Stomach issues / GI trouble

stormycyclist13 said:unknown 40 MG,
I take one every single morning..

I've been on it. My stomach was already a mess from gastritis, but I absolutely wrecked it this summer after two heavy drinking sessions and some food poisoning that left me puking for a week straight. It definitely helps. 👍

Kimberly Davis52, your "experience" is anything but pleasant. You lie there on your side, they shove that metal kidney dish right under your mouth by the edge of the table, and then they start shoving a tube through you—thick as a finger, mind you. And yet, you're somehow proud of how much you can swallow 😍
For me, the worst part was the chest pain. It hits your lungs—you can't even take a proper breath without struggling. Of course, you're laughing and your stomach is cramping up, but nothing actually comes out.
The pain lingers for a bit, and then you're just scrambling to find something to eat 😁

Lisa Ortiz17 said:You're damn proud of how much you can stomach, aren't you? 😍

🤣 What an idiot.

My mom was telling me about people who were projectile vomiting from their mouths and noses yesterday. Just hearing about it made me sick to my stomach, and that was two days ago. 😁
Basically, I’m sitting here thinking how impossible that sounds because when I’m actually feeling like death—and trust me, the nausea is real—I can't throw up if there's nothing in my stomach. There's nothing there.

Anyway, my dad is coming with me just in case I get so sick that I can't even make it home on the bus. And she's calling him just to tell him to make me tea when I have a fever 😁 instead of ever actually going to the doctor with me. I bet he's really going to enjoy this little experience. 😁

Well, if you just have a tiny bit of reflux, I guess that's really just an automatic reaction when something hits the back of your throat. Once that's out of the way, maybe there won't be any more vomiting at all!

Whew, I feel a hell of a lot better now🙂

The discomfort I'm experiencing feels less like typical pain and more like that heavy, bloated sensation you get after an intense workout—you know, that sort of "burden" feeling? It isn't exactly painful, but it is incredibly UNCOMFORTABLE...
ugh

My doctor performed an exam and noted there was no tenderness upon palpation, which is why she decided to prescribe these tablets.

stormycyclist13 said:The discomfort I'm feeling isn't even really pain. It’s more like that heavy, bloated sensation you get right after an intense workout—you know, that weird "weight" or pressure in your gut? It doesn't hurt, it just feels... uncomfortable.
ugh

My doctor checked me out, and since there was no actual tenderness when she pressed down, she just put me on these pills.

So, we're talking about her physical exam from some other appointment (hopefully she was being professional about it) 😁 , but honestly, this whole thing feels way more like gastritis to me.

I dealt with pretty much the exact same issues a few years back. I was stuck in this endless loop of wondering if it was just standard gastritis or something more serious like an ulcer. It didn't get resolved until I finally sat down and went through the whole diagnostic gauntlet—X-rays, everything. Eventually, the final word came from a blood test checking for H. pylori bacteria, and sure enough, that came back positive.

Linda Peterson said:I dealt with similar issues a few years back. I was stuck wondering if it was just gastritis or something more serious like an ulcer. Everything finally became clear once I went through the full battery of tests—X-rays, blood work, and eventually testing positive for H. pylori.

If you don't mind me asking, could you elaborate on that a bit?

Look, from what I understand—though I’m certainly no medical expert—isn't it gastritis that actually triggers the acid reflux?
Is that how it works when you're dealing with heartburn?

Personally, I don't really deal with the acid issue. Instead, I get this uncomfortable ache... it happens when I pull my stomach in, almost like I can't catch my breath. It feels similar to that soreness you get after overdoing it with sit-ups at the gym.
Yeah, something along those lines.

No, it’s actually the acid that triggers the gastritis in the first place!

If you're dealing with that kind of pain, it sounds like a classic case of gastritis to me.
Now, there are two ways this usually plays out. It could be caused by an overproduction of stomach acid—which often happens when you're dealing with high stress levels, constant nerves, drinking too much coffee on an empty stomach, or smoking way too many cigarettes... or, it could be caused by that specific bacteria Linda Peterson mentioned earlier, H. pylori. You can get tested for that through a simple blood test or even a breath test. If it turns out you have the bacteria, honestly, that's almost a relief because you can just take a round of antibiotics and clear it out. But if it’s just standard, chronic gastritis without the bacteria involved... well, that's a much tougher road because you can never truly get rid of it for good.
My best advice would be to go get tested for the bacteria first, just to be sure...

GOOD LUCK!

stormycyclist13 said:Could you elaborate on that a bit, if you don't mind?

