View Full Version : Worried about stomach symptoms
Hello everyone,
I haven't posted here for a couple of years, which I guess is a good thing, but I've hit a snag.
Basically over the last month my anxiety has crept in, I've lost weight, and now I'm having a lot of stomach problems.
I was getting dizzy initially, so they did some blood tests and everything was fine (Full blood count, liver, kidneys, blood sugar, thyroid, etc)
Recently my dizziness has got better, but I've had really bad nausea, have lost half a stone (in a month), feeling very bloated, and lots of burping and passing word. I feel full a lot of the time, which is putting me off eating, and my stomach is constantly gurgling.
I saw the Dr today who said it was very unusual to lose that much weight, and wasn't normal for anxiety (I thought it was!). I've always been very skinny and lost weight easily, so I assumed that was down to the anxiety / stress, but now he's got me worried.
I've been asked to give a stool sample, have more blood tests, and to have an abdominal scan. He said if that's all normal, then he'd send me to see a gastroenterologist to maybe have an endoscopy but wanted to save that as a last resort.
Basically I've scared myself into thinking it's cancer, despite them both feeling my stomach and saying they wouldn't even consider it being cancer.
Has anyone experienced these symptoms? It's mainly the weight loss and nausea that has me worried. I'm always very active and not eating a massive amount, but it's still bothering me.
Sorry for the long message, but would appreciate any advice / words.
Thank you
hiya chris, i too have had problems with my stomach over the last 6 months, due to stress i think, i had a barium swallow due to swallowing problems thankfully its just acid reflux, anyhow ive had tight feeling in the middle of my stomach, feeling nauseas, pains under my left rib, after eating, a lump in my throat, tight throat spasms, acid burps and loud belching, wind, you name it ive had it lol my doc told me it was down to acid reflux and stress, so it sounds to me we have more or less the same symptoms, bloomin stress/anxiety is the pits, but it will get better, as im starting to feel a bit better after 6 months of it.... take care
I have ibs and get a lot of those symptoms. I also get nausea with anxiety and loss of appetite and I have lost a lot of weight recently due to not being able to eat much but I know it is because I am so anxious all the time.
Hey Susan,
Thanks for replying. Sorry to hear you've been through all that too. No fun!. It was just the losing weight that alerted my doctor to send me for all the tests and so on, and the reason I'm worrying.
I know I've lost weight when I've been under stress / anxiety before, and I'm not eating loads, because of all the symptoms, but still hard to put it to the back of your mind and think rationally when you know all the horrible things it could be too.
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Thanks Annie. I keep telling myself it's just the anxiety causing all the weight loss, but it's easy to think the worst first.
Anyone else going through something similar?
I've had tests for coeliac disease, as well as Helicobacter Pylori which I'm getting back at the end of the week.
Also awaiting a letter for an abdominal scan.
Keep telling myself the chances of it being stomach cancer are very small, but every now and then my brain freaks out.
I think you probably have an ulcer, or maybe some kind of reflux. If you had stomach cancer, and that was causing those symptoms, your bloods would have been out wack.
Hi I have hpylori very similar sympthoms I'm on tablets to try an get rid of it at the moment I've been trying to get rid for 10 years on an of with no luck but thankfully most people treatment works right away if that's what it is .:D
Thanks guys,
Just want to be able to eat without feeling gassy or sick, or like I haven't eaten at all.
I've had H. Pylori once before and it was a similar sort of thing, but will just have to wait for test results to come back I guess :(
paranoidtree
17-10-12, 15:19
it sounds similiar to something i suffered from many years ago. i lost 6 stone in a year because i couldn't eat. i felt sick all the time. had tummy pains and gas. they did test after test, i even had an endoscopy and in the end told me it was probably anxiety related IBS. the silly thing is before the tummy problems started i wasn't that anxious! but it certainly triggered a lot for me (which i know understand was trauma related and am working through it).
I think it is very unlikely to be cancer, it sounds like your doctor is being thorough with the tests and scan and hopefully they can find something so you can start treatment and start to feel better OR that they find nothing at all and you can accept it's anxiety and start to heal.
