DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE STOMACH ISSUES?

[slayer]

Okay guys, so this is something that is really getting me down and literally making me feel like I shouldn't even be alive

I have suffered with a sore and bloated stomach for a long period of time, maybe ten years or longer. I am 35. Doctors put it down to poly cystic ovaries without ever checking my stomach, but my gyno checked it, bless her soul and said it is a digestive issue. She tested me for coeliac. My coeliac test came back negative. I have had blood tests for ovarian cancer and they came back negative. In addition, my vitamin and mineral levels are fine allbeit my vitamin D and iron are slightly low. My hbac1 is 55.

Over the past three years or so things have gotten so bad that my stomach can make me look six month pregnant and feels sore and heavy like I am carrying a tonne of apples in it! I can no longer inject in my stomach. At times it can get flatter but other times it is rock hard. I am vegetarian and have now given up dairy which has provided me with only a little relief.

I would like to fall pregnant soon but am at my wit's end as to what I should do about my stomach issues. The hospital offered me a gastro appointment but then rescheduled it, so I have been waiting to be seen for the last six months.

All I want is to lead a normal life, but my stomach is knocking my confidence and causing me to isolate myself from others. I have become less sociable and have to put my life on hold at tikes when the pain is so severe, it prevents me from doing anything enjoyable.

Please help as I am currently

 

[bulkbiker]

I notice you are taking metformin? Can I ask how long for?

 

[slayer]

I notice you are taking metformin? Can I ask how long for?

Not entirely sure but I would say five years if not longer...

 

[dancer]

Even though your coeliac test was negative, have you tried a gluten free diet?

 

[bulkbiker]

Not entirely sure but I would say five years if not longer...

Has been known to cause gastric issues.. I do know that its meant to be good for PCOS but maybe ask your GP?Specialist f you could try stopping it for a couple of weeks.. It has a reputation for causing horrendous gastric issues in some people me included.

 

[slayer]

Even though your coeliac test was negative, have you tried a gluten free diet?

I have cut down on wheat, rye, barley etc immensely but am running out of things to eat and don't want to cut it out completely incase I get false negatives when the gastro team investigate further. I definitely think I am lactose intolerant and have given up milk completely.

 

[slayer]

Has been known to cause gastric issues.. I do know that its meant to be good for PCOS but maybe ask your GP?Specialist f you could try stopping it for a couple of weeks.. It has a reputation for causing horrendous gastric issues in some people me included.

I will ask them. I have cut it down from four tablets to two a day and I am scared to stop it completely, in case the PCOS comes back with a vengeance!

 

[Dark Horse]

There's some information here that might be useful:- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gastritis/

 

[Boo1979]

I have cut down on wheat, rye, barley etc immensely but am running out of things to eat and don't want to cut it out completely incase I get false negatives when the gastro team investigate further. I definitely think I am lactose intolerant and have given up milk completely.

Im also lactose intolerant. Milk hides in all sorts of products, not just the obvious ones - when first diagnosed I had to study ingredient labels very closely

Edit to add this link https://www.godairyfree.org/food-and-grocery/food-label-info/hidden-dairy

 

[slayer]

There's some information here that might be useful:- https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gastritis/

Thanks for this info! I was prescribed antibiotics about ten or fifteen times for wisdom teeth infections a few years back and more a couple of years ago nearly every month for recurring water infections which have now cleared up. However, I have been given antibiotics four times recently one course after the other for a wisdom tooth extraction.

 

[slayer]

Im also lactose intolerant. Milk hides in all sorts of products, nt just the obvious ones - when first diagnosed I had to study ingredient labels very closely

I know! My heart sinks a little every time I'm reading food labels at the supermarket and see the word milk in bold letters!!! I have not been diagnosed by a doc yet but the cramps are awful!

 

[DCUKMod]

Okay guys, so this is something that is really getting me down and literally making me feel like I shouldn't even be alive

I have suffered with a sore and bloated stomach for a long period of time, maybe ten years or longer. I am 35. Doctors put it down to poly cystic ovaries without ever checking my stomach, but my gyno checked it, bless her soul and said it is a digestive issue. She tested me for coeliac. My coeliac test came back negative. I have had blood tests for ovarian cancer and they came back negative. In addition, my vitamin and mineral levels are fine allbeit my vitamin D and iron are slightly low. My hbac1 is 55.

Over the past three years or so things have gotten so bad that my stomach can make me look six month pregnant and feels sore and heavy like I am carrying a tonne of apples in it! I can no longer inject in my stomach. At times it can get flatter but other times it is rock hard. I am vegetarian and have now given up dairy which has provided me with only a little relief.

I would like to fall pregnant soon but am at my wit's end as to what I should do about my stomach issues. The hospital offered me a gastro appointment but then rescheduled it, so I have been waiting to be seen for the last six months.

