Nal
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6801
posted
Oh man!!
My burning pain in my stomach got to be so bad that at 4:30 this morning, I headed to the ER. I was doubled over and couldn't take it anymore!!!
They hooked up an IV, gave me a GI cocktail and did an ultrasound-nothing unusual showed up there. They then gave me some morphine and that helped a lot-of course it would right??
Well then they sent me to my GI dr who did an emergency upper endoscopy this morning. He found gastritis (thats all that ever shows up). However, the gastritis was non erosive and the opening to the small intestine looked fine.
Everything else was normal. I told him that the morphine helped with the pain and that I didn't understand why completely.
He said he didn't understand why my pain was not matching my findings on the endoscope but did say that some people have pain that is so severe and could be linked to nerves or something??
Yes, I have gastritis but its not errosive or anything so it shouldn't be quite as bad as what I was having. Well tonight, something clicked for me!
When I was on nortriptiline and such, I didn't have the GI pain. Before that, I was on celexa and thats when the GI pain went into remission (right around that time anyway). In April of last year, I went off of all nerve pain meds and WHAM!! Stomach pain came back
The PPI's do not help with this at all. He did give me some Elavil to start trying. Im so hoping that will help.
Could it be that the nerves in my stomach are so affected and that is why the pain is so unbearable???
Sorry this got long. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Why is it that I felt no burning pain while on the morphine (it was a very low dose by the way) or on the sedative from the procedure?? I mean I felt pretty darn good burning pain wise for quite a few hours. When everything wore off today, I felt like I was burning up again?? I ate a very small meal of just a little chicken and a few veggies. Yet at lunch when I was still under drug influence, I was able to eat soup and such with no burning pain!
-------------------- Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you respond to it!
-Chuck Swindoll Posts: 1594 | From Colorado | Registered: Jan 2005
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cantgiveupyet
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8165
posted
Hey Nancy,
I'm so sorry you had to go to the ER and your in so much pain. As you know im suffering with my own burning.
I had a discussion with my parents tonight and they are so frustrated that nothing is helping me. I cried in the bathroom.
I know burning is a lyme symptom...but seems like we have the burning in the worst places.
Just hang in there, im here to listen if you need to talk or vent.
Also a coworker of mine was givien Nexium and she said it repaired her ulcer that she had for years. So, who knows maybe it might help you...or help you enough that you arent in so much pain.
-------------------- "Say it straight simple and with a smile."
"Thus the task is, not so much to see what no one has seen yet, But to think what nobody has thought yet, About what everybody sees."
-Schopenhauer
pos babs, bart, igenex WB igm/igg Posts: 3156 | From Lyme limbo | Registered: Oct 2005
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arg82
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 161
posted
Just wanted to mention that you might want to read a little about Gastroparesis (not sure what all your symptoms are but you mentioned having trouble after eating and gastroparesis can be connected with Lyme).
I'm in the midst of trying to get a diagnosis for what I and my LLMD believe is Gastroparesis or some other motility disorder but I'm having trouble finding a GI doctor who knows much about it (it's not your typical, easy disorder). Just a thought.
posted
I don't think I've posted about Jordan (now 15). His 1st 2 symptoms were stomach pain and headaches. His stomach was hurting so bad that he was unable to go to school.
After several months, his GI doctor did an endoscopy of his stomach and esophagus. She did find "irritations" in his stomach and esophagus. The doctor biopsied the irritations and told us whatever caused the irritations was now gone. She prescribed Prilosec for Jordan. It helped some but the stomach pain didn't go away.
Two and 1/2 years later, we took Jordan to Dr. Jones. He wanted the biopsies tested for Lyme (they had not been the 1st time). All of the samples were Lyme positive.
Jordan stomach has gotten much better with Lyme treatment.
I've been treated for Lyme for about a year. Doxy is one of the meds I can't tolerate. When I take it I feel like I have 24/7 morning sickness. I have been able to tolerate the other meds.
-------------------- Peggy
~ ~ Hope is a powerful medicine. ~ ~ Posts: 2775 | From MN | Registered: Apr 2001
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5dana8
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7935
posted
hey nal
I am so sorry to here you are in such pain.
I wish I could wave a magic wand for you and make it all better.
It's a beast of a disease and the GI parts sucks.I never had stomach problems before lyme. I hope you can find away into remmisson again.I think this is key.
I hope the pain meds and the nexium help.
Keep us posted I am worried about you.
LOL
-------------------- 5dana8 Posts: 4432 | From some where over the rainbow | Registered: Sep 2005
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Nal
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6801
posted
I changed the original writing for this post. I had got to thinking about the pain meds, so I changed the story here.
