Hi all. I'm posting here because I'm at my wit's end with what has become a chronic pain issue. Starting about two months ago when I missed a couple of prilosec doses, I started having nausea, then severe upper abdominal pain. A GI specialist put me on 40 mg Protonix but I continued to have these "attacks" of severe pain or sick stomach feeling, usually after eating, but sometimes on an empty stomach and occasionally at night. I had an upper endoscopy and bloodwork which showed nothing except signs of GERD in my esophagus. A couple of days after that I woke up with a warm feeling in my stomach which I thought was hunger, so I had a piece of bread and some lactose-free milk and immediately got sick, which lasted the whole night and left me feeling very sore on my right abdomen, around the ribs. After that, I decided something was really wrong with me and so I drove myself to the nearest ER. They did more blood work and an ultrasound which (of course!) showed nothing. They were willing to do an additional test but I declined (which I now regret). I went back on prilosec once a day after this.
This problem has continued but was more sporadic and emerges at nighttime. I'd have good days and then all of a sudden, pain at 1 am, usually right in the middle of my stomach between navel and breastbone, sometimes a pain towards the left rib, and almost always a dull or burning pain on my right ribs. I also will feel a sense of fullness or pressure on the right side after eating. I started seeing a naturopath and was prescribed a wide variety of supplements and tinctures but continue to have these attacks. I went for 11 days without one, then the night before Memorial Day it all came back, and I could not eat a thing that day without getting sick to my stomach. A few days later I'm back to normal. Then this past Sunday and Monday it happened again, after about two weeks. I often double-dose on prilosec when this happens and it does almost nothing. The only thing that stops the pain is taking a vicodin or percocet, which I hate to take but otherwise I'll be up all night in misery. After this last attack I took myself to another ER, but as my bloodwork was once again fine they refused to do anything for me other than some pain meds that helped for about 3 hours.
I did a SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) test with the ND and it came back positive, but I have a hard time believing that problem would cause this much pain. I'm barely sleeping more than 5 hours a night, and it's usually 2 at most when I have a really bad attack. I have another ultrasound scheduled for the 20th but I am skeptical it will show anything. I would LOVE to have a HIDA scan to at least rule out the gallbladder but none of the doctors seem to want to go there. If this is just acid reflux I don't understand how it has intensified so greatly. I've had heartburn sensations only a couple of times during this period, but I do have recurrent chest pains during the attacks. I'm now sleeping with my bed propped up on some books, I eat dinner 3-4 hours before bedtime, I've avoided all trigger foods, and yet I still have these attacks. This week it has gone on almost all week and I'm starting to get very depressed and scared it will not end.