Either way, i hope you feel better soon. :hugs:
bernie1977
17-10-12, 15:49
Hi Chris, I have had stomach problems for a few years and was diagnosed with acid reflux and put on omeprazole. In the last 3 months I've had two really bad flare ups of what my Doctor has said is gastritis. I felt terribly sick constantly and in both instances this lasted for two weeks. I was only able to eat a few crackers as I felt so ill. I had acid coming up into my mouth all the time and this burnt my throat and made it sore. I was told to double up my omeprazole for 4 weeks and also given ranitidine.
It has cleared now but my appetite hasn't returned to normal. I couldn't be tested for h.pylori as the omeprazole stops a clear result according to my Doctor.
Good luck and please come back and let us know how you got on
Thanks Paranoid :)
Yeah I had thought about IBS and anxiety and so on, I guess I'll see what happens with the results.
Hope you are doing ok.
almamatters
17-10-12, 16:13
Hi Chris, currently struggling with similar symptoms to you and waiting for ultrasound. Have lost 7 pounds which is a lot as I am thin anyway. GP put that down to worry, I live on soup and bread as anything else makes me feel sick. Have suffered in the past with acid reflux, but this feels different. Also had gastris in summer, not sure if still feeling the effects of that or not. GP unsure as well, which always sends my anxiety into complete meltdown. Good luck hope you are feeling better soon ! :)
I cannot believe your gp said that was unusual to lose weight through anxiety, what a load of crap! Of course people lose weifht when they feel ill and cannot eat because of nerves. Try not to worry chris, my guess is gerd or an ulcer. Let us know how the scan goes x
I agree with the above post when I first had hpylori an a ulcer I lost a stone in 2 weeks an anxiety can affect your weight either way
Smellsofroses
17-10-12, 23:33
Hi. This year I've suffered from anxiety. It started in my throat where I could not swallow. I thought I had cancer. I had an endoscopy which was fine. Next my stomach played up. I had typical IBS symptoms but convinced myself that I had seen blood. I got a flexi sig which looks at the first part of the colon on the left side. It's where the majority of problems are found. If you have bleeding here it will be brighter as its not got round your whole colon. Finally I still had pain and problems and convinced myself that the other side was the problem and I even developed pain there. My GI was not keen to do an endoscopy due to my situation (low risk and highly anxious) so I ended up having an MRI of the colon. This came back clear. And my pain has gone and I have normal bowel movements!
I'm not saying that your doc is wrong or right and it is good to be sure there's nothing really wrong. I convinced myself I was ill as I have lost nearly 3/4 stone in around 2 months but I have not been eating properly. If you are eating normally and lose weight then that may be a concern but if you know you are not eating then that's the reason. my GP also reassured me by looking back at my notes and telling me I was this lighter weight a few years back so not unusual for me (just recently!)
I think with stress the stomach is the first place to be affected. The colon can become spastic and not move food around properly. Infact the picolax I had to take for the MRI cured my constipation and cleared me out!
Try not to worry and hopefully it will all be resolved soon x
miggymoggy
18-10-12, 16:39
HI Chris
I had all of your symptoms, and I'd lost a stone and a half in weight. Couldn't eat, no appetite, burning pains in abdomen, lots of burping and wind, and feeling nauseous.
I was convinced I had stomach cancer.
Had bloods, scans and camera down throat and nothing found except mild gastritis caused by anxiety and stress.
Hope that makes you feel better.
Thanks for all the replies everyone. I haven't checked back for a couple of days, and only just seen everyone's messages.
Encouraging to know a lot of people have been through something similar. I have got my appetite back, so hopefully I can put some weight back on, waiting for test results tomorrow for the blood and stool sample (attractive!).
I've not had a date for my scan yet, but hopefully in the next week or so I'll know when it's due.
Will report back :)
Cx
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PS. If anyone wants to PM me about similar things, feel free.
Acidomoduso
19-10-12, 00:12
Just went for my scan today to see if i had gallstones. My excretions were a very pale grey-ish yellow colour today so i've been fretting a bit. Turns out there aren't any gallstones, nor any other major problems inside me! :yesyes: The only thing he could find is a fatty liver. Doesn't explain why i have this pain on my right side though. Maybe the fatty liver DOES cause the pain... i dunno?
I have an appointment with the doctors on the 7th of November to discuss the findings but i guess it's a case of "move on to the next solution"!
Great to hear Acido :)
Just to keep people updated that wanted to know, had my blood test results and all the tests were normal, I was tested for Celiacs disease, which was negative, as well as inflammation and various other markers.
