Abdominal pains for over a year

by Amy
(Reading)

Abdominal pains for over a year! No diagnosis.

I first started experiencing this pain over a year ago.

It is under my ribcage in the center and often feels like someone is squeezing my stomach. I sometimes get sudden cramps that feel like im being stabbed.

The pain is pretty much there all the time but seems to be worse after i eat and is accompanied by bloating.

I have had multipe blood tests ruling out cealics and hormone inbalance, an endoscopy, colonoscopy and ultrasound that all came back clear. I have also cut items out of my diet and taken tablets for ibs.

The pain sometimes goes away for a month and then comes back for ages and its really dehabilitating.

Currently i am on citalopram which has helped improve my mood but the pain is still there, i dont know what else to do.

I am 23 and of average build, regularly excersice. I do smoke less than 10 a day and only drink socially. I have also had no medical issues before this.

Thanks.

Amy


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Dear Amy,

You well described a pain arising from your upper gut. It very much sound like what we call dyspepsia or indigestion pain (Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease).

It could be due to irritation of the wall of your stomach by too much acid, or by a bug commonly found in the stomach called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori for short).

Have you put on some pounds in the last one year to 18 months? Has there been any change in job or perhaps some new cause of increased stress?

You would need to see you GP to discuss doing a breath or stool test for H.pylori and then request to try the use of Pantoprazole, 40 mg twice daily initially for about a month or two. If you have put on some pounds in the last 18 months or so, perhaps shedding a few pounds could actually reduce your symptoms significantly.

If the pain still persists after using the pantoprazole for a month or two (max), and your have been cleared of H.pylori, then you may require an endoscopy to take a look at the lining of your stomach and lower oesophagus.

You can read more on GERD (US) or GORD (UK) and see if it relates to your symptoms.

Please try the above suggestions and come back to us, should you have any further query.

If you are very keen on alternative medical treatment, there is a video you can watch here.

Some have found the treatment / natural remedy there helpful.

I hope it helps you too.

Dr Omatseye Edema MD MRCGP CCFP MSc DRCOG
Family Physician, Emergency Medicine Practitioner and WebMD
Abdopain.com.

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