[dax0007]

I had to vent.... My 3rd GI doctor is a dam idiot... Okay ... Yeah I know maybe I am just some "wacked out" person whohas mental issues. This may be true), but I do have common sense...Anyways I have been having all types of Gastric issues since Mid nov that turned into stomach issues through Dec, then in Jan 2010they turned into BLOATING, gas, & indigestion issues..... Please note I am a 36 yo male who has had anexity issues for few months(the type where i just dont feel good-little shortness of breath).. I have never been medicated though my wife would love for me totak something(I have tried a few XANAX, but only when the anexity feel like a panic).. I have NEVER had any stomach issues in 36years.My whole life I could eat ANYTHING.. So anyways I decided to see my GI today on Fec 1 just to let him know"Hey I still got these darn problems- after every meal or so horrible bloating etc".. While I was talking to him todayI decided to SHOW him my DIET/SYMTOMS LOG I have kept since Dec 8, 2009.. I started this log because from the advise of hisnurse she said "Its a good idea to document all foods that way you can hopefully find out what maybe is a trigger food"..Anyways so on Dec 8 just prior to my FIRST TEST (ENDOSCOPY) I decided to keep this informal log.. Well today when I went to his office I PROUDLY said "Hey doc along with my continuing issues I have my log"...Well he looked at me after I read last weeks issues and he said "Don you are OBSESSIVE COMPLUSIVE and that you need to see someoneto help control it". I calmly stated "Doc you may have a point because I tend to be obsessive compulsive at times and do suffer from anexity every so often, but PLEASEtell me what I did to give you that opinion?" He said "LOOK AT YOUR LOG that is OCD"..WOW!! I ALMOST BLEW IT!! .... I told him.. " Doc with all due respect your nurse told me it would be a good ides to keep trac of my diet!"..He said " well u took it a few steps further "... I said "Doctor COME ON.. Iagree i may have a mild OCD issue (he has all my primart care docs) but ANYONE who is conceren with their health could be that way and your observation of my OCD based on my LOG really conceren me on your ability".He said " Don from the begining you are not taking the medication I wanted u to such as Labrex for you IBS, PROTONIX for your GERD. I said " Oh okay and let me guess u want me to talk something for my OCD too?..He said " If needed.. u may want to take meds for that too...I said " So what about a CAT SCAN is that a waste too"..He said "Yes you dont need it you are OCD"..I said " Doc you wont be seeing me again - good by..I AM GOING TO DO A CHARGE BACK ON MY CO-PAY... My wife and I got into a fight because she agreed with him..ANyways... I feel I am 100% CORRECT! though I can take constructive critisim.. Do u all think I am WRONG?I think the Doc could of emphazisd my mental issues do tend to make this worse and I would agree, but for him to put allhis ammunition that my LOG is whats making me crazy and my mild stomach buring I though was crazy..PLUS what about my POOP.. Semi normal in the mornings and ROCK HARD BALLS at night.. He said u got IBSI said I am NO DOCTOR, but IBS /GERB is a enigma NO ONE can explain.... I am more coneren about something serious..he said well I am not..So what should i do? Get another doctor and get a HIGH RADIATION CAT SCAN for peace of mind or give it another month?Thanks for reading my nutty story)

 

[BQ]

Don from the begining you are not taking the medication I wanted u to such as Labrex for you IBS, PROTONIX for your GERD

He has a point... The meds may help you and you didn't try them???

So what should i do? Get another doctor and get a HIGH RADIATION CAT SCAN for peace of mind or give it another month?

