Stomach Trouble (graphic, need advice)

In My Humble Opinion
1

You know, it’s funny. When I’m up in Washington I feel perfectly healthy. When I come back down to Los Hideous, it’s antacids every night.

Last Saturday night I hed to puke. So I did. I was okay to go to work on Monday, although I was not at 100%. The week went okay until Thursday. I went out to lunch and had Thai food. A couple of hours later, I could feel it sitting in my gut like a lump. It got worse, so at quitting time I went to the head to get rid of it. There was someone in one of the other stalls so I decided to tough it out. An hour and a half on the freeway feeling as if my belly was expanding, and feeling nauseated. So I get home and try to purge. Not much came up. I was puking up small quantities of food for about four hours. I decided to go to bed. I did not go to work today, but was feeling a little better. I had a couple of chocolate-frosted Entenman’s doughnuts (the same thing I had the previous week). Not too bad. At about lunch time I had a Marie Calender’s chicken pot pie. Now I’m starting to feel pukey again. Over the next couple of hours purged a little bit, but not a whole pot pie’s worth.

Pepto-Bismol doesn’t seem to help. My stomach mocks me by sending small amounts of it back up when I vomit. I tried Alka-Seltzer, and it seems to be helping a little. I’ve also had a couple of cups of Earl Grey tea and several glasses of water.

Now I’m feeling hungry. I don’t dare eat anything, but for how long? When I do decide to eat, what should I eat? Mac’n’cheese? Bologna sandwich? Burger? Ramen? I could whip up some angel hair pasta with olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes. Protein shake? Nothing sounds good. Not even Cream of Wheat. I suppose I should eat something eventually, but what?

I think I probably have an ulcer. If I don’t feel better by Monday I’ll have to go to a doctor. (And I’m not a fan of doctors.) I wonder if I can get the company to transfer me to the Bothel, WA office? Fat chance. But I think the ultimate solution is to get the hell out of California.

2

Ulcer was the first thing I thought of when reading your post. Good luck, man. I’m an absolute zero at medical knowledge, so my help stops here, I’m afraid.

Go ride the Yammie tomorrow, it’ll make you feel better. :wink:

(Hijack: I’ll be test-driving this Diversion 600 I can buy from a friend sunday morning. Any signs I should be on the look-out for, driving-wise? And, YES, I know, I don’t have my license just yet, but we’ll do it in an abandoned parking lot, no worries ;))

3

“Thai food” (spicy, no doubt), “a couple of chocolate-frosted Entenman’s doughnuts(the same thing I had the previous week)”, “Marie Calender’s chicken pot pie”, “Mac’n’cheese? Bologna sandwich? Burger?”

Johnny, I’m no doctor (although I play one on TV), but I seem to detect a pattern here: nasty food. You don’t seem to be giving your organism time enough to recover. Perhaps you could stick with ‘blander’ nutriments for a while (consommés, cream of wheat, etc.) or put an emphasis on more wholesome meals (some angel hair pasta with olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes sounds pretty nice).

Then again, there’s the whole coffee factor. The kind of coffee you like (black and strong) probably isn’t too conducive to stomach healing. Speaking of which, you should probably see an MD if your stomach pains persist. Could be the beginning of an ulcer (hopefully not).

Good luck to ya.

4

Take it from an expert…simple answer is acid. Avoid any heavy meals for a while. DON"T eat chocolate anything it relaxes the lower stomach sphincter and allows food to regurge back into your esophogus. Get on some short term time release anti acid medicine like previcid (prescribed by your doctor of course) once a day instead of a bunch of tums or OTC medicines. And good luck.

5

Actually, the food I eat is fairly healthy. I like salmon, tuna, that sort of thing. The Thai food wasn’t spicy. I never have trouble with spicy Thai food, so maybe that’s the trouble? :wink: And keep away from my coffee! Mmmm! That hot richness! (Come to think of it, I did have stomach trouble a couple of years ago when I drank MJB instead of the usual French roast.) Anyway, most of what I eat is pretty good stuff; although I do have a bit of Bachelour Kibble around.

