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What Do Infrequent Bowel Movements And Gastric Pain Indicate Despite Taking Omeprazol?
Question: A few months ago, I had a lot of stress in my life. At this point, my symptoms began. I have always had gas at night. I am now 27. But a few months ago, this gas got worse. I started experiencing less frequent bowel movements, and having BAD gas pain every single night for he last 3 months that's seeming to get worse every day. The pain is in the center of my chest and radiates to both shoulders and my back and is relieved when I fart or burp. I have had lung X-ray and EKGS and my heart is fine but that's the only testing they did. I have to wait 4 months where I am to see a GI doctor. Someone please help. This pain brings on tons of anxiety and I go so many nights without sleep. My heart rate is constantly at around 130-170 resting because of the anxiety and I'm losing my mind. I'm also experiencing random joint pains in my elbows and hands, sometime breathing is really difficult and it feels like I cannot get satisfaction out of a breath. Where should I begin? What could this be? I have tryed omep razor for 30 days and nexium for 30 days and neither improves anything. Gas ex does not work either. The only thing that works is tons of water and milk of magnesia before bed.
Brief Answer:
Gas in intestines compresses nerves causing inflammation and pain.
Detailed Answer:
Hello dear patient,
I have gone through your details and i can very well feel the level of frustration you must be feeling right now.
Don't worry you will start feeling better in a few days just follow whatever i advice to you.
At first you have to understand the pathology of your problem and how all things like anxiety to gas etc are interconnected.
Bloating belching farting etc can be caused by any kind of food. In most of the cases, it's fatty foods which cause these symptoms. Any food whether it's fat or protein or complex carbohydrate when can not be properly digested, releases large amount of gases like hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide which causes burping.These gases accumulate in intestines and presses the nerves in it hence causing pain in abdomen thorax and back. Hundered of species of good bacteria and yeast are found in intestine of human which help in proper digestion of food.Even minor disturbances in gut bacterial flora can lead to significant changes in gut function, including excessive gas production..Hence most commmon cause in most of the cases is disturbed microbiota. Over anxiety stimulates the autonomous nervous system in body hence causing stasis in intestines.As persitaltic moments are week gas accumulates in intestines.Severe constipation or incomplete evacuation can also hinder the passage of gases.
What should you do-
TREATMENT PROTOCOL-
Start taking
Rabeprazole 20 mg twice daily(half an hour before food)
Tablet Pancreoflat(dimethicone 80 mg, pancreatin 170 ) thrice daily- Dimethicone absorbs gas while pancreatin helps to digest food better.
Cap VSL#3 probiotic(improves the gut flora hence cause proper food digestion).
Tums thrice a day.
Anti anxiety medication Clonazepam 0.5 mg to be taken once daily before going to bed.
Take 6 small meals in a day.
Don't eat too much at a time.
Avoid taking food rich in fibers.
Avoiding alcohol and caffeine
Drink lots of yoghurt or curd.
Avoid dairies and milk.
Avoid taking fats.
No pizza burger etc for 2 weeks.
No coke cola or aerated beverage.
Try to walk 1000 steps in a day at fast pace.
Last meal should be taken 3 hours before going to bed.
Revert back to me in 5 days how you feel.
Suggestion-If your heart rate is above 110/min go to the nearest emergency room.
Every thing from GERD to gas to anxiety are inter related.
So we have to deal with each of them.Have a practical approach things will take some time to get better.
Follow ups are welcome.
Gas in intestines compresses nerves causing inflammation and pain.
Detailed Answer:
Hello dear patient,
I have gone through your details and i can very well feel the level of frustration you must be feeling right now.
Don't worry you will start feeling better in a few days just follow whatever i advice to you.
At first you have to understand the pathology of your problem and how all things like anxiety to gas etc are interconnected.
Bloating belching farting etc can be caused by any kind of food. In most of the cases, it's fatty foods which cause these symptoms. Any food whether it's fat or protein or complex carbohydrate when can not be properly digested, releases large amount of gases like hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide which causes burping.These gases accumulate in intestines and presses the nerves in it hence causing pain in abdomen thorax and back. Hundered of species of good bacteria and yeast are found in intestine of human which help in proper digestion of food.Even minor disturbances in gut bacterial flora can lead to significant changes in gut function, including excessive gas production..Hence most commmon cause in most of the cases is disturbed microbiota. Over anxiety stimulates the autonomous nervous system in body hence causing stasis in intestines.As persitaltic moments are week gas accumulates in intestines.Severe constipation or incomplete evacuation can also hinder the passage of gases.