What do I think you should do? 1)Get another GI Doc who is willing to rule out other GI disorders via some testing. And because you obviously have little or no respect for or trust in your current one.2)I do NOT think a CAT scan is necessary from what you told us of your symptoms. (Which, by the way, seem mild.. to me anyway) 3)See some other Dr about your possible OCD.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Well so far your symptoms sound very typical of GERD and IBS and really, it is very common for people to have no GI issues a single day in their life until these pop up. (and the upper stuff could also have functional aspects and that is common as well).If the highly invasive or high radiation tests actually showed anything (Even if they indicated your symptoms cannot be from anything other than what you have already been diagnosed with) would it change anything. You won't treat your anxiety and you've had that all your life, you so far won't treat the GI issues that have been diagnosed, is there anything that would change that situation. Or would you refuse any other medication even if they found something else. Anxiety in a way that makes you refuse any medication given to you by a doctor for anything is actually pretty common. Many anxious people just know (and sometimes obsess) that any side effects must be so much worse than any benefit that they will not take anything no matter how bad the condition or how rare the side effects. I dunno if that is how you operate, but is pretty typical of anyone with anxiety or OCD issues, even if mild enough they don't effect other areas of their life.If you won't take medications and no diagnostic test would change that then there really isn't any point doing a bunch more tests just so you can check them off the list and possibly make you more at risk for cancer later on as CAT scans of the whole body look for everything type (which sounds like what you want) may be more risky than helpful unless there is a darn good reason to do it. And often if test A doesn't give you whatever answer you think you want (and sometimes even if it gives a very good answer) then people will just move on to test B, then test C, then test D, etc. that they will doctor shop until they find someone that cares more about making money from doing the test than any benefit or risk to the patient.Yes, a food log for a couple of weeks can be helpful. But you may want to look at how your food log is kept and how obsessive you are about it. Like a lot of things, some is good, too much may indicate a problem. If after a couple of weeks no pattern is starting to show up a couple of months or a couple of years will not make one show up. Most doctors request you do from a 3 day to a 2 week log, not endlessly.Now some doctors and some patients are not a good match so you may need a different doctor that is a better fit (just like you wouldn't say you could marry all women because some are a better fit than others).IBS and GERD are not that much of a "no one knows enigma" as you think. I mean after all IBS starting up after a GI issue because of damage to the control of the gut is a pretty well established theory with a lot of data to back it up. Now a lot of time doctors don't have the time to really explain (or know how to explain them) but they really aren't things that do not know how to treat or have no idea why anyone has them. They are a lot better understood now than even 5 or 10 years ago.

 

[riddick]

Sounds like he went to the same medical school as mine!After a whole battery of tests.....most known to mankind (and a few known to aliens!) he told me i had "one of those stomachs"!"one of those stomachs" is something i haven't been able to find in any medical text i've encountered so far.

 

[dax0007]

First let me say! Thanks for all the quick responces... I do agree that I havenot listen to many doctors in the past about my anexity mainly becausethe med scare me.. I have just recently experimented with a presciption on XANAX and it does help, but I wont take more than 2 a week "IF" I need it.For the past 6 years my anexity has been like 1-2 months igot it, then 1-2 months I CANT EVEN REMEMBER what it feels like.. Real wierd.. My anexity can be started from a STRESSFUL situation or can comeout of nowwhere on a family vacation.. When I have anexity my BP is HIGH(140's/90's) when I dont my BP is 120 /60's.. I get it from my mother...Just to let everyone know what i have done so far as test:1)Dec 7,2009- I had a ENDOSCOPY -"mild gastritist- which I was told should not produce symtoms2)Dec 4- ADMONINAL ULTRA SOUND - ALL good-liver, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder3) BREATH TEST , ALL TYPES OF BLOOD TEST (LIVER<CBC, urine, vitmans(i had ask for this), H.pyrio-- ALL GOOD4) I had a 2nd ultra sound Jan 15--AL GOOD -reason being i have a hydroscele on m right testicle so i said since you are doing that PLEASE redo my admonial again.. Which should unremarkable results ..Well again.. Thansk for everyones feedback.. I will get another GI , but i am gonna wait another month to see what happens with my stomach.. Its just hard to accept .. You fine for a long time, then BAM out of knowwhere you gotF-> A feeling of food in your throat0 bending over makes it worse, and u got bubbles crackin your throughorBLOATED FEELING after normal mealsor feeling in your mid back between shoulder bladess LIKE GAS along with BELCHINGorweird chest tenderness with GAS feeling with BELCHINGorstomach tendernessEVERYDAY I have ONE OF THE ABOVE ISSUESfor the PAST MONTH, prior to Jan 10 my stomach was the mess, not these issues.. Its like it evolved into something else...... Thanks for EVERONES SUPPPORT!!Don