I don’t think I could handle pasta tonight. Maybe I’ll try the Cream of Wheat with a spoonful of jam on it. (ack I hate sweet stuff in the evenings.)

My sister threatened to drive up from San Diego and drag me to the doctor if I don’t feel better and if I don’t go on my own. Hey, I just went to a doctor two years ago for my FAA flight physical!

Coldie: The Seca II (Diversion 600) is a very honest bike. Its seating position is nice in that you’re not hunched over like on a sportbike. It handles well, but you’ll drag pegs in aggressive turns. Give it plenty of time to warm up, as it seems they’re rather cold-blooded. Have fun!

6

Johnny, you’re living my life from a year ago. I came home from school for the summer, at a steak tip sub, and puked it all up about 3 hours later. Same thing 2 days later with a pizza. I had constant heartburn after damn near every meal for a week. I just generally felt like shit.

So, I did what you’re supposed to do. I went to the doctor. He gave me a once over, listened to my story, and prescribed some Zantac to take every day for 2 weeks, a kinda bland diet for a week or so, and more exercise. Basically, it was stress of starting work again, the change of scenery, and all that.

So, I did what he said, and felt much better in less than a month.

Same thing happened again about 3 weeks ago when I came back from school. So, I picked up a bottle of Zantac75, popped a few, and had a salad. Then I went for a run. I did the same thing for a few days straight, and felt better in less than a week.

I’d suggest you just have a doctor check you out to be sure there’s no ulcer or anything, get some exercise, and eat mostly bagels and veggies for a week. And Zantac is your friend.

7

Johnny, I think it’s the stress of being in “Los Hideous”, as you put it. If it was an ulcer it would bother you in Washington, not just LA.

Something about that town is stressing you out and your stomach is paying for it. When you have to be there eat light and avoid greasy food. Some people swear by ginger to settle a stomach, but I’ve never tried it. My husband - he of the nervous stomach - swears mints help. Lots of fluids, so if you do puke you don’t wind up dehydrated or with dry heaves.

Try to figure out what the hell is stressing you out in the town and either avoid it or minimize it.

8

Broomstick: Funny, the food I eat in Washington tends to be heavy and greasy; like chicken-fried steak, hash browns, fried eggs, burgers, dogs, fish’n’chips… I eat much more healthy down here.

Could be that all of my friends live around Washington. Or that I don’t like hot weather or sunshine every day. Seeing concrete and asphalt everywhere I look isn’t much fun. Traffic. Boredom. I think the biggest factor is that I’m living in a place that I hate.

Are you sure an ulcer would bother me all the time, and not just in one place?

Flymaster: Bagels and veggies, huh? Hmmm. I’m not overly fond of bagels, and tomatoes sometimes send my stomach into a rage. Oh, well. At least I like Brussels sprouts. What about baked potatoes, rice, or pasta?

I’m feeling better today, but I haven’t tried to eat anything. If I’m still messed up on Monday I’ll schedule an appointment with a witch doctor. I’m due for another physical, so I should schedule soon anyway. But if I’m feeling okay it will have to wait a week; I have a deadline to meet, and those programs aren’t going to write themselves!

9

Gads. I feel bloated. Maybe I’m having trouble with throughput? :frowning:

10

Johnny L.A.: if you ever, ever throw up anything that looks like blood, or poop out anything that is black and/or tarry, seek medical help at once. Bleeding (ulcer) in the stomach or small intestine will be bloody-looking; bleeding (ulcer) in the lower intestine will manifest itself as black, tarry stools.

Until you stop feeling sick to your stomach, eat foods that are high in carbs and low in fat. Don’t drink milk or eat Ramen noodle soup (that stuff is very high in fat- look at the label). Eat saltine crackers (preferably the fat-free kind) and broth and water. Fat is hard to digest. Obviously, spicy food is hard to digest. Try crackers, broth, unbuttered toast, and water, water, water.

If your stomach upset is caused by germs, taking Pepto-Bismol will cause more harm than good. When dangerous germs are present in you gastrointestinal tract, your body’s defense against them is to puke them out and/or shit them out. Pepto-Bismol interferes with this natural cleansing process. The longer the hazardous germs are kept in your body, the more harm they can do.

