New stomach pain - help!

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I started getting a new pain over the past couple of days. Yesterday and this morning it was just a dull warm ache in my stomach. My usual pain is in the lower-right. This pain is much higher, in the middle and above the navel.

This afternoon & evening, the pain gradually got much worse. I would say it's about a 6/10 (I would say it was about a 2 this morning & yesterday). Nothing I take seems to have any effect - I took Tums, Zofran, tylenol, and drank a glass of water with baking soda - nothing. It hurts when I move, when I take a drink of water, anything. The only way to get it to not hurt for a bit is to lie perfectly still on my back.

I've had nausea with this pain as well, but haven't vomited and I don't think I've got an obstruction because I've been going to the bathroom all evening and it's ranged from perfectly formed poo to runny d, but none of it has been "skinny" poo.

I'm wondering if this could be an ulcer. I have switched reflux meds several times in the past few weeks. I was on Omeprazole which was working fine, but my GP didn't want me on that one long-term so he switched me to Ranitidine. I was on that one for close to a month but had two bad attacks of reflux within the past week. So I called my GP's office, and although he's out this week, a nurse practitioner there advised me to go back on Omeprazole, so I've been back on that one as of Monday.

I'm wondering, since the Ranitidine didn't work and obviously I was still having reflux issues while on it, could the acid have formed an ulcer in that time, which the Omeprazole is now trying to kill? Or something of that nature? I'm just wondering what would cause stomach pain like this. My other symptoms right now are chills, insomnia, and no appetite. Can anybody help me out with what this could be? I'm going to call my GI tomorrow but he wasn't involved in the reflux med debate, and my GP is still out, so my GI might not know what to do (or might want to examine me before making a decision, and it's hard to get an urgent appointment with him - I have a feeling I'll have to wait until my next appointment which is a full month away).

So, help? Should I be worried about a pain that is new? Does it sound like an ulcer?

 

[beth]

When I had an ulcer I had very black diarrhea...

 

[David in Seattle]

Yes black, tarry stools is a classic sign of peptic ulcer. Cat, does the pain go away for a bit after you eat? That's another ulcer sign. Have you been checked for H. Pylori?

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

No, just the opposite in fact, the more I went the lighter my d became. The last poo I had was very light tan in color. Would that indicate some sort of bacterial infection?

I managed to sleep a little bit and the pain is at more like a 3 or 4 now. I haven't had any appetite since this started, though (I was eating when the pain was at a 2, but when I ate lunch yesterday was when it started getting worse and that's when I lost all appetite). I'm going to attempt an Ensure at some point this morning and will call my GI this morning. If he can't see me, and if the pain changes or gets worse again, I will go to urgent care and see if they can help.

Edit: I just went to the bathroom again and my poo has devolved into totally unformed watery d. It's still the light tan color. Last night when I was still having formed poos, they were normal brown in color. Does color-changing dark-to-light poo indicate anything?

Edit again: I just googled H Pylori, and although I've got some of the symptoms (burning pain, nausea, bloating), it says to call your doctor if you get black tarry stools/vomiting. It doesn't say anything about light tan d though. Hmmm. I guess I'll have to leave it up to my docs to figure out, I'll probably have to give some stool samples and wait for the results. Yuck. On the plus side, does this mean I get to call in sick to Easter dinner with my in-laws?

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I just did a bunch more googling, and it looks like Omeprazole can be used to help treat h pylori - so if I've got that going on, I wonder if that's the cause of my pain? I don't know though, because things seem to be getting worse rather than better. I just don't know what is causing this. The pain is back up to about a 5 now. I called in sick to work and will be calling my GI's office as soon as it opens.

 

[beth]

Could be unrelated. I'm remembering my stools went very pale when I was on omeprazole (and I got horrendous joint pains).

Off to the docs with you, we're just guessing!

 

[Rebecca85]

Light diarrhoea and high up pain could indicate gallbladder troubles.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Beth, yes I will be calling my doctor in about 5 minutes when his office opens. What do you guys think, should I see a GP, or should I try to see my GI? Since I don't know exactly what's causing this, I would prefer to see my GP in case it's something outside the range of my GI's expertise - but my GP is out, so I'd have to see a different GP. Ugh. I guess it's easier to get an appointment with a GP, so I'll try there first.

Rebecca, thanks for that information, I'll make sure they check my gallbladder too.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Update: I got an appointment with a GP (one I haven't seen before, since mine is off all week) at 2 PM. It's just past 8 AM here so I have a bit of a wait. If things get worse, I'll head to urgent care and cancel the GP appointment.

