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What causes sulphur burps/vomiting/diarrhea episodes?

     What causes attacks of SULPHUR BURPS followed by vomiting and diarrhea lasting for hours?  I have had this problem for years, but lately it has become chronic.  I'm on a low residual diet (no raw fruits or veggies-only cooked or canned).  It helps a little.  I have to sleep propped up in almost a sitting position which is miserable.  My G.I. doc doesn't know what is causing it.  He ran an endoscopy, an enteroscopy, and an ultrasound and found nothing.  Now he is going to do a colonoscopy.  
     The GI doc thinks it could either be SMA Sydrome (Superior Mesenteric Artery-it's where part of your duodenum gets compressed under the aorta, creating a blockage) or possibly Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  Although, he says that if it is IBS, it's the MOST EXTREME case of it he's ever seen.  
     One thing to note, I have Fibromyalgia.  My G.I. doc says a LOT of people with FM have GI problems.  FM is caused by a genetic liver/kidney disfunction, so there could be a connection....
     Does anyone else with these symptoms ALSO have Fibromyalgia?  Has anyone found ANYTHING to succesfully treat the GI symptoms mentioned above?  There is no cure for Fibromyalgia, but there HAS to be something to at least TREAT the GI symptoms!  
Hoping for an Answer,
Andie
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Avatar universal
Did you ever find an answer?  I have been having the same symptoms since May with about 5 bouts of it.  At first I was diagnosed with h pylori but subsequent tests were negative.  Just last week I had and ultrasound that was negative as well.  I also have Fibromyalgia.  
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Avatar universal
Get an abdominal and pelvic CT scan and a UGI Small Bowel Series.  SMA Syndrome will not show up on a colonoscopy or endoscopy, because the scopes don't reach the third portion of the duodenum in either.  (I would know... I've been down that road!)  But it should be apparent on a CT.

I've also been down the road of a false IBS diagnosis.  IBS is meant to be a diagnosis of exclusion, which means it is only considered after everything else has been ruled out.  If you're losing tons of weight uncontrollably and are in extreme sharp, stabbing pain that barely allows you to function at all every day, it is probably not IBS but SMAS.

If you have *any* questions on SMAS, don't hesitate to ask me. I've had it since 2008 and have since researched it to death. (I wrote the Wikipedia article... it didn't even exist back in January 2008 when I was diagnosed... for shame.)
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