Hello, I am a 27-year-old female.
This particular problem started about two years ago when I began to have episodes where I became very sick with nausea and stomach spasms (tight gripping sensation in the abdomen) that came in waves, peaking at about seven hours, easing up at about fifteen and leave me feeling lethargic and mildly ill for about two days. When I feel a wave coming on my whole body is nauseated, my stomach feels like it's cramping and the sensation moves around from just below my ribcage to an ache my back.
I've had an upper GI series that didn't show anything a clear abdominal CT , gluten allergy test, and I've taken prilosec and ranitidine suspecting reflux with no relief. Ibuprofen does seems to help. I do worry about taking Ibuprofen while I have an upset stomach and also the amount of ibuprofen I need in a day to feel better. If I wanted to feel comfortable all day, for instance, I would probably need about 400mg every few hours, and I wouldn't want to take that much. As an aside, I have never had a test when I was in the throes of a bad attack.
After keeping a calendar to see if food was a factor (it wasn't) I noticed something odd. I was getting sick on the same day every month. I was taking birth control, and I wondered if this was a factor. I stopped to see what would happen and nothing changed. My cycle has shifted, but I'm still getting sick almost to the day, which kind of shakes the idea that maybe their is a hormonal link. My doctor has also ruled out ovulation pain.
I do notice that on the 28th (the day before I become sick) I'm a little constipated. So, the doctor suggested mirolax, which has helped with a lot of other digestive issues (gas, bloating), but doesn't seem to have any effect on these particular few days.
At this point it's kind of a "sorry about your luck." I just really need to know where to go from here?
Any input would be appreciated!!!!