For a really long time, I've had GI problems. A nervous stomach. A spastic colon. Whatever you want to call it, it boils down to this: whenever something important or stressful is happening, that's when I will get pulled into the bathroom with cramps and ... I would say "you know," but unfortunately, there are two types of "you know." Or three, depending on how you look at it. I get the diarrhea kind.
Over the years, it's gotten worse. In the past couple of years, it's been a daily occurrence, the scale of importance being "must be at work on time today." Needless to say, it's caused serious friction at work. The more pressure I get from work the worse it gets, so it's become a self-defeating problem. My boss complains about how much work I miss, and it causes me to miss even more.
Between the beta blocker I take for migraine headaches - which has the benefit of easing inhibitions - and the anti-anxiety medication, my problem with stress has eased somewhat. But my stomach problems continue to be an issue during the week.
After taking six weeks off work due to extreme fatigue, I finally convinced my Rheumatologist to find me some better drugs. She put me on a low dose of steroids for immediate relief and we set out to try a couple of particularly nasty-sounding drugs for the long term. The steroids really did have an immediate effect. The lower back pain that has been my constant companion for several years - and an intermittent one since my mid-teens - was gone. Note: "gone" is a relative term. It really just means it reverted back to its intermittent state. In any case, within a couple of days, I had an energy level I hadn't felt for 3 or 4 years, so I was finally able to go back to work.
Within a few days, I realized I also had not had the stomach problems from before. Well...okay, I still had them, but not every day and not usually as bad. I realized the back pain was another big piece of the GI puzzle. When my back muscles cramp, it messes with my intestines. Unfortunately, the steroids are just temporary and they lose some effectiveness after a few weeks. So now my back hurts again and the stomach cramps have returned, albeit to a lesser degree.
So now what? I can't live with this forever. I've had a couple of doctors diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Of course, all the medications that help with that are for people with constipation. It was starting to look hopeless that anything would ever help. But then...
My husband, in the meantime, has developed a few health problems of his own. They are different and unrelated to my health problems for the most part. One of the problems is that he has developed a chronic dry cough. He's had the cough for years, although it eased up considerably when his doctor began an aggressive asthma regimen for him. But it didn't stop, and after having a procedure done for another issue, his doctor sent him to a gastroenterologist for an "upper GI" or an endoscopy.
I had one of those done a while back to confirm a diagnosis of acid reflux and it sounded like that was going to be the case here as well. And it was, but wait...there's more! The doc took some tissue samples and determined he had an infection of helicobacter pylori (h. pylori), the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers.
Hubby has major curiosity about his medical issues. He's not content with the information his doctors give him. He wants me - the librarian - to look these things up at home. So we did, and what we discovered is that the most common symptoms listed for h. pylori and gastric ulcers sounded very familiar:
The most common symptom of peptic ulcer disease is gnawing or burning abdominal pain, usually in the area just beneath the ribs. This pain typically gets worse when your stomach is empty and improves when you eat food, drink milk, or take an antacid. (from WebMD, emphasis is mine)
WebMD also says burping and bloating are common. I NEVER used to burp. Now, I do it frequently and it's horribly embarrassing.
The two most common causes of peptic ulcers are h. pylori infection and overuse of anti-inflammatory medications like aspirin or Advil. Because of my back pain, I have used anti-inflammatory medications almost constantly for at least 10 years.
My appointment with the GI is next week, and I assume he will want to do an endoscopy. I hope he finds the same h. pylori because all it takes (usually) is a good dose of antibiotics and some acid reducer medication to clear it up. I'm totally crossing my fingers!
You see, morning is almost always when I experience my stomach problems. My stomach is empty in the morning, and I used to mistake the pain for hunger. Gnawing is exactly the right word to describe it. Moreover, I sometimes get a "fizzy" sensation immediately after eating.
Update 1/23/15
The GI doc determined h. pylori was not my issue, so it's probably mostly muscle spasms in my lower back. I feel better when I'm not having to walk too far.
