Daignosis by group consensus

[chickwhorips]

i went through the same type of thing. it was so bad i couldn't move. i went though tons of tests to see what was wrong with me. my dr diagnosed me with IBS and tried different meds. nothing really worked for me.

i found that i'm not good at dealing with stress. when i'm really stressed out i am so sick. can barely move. i haven't found any triggers anymore that cause the pain, except for stress. where i live now i have 0 to no stress and i'm much better off. occationally my ibs kicks up out of no where.

i hope they find out what is wrong and get you feeling back to normal. till then happy tummy thoughts.

[Kitsune06]

Yeah... I lost 200 pounds and the stress just melted away. Funny how much an ex can stress you.

[betagirl]

I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV, but I do work with a bunch of gastroenterologists

The upper GI equivalent of IBS is called "functional dyspepsia". But I don't think it'd be accurate to diagnose you with anything right now considering the only test you had was a US.

It's up to you how much digging around you want to do to figure this out. As others have said, the GI system is fickle and sneaky. The recommendations for celiac and lactose testing are good. You can either go in and have them done, or experiment at home by cutting dairy or taking Lactaid or something similar. Though the typical symptoms of lactose intolerance are crampy abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea. But as I've learned over the years nothing with GI is typical in everyone

Other tests you could consider are an upper endoscopy to ensure there's nothing going on with your stomach or first bit of your small intestines. Not a fun procedure, but it'll tell you if there's something in there causing your symptoms.

My recommendation would be to see a gastroenterologist if you haven't already. One that specializes in upper GI symptoms. Believe me, all GI's are NOT the same. If you live in a big city, then a major hospital would have more docs for you to pick from. Ask them when you make the appt.

Good luck and I hope you can find some answers.

[LBTC]

gluten intolerance/celiac sprue.
(I even have the bald smooth patches on my tongue and the eczema on the skin sometimes. Icky. )

Wow! Many of you have provided some really good ideas for what to look into, but Knotted, you have actually mentioned things that I was not sure were related.

I have occasionally gotten eczema ever since one very bad spell of it in the winter of 2000. I had it again this spring fairly bad, but have got it under control now.

But, most curiously, I have been getting the patches on my tongue that come and go, which my doctor told me is a benign condition requiring no treatment that is called geographic tongue. This has been coming and going for almost 2 years now.

I will do more research on celliac sprue and gluten intolerance for sure, and if there is a blood test for them, I will definitely ask for it as I'm not really keen on having a biopsy! Part of me has thought these things were connected, but doctors keep assuring me they are not.....there ya go!

Thank you all for your great input! I've got some reading to do!

~T~