somebody diagnose me, please? (kinda long)

I have a stomach problem.

This has happened three times now, each time many weeks apart.  So, you know, the first two times I thought it was just some odd thing and nothing to worry about.  Now that it happened again yesterday, I am think there must be more to it.

I get nauseous.  There is a little vomiting, but mostly a bunch of dry heaving.  Yesterday there was lots of diarrhea, which did not happen the first two times (don't you hate when you have diahrea and puke at the same time?  Sorry for the image).

Then there is the stomach pain.  It's in my upper abdomen, a couple inches below the breast bone, I would say.  It feels like a fist (or two) is grabbing something internal and squeezing really hard and twisting.

The first time it happened, it was so bad my partner ended up calling 911.  An ambulance came and took me to the local ER.  Our local hospital sucks.  Get this.  We got to the ER, then they made me get up off the stretcher, walk out to the waiting room, stand at a counter and fill out a form about why I wanted to be seen, then sit on a hard plastic chair and "wait my turn."  Sitting was much more painful than lying down so my partner got a nurse and asked if I could please lie down while "waiting my turn."  Apparently you are not allowed in the treatment area in the bac****il it is your turn and they are not allowed to bring a gurney out to the waiting room.  I could like on the tile floor (which did not look too clean) if I wanted.

Seriously.  After waiting for 30 minutes, I was in tears and begged my partner to just take me home.  So we came home.  A couple hours later, the pain was gone.

When it happened the second time, we drove to the next town over to their ER.  They let me lie down right away.  They never figured out what was wrong with me, though.  Gave me something for nausea and something for pain and sent me home with a prescription for Phenergen suppositories.

Yesterday, it happened again.  The nausea started around 11:30, the vomiting and diarrhea around noon and lasted for about half an hour.  From 12:30 until 5:30, I lay on the couch crying and moaning.  The pain lessened then and I fell asleep.

What on earth is wrong with me?  I have gastroparesis, but I don't think that is causing this.  I take domperidone before heavier meals for that, but all I'd eaten yesterday was maybe a cup of soup.  Should I call my PCP?  My gastroenterologist?

I'm sorry for your suffering!

Do you still have your galbladder?

Nope.  It came out, I don't remember, eight months or so after surgery.  My stupid surgeon did not prescribe Actigall and I did not know enough then to ask for it.

I don't want to scare you, but the alternating nausea/diarrhea are some of the symptoms I had when I developed a petersen's hernia. The bowel intermittently herniates thru the mesentary of the gut. Evidently, the nausea occurs because of the obstruction of the bowel while it is herniated; then, when the herniation ends you get the diarrhea.

When I had this problem the pain was the worst I had ever experienced in my life! However, it was made WORSE by lying down; so I was actually trying to sleep sitting up.

The problem is that this is a VERY difficult condition to diagnose with conventional tests (CTs, etc.). I ended up having exploratory surgery 'cuz they could NOT figure out what was going on; it was then they found the defect in the mesentary and the hernia.

Definitely pursue it....I'd call your WL surgeon. And good luck.

Believe it or not, I do not have a WL surgeon anymore.  Get this.  The surgeon that actually performed my RNY closed his practice (he moved to Texas) less than a year after my surgery.  So I found a new WL surgeon to do my follow up.  I actually liked her a lot more than the first guy anyway, so it turned out well.  Until about three months ago when I received a letter in the mail telling me she was closing her practice in order to "pursue other opportunities," whatever that means.

I do have a gastroenterologist, though, that treats my gastroparesis.  Would he treat this type of hernia, if that is what is wrong?

I imagine he could; or else refer you to a general surgeon who should be able to help you should surgery actually be needed.

o/t

I had my follow up appt on wednesday and my surgeon's nurse goes through some paperwork about my next stage of food before the surgeon comes in and on that paper was something about actigall. She told me, "Skip that part and don't ask for it because he wont give it to you." I told her it didnt matter because I havent had my gallbladder since 1985.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that diarrhea, nausea and abdominal pain can also be symptoms of appendicitis.

Stand by...

Huh. Fun games to play at home:

"Responses that may indicate appendicitis include

• Guarding. Guarding occurs when a person subconsciously tenses the abdominal muscles during an examination. Voluntary guarding occurs the moment the doctor’s hand touches the abdomen. Involuntary guarding occurs before the doctor actually makes contact.

• Rebound tenderness. A doctor tests for rebound tenderness by applying hand pressure to a patient’s abdomen and then letting go. Pain felt upon the release of the pressure indicates rebound tenderness. A person may also experience rebound tenderness as pain when the abdomen is jarred—for example, when a person bumps into something or goes over a bump in a car.

• Rovsing’s sign. A doctor tests for Rovsing’s sign by applying hand pressure to the lower left side of the abdomen. Pain felt on the lower right side of the abdomen upon the release of pressure on the left side indicates the presence of Rovsing’s sign.

• Psoas sign. The right psoas muscle runs over the pelvis near the appendix. Flexing this muscle will cause abdominal pain if the appendix is inflamed. A doctor can check for the psoas sign by applying resistance to the right knee as the patient tries to lift the right thigh while lying down.

• Obturator sign. The right obturator muscle also runs near the appendix. A doctor tests for the obturator sign by asking the patient to lie down with the right leg bent at the knee. Moving the bent knee left and right requires flexing the obturator muscle and will cause abdominal pain if the appendix is inflamed."

And when you're done with those, there's Parcheesi!

Iam voting for the Peterson's Hernia too. One of the women in my support group had it and her symptoms were very similar. Best of luck!  Get it taken care of ASAP!

Petersen's Hernia or a Bowel Obstruction starting.
Mikimi