Nancy
-------------------- Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you respond to it!
-Chuck Swindoll Posts: 1594 | From Colorado | Registered: Jan 2005
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char
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8315
posted
Sorry you are going through this.
My daughter took hycosamine for lower abdominal)GI) pain for about 4mos.
The pain has finally subsided. I think that it was the lyme and that it is healing with the abx. Also, she has been doing IV abx which perhaps has given GI system a break.
Hope you get an answer on exactly what is going on with your GI. Or at least get some pain relief.
posted
So sorry to hear that you are going through this as well. I may have gotten some answers to my situation today, which has some similiaries to yours.
About a month ago I noticed that I had severe pain right where my esophogus meets up with the stomach and then some burning pain in my esophogus. Didn't think much of it until I started vomiting. The happened a few more times and then I had a pattern.
Had an endoscopic done and they found out that I had a hiatal hernia and lining of esophogus is irritated. The GI dr. didn't really know what to do except give more meds.
I am working with an alternative dr. and this morning she asked if I was having cramping. I told her I have intense cramping right before I vomit. She told me that this is Lyme related and contributed by the hiatial hernia, but also due to deficiency in calcium. THis dr. has been coming up with ver specific solutions to my problems like this.
Just wanted to pass this on for support. Hope you get relief to this soon. best regards, paisley
Posts: 298 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Sorry about the stomach pain. This was one of my first symptoms. Mine would wake me up at 4 a.m. -5 a.m. like clock work for the first six months of searching for a diagnosis.
The day that I took my first dose of doxy with in 24 hours the stomach pain subsided for the first time in six months.
Now after a year and four months of treatment I occassionally have stomach pain and acid stomach when I am on a break from meds then I go back on them and it seems to resolve.
In my case I feel the stomach pain is due to a bacterial load.
Hope you figure it out soon and feel better.
Take care!
Posts: 655 | From NC, Exit 88 on the Deer SuperHighway | Registered: Dec 2004
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5dana8
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7935
posted
Hey Nal I re-read your post and think you may be on to something here.
Are you gonna try the nortiptilene again?
If it is your nerve ending this may dull the pain so you can get bak on the low dose dox and on to the road to being better.
Hang in there and take good care.
-------------------- 5dana8 Posts: 4432 | From some where over the rainbow | Registered: Sep 2005
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
Nal, something I just read today made me think about you. A compromised immune system (lyme) causes digestive disorders because 80% of the lymphatic tissue is in the gastrointertinal tract.
It would really help if you found ways to clear up your lymph system. Things like detoxing, lymph drainage, lymph stimuation with a rebounder, supplements that stimualate the lymphatic system.
Please consider all this. Even IV abx is not going to help your gastric sx. IMO, you need to be on the smallest dosage of any abx. Pulsing with 3 days on, 3 days off. One week on, one week off.
Take care, Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6495 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
Nal, sorry to read about your ER visit this morning, but it sounded like you got sonme pain relief w/mohinf. Thanks for posting.
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Nal
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6801
posted
My massage therapist does some lymph drainage. Im actually thinking about seein an acupunturist. Anyone know if they can be of any help? I want my morphine back today! Man, the pain is bad today!!
Nancy
-------------------- Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you respond to it!
-Chuck Swindoll Posts: 1594 | From Colorado | Registered: Jan 2005
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
Nal, I'm talking about someone that knows their stuff on lymph drainage. Does your massagist? And treatments would need to be weekly for a few months to really get them flowing and keep them flowing. I've know bad lymph drainage people and thank goodness I found someone good.
Morphine is good for a cover-up (and getting high in the process lol), but don't you want to get at the root of your problem?
I know you want that magic pill that's going to make your terrible pain go away. But maybe it's treatment instead of a pill. I hope you find your answers.
Pam
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6495 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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map1131
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2022
posted
Nal, I believe you and I emailed sometime ago about parasites. Did you address parasites? Maybe I'm remembering someone else. Here's some interesting reading I got today in my email.
Yemen Observer Health & Lifestyle
***** A Guide to Human Intestinal Parasites Worms By Observer Staff Jan 28, 2006 -Vol. IX Issue 03
Human intestinal parasite worms' infect through air, food, or water and cause constipation, stomach bloating, and other diseases and health problems. Symptoms include anemia, asthma, diarrhea, digestive disorders, fatigue, low immune system, nervousness or a skin rash. However, most suffers wiill not face this reality - or even want to think about the subject of worms - and will continue in their suffering.