Just need to wait for the stool sample results next week, and the scan appointment to come through, but seems like, whatever it is, it's not going to be too nasty.
x
Acidomoduso
19-10-12, 17:47
That's great Chris. Good luck with the rest of the tests... but im sure they'll be fine!
Hey everyone,
Just had the results of my stool sample and that was normal as well.
I'm still feeling nauseous, belching a lot, and getting stomach pains / bloating that comes and goes, and I'm still very low on the weight side of things. Don't think I've lost any more since last week, but still concerned.
I'm waiting for an appointment for a abdominal scan (ultrasound), but a little lost as to what is going on.
Still terrified it's going to be a tumour or cancer or something. Is that likely with all the bloods and stool sample being normal? People have said I would be feeling very ill, and vomiting lots and so on, which I'm not, but I still feel pretty rubbish.
Started getting back pain as well, and now I'm worried that's some sort of cancer symptom (even though everything seems to be!)
I can feel myself as being anxious, but I don't know if that's more a result of the worry of the tests.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Chris
Acidomoduso
28-10-12, 21:26
For fear of sounding over-confident... with good blood and stool sample reports i'd say that the likelihood of you having cancer is very low. Bloods almost always report strange things going on in the body - not a direct "hey... this is cancer" but if you do have something like cancer then the bloods are usually the first place you find anything untoward going on.
The doctors know what they are looking for. When I had my blood results back recently and the doctor said my liver was complaining, I asked her outright if she meant cancer. Her reply... "absolutely not - that is the last thing I am talking about. There are no concerns about cancer at all!"
She knew.
jennielouises
29-10-12, 10:49
Hi, I am so glad I have found this post. I am going through exactly the same thing and it is the third time in my life I have had these 'flare ups'. It started with feeling run down and dizzy at the beginning of September after my wedding. I was told I was iron deficient (not anaemic) and given iron supplements. I was very nervous of taking those because i know they burn the stomach. I took one and within 30 minutes I couldn't stop burping. Then the next two days I had a beetroot salad and bad burning after that. I convinced myself I had gastritis and went on a bland diet. The docs say that as I had an endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy (sp), ultrasound, CT scan and Barium Swallow in 2009 when I last had symptoms it is highly likely that the results would be the same again. All they found was a little bit of reflux and diagnosed me with IBS. I am sure that they said I had GORD but with only a little bit of reflux my GP said that is likely caused by IBS. The first doc who did the tests told me that it was all anxiety related but I refused to believe him. So I got a second opinion and he said the same thing.I was taking 40mg of nexium which wasn't working but eventually it all calmed down. I think because I stopped worrying about it.
Now it has flared up again due to the stress of the iron tablets. I must add as well that I had a coil put in the week before that and had it taken out within two days due to the awful pain and flu like symptoms it gave me. After that was taken out the flu like symptoms continued and I had a nausea bug that meant I was off work for three days. All my family had a stomach bug and were being sick so I convinced myself it was that. I wasn't sick though I came very close (sitting in front of the loo). My main anxiety is about being sick by the way - emetophobia. So after that I began to eat slowly but I still had the shaking, dizzyness and fatigue. That is when they gave me the iron tablets.
I am wondering if that was all anxiety related and I have made my symptoms worse?
Now I can't stop thinking about what is wrong with my stomach. I am constantly on the internet looking at GORD, Gastritis, IBS, functional Dypesia (sp - means Indigestion) etc. My doc assures my it is IBS but why am I getting the acid burn. I take nexium still but guess I have lost faith in that or something as I still get some burning (though I think I did before and it just didn't worry me). Also when I have the burning pain on my right hand side under my ribs I take Gaviscon but it continues to burn. If it was acid reflux wouldn't the gaviscon help? Also have tried zantac but that doesn't help either.
