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Severe gut problems - No answers

Messages
18
For those who have severe gut issues, what actually helped you? I have the following, all of which came severely a year ago:

Discomfort above my belly button and below the ribcage which also radiates to the left side and my back. A burning sensation in that area too and in my chest. Chronic reflux. It is disgusting. I have burning mouth syndrome and tastes in my mouth that go between tasting like: metal, sweet, and bitter.

I also have severe post nasal drip, tightness feeling around neck and tightness in the throat. I can swallow but it feels like I have to force it and there feels like there is phlegm around it.

I also have bloating, pellet like stools and undigested food in stool and gas. Also if I go without eating too long I can feel the acid coming up in the back of my throat but it also gets worse no matter what I eat. My nose also runs after everything I eat and I can get itchy skin too.

My gut seems a mess and I can barely eat anything. When I drink water it just feels like it is drowning my throat and I feel a weird fullness. Sometimes I burp a lot but other times it feels like I need to burp but can't physically do so.

I am miserable with such horrible gut problems and any tips would be greatly appreciated.
 

Howard

suffering ceases when craving is removed
Messages
1,332
Location
Arizona
Many of these symptoms are similar to the ones I had initially, just as my gastroparesis becoming severe. Of course, I am not a doctor… so I can only relay my experience.

Based upon your reported symptoms, they would likely do one (or eventually all) of the following: an X-ray, possibly an MRI, perform an upper GI, and perhaps even do a swallow test. Eventually, a gastric emptying study may be performed, too.

The X-ray would likely be first, so that they may confirm there's nothing blocking or partially blocking your duodenum or small intestine. Another possibility would be that you have a Bezoar, which is a mass of undigested food.

As I understand it, a blockage of any kind would be their primary concern.

My issue was not a blockage, but rather an inability for my stomach to empty fluids… primarily water. Over time, swallowing water became more and more difficult (a choking/aspiration hazard).

The reason why your throat may feel as though it constricts, may be due to the acid reflux.. which irritates the esophagus.. causing swelling.

Your nose running and eyes watering may also be caused by this. Whenever fluid would back up into my esophagus (from my stomach), I would have those very same symptoms.

My pain was and (sometimes still is) above the belly button and just to the left.. what I suspect to be the third part of the duodenum. A lot of gas/air pressure builds up right in that spot (colon runs underneath), so I must gently massage the area to help relieve the pressure so that it may escape via the colon.

SMA syndrome (have you recently lost a lot of weight?), or Nutcracker Syndrome… vagus nerve irritation

I could go on and on, but here's hoping some or any of this helps you. It's also possible none of this may apply to you. Could be a gallbladder issue, not enough bile.. a malfunctioning pyloric sphincter, etcetera.

And again, my symptoms were similar, but I did not have radiating pain back and around to the left side.

Also, most doctors and/or gastroenterologists won't understand much of what I wrote, so be careful how you speak with them. Let them run their tests, then ask questions afterwards.

Sorry for all the words -
H
 

Learner1

Senior Member
Messages
6,305
Location
Pacific Northwest
Gut health is highly individual. It looks like you had Rifaximin for SIBO, herbals to kill off bad actors, fexofenadine for mast cell reactions, and nutrients for malabsorption.

There are over 30 trillion cells in our microbiomes, made up of over 1,000 separate species. These creatures metabolize our food and make biochemicals our bodies need. Depending on which ones we have, they can either be behaving well to support our body's function, or bad actors can create unhelpful chemicals or kill off good guys, while lack of some species means that certain biochemicals mat be leaving in the body, leading to things not working.
Based upon your reported symptoms, they would likely do one (or eventually all) of the following: an X-ray, possibly an MRI, perform an upper GI, and perhaps even do a swallow test. Eventually, a gastric emptying study may be performed, too.
While I agree that most hospitals and GI doctors would take this approach, none of it will help a bad mix of microbiome constituents which could be causing the problem in the first place.

Doing extensive analysis of the microbiome, and manipulating it with various probiotics and natural substances, or doing a fecal transplant have the hope of altering the microbiome for the better, and restoring functions that don't work.