There can be over 100 different types of parasitical worms living in human bodies. Some are microscopic in size, while others can be seen quite easily. These common organisms can be found everywhere in our environment, in the air we breath, in the water we drink, or in the food we eat. A parasite is an organism that lives on or in other organisms from which it obtains nutrients to live, and causes harm in the process. Its name comes from the Greek word `para' that means `beside', and `sitos', which means `food'. Most parasites require a host to complete their life cycle. Animals can also serve as a host. The parasite can vary in size from the smallest one-thousandth of a micron to whale tapeworms a hundred feet long.
Worms can invade your bodies through food and water intake, through a transmitting agent such as a mosquito, sexual conduct or through the nose and skin. Once established, they will eat the same foods you eat - or they will eat you. People with intestinal parasite infections are usually under-nourished and weak, infected with viral, fungal, or bacteria, and have various types of chemical and metal poisoning. Human intestinal parasites can be present in any disease, in any person, at any age. They are responsible for many health problems because they secrete toxins and steal the vital nutrients from our bodies. They can irritate or exaggerate other health problems you may be experiencing. Everyone is at risk and under their mercy during parasitic infections.
We create the perfect living environment for parasites when the bowel becomes ineffective in the elimination of our waste products. The build-up of fecal material on the walls of the colon is attributed to constipation and the amounts of junk food, chemicals, bad fats and sweets we consume. We poison ourselves from our own toxic waste and the waste from these creatures, called auto-intoxication, when this ideal habitat for them is created. Tests for parasites are only available for about five percent of the known varieties, with a twenty-percent accuracy. Cancer cases are afflicted with worms that often lump together and look like tumors. Female worms can release 3,000 to 200,000 eggs per day depending on their type.
This is a topic that most people do not want to discuss, let alone think about, but the reality must be faced. These topics are very important for a total detox and your well-being. Most doctors are not trained to recognize the symptoms of parasitic infections. The only way to avoid the problems associated with parasite infections is by educating yourself. There are 3200 varieties of parasites in the four major categories, Protozoa, Trematoda, Cestoda and Nematoda. Nematodes include the common roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), hookworm, whipworm, pinworm, heart worm, Strongyloides, Stercoralis, Ancylostoma, caninum, toxocara worm and trichinosis. Their size can vary from 0.2 to 35 centimeters. Roundworm look similar to an earthworm and can produce 200,000 eggs a day.
Approximately 1,008 million people are infected, making it the most common worldwide. The most frequent symptom from roundworm is upper abdominal discomfort. Other symptoms are asthma, eye pain, insomnia, and rashes due to the secretions or waste products from the worms. In large numbers they can cause blockages in the intestinal tract, hemorrhages when penetrating the intestinal wall, appendicitis, peritonitis, abscesses in the liver, hemorrhagic pancreatitis, loss of appetite, and an insufficient absorption of digested foods. Adults grow to 15 inches long. Hookworm larvae penetrate the skin. When hookworm reach adulthood, they can sap the victim's strength, vitality and overall well-being. Young worms use their teeth to burrow through the intestinal wall and feed on your blood. Symptoms from hookworm, about 0.5inch long, are iron deficiency, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, craving to eat soil, protein deficiency, dry skin and hair, skin irritations, edema, distended abdomen, stunted growth, delayed puberty, mental dullness, cardiac failure and death.
Pinworm can infect one in five children. Symptoms are itching and irritation of the anus or vagina, digestive disorders, insomnia, irritability or nervousness. Female worms crawl out of the anus and lay about 15,000 eggs per day. Once airborne, the eggs can survive about two days anywhere in your living environment. Worldwide, about 500 million are infected with pinworm. The worm is white and can grow to about a half inch in length. Infections from whipworm are estimated at several hundred million worldwide. Symptoms of whipworms are bloody stools, pain in the lower abdomen, weight loss, rectal prolapse, nausea and anemia. Hemorrhages can occur when worms penetrate the intestinal wall and bacterial infections usually follow.
The are about one to two inches in length. Protozoa, the single cell parasites include amoebae, protozoa infections, neospora, Toxoplasmosis, cryptosporidium, giardia, Sarcocystis and Trichomonas vaginalis. Amoebae are an irregular shaped microorganism that infects the end of the smaller intestine and colon. Amebiasis is the most common infection and caused by the species Entamoeba histolytica. Amoebae also release an enzyme that causes ulcers or abscesses where they can enter the bloodstream. They can eventually reach other organs like the brain or liver. They are very small, just 25 micro meters in diameter.
