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Sever Night-Time Stomach Sickness Wont Go Away (bee 7 months!)
It started in October. At first I thought I was sick with the stomach flu. I was up all night long with diarrhea and terrible nausea (although I never actually through up, though I felt like I was about to all night long). I had chills really badly, and had really bad heartburn with acid coming partway up. I was up all night long and couldn't sleep at all, but started feeling better by morning. Eventually, I was able to fall asleep early in the morning, and when I woke up I felt mostly better.
The problem was, it didn't go away for long. The next night around 9:00 the same symptoms started coming back. Again, I was up all night long. I would be so exhausted that I could barely keep my eyes open, but the sickness wouldn't let me sleep. This continued every night for weeks. It always started around the same time at night (8-10, somewhere around there), and went on until early in the morning. I went to the doctor, but it did little good. The doctor did blood tests, stool samples, X-rays and ultrasounds, all of which came back completely normal. They even did a upper GI scope to test for Celiac disease, but said everything looked good.
I also noticed that when I get really REALLY sick, I also have to pee a lot. I have an urgency to go just about every 3 to 5 minutes. At first I thought it was because when I had diarrhea, I was purposefully drinking more water to stay hydrated (I had once passed out when I was younger because I didn't drink enough when I was sick), but then noticed that even if I hadn't had ANYTHING to drink within 8 hours of being sick, the frequency and urgency to urinate didn't change. I mentioned this to my doctor, but they said they had already tested my kidney's via the blood tests they had done earlier.
I started looking for things in my diet that might be causing the problem. It seemed like fattier foods were making me sicker, so I tried to keep to a very low fat diet. For a while, it seemed like this helped some (it didn't make it go away, but I was starting to go one or two nights a week without the sickness). My doctor decided to recheck my gall bladder. The ultrasound they had done showed a normal gall bladder but they decided to do a test to check the function of it. The test came back that it was functioning at less than 4%. I was told they found the problem...
In December, they removed my gall bladder. The sickness still didn't stop. A few months after surgery, my doctor suggested that maybe the problem was with my liver's bile production rather than the gall bladder itself. I was given bile enzymes to take with meals, and milk thistle supplement to help aid liver function.
This seemed to help for awhile actually. I started getting less and less sick and having more and more nights where I was able to sleep comfortably. I actually went almost a month with very little of the night time sickness, and even when I did feel sick, it was just mild, and I could usually sleep through it. However, new problems started arising. I started getting a "morning pain" that wakes me up always between 6 and 7 am. It's very high up, and starts out kind of achy and gets more and more intense over a period of about 20-30 minutes. The pain radiates into my back and becomes absolutely agonizing. However, it always goes away within 30 minutes, and then I feel fine. I also find that sitting up seems to help it (although only very very slightly).
I also developed a "day-time" sickness, which isn't nearly as bad. It's always after I eat (usually within a half hour of, but sometimes immediately after eating). It starts with a rumbling in my stomach and then a sudden urge to go. If I don't get to the bathroom immediately, the pain gets absolutely unbearable. I once got stuck in the car when it happened, and by the time I got someplace with a bathroom I was in so much pain I was crying, and was unable to even walk. However, as soon as I go to the bathroom, the pain is gone and I'm fine.
My doctor gave me medicine for acid reflux, but it did nothing. They also tried treatment for IBS but that hasn't worked either, and although IBS does fit most of the day-time symptoms, it doesn't really fit the night time ones at all.
Recently though, within the last month, the night time sickness has been coming back again. It's now just as bad as before I had the surgery, and on
top of it, I'm now suffering with the morning and day time symptoms as well. I've been to 3 different doctors, but they all are pretty much out of options. They say they have no idea what could be causing it, and it may be something I just have to live with. I honestly can't accept that answer. I have very little to no quality of life. I spend my nights miserable wanting nothing more than to sleep and not being able to. Eating is a nightmare for me. I have to plan my meals extremely carefully and time them just right so that I always have an hour where I'm right near a bathroom after eating. And at night, if I eat too late, it will set my stomach off and I'll be up all night, but if I don't eat, the hunger makes me feel sick. It is miserable. Its like having a stomach virus that wont go away, and no one can tell me what is wrong. Please help me!
The problem was, it didn't go away for long. The next night around 9:00 the same symptoms started coming back. Again, I was up all night long. I would be so exhausted that I could barely keep my eyes open, but the sickness wouldn't let me sleep. This continued every night for weeks. It always started around the same time at night (8-10, somewhere around there), and went on until early in the morning. I went to the doctor, but it did little good. The doctor did blood tests, stool samples, X-rays and ultrasounds, all of which came back completely normal. They even did a upper GI scope to test for Celiac disease, but said everything looked good.
I also noticed that when I get really REALLY sick, I also have to pee a lot. I have an urgency to go just about every 3 to 5 minutes. At first I thought it was because when I had diarrhea, I was purposefully drinking more water to stay hydrated (I had once passed out when I was younger because I didn't drink enough when I was sick), but then noticed that even if I hadn't had ANYTHING to drink within 8 hours of being sick, the frequency and urgency to urinate didn't change. I mentioned this to my doctor, but they said they had already tested my kidney's via the blood tests they had done earlier.
I started looking for things in my diet that might be causing the problem. It seemed like fattier foods were making me sicker, so I tried to keep to a very low fat diet. For a while, it seemed like this helped some (it didn't make it go away, but I was starting to go one or two nights a week without the sickness). My doctor decided to recheck my gall bladder. The ultrasound they had done showed a normal gall bladder but they decided to do a test to check the function of it. The test came back that it was functioning at less than 4%. I was told they found the problem...