All I want is to lead a normal life, but my stomach is knocking my confidence and causing me to isolate myself from others. I have become less sociable and have to put my life on hold at tikes when the pain is so severe, it prevents me from doing anything enjoyable.

Please help as I am currently

Slayer - I had some vague gastro issues I wasn't even complaining about/reporting when I saw my Endo, who ordered a whole raft of tests including the Coeliac panel. I didn't (with his full knowledge and agreement) carb up for the testing, but I have ended up going gluten-free on his recommendation.

Much to his astonishment, I don't have any AI issues, even though my whole family, on both sides, is littered with them. He suggested it was a matter of time (That cheered me up,..... or maybe not), but his GF recommendation was on the basis that a great many people with AI issues thrive when GF, and I have to admit that the vague gastro issues I did have are improved when GF.

I was and am still a low carber, so my transition wasn't as extreme as it might have been had I not done that, so I don't eat any of the GF alternative products, like GF pasta, except for Worcester and Soy sauces.

I do hope you find a way forward, but you could always consider trying GF for at least a trial period. It's likely you will have plenty notice of your Gastro appointment, so you could always carb up again in the run up if you wanted to. Only you can decide.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

I have PCOS and IBS, so I'll swell up horribly if I even look at certain foods... But never so bad, not even on onions or leek, as on seeds. Particularly chia and quinoa. I reduced my intake to a teaspoon a day, but that was just as bad as a tablespoon. Intolerable pain and bloating. They're just not for me. Check everything you eat online for such effects... Who knows what you'll find.

 

[Fairygodmother]

Thanks for this info! I was prescribed antibiotics about ten or fifteen times for wisdom teeth infections a few years back and more a couple of years ago nearly every month for recurring water infections which have now cleared up. However, I have been given antibiotics four times recently one course after the other for a wisdom tooth extraction.

Antibiotics can destroy the bacteria that assist digestion. Have you tried kefir? Not the off the shelf stuff but the one that’s a living culture as it contains far more bacteria and may help to repopulate your intestine’s. You can buy it online, but if there’s a free cycle group in your area then you may find someone who’s able to give you some starter grains.

I took it for a few weeks after intestine stripping antibiotics and investigations and I think it helped.

 

[Fairygodmother]

Just remembered that you said you’d stopped consuming dairy. Kefir’s usually cultured in milk but you can get cultures that have been grown in almond milk too.

 

[slayer]

Just remembered that you said you’d stopped consuming dairy. Kefir’s usually cultured in milk but you can get cultures that have been grown in almond milk too.

Hi, I have heard about kefir but never tried it. I will look into it as my stomach is at its worst at present.

 

[Fairygodmother]

Hope something works for you soon.

 

[slayer]

I've finished the antibiotics and am taking Biokult as well as apple cider vinegar mixed in a little juice. The doc gave me peppermint oil tablets which I do not know if they interfere with conception and pregnancy. I am hoping this helps but I am still in pain with a very bloated stomach.

 

[ickihun]

Okay guys, so this is something that is really getting me down and literally making me feel like I shouldn't even be alive

I have suffered with a sore and bloated stomach for a long period of time, maybe ten years or longer. I am 35. Doctors put it down to poly cystic ovaries without ever checking my stomach, but my gyno checked it, bless her soul and said it is a digestive issue. She tested me for coeliac. My coeliac test came back negative. I have had blood tests for ovarian cancer and they came back negative. In addition, my vitamin and mineral levels are fine allbeit my vitamin D and iron are slightly low. My hbac1 is 55.

Over the past three years or so things have gotten so bad that my stomach can make me look six month pregnant and feels sore and heavy like I am carrying a tonne of apples in it! I can no longer inject in my stomach. At times it can get flatter but other times it is rock hard. I am vegetarian and have now given up dairy which has provided me with only a little relief.

I would like to fall pregnant soon but am at my wit's end as to what I should do about my stomach issues. The hospital offered me a gastro appointment but then rescheduled it, so I have been waiting to be seen for the last six months.

All I want is to lead a normal life, but my stomach is knocking my confidence and causing me to isolate myself from others. I have become less sociable and have to put my life on hold at tikes when the pain is so severe, it prevents me from doing anything enjoyable.

Please help as I am currently

OMG. Me too.

 

[ickihun]

Has been known to cause gastric issues.. I do know that its meant to be good for PCOS but maybe ask your GP?Specialist f you could try stopping it for a couple of weeks.. It has a reputation for causing horrendous gastric issues in some people me included.

My dn told me to stop metformin, if I like. My stomach goes hard and constipation follows, for me. My periods disappear too. Oh and I add 2st.
I'm very very reluctant to stop mine!

I was wondering if huge doses of insulin injected into tummy was causing mine?