Me and my stomach

[bean]

This is a crosspost from another forum I frequent, one that has a subforum for those in the medical field. Maybe someone here will have some input, since apparently several doctors can't figure it out.

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tl;dr version: Been puking for a month, shitting like crazy for 6 months, doctor's just shrug and give me more nausea meds.

First off, I've been to several doctors, and even to the ER yesterday.

For about a month now, I've been vomiting semi regularly. Sometimes I'll go a few days, sometimes I'm projectile vomiting a few times a day. Normally the vomiting is when I have a fairly empty stomach.

For several months, I alternate between a normal shit, and just barely digested "balls" accompanied by what can best be described as pure pepper spray. When I have to shit, I HAVE TO SHIT RIGHT THEN AND THERE. When I get the liquid shits, it's within 10-15 minutes of a meal. When it's liquid, it seems like it's mostly mucus, stomach acid, and sometimes visibly undigested food.

ER visit yesterday was because I was getting ready for work, out of nowhere I started puking, and it was... blood. Bright red blood. Nothing but blood and a little bit of stomach acid. My bathroom looks like something out of a murder scene now.

Last doctor I went to suggested I had a bad round of food poisoning (this was about a week after I started vomiting regularly), gave me some Zofran and Lomotil, did some xrays of my abdomen, and bloodwork. She said everything looked good, but she'd feel better if she got a CT done (which couldn't be done on site). Went back the next day for the CT, another dr there basically chewed me out for wasting their time, said it's a virus or all in my head, and sent me on my way. Gee, thanks.

So, at the ER, they did bloodwork, took a stool sample (for some reason the male nurse didn't appreciate me asking him if he'd at least take me for some drinks first), CT scan of my abdomen, checked for abdominal pain (on a 1-10, I had a 4 or 5 when they were pressing near my gallbladder, but otherwise no pain). I was there about 8 hours total, they gave me IV Zofran as well (which is a goddamn miracle drug when done by IV, not so great orally). Eventually discharged, treated for "Vomiting" and "Acute periumbilical abdominal pain", and given Lortab and more Zofran (why they gave me a pain killer when it only hurts when they pressed on the area around my gallbladder is a little confusing, but I filled it anyway, I'm sure at some point I might need it). The doctor basically shrugged and said he had no idea what was going on, and suggested I may have torn my esophagus from vomiting so much.

In stereotypical geek fashion, I'm a bit out of shape and a little heavy (5'8", 190). I was a fairly heavy drinker, but I've cut WAY WAY WAY back since this has started - only drug use these days is occasional marijuana. 31 year old male with a family history of gallbladder issues, but the doctors all say my gallbladder is fine. My diet is fairly average, with a mild dairy allergy (I get real gassy if I drink milk, I can handle most cheese fine). I have elevated blood pressure, daily meds are 40mg Celexa and 20mg 2x/day Inderal (tremors/anxiety).

Mom had extremely similar symptoms for awhile, and eventually had her gallbladder removed several years ago. The docs were having a hell of a time figuring out what was up with her too.

The Zofran is because I'm allergic to Phenergan - gives me hives. I do have medical insurance (UHC PPO/HRA), and I've met my deductible for the year, but I need to get this taken care of before I lose my job (I work with food, health code prohibits me from touching food if I've puked or had runny shit in 24 hours).

So, before I go bankrupt trying to figure out what the hell is going on, any suggestions? Even though I'm insured, I'm still paying 20% until I hit my out of pocket maximum.

I did eat immediately after leaving the hospital, as I hadn't eaten all day. Then severe cramping followed by painful diarrhea about 20 minutes later, and again another 20 minutes after that. Not nauseated yet, and it's been a few hours.

[Mishi]

Not sure about what's going on with the puking, but the poo issues sound like what my brother-in-law has, he's just been diagnosed as having Crohn's disease after about 18 months of problems. Don't know if that helps, but it's worth asking about.

[ravevolution]

I can assume it has to be gastrol or something to do with your digestive track. . .intestines etc

I'd go to another doctor if I was you. Have them look into maybe side effects of the meds your on. Family history of gallbladder issues should be taken more seriously. I feel they should do a Ultra sound of your abdomen area. . .cat scans don't do the trick.

I Had problems earlier in the year with pain in my legs and upper body, numb hands and bad motor function. Went to my mothers doctor and she did a cat scan of my back and found nothing. I ended up going to another hospital and they did a MRI and found I have multiple sclerosis, kept for 5 days while they had my on steroids IV and now I'm on medication and doing much much better.

[bean]

My grandfather had Crohn's, but it generally doesn't involve puking blood.

Thankfully if I can get someone to go the MRI route, all of my piercings can be easily removed... used to have a couple that, er, couldn't be removed easily at all.

