“I've had years of vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain?”
At the end of 2018, I started noticing a lot of nausea and acid reflux-like pain and I started taking Maalox a lot. After a few months of this, it slowly turned into a sharper pain along with vomiting. It started off slow, only vomiting here and there. As the days went on, the vomiting became more frequent and after a sudden "attack" of nonstop vomiting, severe reflux-like pain, and unable to keep anything down, I ended up in the hospital on July 1st, 2019. Unfortunately, the only problem that showed up was sludge (not stones) in my gallbladder and they felt like it'd be best to take it out. That started the beginning of an even worse hell.
The vomiting became way more frequent, every day for months at a time, and it'd be tons of just bile and the pain was different, more severe, and sharp. I've had to be hospitalized for fluids and vomiting control a bunch. My GI did numerous testing, scans, etc and found nothing. Meanwhile, I lost 100lbs in 6 months (150lbs total), within this time of being tested. That GI Unfortunately seemingly gave up on me and I switched to a bigger and well-known GI who, on the first ultrasound they did, found an abnormally dilated bile duct. OK, I thought I found my answer. But my new doctors weren't convinced that's the issue since it wouldn't cause the issues at the severity that I'm having. The issue was, there was nothing else showing up so we had to focus on that. They did do their own endoscopy, which showed severe inflammation and only a small amount of stomach lining. They expected there to be a positive biopsy with how bad it looked, but all was normal. Besides, if it was a choledochal cyst, removing it is eventually needed to prevent possible cancer.
So I had surgery to remove the bile duct and reroute my intestines for proper bile flow. Unfortunately, this also didn't work. Nausea and vomiting returned back to normal within a few days after. Their next step was to try a Smart Pill test, which I started today (Tuesday). I honestly don't expect them to find anything since, from what I'm reading, this is more for lower GI issues. The regular pain that I have is limited to the upper, middle abdominal area, with it being about the same size as my fist. Just barely touching the outside of that area causes severe pain and instant nausea. So this is where I'm at now. Still having abdominal pain for the majority of the day, every day, and vomiting at least 3-4 days out of the week, if not more, and no answers.
Due to this, I've also been officially diagnosed with moderate protein-calorie malnutrition and this is killing my body and my life. I cannot go anywhere for long before I'm vomiting again. I'm hoping that maybe someone can suggest any testing or anything that we may have missed. Tests done so far were X-rays, MRI, CT scan, 3 endoscopy procedures (all appeared horrible but tests were normal, only 1 done with the newer GI), gastric emptying scan, ultrasounds, gallbladder and bile duct removal, PH Impedence Study with the NG tube and now a Smart Pill. Though it's been over a year since most of those tests. My doctors have even brought my case up at a Gastroenterology conference (with my permission, of course) and that was there they got the idea for the Ph Impedance study. At this point, I feel like they are just as clueless as I am. I'm just hoping maybe a fresh set of eyes can maybe suggest any tests or things test for. Thank you very much
The vomiting became way more frequent, every day for months at a time, and it'd be tons of just bile and the pain was different, more severe, and sharp. I've had to be hospitalized for fluids and vomiting control a bunch. My GI did numerous testing, scans, etc and found nothing. Meanwhile, I lost 100lbs in 6 months (150lbs total), within this time of being tested. That GI Unfortunately seemingly gave up on me and I switched to a bigger and well-known GI who, on the first ultrasound they did, found an abnormally dilated bile duct. OK, I thought I found my answer. But my new doctors weren't convinced that's the issue since it wouldn't cause the issues at the severity that I'm having. The issue was, there was nothing else showing up so we had to focus on that. They did do their own endoscopy, which showed severe inflammation and only a small amount of stomach lining. They expected there to be a positive biopsy with how bad it looked, but all was normal. Besides, if it was a choledochal cyst, removing it is eventually needed to prevent possible cancer.
