Am I dying?

[TheoPetro]

Background:
I have had heartburn for a few years and got on prilosec about a year ago and took 1 pill, 20mg each morning and I would be fine. If I missed a few days then the burning would come back but thats about it.

Recently:
The 20mg a day was keeping the burning away but about 3 months ago I missed for a day and the next morning I got violently nauseous, and light headed. I went to the doctor and he said he had no idea what was wrong and that it sounded like morning sickness...im a guy.

The prescription:
He told me to double the dosage to 40mg a day. So for the past few months I have been on 40mg of prilosec per day and it has kept the nauseous down to where I barely notice it except for a tiny bit in the mornings.

The problem:
Yesterday I missed it in the morning and endedup taking a 20mg dose at midnight because I started feeling sick. The pill made it go away and I went to bed. When I wokeup this morning I felt kind of uneasy but I thought it was just the normal no food in stomach pain. I didnt take another 40mg because I had just taken the 20mg ~10 hrs before. Halfway through my morning class I got really violently sick and had to run to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face and arms to keep from throwing up (heat seems to activate this while being cool seems to make it better). After about 20-30 min of doing this I felt ok enough to go back to class, grab my stuff and start to head home.

While driving home I was very light headed, I lost the feeling in my fingertips a few times and I would get this off and on tingling sensation in my ears. I made it home and popped 40mg of prilosec and within about 1 hr I was almost perfectly fine.

What the holy hell is this? the Dr. said he didnt know and I am concerned that it may be something other than just heartburn (because theres no burnging sensation).

Any ATOT doctors have an idea whats up? Heres to hoping its not some type of crazy cancer.

 

[TheKub]

*shake shake shake*

All signs point to yes.

 

[GenHoth]

Have your heart and autonomic nervous system checked out. I'm not a doc, but this doesn't sound much like heartburn.

 

[TheoPetro]

Originally posted by: GenHoth
Have your heart and autonomic nervous system checked out. I'm not a doc, but this doesn't sound much like heartburn.

It didnt to me either but for some reason the prilosec makes it go away. Its confusing as heck.

 

[ThePresence]

If your doc doesn't know he should probably refer you to a specialist. Something like this has to be thoroughly checked out. I would ask him for a referral.

 

[Alkaline5]

I'm mildly hypoglycemic, and what you describe sounds similar to how I feel sometimes in the morning (hungry and nauseas at the same time, basically). Are you eating right? Eating enough and eating regularly? If that's what it is, then I find that a snack an hour or so before bed helps and I keep a peppermint or something sugary around just in case I wake up feeling awful.

 

[Blintok]

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
While driving home I was very light headed, I lost the feeling in my fingertips a few times and I would get this off and on tingling sensation in my ears. I made it home and popped 40mg of prilosec and within about 1 hr I was almost perfectly fine.

What the holy hell is this? the Dr. said he didnt know and I am concerned that it may be something other than just heartburn (because theres no burnging sensation).

Any ATOT doctors have an idea whats up? Heres to hoping its not some type of crazy cancer.

when this happens does it feel alot like the following?

* racing or pounding heart
* sweating
* shaking or trembling
* shortness of breath or feelings of being smothered
* feeling of choking
* chest pain or discomfort
* chills or hot flashes
* nausea or upset stomach
* dizziness or lightheadedness
* a sense of things being unreal or feeling detached from oneself
* numbness or tingling sensations
* fear of losing control or "going crazy"
* fear of dying



if so, you could be having panic attacks

 

[wheresmybacon]

sounds like a panic attack

 

[TheoPetro]

Originally posted by: Blintok

Originally posted by: TheoPetro
While driving home I was very light headed, I lost the feeling in my fingertips a few times and I would get this off and on tingling sensation in my ears. I made it home and popped 40mg of prilosec and within about 1 hr I was almost perfectly fine.

What the holy hell is this? the Dr. said he didnt know and I am concerned that it may be something other than just heartburn (because theres no burnging sensation).

Any ATOT doctors have an idea whats up? Heres to hoping its not some type of crazy cancer.

when this happens does it feel alot like the following?

* racing or pounding heart
* sweating
* shaking or trembling
* shortness of breath or feelings of being smothered
* feeling of choking
* chest pain or discomfort
* chills or hot flashes
* nausea or upset stomach
* dizziness or lightheadedness
* a sense of things being unreal or feeling detached from oneself
* numbness or tingling sensations
* fear of losing control or "going crazy"
* fear of dying



if so, you could be having panic attacks

all of those but im not nervous one bit. Why would I be having a panic attack in the middle of class or just in the morning?

