stomach/lower abdomen pains!!

[edsloan]

hi, i have been having stomach/lower abdomen pains now for just under two months. it has only been pretty moderate until about a week ago, and now its pretty unbearable. it feels as if there is something inside my stomach trying to push itself out. i have been having sneezing fits and regular headaches, but they seem to be gradually going away. my urine is always yellow (dark more often than not) and my stools seem to be light in colour and can be hard to come out at times. i often feel sick but i havnt actually been sick since it has occured. i am drinking a fair amount of fluids, but don't seem to have the usual apetite for eating. i usually feel fairly fatigued, but when i comes to getting some sleep i find it hard to get comfortable. i think im also affected by stress as i am just entering my final year of university, and i am at the stage now where it feels like it will never end. i have been to the docters and have had checks and various blood tests but nothing...

i hope you can help me, thanks

ed.

[gtrgrl3369]

Just from reading your post, I can tell you are not putting enough fluid in your body. Try drinking 8 glasses of water a day and see if that helps with the color of your urine. You also dont want to strain when you use the restroom, that in itself can cause stomach pain. Once you get hydrated enough your body will go. Stress can do some very strange things to your body. Constipation is one of them. I know it sounds hard but try and relax yourself. Take care and if theres anything I can help with write me and I will help as best as I can.

[Horse]

This could be due to a number of factors.

Yes perhaps you need to drink more fluid. Remember, drinking more fluid will also inhibit your appetite, but it will become evident in the colour of your urine once you get sufficient liquid in your body. Urine first thing in the morning can always be dark yellow anyway.

Your lack of appetite could be the reason for the pale stools. If you are only eating small snacks or such, as opposed to normal meals including meat and vegetable, your bowel movements will suffer. Also you will not be getting the vitamins.

Your sneezing fits may or may not be related to the stomach - apart from perhaps muscle strain. As far as headaches are concerned, stomach upset or discomfort can invariably cause headache - as in constipation for example, which could also be the reason for the stomach problem.

Your blood tests were fine so that leaves one other problem..........our friend Anxiety, the masked intruder!!!!

Anxiety, can and will cause the most ridiculous of stomach discomforts if you are prone to these. The fact that you have suffered for so long does suggest that this is the case.

Why? Because I've had exactly the same thing for 6 weeks now. Been to A and E three times, blood tests, xray, urine tests.............nothing. Now awaiting for an Endoscopy, great, more anxiety. But I would lay money they don't fnd anything, because deep inside I know it's stress and Anxiety. I've been on the anti acid pills and muscle relaxation pills and with not the slightest bit of difference.

Yes, the discomfort is agony. The nausea and gas etc. Look up the stomach symptoms on THIS site and you will see. DO NOT GOOGLE!

Take care.

Kevin.

[leeg]

i have to agree indigestion ,constipation,stomach cramps are all part of anxiety i suffer from all these things i have lost weight as well my appetite is not good just try and accept it for what it is ANXIETY isnt it a pity we dont have a quick fix for anx then all our other probs would go



lee xx

[decca]

Hi ed,
Has your Doc. arranged an abdominal ultrasound ? if not pop back and have a chat your symptoms could be indicative of liver or kidney problems.
Decca.

[Captain America]

i agree decca that it's always best to get things checked out first. blood tests should show liver (and some) kidney problems though so it's one of those slippery slopes that we health anxers have where we start playing doctor on ourselves. so to start thinking along the lines of liver problems when the dr. most likely checked that is a little dangerous. that's how i started. now i have a degree in googlehealth and tons of health anxiety to show for it. plus still nothing showing up in test results a year later!

basically my advice is go the dr., tell your symptoms, do not mention the word 'anxiety' unless they do so first. let them do their due dilligence and then you can start looking at anxiety as a possible cause if they tell you you're healthy.

[decca]

Hi Cap'n,
Lol, degree in googlehealth, I like that one, lol.
Unfortunatly blood tests don't always show up everything, problems of this nature are usually followed up with some form of imaging,Ultrasound being one of the cheapest and simplest.
It really annoys me that so many symptoms are passed off as anxiety without any serious investigation.

Decca.

[Captain America]

heh. yeah once you get the anxiety tag it's like their catch all explanation for everything. i guess i just wanted to point out the danger in trying to diagnose one's self because i think we all know where that leads!

definitely though, until checked out completely, it's not wise to assume anxiety is the cause of everything. ultrasounds are great, but often an incidental finding in a ultrasound can then lead to more tests, which lead to more tests, etc. i nearly had my gallbladder removed because of a radiologists sloppy ultrasound reading, so use caution.

i guess there's no easy answer. abdominal pain is especially tricky for doctors, or so i hear.

[decca]

It's true that in this day and age a lot of patients first present themselves to their GP with internet print outs and "I think I have this doc." .
The old saying "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" is certainly true.

Best wishes.