Anxiety induced acid reflux/aches and pains

[Many321]

Hi

I'm a 33 year old man, from the U.S.

I used to have Acid Reflux since my teenage years. I was treated in February/March 2013 with a one month's worth of medications. Ever since I didn't have any symptoms, and didn't take anything for it until June of last year when my anti-depressant began poop on me, and all my previous anxiety symptoms slowly began to come back including acid reflux.

I stopped taking the antidepressant in Mid July 2018 since it made me anti-social with strangers and aggressive towards my mother, and my anxiety symptoms fully came back. It took a month around late August when I began to go through antidepressant withdrawals.

it's being hell. Most of the symptoms have subsided except acid reflux/indigestion...perhaps this one of the last ones that will go since I know during withdrawals these issues come up since there's a bunch of serotonin around the stomach area, and its sensing its not receiving its dose of serotonin from my meds and its going haywire.

During my withdrawals I had many symptoms that led me to think I had brain cancer, lukemia, lymphoma, ALS, MS. Though as the symptoms faded away, those fears went with them. Though, now I fear that I have pancreatic,liver, stomach, or esophageal cancer due to the following symptoms.

-Weird sensation around my sternum/upper abdomen when I eat
-*quickly get full
-**Aches and pain on my upper right abdominal area, though when I press the
area to reproduce the ache, nothing.
-excessive burping
-excessive gas

*I feel that I quickly get full, though I'm still able to eat a pear or a fruit just after without a problem. (My mom tells me this is anxiety induced, could this be it? That its playing games with me)

**I had the aches and pain on my upper right abdominal area in 2014, blood work was done, the person even ask the color of my stools which were normal, and everything came back fine, and these two symptoms went away. (2018 - normal stools)

The weird thing about this episode is that last week, I was having testicular aches, same issue that I had in 2014, had ultrasounds and blood work done, everything came back clear.

I just don't know what to do. Is this just my mind playing games with me since I'm not taking an antidepressant?

I've gone to survivingantidepressants website, and some there have told me this as a symptom of withdrawal due to how much serotonin there is in the stomach/guts, and since its not receiving it, its going bonkers.

Most mention that withdrawals only last a month or two. Most of my symptoms began to fade away or become less intense the last few weeks including the acid reflux since before I had intense burning/bloating sensation, though that went away.

Any comments would be appreciated.

[Fishmanpa]

How did you feel while on the anti-depressants? I ask because my daughter suffers from anxiety and depression. She was on Zoloft but that pooped out on her. Since then, she's gone through several med changes and the ramp up and cross tapering side effects that go along with them. She's finally on a med (Lexapro) that seems to be working. She was at our home for Thanksgiving and it was visibly apparent that it was working for her. She still has her moments but with the meds and therapy, she's making progress

Perhaps you should speak with your doctor about a new med?

Positive thoughts

[Many321]

How did you feel while on the anti-depressants? I ask because my daughter suffers from anxiety and depression. She was on Zoloft but that pooped out on her. Since then, she's gone through several med changes and the ramp up and cross tapering side effects that go along with them. She's finally on a med (Lexapro) that seems to be working. She was at our home for Thanksgiving and it was visibly apparent that it was working for her. She still has her moments but with the meds and therapy, she's making progress

Perhaps you should speak with your doctor about a new med?

Positive thoughts

OMG! Fish I'm so glad you responded to my thread. I've being lurking around this site for years, and kinda know what you've gone through. *Hugs*

I've been diagnosed with Anxiety, Major Depression, Harm OCD, Hypochondriasis, and Anxiety induced IBS.

I was taking Trintellix from late 2015.

To be frank, the medication stripped almost all those diagnoses and I felt like myself once again. Doing my thing. No pains, aches, worries, obsessions.

Then, in June of last year like I mentioned before. it slowly began to poop on me, and my anxiety symptoms slowly began to creep back. I didn't realize what was happening since my psych didn't communicate properly with me that this could happen.

In May of this year, it stopped working, I became antisocial with strangers and family members, and aggressive towards my mother. Then, all of my anxiety symptoms came back crashing on me. It didn't help I was having issues with my father, being stressed due to politics here in the US, plus being stung by a bee that lead to my immune system to weaken and me getting me a shingles outbreak. My primary said it was due to excessive stress. She ordered a total blood panel done, knowing how I am, she did a CBC w/Diff just to calm my nerves. Everything came back fine, and during that time I was fearing that I had brain cancer, lymphoma, leukemia...She had to calm me down in her office after she gave me my blood results since I didn't believe her.