Yes, drink lots and lots of fluids: broth, water, Seven-Up, Jell-O, etc. Do not drink milk; it contains a lot of fat and protein. You need clear liquids. Avoid fatty foods like the plague: french fries, meat, Ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese (or any other kind of cheese) or burgers. Eat plain rice, crackers, plain bread (or toast, no butter or margarine) and lots of water.

Get some rest. Let your body recover.

11

This may or may not help, but my boyfriend got really sick about a month ago…shortly after he scarfed down 4 (or more!) chocolate-frosted Entenman’s doughnuts! He ate about half the package, I guess he had a chocolate craving :D, and spent the rest of the day and night feeling uncomfortable and puking.

12

“When I’m up in Washington I feel perfectly healthy. When I come back
down to Los Hideous, it’s antacids every night.”

Maybe its stress?

13

Johnny, Johnny, speaking as a doctor, get your butt to a doctor!. It may just be acid reflux, but even that needs adequate treatment. It may also be an ulcer, so you’ll need to get your blood tested for helicobacter pylorii titres, it could be erosive gastritis and they’ll have to evaluate you for blood in your GI system, or it could be something completely different. All of which have appropriate treatments, but you need an accurate diagnosis first so stop messing around and see a competent Family Practitioner, Internist, or Gastroenterologist.

14

When I feel sick, I eat bananas or rice or applesauce and I drink de-caff tea. Drink water. And see a doctor with a written list of questions and a log of what you’ve eaten in the last 48 hours

15

Sounds like you have a problem with acids to me. You need to get thee to a doctor, right away!

Might want to ask for that transfer too. Sounds like you got some stress issues going on as well.

16

Well, I haven’t been online since Saturday. Anyone miss me?

Saturday night/Sunday morning the gas build-up in my gut was extremely painful. I was only sleeping for about 5 minutes at a time. I’d had enough. I went to the Urgent Care clinic. The doctor told me to reduce meat intake (the past week I had eaten an unusual amount of meat), increase fiber and take Mylanta anti-gas. He also prescribed GoLytely, a laxative.

Okay, I had been taking Pepto-Bismol to relieve stomach discomfort. And Pepto-Bismol can also be used to fight dairhea. So apparently I was constipated and taking a medicine that can cause constipation. I have to wait to get to the pharmacy. I know there are 24-hour pharmacies around, but I never get sick so I don’t know where they are. I walk to Rite-Aid at 8:00 and they’re closed. They don’t open until 10:00. Waiting was hell. I returned at 10:00 and the pharmicist is late. When she does get in, she says it will be 20 minutes. I’m dyin’ here! I finally get the medicine. In a gallon jug! WTF? Golytely is a purgative that is used by people before surgery. I guess they want to make sure the bowels are really clean before cutting.

So I get home. I add four litres of water and start taking the medicine. 8 oz. every 10 minutes. My belly is distended because of gas buildup, I don’t want to eat, and I have to drink this nasty stuff. After an hour I start to “get the urge”. Yeah, it works pretty well. I expelled liquid. Did you know that Pepto Bismol turns your stool black? It was black liquid. It’s going to be a while before I eat black beans again. The good thing was that the pressure was reduced enough for me to get some sleep.

Monday morning I finished off the Golytely. Sort of. After the last dose I couldn’t take any more and it came up. So did the previous two or three doses. After getting some more sleep I went to my Primary Care Physician. (Well, at least the facility. I saw the internist.) He said I might have an impacted colon, but he wasn’t worried. He told me to eat. How would I know if food is being processed if I’m not eating? (I didn’t eat much Friday or Saturday, and nothing Sunday, or Monday until after the doctor visit.) So I’m eating a little. Gelatine, tapioca pudding, yoghurt, bananas. Not much, but at least it’s something.

My gut is still bloated and it’s sometimes painful, but not as bad as it was. The liquid I’m expelling isn’t quite as black. I’m eating a little. I’m still sick, but I’m feeling a little better. If I can beat the boredom I’ll be fine in a few days I think.

Sorry about being so graphic, but being sick enough to go to a doctor is sort of a new experience for me.