What should you do-
TREATMENT PROTOCOL-
Start taking
Rabeprazole 20 mg twice daily(half an hour before food)
Tablet Pancreoflat(dimethicone 80 mg, pancreatin 170 ) thrice daily- Dimethicone absorbs gas while pancreatin helps to digest food better.
Cap VSL#3 probiotic(improves the gut flora hence cause proper food digestion).
Tums thrice a day.
Anti anxiety medication Clonazepam 0.5 mg to be taken once daily before going to bed.
Take 6 small meals in a day.
Don't eat too much at a time.
Avoid taking food rich in fibers.
Avoiding alcohol and caffeine
Drink lots of yoghurt or curd.
Avoid dairies and milk.
Avoid taking fats.
No pizza burger etc for 2 weeks.
No coke cola or aerated beverage.
Try to walk 1000 steps in a day at fast pace.
Last meal should be taken 3 hours before going to bed.
Revert back to me in 5 days how you feel.
Suggestion-If your heart rate is above 110/min go to the nearest emergency room.
Every thing from GERD to gas to anxiety are inter related.
So we have to deal with each of them.Have a practical approach things will take some time to get better.
Follow ups are welcome.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
I have a clonezapam prescription for 0.5 and take it during a panic attack and it works but all the gas pain still stays there. Changing my diet is something I will have to work on as well as quitting smoking. But I have been to the emergency room 4 or 5 times. Why is that heart rate bad? Its sitting at 150 a lot of the time and no one in the ER ever seems to care. I feel like it's not good because I have nearly constant anxiety. Any suggestions for that?
Also I wanted to add one more thing and see what you suggest. I went to the hospital a few weeks ago because I thought there was lines of blood in my poop. Blood tests were ok for ulcers. Anyway, my update on this is that for these past 3 weeks I have inspected my stool EVERY TIME. There are tiny string like orange lines in my stool and outside of my stool. They almost look and feel like dental floss. I picked one up which was not something I wanted to do and took a picture but it's not clear. It is light orange and feels like a piece of hay or a XXXXXXX piece of dental floss. I could bend it and it did not break. There are usually about 7 or throughout my bowel movement. There is no specific food that's i eat everyday that would cause this so it makes no sense. I don't eat the same thing more than once in a week so I'm confused about it. I am tired of these symptoms and I am probably digging too deep, but I guess you can never give a doctor too much information. I have as of right now been up all night unable to sleep. I took milk of magnesia last night and had a big bowel movement this morning which is when I noticed these orange things and actually picked one up to describe it. The milk of magnesia really made me feel better from the chest down but the center of my chest still has a ton of trapped gas. I can feel it like I swallowed 30 burps that wont come up. What tests should I ask my general doctor/ nurse practitioner to do. Any specific blood or stool tests? What should I tell him to look for? I really want the root cause of it and know I need testing, but unless I specifically ask for certain tests they will never get done. Please give me all possible things and tests that my doctor can perform in office. This came on very suddenly 4 months ago without any lifestyle changes and has gotten slightly worse week by week. I have had too many ER trips and I am not going back there. I KNOW something is wrong besides acid reflux. It was too sudden and makes no sense to me. PLEASE HELP
Also I wanted to add one more thing and see what you suggest. I went to the hospital a few weeks ago because I thought there was lines of blood in my poop. Blood tests were ok for ulcers. Anyway, my update on this is that for these past 3 weeks I have inspected my stool EVERY TIME. There are tiny string like orange lines in my stool and outside of my stool. They almost look and feel like dental floss. I picked one up which was not something I wanted to do and took a picture but it's not clear. It is light orange and feels like a piece of hay or a XXXXXXX piece of dental floss. I could bend it and it did not break. There are usually about 7 or throughout my bowel movement. There is no specific food that's i eat everyday that would cause this so it makes no sense. I don't eat the same thing more than once in a week so I'm confused about it. I am tired of these symptoms and I am probably digging too deep, but I guess you can never give a doctor too much information. I have as of right now been up all night unable to sleep. I took milk of magnesia last night and had a big bowel movement this morning which is when I noticed these orange things and actually picked one up to describe it. The milk of magnesia really made me feel better from the chest down but the center of my chest still has a ton of trapped gas. I can feel it like I swallowed 30 burps that wont come up. What tests should I ask my general doctor/ nurse practitioner to do. Any specific blood or stool tests? What should I tell him to look for? I really want the root cause of it and know I need testing, but unless I specifically ask for certain tests they will never get done. Please give me all possible things and tests that my doctor can perform in office. This came on very suddenly 4 months ago without any lifestyle changes and has gotten slightly worse week by week. I have had too many ER trips and I am not going back there. I KNOW something is wrong besides acid reflux. It was too sudden and makes no sense to me. PLEASE HELP
Brief Answer:
Follow up answer.
