[Guest]

I am brand new to this forum so I thought I'd just go ahead and post my first topic about my intestinal woes.Over the past couple months I have had a handful of episodes of lower abdominal cramps and gurgling when I first wake up in the morning.Something will wake me up before my alarm goes off and while I'm laying there trying to go back to sleep I'll start getting all this gurgling and cramping in my lower abdomen. When I feel around my abdomen I can feel something (gas?) moving around and also hear it gurgling. I was starting to just dismiss it as gas but then I get chills and a slight headache.By the time my alarm goes off and I get up to take a shower I will have a BM which is odd for me first thing in the morning. Its consistency seems softer than normal but it's not D like I would expect after all the gurgling going on down there.When I can normally eat my usual bowl of cereal with milk, after the episode I have to fight through the nausea to get it down and keep it down.The rest of the day I have on-and-off nausea which seems to subside a bit if I burp. I don't have much of an appetite. I'm not thirsty, which I think is a strange symptom but its true! Yesterday I had a really bad headache that didn't go away with an ibuprofen. I'm expecting that today too but I haven't gotten one yet. I'm also left with kind of a dull ache in my lower abdomen like someone punched me. And I'm general tired ... not fall asleep kind of tired but physically tired.The only meds I take are birth control pills and the occasional (not everyday) ibuprofen for aches and pains. A few other side things are that I have had a persistent pain in the back right side of my neck for a couple weeks now. I don't know if my headache is attributed to that or not. I also almost passed out one morning last week after taking night-time cold medicine the night before. I have had three passing out episodes through this year. Only one of them I actually passed out. The other times I just got the spots and ringing in my ears. But at least my cold is gone now. That's one thing that I don't have to worry about anymore! I think I'd rather have a cold than this, though!I do plan to make an appointment to see my doctor but I wanted to get an idea of what tests you guys would recommend I have done. I should be able to check back on here throughout the day so if you have any questions let me know.Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings and for any advice you may have!

 

[Kathleen M.]

At minimum you should get a stool test for things like giardia and routine blood work to check for inflamation.You may need scoping or other more invasive tests depending on your test results/age, etc.Morning, around the time you get up, is a common time for GI symptoms as that is when the colon is most active.The passing out thing may mean you need to be evaluated for vasovagal syncope (the common cause of fainting) not sure if cold medications tend to set that off, but a lot of things can. Sometimes GI distress sets it off. It usually doesn't need treatment unless it happens a lot. Usually laying down when you first get the symptoms can stop that. There may be other reasons for that happening, so I would report that to the doctor. The headaches may need to be evaluated as well since they sound like a change in your pattern. Sometimes physical stress from being sick can make anything like headaches or IBS be worse.K.

 

[Guest]

Thank you so much for the reply, Kathleen!According to various sources on the Web a giardia infection causes diarrhea ... that’s one thing I don’t have! In fact the BMs I have had have been only slight softer and looser than normal. Although I did find this:“My child does not have diarrhea, but was recently diagnosed as having giardiasis. My health care provider says treatment is not necessary. Is this true?Treatment is not necessary when the child has no symptoms. However, there are a few exceptions. If your child does not have diarrhea, but is having nausea, fatigue (very tired), weight loss, or a poor appetite, you and your health care provider may wish to consider treatment.”Now granted I’m not a child ... I’m 31 ... but I am having nausea, fatigue, and poor appetite. Have you known someone who had this? If I did have a parasite like giardia could I still have intermittent (not everyday) episodes?Do you think that the fact that I’m not having sharp pains is a sign that I don’t have gall stones, or diverticulitis, or something more severe like that?Another thing that I thought of is that part of my nausea and loss of appetite is that I have a very active gag reflex. This morning when I was eating my cereal I really had concentrate on eating small bites and keeping anything away from the back of my throat or I would gag and get an attack of nausea. I would also feel flushed.

 

[16229]

You may want to try something like the charcoal tabs for the gas. If they help it should ease your nausea in the daytime. You can get them over the counter at the pharmacy. Easing the nausea can help your gag reflex, assuming it's not a mechanical problem.Making assumptions about the pain or lack of it is not a good science in this area. Many progressive disorders aren't very painful at the onset, so if you caught them early you may not be in pain yet. On the flip side, severe pain does not mean a more severe illness, either.