Conventional medicine is just beginning to understand this, just as they are understanding that the drugs they prescribe are affecting our microbiomes as well.
 

jpcv

Senior Member
Messages
386
Location
SE coast, Brazil
I had similar symptomsand what helped was a gluten free diet, lots of vegetables and less sugar overall
Nuts
Dark chocolate
I tried probiotics for a while but they usually helped a little bit for a short span of time, unlike the changes I did to my diet .
I did a SIBO exam and the result came as negative, so I never tried antibiotivs
 

nerd

Senior Member
Messages
863
My reflux was caused by lactose intolerance and histamine intolerance/MCAS. When it was bad, I couldn't eat sugar-rich food either.

SIBO is also worth looking into. The low smooth muscle tone in ME makes us susceptible to it, to GERD as well.
 

BrightCandle

Senior Member
Messages
1,147
Initially I went down to fodmap, that calmed the problem a lot. Then I have progressively added probiotics and small amounts of the food I had issues with and I have a wider but not wide diet now, but it took about 2 years. About a month ago I got a microbiome test with biomesight, I still have severe problems but I have more specific targets to chase now and I can tolerate more probiotic foods so I'll be ramping on those over the coming months, all the while keeping the bloating to a manageable level and not exceeding what I can tolerate. No idea if it in the end it works but so far I have improved my gut function and decreased my IBS-C.
 

Zebra

Senior Member
Messages
853
Location
Northern California
Hi, @zee89

I suffer from severe GI dysmotility and I am under the care of a neuro-gastroenterologist.

@Howard has provided you with an excellent overview of the diagnostic process as well as a differential diagnosis.

If I were you, I would search out a GI motility specialist and begin the work up.

Some of the tests are unpleasant, but none are painful. Treatment options are available, depending on the source of your problem.

I wish you the very best of luck.
 

SWAlexander

Senior Member
Messages
1,898
For those who have severe gut issues, what actually helped you? I have the following, all of which came severely a year ago:

Discomfort above my belly button and below the ribcage which also radiates to the left side and my back. A burning sensation in that area too and in my chest. Chronic reflux. It is disgusting. I have burning mouth syndrome and tastes in my mouth that go between tasting like: metal, sweet, and bitter.

I also have severe post nasal drip, tightness feeling around neck and tightness in the throat. I can swallow but it feels like I have to force it and there feels like there is phlegm around it.

I also have bloating, pellet like stools and undigested food in stool and gas. Also if I go without eating too long I can feel the acid coming up in the back of my throat but it also gets worse no matter what I eat. My nose also runs after everything I eat and I can get itchy skin too.

My gut seems a mess and I can barely eat anything. When I drink water it just feels like it is drowning my throat and I feel a weird fullness. Sometimes I burp a lot but other times it feels like I need to burp but can't physically do so.

I am miserable with such horrible gut problems and any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I know how it feels. Would you have a chance to order a full Biome test? I posted my one: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/seeking-bio-gut-help.85679/
How is your Vitamin D level?
 

Rufous McKinney

Senior Member
Messages
13,251
I had my gut go off tied to abrupt 3 am gastroperesis- once again. that intense pain in the middle of the belly, it all shut down. I seem to want to blame my neck instability, for a stomach shut down. OK. thats logical.
 

Fogbuster

Senior Member
Messages
269
For those who have severe gut issues, what actually helped you? I have the following, all of which came severely a year ago:

Discomfort above my belly button and below the ribcage which also radiates to the left side and my back. A burning sensation in that area too and in my chest. Chronic reflux. It is disgusting. I have burning mouth syndrome and tastes in my mouth that go between tasting like: metal, sweet, and bitter.

I also have severe post nasal drip, tightness feeling around neck and tightness in the throat. I can swallow but it feels like I have to force it and there feels like there is phlegm around it.

I also have bloating, pellet like stools and undigested food in stool and gas. Also if I go without eating too long I can feel the acid coming up in the back of my throat but it also gets worse no matter what I eat. My nose also runs after everything I eat and I can get itchy skin too.

My gut seems a mess and I can barely eat anything. When I drink water it just feels like it is drowning my throat and I feel a weird fullness. Sometimes I burp a lot but other times it feels like I need to burp but can't physically do so.

I am miserable with such horrible gut problems and any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Discomfort above my belly button and below the ribcage which also radiates to the left side and my back. A burning sensation in that area too and in my chest. Chronic reflux. It is disgusting. I have burning mouth syndrome and tastes in my mouth that go between tasting like: metal, sweet, and bitter


This sounds like MALS to me

Article linked below is perhaps a more severe form of it.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...ood-conditions-crippling-pressure-organs.html