Cryptosporidium is associated with water-borne outbreaks. The victim might experience diarrhea and abdominal pain lasting for about ten days. Giardia is the most prevalent intestinal parasite in humans and found in drinking water. Giardia resides in the smaller intestine and at times in the gall bladder. Millions of these giardia organisms will coat the intestinal walls, prevents the absorption of nutrients and later causing illness. Symptoms are mild to moderate abdominal cramps, intestinal gas, light colored stools, bad absorption, weakness, chills, stomach bloating and diarrhea. Trichomonas vaginalis is a pathogen that resides in the vagina in females and the urethra, epididymis, and swelling in the prostate gland in males.
In women there is a yellowish discharge accompanied by itching and burning. Malaria, the most prevalent and debilitating disease among the protozoa type is caused by Plasmodium. About two million people die annually from Malaria. Cestodes (Tapeworm); bladder worms, pork tapeworm, broad fish, dog tapeworm, dwarf and rat tapeworm. Broad fish tapeworm may grow to 35 feet long and live ten years inside a persons intestines. Some tapeworm can lay as many as a million eggs per day. Their bodies are in separate segments with hooks and suction cups on their skull. Trematodes, or flukes, include flatworms, bladder, blood, liver, lung, kidney and intestinal fluke. Human infections of flukes, called schistosomes, are in excess of 250 million worldwide. They can cause severe disease of the gastrointestinal tract, bladder, liver and destroy blood cells.
Their size varies from 1 to 2.5 centimeters in length. Spirochete are very tiny organisms that are spiral-shaped, and multiply in the blood and lymphatic system and include spirochete - the largest - to Saprospira, Cristispira to the smallest, treponema. The host or carrier are usually alice, ticks, fleas, mites, and flying insects, which is then transmitted to humans. Spirochete are responsible for relapsing fever, infectious jaundice, Lyme disease, sores, ulcers, Vincent angina and Wyles disease. *****
=== The mission of LymeInfo is to keep you informed of issues that might be of interest to Lyme disease patients. Postings are not meant to imply that we agree with the content of all items we distribute.
-------------------- "Never, never, never, never, never give up" Winston Churchill Posts: 6495 | From Louisville, Ky | Registered: Jan 2002
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Andie333
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7370
posted
Hey, Nancy!
I'm really sorry you're having to go through this.
You asked about acupuncturists: I've been seeing an excellent acupuncturist once a week and have been now for almost a year.
She was the one who first suggested I might have Lyme Disease.
I really feel she steers my treatment, and she works in concert with my LLMD in also giving me Chinese herbs.
This woman came highly recommended by another acupuncturist. I think it's probably best to try and find the best person in your area.
Hope you get some relief for this soon.
Andie
Posts: 2549 | From never never land | Registered: May 2005
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I think I told you before my daughter 9 has gastritis and used to have horrible stomach problems. Her GI doc wanted to put her on flovent which has steroids in it and as we all know is a bad thing for lymies.
I took my daughter to an acupuncturist who did both herbs and acupunture and she hasn't had stomach problems for several months.
There's an excellent acupunturist in your town but I can't remember her name. She's located on Colorado somewhere and has a chinese name. I think it's Nawi or something like that. She trained in China and people who trained in that country are the absolute best in acupuncture and herbs.
My mom also sees an acupuncturist again in your town for her back and he's an MD. I'll get his name and number and send you an email if your interested.
I'm so sorry to hear you ended up in the ER...absolutely no fun!
Posts: 738 | From Colorado | Registered: Oct 2004
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trails
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1620
posted
Nal,
Been away-sorry for the delay!
It DOES seem like you are on to something there with your low dose "antiderpessant" meds. They are prescribed in the low dose for nerve pain management--you already know that. They CAN be a big relief to many with nerve pain.
I did not find them much of a relief for my nerve pain, which was excruciating in my right arm,shoulder, hand, etc.
BUT I did find Valium to be a great nerve pain reducer.
WHY do I say this? NOT to get you to take Valium, b/c I dont think that is a good LONG term remedy, but b/c you were asking why morphine and other central nervous system pain relievers were helping your tummy so MUCH.
Precisely coz they are CNS involved pain relievers, and making this connection may be one of the most important to you!
NO other pain killer could cut my arm pain at ALL. Only CNS stuff would. Nerve pain is AMAZING. You can read about it by googling it.
Having it in your stomach sounds AWFUL and I am really sorry it has found a home there!
I am glad though, that your GI is beginning to understand some of this may be pure lyme-nerve related.
Be careful with Elavil- it can cause some pretty bad constipation. Even on low dose for me, it changed my digestion timing....I would recommend ground flax seeds, or psyllium with LOTS of water--keeps things rolling!
I hope you can get some relief AND begin to fight the LYME in ways you never thought possible! Trails
Posts: 1950 | From New Mexico | Registered: Sep 2001
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