Stomach upper Pain - Persistent

When I start to have upper abdominal pain it’s generally GERD. Prilosec and Tums are a good plan for that. It may take a while for any injured tissue in the lower esophagus to heal - 2 days would be a minor miracle. I can’t think of what useful information an ultrasound might reveal, unless perhaps you’ve got gallstones. When my mid upper abdominal pain developed and persisted in spite of Prilosec I had an EGD (upper GI scope) which showed that the Prilosec had stopped working for me.

thanks so much for the info.....What did you start taking after prilosec stopped working?   thanks

I started pantoprazole (Protonix). It requires a prescription. It will probably eventually stop working, too, but it’s been going well for a few years now.

ok thanks, i know fasting , no coffee, and no food late at night has helped me at times.

sharp flashes of pain and anything I eat or drink causes a lot of gas. More gas than I've ever had.

I can’t tell from your description what sort of pain you’re having. Could it be related to the gas?

When gas started to dominate my day-to-day experience my doctor treated me for SIBO and that took care of it.

Digestive enzymes & probiotics might help as well. Gas pains are very unpleasant. Aloe might soothe the irritation somewhat too.

thanks for the replies.  I just got some enzymes and I do take visbiome.

Please please ask your doctor to check for a bowel obstruction. I had my colectomy and pouch in 2012. Persistent on and off pain in my gut. Gassy, many bms, runny stools. My doc never took an xray, just pouchoscopies. This past May the pain came on fast and I thought I was having a heart attack. Turns out it was a complete volvulus bowel obstruction. Had been going on for years and finally shut itself down. After the surgery I found out that 30% of us who have had our surgeries will have this within ten or so years of the surgery. So please get it checked and best wishes.

I use Charcoal tablets for heartburn discomfort or food poisoning  . Can make pouch output black. 

Ps.. Please rule out for Gallstones first, as note you have persistent pain.

@lorraine from london posted:

I use Charcoal tablets for heartburn discomfort or food poisoning  . Can make pouch output black.

Can you tell me more about the charcoal you use?  Who recommended it and for what?  What brand do you like? Does it have any side effects?  I'm curious!

today , saw Doc....They are gonna go antibiotic for possible SIBO.......Also, they ordered an upper endoscopy because all my pain is in upper GI.

I had pouchoscopy recently which looked mostly good...

I also had ultrasound and they said gall, liver, and kidneys look perfect right now.

I do have some inflammation in upper afferent limb which could be some crohns.

I've already had bowel resection done about 7 years ago for repeated obstructions in past years caused by original surgery adhesions. Surgery has been great every since....No obstructions.

This doesn't feel like obstruction.

It's mostly a BURNING type of pain in upper right side area after I eat mostly....

Gas was horrible for a few days....Gas seems a little better now, but BURNING pain still is happening throughout day, usually after I eat.

Right now, I'm taking:

40mg prilosec
2 TUMS per day
enzyme before meals
1 Tramadol about every other day for pain.

It may be a gastric ulcer as you suspected (or only severe inflammation).

Have you been checked for (hidden) blood in the stool? Is your hemoglobin level ok?

I had an iron deficiency after taking a med like prilosec for several weeks. It also inhibits iron intake as it influences the intrinsic factor.

i've had low iron for a few years....I get an infusion every few months.

I have upper endoscopy scheduled.

This sucks, but I'm feeling a little better today. 

Gonna try to get gas under control.

I'll keep you posted, thanks

I get jabs/flashes of sharp pain in different areas of gut.
What does that sound like to you?

Still waiting on insurance authorization for Riblaximin antibiotic so I can start it ASAP.

I have endoscopy on 18th.

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40mg prilosec
about 2 TUMS per day
GAS X chewables(but they don't seem to help at all)
digestive enzyme before meals sometimes.
quit coffee for 4 days now.

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Food:
chicken bone broth
eggs with toast
non-dairy coconut milk yogurt
I might start drinking some KEFIR per day
Organic, Red fermented cabbage
gluten free crackers
soups
Arugula salad with Salmon, olive oil
cashew butter
One green tea per day
Liquorice Tea
Ginger Tea

Almost anything I eat seems to cause rumbling in upper GI, Gas, and bloating.

All opinions/feedback are welcomed.

thanks

As you say yourself that it does not feel like an obstruction, it is likely to be bacteria related in my own experience. I had situations where I could eat whatever and it was to no good. Antibiotics helped within one or two days. For about 4 years now I have always had Cipro and Flagyl in my medicine chest, so that I could react quickly and effectively in such a situation, before my condition detoriates too much.

I also used antibiotics chronically for about 3 years, reducing the dosage to the minimum needed for stable suppression of inflammation.

And I would not stick to Rifaximin in such a case. I also tried it in the past and it was not nearly as effective as the combo of Cipro & Flagyl. Let alone the costs for Rifaximin (though it was mostly covered by my health insurance).

I just picked up Rifaximin today...

Do you think I should go ahead and try it for the 14 day period?

In past years, I used flagyl/cipro for pouchitis, but this isn't pouchitis...

This is massive bloating, gas, pains around upper GI....

So the doctors thought Rifaximin is a low risk thing to try while I wait for my upper endoscopy on 18th.

Honestly, today, pain has been lower, and it seems gas has gone down some...
So I'm not sure if I might be getting better.

I'm also getting some light grade headaches?  Which I never get.
This has caused a lot of STRESS so maybe that's the headaches.

I do feel a little better today.

If you already started with Rifaximin just go on. 10 to 14 days is a good period to try an antibiotic. For some people Rifaximin is sufficient to control their symptoms, and it has the advantage that it is supposed to take effect in the bowel only.

You can switch to something else later if it should be necessary, after your scope results are there.

thanks a lot for the reply.
One thing i noticed on first day of Rifaximin, it literally has no effect on my stomach.  I even took it on an empty stomach and it didn't feel bad at all.

When Ive had burning pain in my upper abdomen I had an endoscopy and it turned out to be gastritis  

thanks! yes, I'm hoping it's just gastritis.  I think the antibiotic has helped some.

Antibiotics are more likely to cause gastritis than cure it. Acid blockers would be a more standard treatment.

Has h. pylori already been ruled out?