stomach problems

**mookiem** · 04-19-2010 06:22 AM

stomach problems

Hello everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone could shed any light on my problems. I have had terrible stomach pains for nearly a year now. I have attacks of severe pain right in my stomach ( just under the ribs) moving hurts, laying hurts. An attack lasts between 1 to 4 hours then disappears. However, the attacks are getting closer together and there is now an almost constant ache in my stomach. Dr has tried a few different stomach tablets but they dont really make any difference. Last Saturday i have a endoscopy done and everything looked fine. Now i am confused as the amount of pain i get there needs to be something wrong somewhere

A typical attack goes like this ( usually at night )

I go to bed with a horrible aching in my stomach,
I wake up a few hours after with severe pain,
the pain is sharp constant stabbing pain in my stomach, it radiates into my back and along my shoulder blades,
I try to walk, sit, lay to ease it but nothing does,
I was advised to take gaviscon and paracetamol but neither as any affect,
Within 2 hours i will be sick, ( this sickness only started 3 months ago)
Within an hour of being sick the pain will start to slowing ease to the aching i had before.

I have kept a food diary to find out what i was eating before an attack but there really dont seem any particular foods that cause it. The attacks are very random.

I have diagnosed with SLE a couple of years ago and wondered if this was anything to do with it? If anyone has had the same please tell me what i can do to ease it or what the dr should do next to find out what is going on.

Thanks so much

Jenny

**CHANDLERS WISH** · 04-20-2010 03:35 AM

I think, you need an ultrasound.

Seems you have olimated IBS...But that doesn't mean that your stomach is week and needs to acknowledge what you can and can't eat.

What is SLE? So readers can understand and relate

Sounds like a nerve problem to me..

CW

**Beautiful Disaster** · 04-20-2010 06:04 AM

Pancreatitis? Appendicitis? Kidney Stone? Gallstones?

I'm not sure what SLE is.

Any skin discoloration?

I have a friend experiencing similar symptoms and has been for quite some time now. She even had her appendix removed and still, no relief. After many tests and no answers, she's been getting nerve blocks which seem to be helping to some extent. I'm still not convinced though that it's a nerve issue, but perhaps just band-aiding the real issue.

**KMonte85** · 04-20-2010 06:54 AM

Like BD already said, I was going to mention pancreatitis. My sister in law and a friend of my mother both suffer from this condition and the pain you speak of is quite similar to their symptoms.

If you haven't already, set up an appointment with a doctor that specializes in gastrointestinal diseases/disorders. They may have more insight as to what your diagnosis is and a treatment plan.

**ItsASecret** · 04-20-2010 06:55 AM

I would say you need to ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist, they would have a better idea of what to suspect. As for SLE, it is Lupus. Lupus happens when your body's immune system decides to make antibodies (which normally attack foreign bad things that enter your body) against your own tissue. This means your body is basically attacking itself causing inflammation of various sorts. If the inflammation attacks organs then it is called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. No real cure. I don't think that SLE has an effect on the digestive system other than the characterized mouth and throat sores but again a gastroenterologist would have answers to any questions.

Constant stomach aches could be anything and my first guess was an minimal ulcer but if a scope showed nothing then it could literally be anything. I would say keep trying the pain meds (NSAIDs like Ibuprofen or Naproxen) so that at least there is a little alleviation of pain but ask the doc again if there is anything a bit more powerful incase those don't work.