What is this? - Digestive Disorders Message Board

jhamilton401 · 03-04-2006, 04:37 AM

I have been waking up in the middle of the night or when I wake up in the morning with something very wrong.
My husband says I have very bad breathe, the inside of my mouth and the back of my throat feels stuffy and very dry at the same time. I don't think it is allergies, this is a different feeling.
Also in the center of my stomach I have this very annoying, scary gnawing feeling, it doesn't hurt.
I get up to get a drink and it sort of makes my throat feel better but I instantly bloat up and its hard to swallow. Sometimes it feels like its stuck going down and that scares me.
Sometimes burping can help but I am scared and tired of this.
I have been battling stomach problems for almost 3 years now.
My doctors have tested for GERD/Acid Reflux, IBS, Celiacs
I have had an endoscopy, I refused the barium because I can barely swallow water without a problem, a colonocopy and an ultrasound, on the ultrasound they said they couldn't find my gallbladder. VERY WEIRD!
My doc says either I was born without one or it was contracted up underneath my liver. I lost my job because I couldn't work because I get so sick and had to go home. The uncaring people that I worked for didn't understand, didn't care, didn't even try to undestand. So I was scheduled for a hyda scan and when I lost my job there goes insurance so I have to wait on that test.
Can anyone start out by telling me what is going on with this middle of the night/early morning problem please?
Does anyone feel the way I do at all? Please respond.
Thank you all very much.

Sunlover · 03-04-2006, 07:39 PM

If you had an endoscopy and they saw nothing wrong, COULD it possibly be "mental" dyspepsia?? For an entire year I was having horrible burning in my stomach, that gnawing pressure in the center of my stomach, burning in mid chest when I'd swallow, I got to the point I couldn't eat as much because I'd get full so quickly... I went for an endoscopy and found out NOTHING was wrong - within 1 week all my symptoms went away!! I stopped obsessing over my stomach and was 'cured' - I was told (just by a friend) that I COULD have had real physical symptoms, then the problem went away and my mind kept it alive. And I know what you mean about drinking, bloating up and making it hard to swallow - at least I think I do, let me tell you what happened to me (and still will now), I'll be eating and I drink water with my meals, I'd take a few sips and feel as if all air is in my esophagus and stomach and that if I swallowed another swallow of water that it would just sit in my throat or something, and I have to burp for it to release that pressure - it happened at every meal before my endoscopy, now it rarely happens because I am more relaxed, I think a lot of it for me was spasms, maybe for you too! The bad breath? Even though I had nothing wrong with my stomach, my mouth tasted AWFUL and I was always using breath mints because I felt like my breath was really bad. I had such a bad taste in my mouth that FOOD would taste funny at times! The endoscopy is the best test. Sometimes a doctor will do a barium and if nothing is seen they will THEN do an endoscopy, not the other way around. So your stomach and esophagus are fine if the endo came out "clean". If you were born without a gallbladder then these problems would have ALWAYS been with you, they just wouldn't have come up in the past few (months? years? how long has this been going on for you?).

jhamilton401 · 03-08-2006, 08:00 AM

these problems have been non stop for almost 2 year now.
I think it will be 2 years around July or August of this year that it started.
I don't sit around excessively worrying but I do wish that I could find out what is wrong so I can eat like normal people again.

Angela22F · 03-08-2006, 08:27 AM

"My husband says I have very bad breathe, the inside of my mouth and the back of my throat feels stuffy and very dry at the same time. I don't think it is allergies, this is a different feeling."

This could be a post nasal drip problem... not necessarily allergies. My first thought actually was Acid Reflux/GERD, but you say you have been tested for this. Worth looking in to. PND can cause bad breath, sore throats, sore stomach... things you just would not associate with it. And it may be a seperate entity entirely from your other problems.

In regards to not finding your gallbladder on the ultrasound, have you had a hida scan? preferably with CCK? This would test functioning of the gallbladder. I know the doc says you probably don't have one, but that is very strange. Maybe, something was swollen during the ultrasound and just was hiding it?? Did he do a second ultrasound? (Sorry I just re-read that you are waiting on a hida scan

)

Do you have any food intolerances? lactose, wheat (celiac's)? Some of those may cause similar problems. Although you say they tested you for celiac's, it is possible that you have a mild intolerance that they missed. Maybe you could try a gluten free diet for awhile and see if anything changes. I have heard from ppl who say that their intolerances were missed by docs and they only ever found relief after a change in their diet.

Maybe some vitamin/nutrient deficiency? Have you had a complete blood work up?

I'm sorry I am not much help. I just wanted to throw some ideas at you to try. I know how frustrating this can be.

Sunlover · 03-08-2006, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhamilton401

these problems have been non stop for almost 2 year now.
I think it will be 2 years around July or August of this year that it started.
I don't sit around excessively worrying but I do wish that I could find out what is wrong so I can eat like normal people again.

Oh ok, with me I obsessively worried, ALL THE TIME... so I doubt yours would be "mental" dyspepsia if you aren't totally consumed by it. (see, you want to EAT like a normal person, I'd like to BE one!)