crazy stomach pains - nurses or med profess

hookilau

Presented with acute pain in upper quadrants, bloating, gas every time I eat, starting with the 3rd or 4th bite into my meal. Hx of GERD (2 yr duration), likely resulted from otc NSAID use for migraine tx. Signalment: 44 yr old female, 30# overweight, otherwise unremarkable.
Had labs done this past Friday, all WNL, including thyroid profile,

I went to a GP and he thought I may have gall stones, he sent me to a GI specialist the same day, he feels like I may have a secondary gall bladder issue, but that my primary issue is likely ulcers caused by h.pylori.

I have an ultrasound appt this Wednesday, and a gastroscopy on Thursday. Meantime, the GI doctor put me on dexlansoprazole.

Here's my issue. Since starting the dex, I no longer have immediate issues with pain but now, I have severe back and stomach (upper quad) cramping. It's almost like the muscles are seizing up, causing me to hold my breath. This happens after eating and lasts about 3 or 4 hours with me doubled ovee in what feels like the beginning of back labor pains. Any insight?

Other thanbirthing my children 24 and 17 yrs ago, respectively, I have never had any issues requiring medical attention. I will say this though, I see doctors have done a complete 180 in terms of bedside , manner than when I was in my 20's. I'll admit I've been avoiding them for yrs.

OnionMomma

Most of the kids I know on a Ped GERD board do an ABX with high doses of a PPI to rid or control h.pylori.

ETA that I'm not a nurse or a DR just a Mommy of a kid who had pretty sever GERD (required tube feeds to overcome he was in that much pain) and he has mild DGE (we have weaned off of those meds)

hookilau

Hmm...that's interesting. I've read that tx for h.pylori included a round of metronidazole along with dexilant. Is that contraindicated in children or web misinformation?

OnionMomma

IDK but all I know is the kids on the Ped GERD board are normally treated with both. Maybe it's treated differently in children than in adults but I doubt it.

I would call the Dr and ask about it.

You could also ask to have a med added in called Carafate. It's by RX only and it is like super mylanta. It coats the esophagus all the way down to the stomach. This provides for healing underneath.

hookilau

Thanks for the input :drinker: I'm familiar with carafate, we used it all the time at the Animal Hospital I worked at for gastric ulcerations....more complications have arisen though, just got a call from the Dr's office to come in right away to discuss lab findings...turns out I have type II diabetes :noway:

Suddenly, my tummy isn't bothering me much anymore:ohwell:

DalekBrittany

I've had limited experience but as far as I am aware severe stomach cramping/pains is one of the side effects of dexla that requires a doctor's attention. Have you called either your primary or your GI doc to let them know?

Also, sorry to hear about your dx. No one ever wants to hear they have diabetes, so that's no fun :L

DalekBrittany

Thanks for the input :drinker: I'm familiar with carafate, we used it all the time at the Animal Hospital I worked at for gastric ulcerations....more complications have arisen though, just got a call from the Dr's office to come in right away to discuss lab findings...turns out I have type II diabetes :noway:

Suddenly, my tummy isn't bothering me much anymore:ohwell:

Also, how did they come about this dx? Did they do a GTT, insulin levels, u/a...?

hookilau

I used to work in an animal hospital and one of the first things we always checked for labs was BG. They did routine bloodwork to see if anything was out of whack, and I guess to gain some insight as to why I was having such tummy problems (they were guessing gall bladder issues). However, labs revealed a BG level of 266 mg/dl. That was Friday morning.

This morning, just after my last tummy post, the office called and asked me to come in to discuss abnormal findings on my labs. This came as a surprise since they said all my labs were good when I left on Friday. I figured in-house labs must've been good, but maybe something came back abnormal on the Thyroid panel or something.

I was completely blindsided with this dx though because it's one of the very first few values on the list :sick: Anyhow, when I went back this morning, they asked for a ua & the dip revealed glucose ++ soooo....here I am :ohwell: I told my mom a little while ago, she said, now that I mention it, my dad has it (estranged so I don't know much about him, never did) and both his parents had it at a relatively young age, both died from young from complications due to lack of diabetic mgt. :huh: So I guess it was in the cards for me all along. Now that hindsight is 20/20, I realize I've had symptoms for the last 6 years or so, since my late 30's. Sigh.

DalekBrittany

I used to work in an animal hospital and one of the first things we always checked for labs was BG. They did routine bloodwork to see if anything was out of whack, and I guess to gain some insight as to why I was having such tummy problems (they were guessing gall bladder issues). However, labs revealed a BG level of 266 mg/dl. That was Friday morning.

This morning, just after my last tummy post, the office called and asked me to come in to discuss abnormal findings on my labs. This came as a surprise since they said all my labs were good when I left on Friday. I figured in-house labs must've been good, but maybe something came back abnormal on the Thyroid panel or something.

I was completely blindsided with this dx though because it's one of the very first few values on the list :sick: Anyhow, when I went back this morning, they asked for a ua & the dip revealed glucose ++ soooo....here I am :ohwell: I told my mom a little while ago, she said, now that I mention it, my dad has it (estranged so I don't know much about him, never did) and both his parents had it at a relatively young age, both died from young from complications due to lack of diabetic mgt. :huh: So I guess it was in the cards for me all along. Now that hindsight is 20/20, I realize I've had symptoms for the last 6 years or so, since my late 30's. Sigh.

Then you should feel lucky that you haven't had any other problems, as I'm sure you know uncontrolled DM can cause a lot of problems! I'm assuming they're sending you for more labs like to find out your HgA1C? The good thing about this is that they caught it and it will be controlled, which will probably make it much easier for you to lose weight. And 266 is obviously high, but it could have been much, much worse! I actually did a fingerstick on a lady once who hadn't been to the doc in years. It was 396!

hookilau

yes, you're absolutely right. It could've been *much worse :embarassed: Yes, more blood work in 2 months, meantime, I have to go see an ophthalmologist (that explains the intermittent blurry vision, I just thought i was tired,) and an appt at a local diabetic education center, probably a diabetic nutritionist too.

After the initial shock, you're right about feeling lucky. I'm googling like crazy to get the lay of the land Thank you for your input, I'm surprised how much better I feel about the dx now. Years of unanswered questions, answered in an instant. It was oddly comforting talking with you about this. I've never had any other illness to speak of up until now, darn law of averages!

I'm finding occam's razor oddly comforting as well. I feel confident I'll be able to work through the digestive issues, gall bladder issues & T2. I couldn't understand for the life of me, why with all the working out, clean eating & effort to do the right thing did not yield any weight loss. :huh: Mystery solved

Anyhoo. You're a peach :smooched:

DalekBrittany

Aw it's not a problem! :flowerforyou: I'm glad you feel a bit better. Both my parents have DMII and a lot of the pts I've dealt with had it as well. And, don't forget that after weight loss a lot of people end up showing no signs of it!

I wish you good luck with everything and I'm glad you got your dx so you can now fix the problem!