Thread: What could this be?

I feel really sick and I have no clue what this could be so if anyone could help, even with the smallest comment, please do.
Possible symptoms: constipation, bad stomach pains, vomiting, head aches, mouth sore, cramps.
I had constipation for about two weeks and nothing else so i thought i just needed more fiber. It got worse by getting constant head aches. I started getting bad side cramps a bit later. I woke up today to find a sore/ inflimation/ a cut maybe in my mouth under my tongue. I don't know if that means anything but i'd thought i'd mention it just incase. Today I also woke up about ready to vomit at 5am. I felt a bit better later. I took a nap around 2pm and woke up with this horrible stomach pain and cramps and every symptom i listed hurt by 10x more than usual. I feel really horrible. I haven't tooken any medicine yet. I don't know if this could be something serious or just the common cold/ stomach flu. Any help? The stomach pains are really bad. Imagine getting shanked in the stomach five times. That's what it kind of feels like.

Stop taking extra fiber immediately. If you have a fever or have not had a bowel movement in several days (not so important if you haven't been eating food in that time unless you are vomiting every meal) go to the ER to rule out appendicitis, bowel obstructions, or similar situations that need immediate attention. Otherwise I would make an appointment with your regular doctor. You may have an intestinal infection (bacterial overgrowth of the small intestine or stomach virus), the start of a bad appendix, or impaction/blockage from the constipation and increased fiber.

Fiber does not solve constipation. It prevents it if added to the diet correctly but after you've already got constipation then it only makes things worse and can lead to impaction. Stool becomes so large and hard it's not possible to pass it which can cause severe abdominal pain, loss of appetite, stomach discomfort, and vomiting. Impaction sometimes has to be removed in a hospital if it gets bad enough and with pain, vomiting, and other symptoms you should be evaluated before treating potential impaction yourself.

If they rule out health problems that would affect the intestines then you can treat constipation by drinking plenty of fluids and taking some type of magnesium. I like magnesium oxide because it comes in flavorless pills but the amount suggested on the bottle is usually only for magnesium supplementation not for constipation so you have to take more than the recommended amount to get results if it does not have a suggested amount for constipation. You only need to do that once maybe twice though so there is no more health risk than if you bought a bottle of nasty tasting magnesium citrate instead. If you do use magnesium citrate, this is what an ER will give you after ruling out other problems, get some apple cider vinegar and stick a tablespoon in it. It blocks the horrible lemon taste at least long enough to gulp down half the bottle. I've been given magnesium citrate in the ER a bunch of times when I went in for severe abdominal pain and they determined it to be mild impaction from chronic constipation more than once. They always put it on ice and try to tell me it tastes fine. Liars. Few things are more disgusting than magnesium citrate so be prepared to drink it as fast as possible and don't stop to taste it. You can also use miralax, mostly flavorless, and it's generics (I was on that by doctor's orders for a whole year) but it takes days to start working where magnesium citrate says within 3hrs and magnesium oxide is usually the next day if you took enough. You might have to take magnesium oxide twice if you didn't get enough the first day though.

Once you have your digestive tract moving again with no hard stools sitting around then start adding fiber in small amounts while still taking magnesium oxide or miralax in small amounts (like a half dose or the amount suggested for dietary supplementing instead) to keep the stools soft until your intestines get used to the increased bulk and move it along fast enough to prevent hardening of the stool. Make sure to drink plenty of liquids. Do away with the laxative after a couple days and then after a couple more days slowly increase the fiber until you reach a point that prevents future constipation for your body. Back track if you experience discomfort or missed bowel movements.

Improperly adding fiber (too much too soon and/or with too little liquid or no stool softener) accounts for a lot of doctor and emergency room visits and embarrassing exams and treatments. It causes abdominal problems real quick which can look like many other life threatening conditions or even become a serious problem by itself.