showing symptoms. It can creep in when you are low. If you work or mix with kids like teachers etc you can pick it up as they don’t wash their hands. If you picked it up a year ago it will take a year to fully recover for example. Keep taking the PPI for 8 weeks after to lower stomach acid and helps heal your guts. You have to be off them for two months also before you can re test

[Hammerboy in reply to Hidden]

That's interesting as my GP took a stool and urine test 3 days after I finished the antibiotics and declared me free of H Pylori. As I said before I've been on PPI's for 20 years plus and my last endoscopy in 2017 showed no evidence of bacteria but I was still suffering from painful acid.

They just told me to up the dose which made no difference.

Having being told I now had H Pylori after my latest endoscopy I felt relieved they had finally found the problem.

[Hidden in reply to Hammerboy]

PPIs for 20 years 😐 I guess h pylori was your acid issue all the time. Or maybe not. So no stomach ulcers?

Yer the omeprozole etc will give a false reading and you need to be two months clear.

I’d stay on the ppi for a while and then gradually reduce them ( this is not medical advice) it’s just what I would do. You can’t suddenly stop them or it will flare up. Ask your doctor. If your over weight it can make it worse and things like alcohol tomato’s potato’s caffeine and chocolate

Ppi can also mess up your stools literally lol

[Hammerboy in reply to Hidden]

Yes my GP feels I should not be on PPI's long term and now the H Pylori is gone according to him, I should gradually reduce the dosage. I'm cutting out anything that may make it worse and I'm not overweight and exercise daily

[Hidden in reply to Hammerboy]

👍

[Hidden in reply to Hammerboy]

Try eating little and often as the more you make your stomach work the more acid it produces. Peppermint oil caps and probiotics for a few months. Have a look at justfortummies

[Poorlypatient]

I would entirely agree with A2060.It takes a long long time for your tummy to recover from pylori and eating small meals is very good advise.You Will get better eventually.

[Hammerboy in reply to Poorlypatient]

Thank you 👍

[Gazza01]

Hi mate. I have a heart condition too so I totally get the worry with chest pain. Maybe see if you can chase up the angiogram. Or you could go to the hospital with chest pain, you'll get one then, especially if you tell them you have one in the pipeline. Anxiety over the situation can cause the flushes etc. If you are stressed out with it all, that'll certainly mess with your digestive system too. Wish I could help more. Personally I'd go to A&E with those chest pains and get it all sorted in a day or two.

[Hammerboy in reply to Gazza01]

Hi and thanks, things seem to be very slowly settling down but I'm still chasing the CT . The hospital said they are miles behind with reporting results , how thats supposed to help anyone is beyond me .If I get to the point the pains got worse I'd certainly park myself in A &E but I have a feeling its stomach related .

It was bad enough giving up alcohol when I was diagnosed with AF but Indian , Chinese and chocolate is a step too far now my stomach is playing up lol

[Cliff_G]

Hi. There is a link between heart and gut problems. Dr Sanjay Gupta's Youtube videos have quite a lot on this - e.g. youtu.be/bwgDFHOkR20(Not working as expected?)

From my own experience, there is a two-way connection. Gut discomfort will kick off AF attacks (or ectopics in my case as I have had an ablation), but if I try and come off the Amiodarone which is keeping my ectopics/AF in check, then the gut starts playing up.

H Pylori and gut problems are now known to sometimes be associated with AF.

[Hammerboy in reply to Cliff_G]

That's interesting and pretty much confirms my own research .I've watched many of Dr Gupta's clips which are very informative. Having had AF for 4 years now and even after an ablation I can say without doubt 95% of my episodes start start after a meal and often just ectopics to begin with . Thankfully they are reasonably tolerable and not too frequent so far.

Sometimes my heart races for a few seconds and I think its starting only to go back to NSR straight away , it's a strange beast AF .

I can't tolerate Bisoprolol so I only take amlodipine for BP and Edoxaban for an anticoagulant.