Chronic pain in stomach area- worst pain after eating and then walking/standing

Ursa Arctos · Newbie Joined: 01 Jun 2007 Posts: 1

I would appreciate any ideas for this!

I have been dealing with this from the time I was 12 years old... I am a 22 female now so this has been an ongoing problem for 10 years.

Often times (not EVERY single time, but very often) if I eat or drink anything, including just water, and then walk or stand afterwards, I get a pain in my lower to central stomach area. The pain begins as sort of dull- fairly easy to ignore. The more I walk or stand, the more painful it gets. It feels as if my stomach is tightening. The pain is almost immediately relieved by sitting down and resting. The pain can get so bad that it can make me feel nauseated. Sometimes, even just sitting around I have a very tiny amount of pain or nausea- but its so minor in comparison that i don't really notice it anymore. It's more like a looming warning that I'm not ready to move around yet.

I do not have to engage in hard activity for it to bother me. For instance, today I went to a museum, had a light lunch, and then walked casually through the museum. The pain got so intense that I had to periodically sit and rest for a few minutes, in order to keep myself from getting ill. The pain begins about 20 minutes after eating or so, and, if I were to keep walking without rest, it would probably escalate to the point of vomitting. However, I have only vomited once due to the pain, since sitting down seems to "cure" it. It will hurt up to two or three hours after I eat. I have bouts of diarreah and constipation pretty much all the time. I may not use the restroom for several days at a time, and then suddenly go many times in a short few days.

In general, I am a healthy person. I am not overweight and despite my pain, i lead a fairly active life. If I do not eat, I can easily go on a several mile hike with no problems. I do not feel any difference between eating spicey foods or bland foods, and even just drinking water and simply standing up can make me feel very ill. Cutting out dairy products and avoiding meat products does not seem to affect anything. No blood or mucus in my fecal matter. No odd colors or particularly foul smelling.

I have pretty much come to expect the pain to happen, so I have made adjustments in my life to deal with this, like eating several hours before any physical activity, or holding out until after activity. I just really want to know if anyone knows if this sounds familiar or if anyone has any ideas.

I do not have any insurance so it makes it pretty much impossible for me to visit a gastroentrologist unless I have some good idea as to what he should check for. When I was around 15 years old, I had an ultrasound done on my stomach, which only revealed that I was constipated. Because I don't have insurance, we pretty much just gave up at that point.

Any ideas of any diseases or ailments to research would be so wonderful. Thank you so much.

Guest · Guest

Hello,
Just read your post, your problems seem pretty similar to mine, mine began at 15 and 6 years on they are still going strong.

I saw the doctor and a gastro consultant and was sent for tests including a barium meal which was inconclusive. So they diagnosed me with IBS, this seems to be the thing they blame if they cant find anything else. I dont have frequent bouts of diarhoea and constipation but after eating or even drinking water i cant do a thing but sit down for about an hour. Often the pain is so bad it makes i get boiling hot and start to sweat with pain.

I realised that dairy products seemed to cause me more pain as well as gluten, so i havnt eaten those in 5 years, spicy food is a no no for me too. I have had accupuncture which made no difference, seen dieticians, again no improvement, herbalists helped to a point. Eventually when i stopped eating altogether i was put on a nutrient powder that i had to drink twice a day instead of eating.

I wish i had an answer for you, im now doing a medical degree partly in the hope that i will someday diagnose myself! So far i have considered the following may be the cause of these symptoms:

Gallbladder disease (if you have belching as well) gallstones can cause abdominal pain but often the pain will move round to the shoulder bloade area, a parasite residing in the duodenum area, inflammation of part of the digestive tract (maybe ileum area), possibly a stomach ulcer (especially if you have acid reflux), there are others i have ruled out for myself and would rule for you as we're young and have lived with this for years, such as stomach cancer. There are so many other possibilities such as poor blood supply to the digestive system (more common in smokers less so in young healthy ppl), or a defective lining somewhere along the tract with damaged villi in the intestines. It is quite possible that if you are not absorbing your food properly so you could be deficient in certain nutrients and vitamins, in particular selenium deficiencies and the B vitamins can cause even more problems, i now take a strong multivitamin supplement.

I think food does play a part in it, i personally cannot have anything alcoholic nor do i have fizzy drinks, water seems to be best, you may have an intolerance less common than lactose so you could try and get tested for these, i have heard of ppl with garlic intolerances and i know somebody who cannot eat basil so it could be anything! Eating small amounts but often seems to help me, a big meal is a disaster in my case. Eat and sip drinks slowly as well. I have heard of people who cover up theirtheir symptoms by taking over the counter medication. Personally i avoid taking these things too often as i feel long term overuse could have adverse effects.

Hope you get some better answers soon

Mepocohantis · Newbie Joined: 06 Jun 2008 Posts: 1

Thank goodness, I found another me! Your story is just nearly mine. I thought that I was crazy for thinking that standing or walking had something to do with my bloating and pain. There are days that I think that sitting starts me hurting too. If I don't let the pain get too bad before I lay down, then, the laying down seems to ease or stop the pain. If I wait too long to lay down, then it will take a lot longer time. The one difference is that mine hurts in my lower back too. Days that I am on my feet and trying to do things are my worst. I liken my pain to the bad pain that I use to have in my periods. And yes it will nauseate me. The last 2 days, I have stayed off my feet and have had a lot less pain. I do not eat lactose. I do feel like sometimes that I am blown up with gas, but cannot lose it. Out shopping I will have to sit down lots of time. I try not to eat but I will get hungry, and think that maybe I won't get sick this time. If I am going out in the evening, I better not eat, or I end up not going, or going and being miserble. Hydrocodone doesn't even help but a little bit. Phenagan does seem to help when I am really bad, of course, it helps with the nausea. I don't get diareahha, but am constipated a lot of the time and take milk of mag. I got to where I try to sit, if I can, at doing things that I use to do while standing. That helps me some. I have had bouts with this for years, but it would end. This time it has been going on for 2 or more years. It seems to have worsened when doctors gave me antibiotics to treat it as a bladder infection, even though I did not have a bladder infection. They would say that the benefits would out weigh the risks. I also was given a strong antiinflammatory medication, that I do believe added to the problem. I had the colon test, and not even a polip. However, I do have diverticulitis, but I have had that for too many years to count, without hurting like this. I try testing foods and I might eat something, and have no reaction, but, then, the next time that I eat it, get really bad. I hope that this helps someone out there, and that I might find an answer too.

Chronic pain in stomach area- worst pain after eating and then walking/standing

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