Painful, uncontrollable, unidentifiable "stomach bloat" is ruining my life!
First please let me start with I know you people aren't doctors, but I've been to my doctor, two actually, and neither have been able to give me a definitive diagnosis or a plan of action that actually helps, so I'm reaching out to the people of the Internet. Maybe some of you have, or have heard of something similar, and can offer suggestions my doctor hasn't yet.
Basically, at random, I'll start to develop this upper backache. It happens randomly, but I'm noticing a pattern--it seems to happen when I'm stressed. Now, I go through periods where I eat very healthily, and then where I don't at all (Fast food, candy, etc) as I am a binge eater and constantly dealing with setbacks etc. So I wonder if it could be a gluten intolerence, actually, but when I start to get sick like this EVERYTHING sets it off, even drinks.
So it starts with an upper backache, then comes the bloat. It's all in the upper stomach. I look pregnant. It's SO painful it presses against my spine and squishes my lungs up sometimes so I can only take shallow breaths. I've taken omeperazle, acidophilis, some medicine my doctor prescribed that I haven't taken in over a year... I've taken GasX, and most recently Charcoal Capsules. Baking soda and water makes it worse. Nothing helps. I'm afraid that if I fall while in this condition, if I can even be up and working in the first place, my insides will explode. It sounds comical, but no, I'm actually afraid something might rupture. And my job is a very stressful hands on lifting job with a lot of walking and bending.
My doctor(s) have given me the "diagnoses" of : GERD, IBS mixed, acid reflux. I was even checked for a hiatal hernia at one point. But everything came back clear.
Three years ago it got so bad I would throw up everything I ate, and almost had to be hospitalized because I was so dehydrated. Luckily I haven't started throwing up again, but the bloat is very distracting and painful. I typically come home, take an acidohpilis and omeperazle, maybe even a tylenol, and lay down in bed with my heating pad on my back. It's so bad lately I've even had to take my underwear and sports bra off because they're just too tight. Then when I wake up I feel better... until I eat again. Last night, I could even feel the gas in my upper stomach like a brick, and then all of a sudden I heard my stomach groan and it was like the gas lessened and moved into my intestines where it wasn't a bother anymore. I've tried yoga poses and stuff like that but nothing relieves the gas.
I'm pretty sure changing my diet would help, but I don't know what foods are safe, since it seems like ANYTHING I eat causes the bloat.
Does anyone have any advice? I almost considered quitting my job and going on disability 3 years ago when this was a month-long event. I just couldn't live life, I was losing weight rapidly and so dehydrated and miserable and always in pain. I don't want it to get to that point again.
Last edited by mymagicnumber; 05-22-2016 at 04:58 PM.
I posted a reply, then deleted, because your question is exceptionally health related, and I wouldn't want to lead you astray with the wrong solution. Perhaps you should print out what you just wrote and take it to a new physician? (or the best listener from your previous visits.)
We cannot know if your issues are serious or if there is a simple diet fix--we're all hoping for the simple fix.
(My earlier suggestion was to watch out for sorbitol, other sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners--those give my DS horrible gas. Lots of that stuff in candy, gum, mints, etc)
Have you been checked for h-pylori? That's some nasty stuff. It made me so so ill. It started out with that pain and pressure stuff you describe then morphed into even worse things. Ugh.
I had similar issues, GERD, IBS, bloated stomach, 7 month pregnant look though I wasn't. On a hunch, my doctor checked for celiac. It's just a blood test. Once celiac was diagnosed and I avoided it in my diet, my GI problems completely cleared up.
One of my friends had a similar problem. She ended up being allergic to a certain kind of red dye. Apparently this dye pops up in things that aren't even red too. Might be worth considering.
Hi MYMagicNumber,
I just saw your post right after reading about Low Stomach Acid causing all your symptoms. The article was in a magazine, call for Women First, but prior to this I had noticed a bunch of stuff on the internet on it also. Check out healing leaky gut too. These can be hand in hand, and basically a lot of us folks are getting these things from the Standard American Diet (SAD) But there is hope and healing, it just takes some changes in the diet.
I don't have any answers for you, but I wanted to tell you I have what sounds like the exact same thing. Mine starts with abdominal pain that "swells" up into my upper back. My belly bloats up so much that it looks like I am six or seven months pregnant. I am heavy, but my belly is usually soft and flabby--there is a noticeable difference when I get this bloating problem.
Docs can't figure it out. I already had my gallbladder out over a year ago, so it's not that. My last bout lasted almost 24 hours, and it happened after I had bell peppers, which are a huge IBS trigger. So I'm going to quit eating bell peppers and see if that helps.
I know the original post is a bit older, however in addition to seeing a doctor, I would also recommend seeing a registered dietician.
I did not have the same issues as you did; however I did have digestion issues; vomiting, severe heartburn, burning sensation, bloating. I saw a dietician about a year ago who helped me eliminate certain foods from my diet.
I can have dairy in small quantities; once I hit that magical limit, it is as if lava is being poured into my belly. I also cannot eat a large quantity of specific foods.
I took allergy tests, and have a list of things I am allergic too as well.
I am trying to heal my tummy from years of bad eating habits. I recently stopped drinking coffee and carbonated beverages. That has helped me immensely. I was not ready to do that a year ago; now I have whole heartedly embraced it -and I am not looking back. I don't miss the pain either.
I hope you find the answers you are looking for. Best wishes.
If you've already had your gallbladder out, it could be post-cholecystectomy syndrome. Look that up, also Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction. Do the attacks feel similar to gallstone attacks? Can you get referred to a gastroenterologist to get properly investigated? I've had problems like you describe, though more about the pain than the bloating (I still have to switch to much looser clothing as soon as it hits), since I had my gallbladder out. After a few years of getting fobbed off by the GP, I got referred to a gastroenterologist who is taking is seriously and running various tests.
Painful, uncontrollable, unidentifiable "stomach bloat" is ruining my life!
for all your pain and worry, MM#.