 

[Lisa]

Good luck Cat....glad you were able to get in quickly!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks Paso. I'll update you guys with what the doctor says.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Update: I just got back from the doctor. He said it's probably gastritis, which could have been caused by my acid reflux/changing reflux meds, or it could have been caused by Entocort. I hadn't heard this one before, but he said that steroids can sometimes cause gastritis. He acknowledged that, especially with my pale poos, it could be my gall bladder, so he did some blood tests for both gall bladder and pancreas. I should get those results tomorrow.

He said that, for now, I should double my Omeprazole (prilosec) to 40 mg instead of the 20 that I was taking, as that can help heal gastritis and at the very least, it couldn't hurt. He's also checking with my GI, as he felt it might be beneficial for me to taper my Entocort from 6 mg to 3. I said I wasn't going to change the Entocort dosage without my GI's input, so I am waiting for a call back after the GP and my GI come to an agreement about that.

So that's that, hopefully I'll be on the mend soon. He did say that if anything changes or worsens, I should immediately go to urgent care or the ER. Hopefully I can avoid that. For now, I'm just resting and taking things slowly, and still avoiding solid foods. I haven't eaten since lunchtime yesterday, that's when the pain started kicking in. I tried having an Ensure today, but about halfway through it, the pain shot back up and I had d like 10 more times, so I'm sticking to just water, pedialyte, and tea for the rest of tonight and will try Ensure again tomorrow.

Anybody else have gastritis lately? If so, did steroids cause it for you? And how long did your symptoms last? Did reflux meds help? Any other advice you can give me?

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Update again: My GI wants me to stop taking Entocort altogether starting now. And the GP decided I should haven an ultrasound of my gall bladder and liver, so they squeezed me in for that tomorrow afternoon. My GI bumped up my appointment, so instead of seeing him in May, I now see him on Monday. This is good, hopefully the ultrasound can find something. That's one of the few tests I haven't had yet. The only prep is no food/water for 6-8 hours before the test. Better than drinking prep, although the ultrasound isn't until 1:45, so I will have to stop drinking shortly after I wake up, which will be annoying. Hope I don't get dehydrated. And I guess this means I should try to eat something tonight, since I won't have the chance until later tomorrow. Wish me luck!

 

[PnaG]

Cat, you asked for a "wish me luck", well babe, I wish you more than luck, I wish for you a quick answer to this problem and for you to be on the mend quickly.

In the hospital the doc told my son he had gastritis but didnt offer any med for it, said he believed it was gastritis because of the "noise" in his belly and all the belching he was doing.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks, PnaG! The doctor said gastritis because the pain is smack dab in the center - if it were my gall bladder, liver, or pancreas, the pain would most likely be off to one side since none of those are perfectly centered. But the pale stools could still implicate the gall bladder, and I do have 4 benign thingies on my liver, so they just want to check to make sure everything's okay in there.

Funny about the "noise" in your son's belly - the GP listened to my guts and he said they sounded like they were moving slowly. I was like, no way! Even Ensure's going right thru me in about 10 minutes, there's no way things are moving slowly in there. The doc just laughed and said he believed me and he must have listened to a slow bit.

 

[KaLa]

It sounds like your doctors are moving quickly (thank goodness). I hope that you get a quick answer so that they can get you moving in the right direction.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks KaLa! I hope so too. I'll update you guys after the ultrasound tomorrow.

 

[Sorbys]

Ew, gastritis. But I can tell you from experience the light poo thing can definitely be gallbladder, because it happened to me. The pain also often felt like someone punched me in the stomach, the same exact sort of sensation. I know problems in the ileum lead to problems in the gallbladder over time, and it sounds like that's where your pain is. Glad you're getting it checked into.

Pancreatitis is definitely another possibility, it feels a lot like what you describe.

Light dooks can be from any of those meds, from what I hear. I took a bunch of Maalox once and my stool looked like silver, crazy stuff.

 

[beth]

Ah, yes, I've just had an ultrasound for gallstones, and they found loads of them. That pain is upper right quadrant, just below the ribs. Main symptom for me tho is green/yellow diarrhea.

Gastritis I've also had and that's more central if I remember correctly.

 

[StarGirrrrl]

Yeah for my ultrasound I had to stop drinking shortly after waking up, so annoying, I usually prefer pm Hospital tests but not nil by mouth ones lol.

 

[xJillx]

Hey Cat! Good luck with the testing today and I hope you start feeling better!

 

[Astra]

Yeah, Good luck from me too Cat
hope you feel better soon
xxx

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks all. 2 hours to go until the ultrasound and I'm starving! Thirsty too. I'm sneaking tiny sips of water every so often just because I don't want to get too dehydrated. At least the d has stopped, probably because I haven't really eaten or drank anything since I woke up. The pain is somewhat better but I'm still getting waves of pain every so often.

 

[allieinwonder]

Good luck Cat! I hope they find the issue and get you on the mend!