When I think I have found a reason for my discomfort it seems to go away. So last week my family convinced me it was because I wasn't eating enough. That was last Wednesday and I felt better because of that. I still had pains but I told myself that it was my stomach getting back to normal and I actually remember times of having no pain or discomfort until I thought about my stomach and they came back. Then on Thursday night my husband said I should stop taking the zantac at night as it wasn't needed which is true because it didn't really help. This meant that I woke up on Friday rather panicky worrying what my stomach would be like. It was ok appart from the panic but once I was at work and took my mind of things I was ok. Then that night I tried pizza again for the first time. I had a bit of heartburn but took gaviscon and that went away. I only think it went away as I was out at a party and couldn't worry about it. Then on Sat I woke up REALLY hungry. I overate durring breakfast which made me feel bloated but I was kind of ok. I then had a bm and got pain all over so I took gaviscon (think I over use antacids to be honest). I then calmed down and we went out to look at properties to buy. However, after a few hours I started to feel sick, pain and burn again. I think that was because I was hungry. I ate and then got on with things and the feelings died down. That night we had dominoes and I was fine. Yesterday morning I woke up feeling fine. Again I had a bm and it made the pain worse. But I had managed to convince myself that it was due to the bend in the colon causing the upper abdominal pain and so put it down to IBS. I didn't eat as much that day and found myself searching on the internet again. I did that pretty much all day even throughout writing my assignment. It was even the last thing I did before I went to bed. This morning I woke up with the pain again (it didn't wake my up btw) so I was worrying about it. Again this morning I looked on the internet for symptoms. I even did that when I got to work. I took some windeze for the pain this morning which got rid of the cramping pain as I believe a lot of it is wind. But then when I got to work the burning started again on the right hand side at about 9.30. I think it was because I was hungry but that was over an hour ago and I still haven't eaten anything. I did take Gaviscon but it didn't really help the burning. Only now have I noticed that the burning had changed to indigestion pains. Maybe I am hungry.
Sorry that this is a bit long but I just can't stop worrying about what is going on in my stomach. I don't worry that I have cancer, just worry that I have GORD or Gastritis. To me stomach issues are the worst thing ever (I know cancer is worse but it is just how my phobia and anxiety present themselves). I tried to get back to see the doctor today but he is on leave. I'm not sure what he could do but reasure me that it is IBS and not the other two. I really believe if it was acid then I would feel better after Gaviscon right?
Please someone tell my that this is all my anxiety causing it? I have upped my citalopram to 30mg (was on 20mg before). I did it by upping to 25mg first which made me feel better then a week later to 30mg. So far don't feel any different between 25mg and 30mg except I dealt with another OCD issue better. Help, what can I do?
Sorry for the essay btw :ohmy:
Pretty much going through a similar drama at the moment, lost a bit of weight the last few months, I posted on here the other day thinking I might of had gastritis
However last night I was vomiting over and over then I fainted! Spoke to Nurae today on phone and she wants me to take pregnancy tests just to check if clear, if they are an I'm terrible tomorrow also she will get me in...
Hope you find out what's up, hoping mines a tummy bug...:
Hey Jennie and Em,
Sorry I don't get notified of replies, so only just saw these!
Sounds like we're all going through similar stuff.
Since I've calmed down, and told myself the likelihood of it being serious is slim, the symptoms have eased off a bit. But, I still had to be persistent and see another Dr who finally prescribed me Omeprazole.
I told the doctor (a different one!) that I'd been taking Antacids, and that I saw an improvement on my symptoms, and he said that narrows the problem down to the stomach, and that it's probably acid, and possibly some irritation caused by stress and H Pylori in the past.
He's put me on Omeprazole for two weeks, and said to go back and see him after that, and that I should see an improvement by then. I'm only on the second day, and my symptoms have definitely eased off. Still gassy, but not getting as many pains / bloating / etc.
I still have a scan in two weeks to check over my abdomen (ultrasound), and after that, they're going to review it and maybe order another stool sample, as apparently the last came back "equivocal" for H Pylori, so I could still have that infection as well.
Either way, it's likely to be a combination of a few, non serious problems with my stomach.
I'm sure that's the case with you guys. Stress and anxiety brings on all these symptoms, and the more we worry about it, the worse it gets.
I've had loads of symptoms, but if I think back to two or three years ago when I had my worst anxiety, I had a lot of horrible symptoms which at the time made me worry about HIV, Brain Tumour, all sorts of cancers, Lupus, Cirrhosis of the liver and so on. 3 or 4 years later, I'm still here, and all test results are still showing I'm fine.
I'm not totally in the clear yet, but I'm coming round to the idea that whatever it is, is probably bought on by stress and diet, and not something life threatening.
I'll keep you guys posted, and feel free to message me if you have questions about my symptoms etc.
Cx
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PS. Thanks Acido, didn't see your reply until just now either!
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