[r2cagle]

I don't know Bean... .what you were describing sounds exactly like what a couple of friends of mine had, and they were diagnosed with Crohn's disease.

It's worth at least ruling out. Find a doctor that has experience with that disease and try again. Even if it isn't, it sounds a little worse than IBS, and that doctor may be able to help track down whatever the real cause is.

[Magpie]

Before/until you can get a diagnosis, adjust your diet anyhow. Worst case, you've been careful about what you eat, and better about your milk sensitivity (it actually sounds like lactose intolerence to me?). Best case your symptoms go down so a) you're feeling better and b) you can go to the doctor and say "look, I cut out dairy, red meat, etc and I feel much better". Just remember that there is no possible way to cut out every single one of the possible triggers at once, so pick one, see if it helps. If it doesn't, start eating it again and try another. And so on and so forth.

[jedimaster91]

Crohn's is a possibility, as is a sensitivity to wheat or corn in foods. Start a food journal if you haven't already and start checking ingredients. There might be a pattern. You also need to get your gallbladder checked. Combined with a family history and pain in that area, that should have been the first thing the doc checked. Nausea, vomitting, and diarreha are also symptoms of gallbladder issues.

[bean]

Well, I have ruled out gluten (tried going gluten free for a week), dairy (eliminated that for a week), and meats (went vegetarian for awhile). I eat very few things containing corn (I don't even drink stuff with high fructose corn syrup very often), when I do eat corn it's usually with real mexican style tacos (lightly fried corn tortilla with meat, onions, cilantro, and hot sauce). There's been times where that super unhealthy meal has me almost shitting myself within a few minutes, and times where I have a normal BM later that day.

I've had a huge steak dinner with mashed potatoes, green beans, etc, and no problems with it at all. On the other hand, I've eaten some fruits and they came out real quick (bananas, berries, stuff like that). I had a garden salad the other day with non-dairy dressing, and it went through me like water. At first I thought it was anything greasy, because when the diarrhea kicks up, it looked very... oily. Turns out that's mucus.

I pay a lot of attention to the nutrition info on what I eat, I try to keep sodium down, along with saturated fats, and I pay attention to the ingredients. For the most part, I TRY to eat all natural or very close to all natural - I mean, I do work at Whole Foods after all. I do eat out a bit, but mostly at places that use little processed food.

It really seems to be completely random. I'll be fine for days, then miserable for days. I do have meds for the diarrhea and nausea (and they reduce, but not eliminate, the issues), but that's just a band aid for a much larger problem.

[MaggieTheCat]

Family history of gallbladder issues should be taken more seriously. I feel they should do a Ultra sound of your abdomen area. . .cat scans don't do the trick.

I agree with this 100%. If you have tenderness/pain in the gall bladder area when someone puts pressure there, that's a good indicator you have gall bladder problems, especially if it runs in the family. Both my mom and my aunt had gall bladder problems and sure enough, I had to have mine out last year. It's more common in females than in males which is why your run-of-the-mill ER doctor maybe didn't bother to check for it. And CT scans won't show anything, so an ultra sound is necessary for diagnosis.

[Darkwolf]

I would say have an upper GI and a colonoscopy done. That will allow them to check for ulcers and other fun things. The upper GI is very easy, you get to basically eat alka-seltzer and then chug a barium milkshake while rolling around on a table.

[jedimaster91]

an ultra sound is necessary for diagnosis.

Ultrasound will diagnose gallstones, but not if the organ itself is working or not. If the ultrasound comes back clean, you may need a HIDA scan. Most docs will order both. If the ultrasound does show stones, you won't have to do the HIDA.

[bean]

Well, I have a follow up scheduled for tomorrow with a doctor recommended by the hospital. Turns out it's a family oriented practice, so I'll be able to use him as a primary care doctor. Bonus is, he also handles anxiety and depression, so I can have him handle my scripts for those (my medical insurance doesn't cover psychiatrists).

I did just call back and ask how much the office visits are though... $125 but that's before my insurance covers anything and nitpicks them down a bit. They offer a 30% discount for paying cash as well. $0 copay anyway.

[Seshat]

If he can't figure it out, having him refer you to a digestive-issues specialist. I'm not sure what they're called, I'm sure he does.

This is DEFINITELY NOT NORMAL and really, really deserves to be followed up!

[bean]

The Dr I'm seeing tomorrow is in a large medical complex - with an oncology center as well. And as long as I have a referral, my insurance will cover 80% with a $0 copay. Still going to cost me a friggin fortune, but I'm rapidly approaching my maximum out of pocket for the year ($5000... ouch), once I hit that insurance pays 100% with no copays.

[trailerparkmedic]

ER docs are mostly concerned about stabilizing whatever symptoms you come in with. You're doing a good thing by finding a primary carae doctor who will have the time to run more tests, rule out diseases and find out what's really wrong.