Detailed Answer:
Hello dear patient,
Heart rate more then 100/minute is termed as tachycardia.Tachycardia is caused by something that disrupts the normal electrical impulses that control the rate of your heart's pumping action. Many things can cause or contribute to problems with the heart's electrical system. These include: Damage to heart tissues from heart disease.
Its pathetic that emergency department is not concerned about 150/min heart rate.
At least a 2d echo and treadmill test should be done out to rule out any cardiac pathology.
Heart rate should not be more then 100/minute at any cost(however during acute attack of pain it can be a bit elevated for some time however as pain settles down heart rate should return back to normal.)
Anxiety is also a cause of tachycardia and you should be on SSRI like paroxetine with anxiolytic like clonazepam for few months.They should be started by your primary doctor.
Question 2- What tests should I ask my general doctor/ nurse practitioner to do. Any specific blood or stool tests? What should I tell him to look for? I really want the root cause of it and know I need testing, but unless I specifically ask for certain tests they will never get done
As explained above my dear patient most likely you are suffering from dyspepsia and unfortunately they are all diagnosis of exclusion and there is no specific test there which can confirm the diagnosis.
Tests suggestwed are-
Endoscopy(to see any pathology in upper gut
Colonoscopy -to see pathology in lower gut.
Small intestine bacterial culture
Stool test culture and routine.
MRI abdomen
SEE this is called an umbrella approach these 4 test wil rule out any possible abdominal problem.
Please follow the medications especially the probiotic VSL3 i have adviced with proper life style modification.
You would start feeling much better in a few weeks.
Follow up answer.
Detailed Answer:
Hello dear patient,
Heart rate more then 100/minute is termed as tachycardia.Tachycardia is caused by something that disrupts the normal electrical impulses that control the rate of your heart's pumping action. Many things can cause or contribute to problems with the heart's electrical system. These include: Damage to heart tissues from heart disease.
Its pathetic that emergency department is not concerned about 150/min heart rate.
At least a 2d echo and treadmill test should be done out to rule out any cardiac pathology.
Heart rate should not be more then 100/minute at any cost(however during acute attack of pain it can be a bit elevated for some time however as pain settles down heart rate should return back to normal.)
Anxiety is also a cause of tachycardia and you should be on SSRI like paroxetine with anxiolytic like clonazepam for few months.They should be started by your primary doctor.
Question 2- What tests should I ask my general doctor/ nurse practitioner to do. Any specific blood or stool tests? What should I tell him to look for? I really want the root cause of it and know I need testing, but unless I specifically ask for certain tests they will never get done
As explained above my dear patient most likely you are suffering from dyspepsia and unfortunately they are all diagnosis of exclusion and there is no specific test there which can confirm the diagnosis.
Tests suggestwed are-
Endoscopy(to see any pathology in upper gut
Colonoscopy -to see pathology in lower gut.
Small intestine bacterial culture
Stool test culture and routine.
MRI abdomen
SEE this is called an umbrella approach these 4 test wil rule out any possible abdominal problem.
Please follow the medications especially the probiotic VSL3 i have adviced with proper life style modification.
You would start feeling much better in a few weeks.
Note: For further follow up on digestive issues share your reports here and Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Kampana
Answered by
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