So I had surgery to remove the bile duct and reroute my intestines for proper bile flow. Unfortunately, this also didn't work. Nausea and vomiting returned back to normal within a few days after. Their next step was to try a Smart Pill test, which I started today (Tuesday). I honestly don't expect them to find anything since, from what I'm reading, this is more for lower GI issues. The regular pain that I have is limited to the upper, middle abdominal area, with it being about the same size as my fist. Just barely touching the outside of that area causes severe pain and instant nausea. So this is where I'm at now. Still having abdominal pain for the majority of the day, every day, and vomiting at least 3-4 days out of the week, if not more, and no answers.
Due to this, I've also been officially diagnosed with moderate protein-calorie malnutrition and this is killing my body and my life. I cannot go anywhere for long before I'm vomiting again. I'm hoping that maybe someone can suggest any testing or anything that we may have missed. Tests done so far were X-rays, MRI, CT scan, 3 endoscopy procedures (all appeared horrible but tests were normal, only 1 done with the newer GI), gastric emptying scan, ultrasounds, gallbladder and bile duct removal, PH Impedence Study with the NG tube and now a Smart Pill. Though it's been over a year since most of those tests. My doctors have even brought my case up at a Gastroenterology conference (with my permission, of course) and that was there they got the idea for the Ph Impedance study. At this point, I feel like they are just as clueless as I am. I'm just hoping maybe a fresh set of eyes can maybe suggest any tests or things test for. Thank you very much
Female | 33 years old
Complaint duration: 4 years
Medications: Zofran, granisetron
12 Answers
Come in and we can do an exam
I encourage you to book a session with your practitioner of choice to get help with relief.
Mr. Anthony James Lorenzo
Acupuncturist
I'm pretty sure acupuncture could have helped you 3-4 years ago. Maybe it could help moderate your symptoms and regulate your reflux/nausea/vomiting and pain. It's hard to say, as your body has been surgically altered now. Acupuncture really functions better when used as treatment BEFORE toxic pharmaceuticals or major surgical interventions are tried.
Thank you for sharing your story with me. Your case seems to be unfolding day by day. From an acupuncture point of view, your Earth Element is not maintaining its proper function, the Earth Element is equivalent to your Stomach & Spleen, which are a pair in Acupuncture, additionally, the Wood Element (Liver/Gallbladder) maybe overacting on the Earth Element, this is the cause of vomiting in Acupuncture. Even if you do not have a gallbladder, we still treat the acupuncture channel. Although your case is complicated, you may experience some relief from acupuncture. Acupuncture does treat illness, rather it treats the root cause that leads to illness. This can sometimes be a very long road. When you choose your acupuncturist, choose someone who is willing to take that journey with you.
Sending you healing, Dr. Maria
Sending you healing, Dr. Maria
Yes, it does sound like the doctors are still scratching their heads. One of the biggest challenges in medicine is whether to connect a finding (e.g. a dilated bile duct on imaging) to a patient's symptoms. More often than not, a connection is made where none exists. Repeat and multiple testing can continue this process over and over again. This leads to unnecessary surgery in some cases.
You do need a fresh set of eyes, but it needs to be in the form of a thorough history and physical. If you came to see me as a patient, I would spend the majority of the time talking to you about the symptoms and eliciting additional information that might have been missed and will lead to a diagnosis. Sometimes, more testing is not the answer. The answer is to talk to the patient more, combined with a careful physical exam. I hope that you can find a physician who will step back, start fresh, and take the time to reassess your situation.
You do need a fresh set of eyes, but it needs to be in the form of a thorough history and physical. If you came to see me as a patient, I would spend the majority of the time talking to you about the symptoms and eliciting additional information that might have been missed and will lead to a diagnosis. Sometimes, more testing is not the answer. The answer is to talk to the patient more, combined with a careful physical exam. I hope that you can find a physician who will step back, start fresh, and take the time to reassess your situation.
This can be SMA syndrome.