In December, they removed my gall bladder. The sickness still didn't stop. A few months after surgery, my doctor suggested that maybe the problem was with my liver's bile production rather than the gall bladder itself. I was given bile enzymes to take with meals, and milk thistle supplement to help aid liver function.
This seemed to help for awhile actually. I started getting less and less sick and having more and more nights where I was able to sleep comfortably. I actually went almost a month with very little of the night time sickness, and even when I did feel sick, it was just mild, and I could usually sleep through it. However, new problems started arising. I started getting a "morning pain" that wakes me up always between 6 and 7 am. It's very high up, and starts out kind of achy and gets more and more intense over a period of about 20-30 minutes. The pain radiates into my back and becomes absolutely agonizing. However, it always goes away within 30 minutes, and then I feel fine. I also find that sitting up seems to help it (although only very very slightly).
I also developed a "day-time" sickness, which isn't nearly as bad. It's always after I eat (usually within a half hour of, but sometimes immediately after eating). It starts with a rumbling in my stomach and then a sudden urge to go. If I don't get to the bathroom immediately, the pain gets absolutely unbearable. I once got stuck in the car when it happened, and by the time I got someplace with a bathroom I was in so much pain I was crying, and was unable to even walk. However, as soon as I go to the bathroom, the pain is gone and I'm fine.
My doctor gave me medicine for acid reflux, but it did nothing. They also tried treatment for IBS but that hasn't worked either, and although IBS does fit most of the day-time symptoms, it doesn't really fit the night time ones at all.
Recently though, within the last month, the night time sickness has been coming back again. It's now just as bad as before I had the surgery, and on
top of it, I'm now suffering with the morning and day time symptoms as well. I've been to 3 different doctors, but they all are pretty much out of options. They say they have no idea what could be causing it, and it may be something I just have to live with. I honestly can't accept that answer. I have very little to no quality of life. I spend my nights miserable wanting nothing more than to sleep and not being able to. Eating is a nightmare for me. I have to plan my meals extremely carefully and time them just right so that I always have an hour where I'm right near a bathroom after eating. And at night, if I eat too late, it will set my stomach off and I'll be up all night, but if I don't eat, the hunger makes me feel sick. It is miserable. Its like having a stomach virus that wont go away, and no one can tell me what is wrong. Please help me!
I hope you still are checking on this... I am having exactly to the "T" the sickness that you are. I have been to so many doctors and through so many tests and no one has any idea what is wrong with me. Really I am at my end, I have been dealing with this for a year now and can't take it.
Did you eve find anything out??
Did you eve find anything out??
I had another thought...Check out the symptoms for Cushing's disease. It can be difficult to diagnose -unless it is done by the right person. It has many presentations and is often misdiagnosed because it affects each person a bit differently...~MM
Actually it's funny you should mention that...Since I was a child, I've had joint pain. They diagnosed me with rheumatoid arthritis when I was 10, but recently said that my ANA levels were too normal to have it, and joint x-rays showed no visible damage (even though I still have pain and inflammation). I was also diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome about 8 years ago which is mainly a hormonal issue I believe. As far as I know, I don't have any kind of blood calcium problem, but I also don't know if I've been tested for something like that. I will definitely keep that in mind and ask my doctor about it. Thank you for your advice!
Hello Ziekara,
I'm wondering if you have any other symptoms...Joint/bone aching, headaches, female hormone problems, possibly changes in your blood calcium levels? I had several similar symptoms (especially the night-time indigestion/reflux and bowel unpredictability) and I ended up having hyperparathyroidism caused by a non-cancerous tumor on a parathyroid gland. This is not a thyroid problem. These tiny glands control the level of calcium in your blood by excreting or withholding parathyroid hormone (PTH) -and Drs just don't test for it. Calcium affects every nerve and muscle in your body, and an imbalance can mess up liver and gut functions and body hormones as well. It can also cause anxiety and rapid heartbeats...
For now, try papain, -a chewable papaya enzyme for the reflux. (I got relief from about 6 at a time.) You can't overdose on them, and they make the cardiac sphincter (the closure just above your stomach) close so acid doesn't wash back up. This enzyme is safe (unless you are allergic to papaya) and will promote good digestion when bile is lacking...I hope this helps. Let me know how you do...:) ~MM
I'm wondering if you have any other symptoms...Joint/bone aching, headaches, female hormone problems, possibly changes in your blood calcium levels? I had several similar symptoms (especially the night-time indigestion/reflux and bowel unpredictability) and I ended up having hyperparathyroidism caused by a non-cancerous tumor on a parathyroid gland. This is not a thyroid problem. These tiny glands control the level of calcium in your blood by excreting or withholding parathyroid hormone (PTH) -and Drs just don't test for it. Calcium affects every nerve and muscle in your body, and an imbalance can mess up liver and gut functions and body hormones as well. It can also cause anxiety and rapid heartbeats...
For now, try papain, -a chewable papaya enzyme for the reflux. (I got relief from about 6 at a time.) You can't overdose on them, and they make the cardiac sphincter (the closure just above your stomach) close so acid doesn't wash back up. This enzyme is safe (unless you are allergic to papaya) and will promote good digestion when bile is lacking...I hope this helps. Let me know how you do...:) ~MM
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