There’s been plenty written about health issues related to this bacteria, and you can easily find more info with a quick Google search.🙂

So, back in the fall three years ago, I was dealing with these absolutely brutal stomach pains. It was this specific kind of pain that radiated through my entire abdomen; it would flare up every single night, and for two weeks straight, I couldn't sleep because of it. It was killing me at night. If I tried to eat anything, the pain would dull down for a second, but then it would come back even worse. I had burning, stabbing sensations—I basically had every single symptom of an ulcer. But since I was only 23 at the time, my doctor found it hard to believe it was actually an ulcer, so he figured it was likely just gastritis. He prescribed some unknown to settle the pain, but honestly, it didn't do much for me. Then he sent me for an X-ray—I had to drink that chalky contrast liquid😁—and my stomach looked perfectly clear. No lesions, no ulcers, nothing.

Then, my doctor ordered blood tests specifically for that bacteria, and the results came back positive. There is a massive amount of research out there on this thing, depending on how deep you want to dive.😁 It's widely believed that this specific bacteria is responsible for causing ulcers down the line, and if left untreated, it can even lead to stomach cancer. While the cancer risk is statistically lower, the danger of developing an ulcer is much higher. The only thing doctors haven't reached a total consensus on is whether this bacteria is transmitted through saliva or similar means, or if it's just a common inhabitant of the human stomach and it's simply a matter of when or if it becomes active.

Anyway, I was put on a regimen of three different medications. I took them all together for about ten days, and the pain vanished completely.😁 Since then, I've noticed that certain foods trigger a burning sensation in my stomach, so I'm pretty careful about what I eat now. Every once in a while, I get a slight ache, usually during the fall. People say that's when the bacteria likes to "wake up."

By the way, I don't think you can just wipe this bacteria out easily. You mostly just manage it. Definitely consult with a doctor.

When my mom was dealing with health issues, we advised her to get screened for bacteria first. It seemed smarter to rule out a simple, painless cause before jumping into those morbid, invasive procedures.😱

And sure enough, the test came back positive.

Linda Peterson said:I dealt with similar issues a few years back. It went from suspected gastritis to potential ulcers—total guesswork until I finally got through all the testing, X-rays, and those blood tests for H. pylori. Turns out, the test was positive.

My mom struggled with gastritis for months—her stomach would revolt no matter what she ate. At first, I actually thought it was because of my new girlfriend... 😁 but she just refused to see a doctor. Instead, she stuck to all those old wives' tales, drinking herbal teas and snacking on dried fruit, thinking that would fix it. She finally gave in and went for an exam one day—she was fasting, obviously, they were shoving tubes down her throat and everything—only for them to tell her she had a duodenal ulcer that was currently healing. They couldn't even say why it was healing... I told her, you can't just wish medical problems away with home remedies.😉

Well, you know, I’ve never really struggled with gastritis before. I used to be able to eat just about anything, whenever the mood struck. But I suppose there comes a point where you have to start being careful. It isn't exactly excruciating pain—in fact, I don't feel much while I'm out and about—but once I settle in at home, the discomfort starts creeping in. Just a nagging unpleasantness. And then there's the lipomas. I have five or six of them. I actually had one removed already. They are mostly concentrated around my abdomen; specifically, there's one small 5mm one, and two on my back. Now... they seem to be reappearing. I doubt it's related to the stomach issues, though. My doctor would likely mention it if there were a connection since I've brought it up before. I'll see how I respond to this current course of medication first. If it doesn't help, I plan to go in for a full battery of tests to figure out what's actually going on. For now, I'm not in any real PAIN, and I sincerely hope it stays that way.

Linda Peterson, thanks for clearing that up.

Kimberly Davis52 said:Is the prep really that bad?
Supposedly people end up throwing up, but I don't get how you can vomit after going 12+ hours without eating anything.
Not just asking out of curiosity—I'm scheduled for mine next week.

Trust me, it happens. You might just throw up bile or mucus. Even brushing my teeth makes me feel nauseous.
As for the actual endoscopy? I did it once and I am never doing that again.🙂

urbanseal6 said:It’s likely H. pylori. You can check for it through bloodwork or a breath test. If you have it, great news—you just take some antibiotics and get it over with. But if this is just standard gastritis, you're in for a tougher ride because there's no permanent fix for that.
Get tested for the bacteria first. That's my advice.

GOOD LUCK!

A blood latex test for H. pylori isn't exactly foolproof. A breath test is more reliable, though the gold standard is combining tests with an endoscopy. Usually, treatment involves a month-long course of three different antibiotics. There's about a 30% chance of it coming back, but if you have to do a second round of treatment, the relapse rate is almost zero.

I dealt with H. pylori a few years back. Honestly, those meds were some of the worst stuff I've ever had to swallow 😬

@Sarah Gomez52/">@@Sarah Gomez52, for me, as long as my stomach stays empty, I don't throw up—no matter how nauseous I feel. Fingers crossed this round actually works 😁