It's being months since I've gone to therapy. Perhaps I should start that again. Plus, having this horrible experience with the med at the end, I'm fearful that it could happen again, and I'm hesitant on going back to taking an antidepressant.

[Fishmanpa]

I think you nailed it. Get back into therapy, bolster up your defenses against the dragon and speak to your doctor about meds. I know you don't want to take them but just like meds used for physical issues, sometimes you need to take them in order to regain some normalcy in your life

Positive thoughts

[Many321]

I did the mistake of going to Dr. Google and now I'm freaking out since I'm thinking that this is pancreatic cancer, though I later realize that the shooting pain I'm having is on the upper right abdominal area or near the esophagus, not even close to were the pancreas is. It's not constant. It comes and goes, then shifts from the middle to were my obliques are. I press the area to reproduce the pain, nothing. Also, I haven't lost weight, I've actually gained. sometimes I burp a lot to feel not to eat, then feel like I could eat an entire cow. There's no jaundice or I've suddenly become diabetic. Though, I do have burping and gas, however I've been diagnosed with IBS. I do feel somewhat fatigue though due to excessive worry, and anxiety, plus trying to recover from my antidepressant withdrawals which have taken longer than they should.

I had blood work done in July. And everything came clear, if something was amiss my doc would had picked it up. Boy I hate this.

[Many321]

Update.

Just wanting to make sure that these symptoms are truly just anxiety pulling one on me, especially the nausea that's freaking me out that I went to see my primary. She highly suspects this might be my anxiety, since some of the aches occur when I shift my torso back and forth, or go away when I pass gas. Though, just to make sure, ordered a H. Pylori test. Let's see what happens.

[Many321]

Update

I haven't received the results from the breath test.

Though, I had a royal health anxiety melt-down and I went to ER. I described to them some of my symptoms...electric shock like sensation, and shifting pains. They didn't check my stomach, though did a total blood panel and ultrasound of my liver, gall-bladder, kidneys, and pancreas since my aches are mostly situated on the right side of the abdomen or sometimes in the middle of my abdomen. I was freaking out that my stomach was on the right, though the MD told me, its situated on the left of my abdomen. I just rolled my eyes in total embarrassment. During the ultrasound, I felt an ache inbetween the sternum and abdominal area. I was freaking out that they might something. Instead, the MD was impressed by my organs. Blood work came clear. So, if symptoms are burning like a.k.a acid reflux just take TUMS or just my muscles in that area are inflamed due to excessive anxiety...just like my MD said.

I know myself, and its going to take a lot of me not to ask for an endoscopy, and possibly accept this is just a new withdrawal/anxiety symptom.

[Many321]

Wanted to update everyone.

My symptoms have slowly changed to IBS like symptoms. I still have the nausea, though the pains that quickly clear out once I pass gas or have a bowel movement which usually only occurs in the morning. I was previously diagnosed with Anxiety induced IBS. When I was given the original diagnosis my pains usually occurred in lower abdominal area, now it shifted to upper abdominal area, when the symptom first began to creep up on me before shifting to the bottom.

Also, I'm not able to properly sleep. I'm jolted up after three hours, then, have aches and pains which are relieved after bowel movement. After that, I'm chill as a cucumber for the rest of the day.

Also, I received my H. Pylori test and as some suspected it came back negative. Leaving my symptoms to be anxiety and or antidepressant withdrawal based since I'm still going through that.

[eshu55]

Hi, I hope you feel better now: your original email could have been a carbon copy of what I have been experiencing for about 5 months! I went on Eleva (a Zoloft generic) and had awful gastric symptoms (upper right pain, gas, bloating, etc) and then went off it for a bit and went on Zoloft for about a month. Same symptoms, so I stopped taking it. It has been about 2 months now and I am still having similar issues. It is slowly easing however, and it is definitely exacerbated by anxiety (it went totally haywire just before a long plane trip - as I'm horribly anxious about flying; and when I drank alcohol on holiday).

I am staving off worry about more serious things because my pain goes away at night, and is relieved by anti gas medication, bowel movements, stretching and meditation; also all my bloods (including liver functions etc) are perfectly normal and I have no fatigue, jaundice or weight loss. Therefore I'm going with the most logical explanation, that the SSRI has triggered gastritis/IBS (which I have anyway). I haven't had any other tests because my doctor says most of my symptoms are from anxiety...and side effects of Zoloft!

If this helps, I tried to volunteer for an IBS study and they told me that if I had been on SSRIs less than 3 months ago, I wasn't eligible because they still impact your digestive system up to 3 months after stopping taking them.