 

[Muse]

Most people don't understand that acid reflux doesn't necessarily manifest itself as heartburn. Since Prilosec is helping, it appears you have acid reflux. This is omeprazole, and my doctor prescribed it and there are instructions concerning treatment with it. You aren't supposed to take it indefinitely. You take a prescribed dosage for a certain period of time and then stop taking it. It should eliminate your need for it. I don't know how good and knowledgable your doctor is. Is this a primary care physician?

I was on omeprazole (Prilosec initially, which is the same stuff), but after 2-3 courses of the stuff I eventually got over the problem. I believe now it was caused by worry and stress. Exercise helps, and eliminating stress (which exercise tends to do, of course), and sources of worry.

 

[Muse]

Check out this closely related thread currently high in the topics list in this forum:

Uncomfortable feeling/slightly nauseous after eating

 

[JohnCU]

get a glucose meter and check your blood glucose level when this happens.

 

[shoplifter]

Try avoiding eggs and milk for a few days.

 

[QuixoticOne]

I'd get a referral to a specialist. If it is just some kind of heartburn / acid reflux / GI tract thing they
should be able to identify it and give you some better options for longer term amelioration.

However if it is something going on elsewhere in your body or something worse in your GI tract, heart, hormonal systems,
brain, whatever, it'd be very good to get a good thorough check up to ensure that no more serious
problems are going undiagnosed.

I'd suggest doing some kinds of basic personal health analysis too just to see if you can find any useful ideas to
pursue checking out / improving.
How's your pulse and respiration? Steady?
How is your normal neurological function, sensitivity to stimuli / touch, vision, hearing, smell, eyesight, concentration, et. al.?
Any unusual weight gain/loss, hair loss, variances in appetite?

Are you eating according to the food pyramid the vast majority of the time? Do you take vitamin/mineral
supplements? Is there any reason why you feel you might be deficient in some vitamin / mineral? Certainly some
kinds of vitamin / mineral deficiencies (or overdoses) can have effects similar to what you describe at least partly.

Family history / risk of cancer, heart disease, colitis, crohns disease, IBS, gall bladder problems, liver problems,
lactose intolerance, food allergies, diabetes, whatever?

Do you drink enough water or does your blood run soda pop + starbucks?

Do you almost never eat salty stuff? Almost never eat much variety of fruits / vegetables?
Do you eat some raw nuts / olives / seeds / olive oil / avocado on a regular basis for good EFA balance?

Do you wear overly tight clothes or exercise in a way that could cause some abdominal stress / injury?

Are there certain foods you can eat all you want of and not have problems, whereas others tend to cause problems?
Usually things like bananas should be pretty easy on the digestion.
Eating something like celery should have very little different reaction than just drinking water.
Simple sugars in foods would tend to provoke the highest / fastest glycemic change.
Things like starchy complex carbs i.e. modestly baked potato, are slower to digest.
Fats like avocado or coconut or peanut butter are also slower to digest.
If eating only foods of a general type in a given meal is OK and only others of some other type makes it worse,
that's a strong clue.

Urine, stool normal, no signs of strange over/under concentration, indigestion, blood, parasites, or whatever?

To a large extent you have to be proactive in looking at your health and body in greater detail than a doctor is going
to be willing / able to do. They can help find certain serious / chronic / systemic type problems if there's a good set of
evidence to point them to that diagnosis. But other things that are more subtle / difficult to diagnose like nutritional
problems, gradually developing organ issues, et. al. they really aren't likely to catch unless you're pretty aware of your
own habits and body's changes / issues and help to bring those concerns to the surface.

 

[TheoPetro]

Update!

I got some blood tests and an upper GI done and they both came back perfect.

The Dr. is having me do a stool sample, checking for parasites, and im getting an abdominal ultrasound tomorrow. I will be scheduling a meeting with him again sometime next week and I can give another update then.

 

[interchange]

Sounds similar to my (rather fruitless) journey. Acid reflux can have a host of other complications, so treating it may make sense. You are always within your rights to seek second opinions among physicians, and do so if you don't feel all of your concerns are being addressed.

Personally, I have idiopathic gastroparesis, meaning my stomach doesn't empty as fast as it should. Might be something to discuss with your gastroenterologist.

 

[SagaLore]

I bet you have H. Pylori. Get tested for that.

If you have it, then the doc will put you on a triple antibiotic for a few weeks. While you're on it, eat a huge amount of broccoli sprouts as they help deter h. pylori. Then when you're through with the antibiotics, eat a lot of probiotic active yogurt.