Thank you for the extremely detailed question. The one thing I'm not seeing any tests for is your pancreas. The gallbladder and pancreas share the common bile duct and pancreatitis can sometimes cause abdominal pain with nausea and vomiting. The other concern here would be pancreatic cancer. I'd suggest ruling these issues out if you haven't already. The other thing I'd suggest is to go to NCCAOM.org, use their 'Find a Practitioner' lookup, and get some local, board-certified acupuncturists in your area. Call around and see if you can find someone who specializes in GI issues or who has a good track record with GI issues. Give them 3-5 treatments and see if they can help to get things back on track for you.
First off, I'm so sorry to hear that you've been struggling with all this for 4 years!! Nobody should have to suffer like that for that long!
Next, is it possible to get to a teaching hospital, or even the Mayo Clinic for some best-of-the-best eyes on your issues? That would be my next western medical suggestion.
And finally, you might try to find an alternative care clinic that has multiple modalities to offer, and/or an experienced acupuncturist to treat you from a completely different perspective. Traditional Chinese Medicine, including herbs, can be extremely helpful and healing - trust me when I tell you that they are not just new age fluff. In experienced hands, they can do miraculous things that western medicine just cannot touch.
If possible, I would pursue all these different options at the same time. You've suffered enough, and hopefully you can get some relief from one or all of them sooner rather than later.
Good luck!!
Next, is it possible to get to a teaching hospital, or even the Mayo Clinic for some best-of-the-best eyes on your issues? That would be my next western medical suggestion.
And finally, you might try to find an alternative care clinic that has multiple modalities to offer, and/or an experienced acupuncturist to treat you from a completely different perspective. Traditional Chinese Medicine, including herbs, can be extremely helpful and healing - trust me when I tell you that they are not just new age fluff. In experienced hands, they can do miraculous things that western medicine just cannot touch.
If possible, I would pursue all these different options at the same time. You've suffered enough, and hopefully you can get some relief from one or all of them sooner rather than later.
Good luck!!
Hello, this really sounds awful, I'm sorry you've been dealing with this for years. Vomiting and epigastric pain can be caused by a vast array of pathologies in the upper abdomen. The distal esophagus, stomach, duodenum, pancreas, gallbladder, and several important bile ducts are located within inches of each other. It certainly sounds like they have run the entire gamut of testing, and thank you for providing such a detailed history. I'm curious to know if you have any medical problems, or if anyone in the family has similar issues, or diagnoses? You've had your gallbladder removed, and resection of your common bile duct, followed by a reconstruction (hepaticojejunostomy or choledochojejunostomy), correct? Did you undergo any stomach resection? What was the result of the gastric emptying study? Have you been tested for H. Pylori? Is the vomiting induced by solids or liquids?
Does the pancreas appear normal, and are your lipase values within normal limits? An annular pancreas can produce such symptoms. Have you tried medication combinations such as metoclopramide or erythromycin and valium? I would recommend bringing all your imaging and operative reports to a general surgeon who has experience. If you live near or around Evanston, IL, I would be happy to see you.
Does the pancreas appear normal, and are your lipase values within normal limits? An annular pancreas can produce such symptoms. Have you tried medication combinations such as metoclopramide or erythromycin and valium? I would recommend bringing all your imaging and operative reports to a general surgeon who has experience. If you live near or around Evanston, IL, I would be happy to see you.
I know these may seem obvious but have they done a colonoscopy, blood test, and /extensive food allergy/sensitivity testing?
Lejla Fazlicic
Acupuncturist
I am sorry that you are going through this challenge. I am wondering did you do any ob-gynecologist exams. Ovary ultrasound and female hormonal panel? If not do this first and look for a good acupuncturist to start treatments. Let me know if I can help.
For me, your Qi goes in the wrong direction or opposite way for so long a good provider should or could bring you back to normal for a couple of sessions. It would take you between 3 to 6 months to treat GI problems. Acupuncture and herbs sometimes massage would help you out!
