Need Advice/help for digestive problem

[onewish]

Hi lotus, I haven't had an opportunity to see my doctor yet either. I'm currently in the middle of getting health insurance. I don't want to go see a doctor until the insurance goes through because if they find anything serious before I'm covered, the health insurance won't cover it. And I know how frustrating it can be for people to tell you all the time that it's anxiety. It's just too easy to dismiss something as anxiety when there's a real underlying problem that's going on. It's like, I know what's going on with my body, and I know it's not just anxiety. I've gotten to the point where I've stopped telling people about it - except on here of course, where we're all hypochondriacs . Have you tried taking any antacids or any over-the-counter acid reducers, lotus? If not, you should at least give them a try. It might help you determine if your problems are related to acid reflux or gerd (if the symptoms go away or are lessened).

[lotus10000]

One wish,
I want to thank you for your advice about seeing a doctor and your suggestions. Although I haven't been able to yet, I will w/in the next few weeks although waiting while in so much agony like this has been difficult, I guess I had to do it. I read some about hiatal hernias and it sounds like that could be causing the problems that I'm suffering from. Some that I can readily match are of course being out of breath, diffuculty breathing, dizziness and increased heart rate right after eating a meal which is very difficult to deal with. Plus, bloating, nausea, regurgitation. I had thought of that before but in the symptoms of books that I read about this, none described difficulty breathing as being a symptom, strangely. I read that a good way to tell if you have a hiatal hernia is by feeling right beneath your solar plexis and taking a deep breath, after a meal. If you feel your diaphram expanding, your fine but if you feel like you have to use your shoulders and arms to take a deep breath, it's probably a hiatal hernia. This is very interesting and I will be glad when I can see a doctor to address this. I also read that this can be treated sometimes by a chiropractor. This is all great, but what can they do for a pregnant woman! Were you diagnosed with a hernia? What caused your symptoms? I'm interested to hear what happened to you. Good luck!

[lotus10000]

One wish,
I didn't get a chance to read your latest message before I wrote mine, for some reason I didn't see it. I do feel like there is an underlying problem here, and I am not a hypochondriac, despite what my husband tells me! I feel like I am having a real problem and I will find out what is wrong and make it better. Also, I have tried OTC antacids and such before and they didn't do anything for me. I'd like to maybe see a chiropractor about this, maybe they can help, but I also need new insurance for the same reason you do, that's what led me here to this board to find answers for myself. But I'm not sure there's much anyone can do for a 5 months pregnant woman. Although these problems have been ongoing since before the pregnancy, I think it may be worse than before which would be logical. I wish there was more I could try on my own but I don't think there is. I read on the internet some ideas that you can do at home that can help: massage the area beneath your solar plexis where your diaphram is, which I tried and seemed to help me breath easier. Also, a suggestion to drink a L of water in the morning and then drop from your toes down to your heals which is supposed to pull your intestines down from your diaphram but I'm weary about this one and haven't tried it yet. These are some ideas that might help. Are you suffering from this? I can't say for sure that I am, but I do have the symptoms and this is a very logical explanation for my symptoms after I eat meals. Well, have a good evening!

[Katt5220]

Lotus~
Wow you described exactly what I am going through right now. I have had these problems for 4 weeks now. One night I ate tacos and had some wine and about 3 hours later all heck broke loose. I had a weird pressure in my sternum and stomach cramping and a weird pressure that felt like I was going to vomit. I had heart palps, couldn't breath and had to get up. I was in bed and falling asleep when this occured. I spent the whole night going to the bathroom and feeling better but every 20 minutes it would all hit again. I have never felt like this in my life. Now I have problems with my throat. I don't know how to explain it but by my adams apple inside I can feel something and I am having problems swallowing. Let me tell you insurance isn't a lot of help when Dr's think they are god. They have been trying to push antidepressants on me claiming I am having panic attacks. If I eat bland mushy food I don't have heart palps or breathing problems. I went a week eating bland mushy food and did good but then I tried a taco pizza and the heart palps started again and everything. I finally went to the ER to get help, my Dr is acting like it's no big deal, the ER Dr sent me for an upper GI, I get the results Tuesday. I have been taking OTC meds and it helps a bit but my throat is still a problem.
Katt

[lotus10000]

Dear Katt,
I am no doctor, but it sounds like you might be experiencing delayed gastric emptying. That may be something you should look into. You can diagnose it by having a gastric emptying test done which would help your doctors find out what's going on in your intestines. That is not exactly what I'm experiencing however. What I'm experiencing is debiliating episodes right after I eat, pretty much, where it feels hard to breath, increased pulse rate, some regurgitation of acidic fluid or food, nausea, bloating, and so on. If you think this is happening only a couple of hours after you eat, you should definately let your doctors know that and don't let them forget the predictability that you may experience with these attacks. Panic attacks usually do not revolve around when you eat, that's my argument too. I get so out of breath and dizzy after I eat sometimes that I can't even get up from my seat to do simple things. I'm not sure this is helpful to you but I hope it was. Good luck!