 

[dax0007]

Yes I know.. Well i did try some of the meds:-Nexium was a mess--it made my stomach feel better but i had depression(which i never have.. i am normally high strung-> Protonix made my stomach feel great! 40mg made me feel better for 2 days, but my throat will tighen up -so my old GI said N-> Precid works okay , but makes me wonder if i need it!I will be trying the LOREX with in the next week!!THAKS FOR ALL THE FEEDBACK!Don

 

[BQ]

The very nature of IBS is sometimes is DOES exactly that.. come out of nowhere. One can be fine for a bit and them it can flare up again. That is just part of it. I would take your meds as prescribed as that might help you. And Still... I would see a Dr about your anxiety and get it treated as you are even now afraid of the meds. There is no reason to suffer with the anxiety... and you may find with that (your anxiety) treated, that your gut (and your BP) calm down quite abit.All the best

 

[IBD/IBS Author]

I have to agree with BQ. I think you're going at this a bit backwards. We don't know what causes IBS, but we do know that stress, anxiety, worry, etc. make it worse. You know, and readily admit, that you have anxiety. But you don't want to treat it. Drugs aren't the only option. You can see a psychologist - they can't prescribe drugs - who can help you to work out what you are anxious about, how to work through it, manage it, etc. But instead, you're running around trying to find out what to do about your IBS. Answer: There isn't a magical answer for IBS. For some people meds help. For other people making small or huge changes in their diet helps. For others getting rid of stress and anxiety helps immensely. And for others still, a combo of all of these things helps. I don't mean to be rude. But honestly, you may be OCD, which you also admit, but I have to wonder if you don't have a touch of hypochondria or a need to seek out doctors and medical exams. You have some answers, which is more than many people here have, and you aren't willing to move forward and deal with what's already been identified. Find a psychologist who can help you work through your anxiety. See how that goes and how your gut reacts for a few months. And, really look at your diet and what could be exacerbating symptoms and make those changes. Then, if you're no better go see a doctor. But really, it sounds like IBS. Read through the forums a little more and see what has helped others and try some of them.

 

[dax0007]

TEAM,Thanks for the help! I truely appricate all the info given and I will dig into the meds .. I told my wife I will try the PREVICID for a few weeks accountthis is the only PPI that I have tried without any weird effects... As far as the anexity goes yes I could come out okay on some meds, but i will tell youone thing.. I am a very structured individual when it comes to my health & working out(ex-athlete). About 4 years ago when I understood more about my on/off again anexity I put out allot of effort to cut out CAFFINE, artifical sweetners, alcohol(which i was a social drinker only), & process foods and let me tell you..... Its helps with someone mental state(one less factor in the equations in reference to issues), but by far did nothing for my anexity.. Reason why i bring this up is I spent allot of time and effort thinking my diet could be the cause of this SUDDEN anexity issues and it help very little.. Today I still make ever effort to eat clean and simple, but was truely surprised on how little it does to fix someone metal health.. It does not hurt,but thought i would get more out of it. I continue to eat heathly just because I feel its one less obstical..... I have seem many friend/family on meds and it does help, but by far fixes the problem.I have seen a few Phsy docs and they love to talk and refer you to a phsyc MD to get you meds.. Like someone said "meds are not magic" they do help, but I am sure there is a price to pay by taking med long term.. A nurse friend told me one of the worst type of addictions is to XANAX.. Then you hear about GI meds and your liver... I guess you gotta look at whether the benefits out weigh side effects(hoping they are not long term) Anyways I a rambling on making no sense!! THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE HELP! I truely appricate everyones time!Don

 

[BQ]

Hon there are other meds out there to ease anxiety besides "Xanax". No med is perfect.. no treatment for ANYthing is perfect. Yes sure there are other things one can do, but for anxiety.. yeah I think you are right.. changing one's diet doesn't go very far. Serious good therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy maybe.. and some meds for awhile MAY help you. But you won't know til you give it a serious long term try. Please.. do yourself a favor and look into getting some real treatment for your anxiety. It can take road testing a few Dr's before you find the right match for you. But don't give up!