 

[Mayflower537]

Hope it went well for you, Cat!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks Allie and May. I just got back. The ultrasound tech said she's not allowed to say if she saw anything out of the ordinary, I have to wait for my GI appointment on Monday to find out the results. So, not much to report there. I am feeling a bit better though, since I am currently eating a tuna sandwich and drinking a lovely big glass of water. I got a miserable headache from dehydration and I got the shakes pretty bad from not eating at all today (and barely anything yesterday or the day before).

I'll update everybody on Monday after I see my GI and get the ultrasound results!

 

[Manzyb]

Hey Cat!! I'll be thinking of you. I hope you get some answers on Monday and they can fix you right up!! :hang:

 

[spingirl]

Hope everything is ok on Monday. Have you in my thoughts. Maybe after not eating/drinking for a while your pain will be less for a while. I hope so. Good luck.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Thanks Manzy and Spingirl. My pain is a little better, and I intend on just resting during the weekend (will most likely skip Easter at the in-laws house).

 

[littlemissh]

Good luck for your appointment Cat. At least if its gallstones they can whip out your gallbladder and you will feel better.

 

[silveyk]

Alcohol, NSAIDs, and steroids can all precipitate a peptic ulcer (stomach ulcer) as well as gastritis (inflammation of the stomach). The pain is usually felt as a burning in the epigastric region (just below the breasts/bottom of the rib cage), and travels upwards (along the esophagus). In your case, it sounds like you may be having rebound reflux from having stopped your Omeprazole. Restarting your Omeprazole sounds like a good plan. Ranitidine is from a different drug class, which is less effective.

Dr. S (spouse of a Crohn's sufferer)

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Little Miss H: I'd rather avoid surgery if I could, so I'm hoping it's gastritis. I hope it's not my liver either, I have benign hyperplasias on my liver so I'm hoping I can avoid surgery there too. This is day 2 off of Entocort, and I'm finally feeling somewhat better and can eat again without massive pain or d, so that makes me hopeful that it was indeed gastritis caused by the steroids.

Dr. S, thanks for all that information! I don't do alcohol or NSAIDS but I was on Entocort up until the day before yesterday. I didn't feel the pain traveling upwards along the esophagus but it did feel warm, like a burning dull ache that would get sharper every so often. Not only did I restart Omeprazole, but I was advised by the GP to double the dosage for now (from 20 mg to 40) to try to get whatever this is under control. So far I'm doing better, I don't know if it's the Omeprazole or if it's the fact that I'm off of Entocort, but I do feel a definite improvement today. I'm going to continue resting up during the weekend and will hopefully get some good news from my GI when I see him on Monday.

 

[vivagi]

Hi, I am new in here, I found my way trough the web while searching for reasons of pale stool/urine after taking Omeprazole, It seems you planned to see your GI but you did not update what happened next. It would be helpful if you could share your experience. because I think Omeprazole is the single cause of those adverse effects. and it's likely to cause severe liver damage.

I found this from livestrong:
Omeprazole, a drug sold under the brand name is Prilosec, is a medication used to suppress the production of acid in the stomach. Omeprazole is classified as a proton pump inhibitor and is indicated for the treatment of frequent heartburn due to gastroesophageal disease and for the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers. Omeprazole is also used to treat a stomach acid hypersecretory condition known as Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Omeprazole may damage the liver in several ways.

Hepatitis
According to Drugs.com, omeprazole may cause hepatitis or the inflammation of the liver. Omeprazole is metabolized in the liver. The liver breaks down omeprazole into products that can easily be removed from the body by the kidneys. Exposure of the liver to omeprazole may cause damage to liver cells leading to the inflammation of the liver. According to Netdoctor.co.uk, early signs of hepatitis include fatique, malaise, nausea, decreased appetite, swollen abdomen due to enlarged liver, skin rash and muscle ache. Omeprazole use should be discontinued to allow the liver to heal.

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Drugs.com states that use of omeprazole may affect the functioning of the biliary stystem. According to the National Institutes of Health, the biliary system includes the liver, gallbladder, bile ducts inside the liver, and bile ducts outside the liver. The biliary system is important in the production of bile, which is a liquid important in the digestion of fats and lips. Omeprazole impairs the normal flow of bile and leads this leads to yellowing of the eyes and skin, biliary pain, gall bladder pain, gall bladder inflammation and bile stones.

Liver Failure
Liver failure is the inability of the liver to perform its metabolic functions. According to Drugs.com, long-term use of omeprazole may completely destroy the liver by causing scarring of liver tissue. Some patients may experience immediate acute liver failure after taking omeprazole. Liver failure is irreversible and requires liver transplant. Signs of acute liver failure include dark urine, clay colored stool, itching, yellowing of the skin and eyes, enlarged abdomen, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting.