Bloating & Abdominal Pains...

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Neliel
Neliel Posts: 507 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This has nothing to do with weight loss or eating at all but I wanted to to see if anyone here has any useful information for me seeing as the Doctors and GPs have failed to help me and allowed me to suffer for over a year now.

December last year I went into hospital with suspected appendicitis. However, despite having me ready for surgery it was decided they wouldn't bother because one arsehole wasn't convinced it was appendicitis. Ever since then i've been suffering with bloating and abdominal pains. It is mostly the lower and ascending colon that i can feel is really sore and inflamed inside. I'm sure it's not food related but every time i've been to the doctor they've just told me it's IBS. I've taken all sorts of pills they've given me and I tried cutting out all sorts of foods but got nowhere. I am almost convinced myself it is NOT IBS. It is at its worst when i'm going through stressful periods (for example, i'm in my second year of uni now and have a lot going on). I've also noticed that when i'm doing cardio exercise it gets very bloated and painful too. Today I went running with my friend and I had to stop after 10 minutes because my stomach had gone to relatively flat to hugely bloated within 5 minutes!! And the pain in my large intestine was just too much.

Does anyone have any useful information for me at what this could be? I have a feeling it's to do with my appendix but obviously I just don't know. I got put down to have a colonoscopy but they still haven't done anything for me. Please help if you have any clues about this.. it's truly disrupting my life and upsetting me so much. The worst part is - noone seems to listen to me :'(

Replies

  • ppiinnkkmmoonn
    ppiinnkkmmoonn Posts: 418
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    i had this a while back don't know where it came from but i started taking probiotic multi-enzyme (got mines at walmart for 7 dollars) about 8 months ago and after about 5days of taking it. it went a way....................so i mean it can't hurt to try i know when you are changing your eating habits it can do something to the stomach and plumbing either way this stuff has help tons now i don't have the problem also i drink only almond milk the unsweeten one anyway point is also check your diet maybe there somethng your body don't like or creating something. just a thought but a doctor is always good if afforable just caught the last bit of your post and doctor maight be the right place.
  • 2bFitNTrim
    2bFitNTrim Posts: 1,209 Member
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    You need to be thoroughly checked b4 a doctor says IBS. IBS is a diagnosis your get when everything else has been ruled out, and just from reading your post, it doesn't sound like that has been done. I'd recommnend a GI doc and your GYN to start. And be assertive even if it is not in your nature to be. Hope you get some answers.
  • xarrium
    xarrium Posts: 432 Member
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    AHHHH!!! You really should go to the hospital (or a doctor if you can see one quickly) and *insist* on getting an answer... compose a list of your symptoms, when they happen, how long the last, where they are, and what you've done (and if it's worked)... obviously, if your abdomen is bloating up (from flat) there's a huge issue there, and the last thing anybody needs is something going really wrong with their intestines. I understand how it feels when the people with power to help brush you off, but somebody out there will listen if you push them enough. Please get help! :flowerforyou:
  • Neliel
    Neliel Posts: 507 Member
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    I've been to a few different doctors a number of times. Most of them just say "it sounds like IBS" without even looking at or feeling my tummy. They really don't seem to give a rats *kitten* about it. It seems to be stress and exercise-related which is NOT IBS. It also feels very very sore and swollen if I havent eaten for quite a few hours.
    I just don't know what to do anymore. I'm going to the gastro department of the hospital to get checked now and again (due to the colonoscopy referral) but they just ask me a few questions and send me on my way. I was supposed to be going again this month but my appointment got pushed back to January.
    It's so embarassing when you go out and your stomach just bloats out like that! It's so uncomfortable and the pain can be awful. But mostly it just feels extremely sore and swollen when it does flare up.
  • carrie145
    carrie145 Posts: 297
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    Are you taking any kind of fat burners or diet pills? I've heard stories about fat burners swelling and causing a blockage that swells up and out..if that makes sense...
  • Neliel
    Neliel Posts: 507 Member
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    No i'm taking nothing like that. It's nothing to do with dieting because this has been going on for a year and I only started dieting in September. I'm at a loss.
  • Tubbyangel
    Tubbyangel Posts: 25
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    Hey sorry to hear your feeling well, you need to be persistent with your gp as generally gps dont actually have alot of experience. I'm saying this because my soon to be husband had similar symptoms to yourself but also had the runs going to the loo 10-15 times a day with blood and unbelieveable pain, after 4 months of being fobbed off and have lost 3 stone he was admitted and diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, which then led to emergency surgery as his bowel was about to rupture. He now has a permanent illostomy but is slowly regaining his life and putting on a bit of weight. It has been a really ****ty 6 months.

    I'm saying this because you cannot trust gps. If you are not getting a answer see another one, make sure he orders a full blood tests including full blood count, u&E and CRP, you should also get refered for a colonoscopy ( unplesant but accurate) and possibly a ultra sound of liver and abdomen.

    Chances are everything is fine but the tests will prove it, better safe than sorry. Also peppermint tea is good for wind and bloating but don't add milk.
  • kara_leigh
    kara_leigh Posts: 25
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    Have you been checked for Endometriosis? I have **exactly** the same symptoms you do, and my doctors were convinced I had IBS or Crohn's Disease. I even had a Colonoscopy at 28 years old (which came back normal). Two months after my colonoscopy I had laprascopy by my Ob/Gyn and found I had State 4 Endometriosis. I just had my second laprascopy for Endo a month ago b/c the pain was back. If you haven't already, I would get checked out by your Gyno to see if it could be related to that.
  • diverdi
    diverdi Posts: 64 Member
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    I am a UK GP and agree with posts above. IBS is a diagnosis once you've excluded everything else. My thoughts given your description would be to ask for an ultrasound scan first line as it is non-invasive. then think about colonoscopy or laparoscopy next as they are invasive and run a risk of problems (although the risk is tiny).
    When I was a house officer in surgery we used to scan any young female with suspected appendicitis (unless they were relaly unwell and needed surgery immediately) as a ruptured ovarian cyst can have exactly the same symptoms.
  • Neliel
    Neliel Posts: 507 Member
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    When i was in the hospital a year ago they gave me an ultrasound scan but they didn't find anything. This was the day after they decided not to operate on me. I can't understand why they didn't, I was soooo ill! I was extremely nauseous and as the day went on i got more and more feverish with stomach pains. I spent all day curled up in bed feeling like death. sweat was literally DRIPPING off of me.
    It just bothers me that they don't take it seriously - the fact i've been suffering for so long now. I may really push for the colonoscopy when I return to the gastro team in January as that's WHY i've been going there in the first place.
    I just wonder if maybe my appendix is causing what I still keep getting. That maybe it's infected inside and making the rest of my intestine inflamed. Will make another doctor's appointment on Monday. I just can't live like this anymore.
  • karenjoy
    karenjoy Posts: 1,840 Member
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    if it had been your appendix I am fairly sure it would have ruptured by now, I would take the advice offered by http://www.myfitnesspal.com/diverdi
  • ppiinnkkmmoonn
    ppiinnkkmmoonn Posts: 418
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    i feel your pain hun a couple years ago i had some things wrong with me and the didn't take me seriously either it burns me up but agree with tubbyangle you have to keep going as i get older i understand the advocating for oneself and i hope you fine the answers soon so you can get better. kara_leigh just look up Endometriosis. my goodness what a thing to have.
  • Red13
    Red13 Posts: 287 Member
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    You say it doesn't have to do with what you are eating but I would keep track of what you eat before you get onset pain or discomfort. Who knows, maybe you are sensitive to gluten otherwise known as coeliac's disease that causes gastrointestinal problems. I am one that believes that diet, exercise, and proper vitamins will heal, not modern medicine. Maybe eat cleaner for a while and stick to gluten-free products and see if that helps any. Are you sensitive to lactose? I don't know if that can just appear in someone but people that are lactose intolerant get those similar symptoms as well.
  • epa422
    epa422 Posts: 1,009
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    I agree with a previous poster who said it isn't your appendix. I would definitely let your medical team know that you don't believe this is IBS and you need to be checked for other things especially since you aren't feeling better.

    Maybe look in to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diverticulitis
  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
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    Try eliminating all gluten from your diet-you could be suffering from Celiac Disease (which can be life threatening) or you may just be gluten intollerant like me. I've been suffering from severe constipation/bloating and abdominal pains for 4 years now, the doctor's did everything they could from 10 tubes of blood taken to a colonoscopy-sometimes there just aren't any clear cut medical answers for this type of thing. I've been off gluten for 11 months now & I feel a million times better! However, as soon as I eat regular bread or pasta or pizza all the old pains & discomforts imediately return.

    GOOD LUCK!
  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
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