QuestionI understand that, in general, the types of questions like the one I am about to ask are impossible to answer accurately using this format of communication. What I am really wondering is if the symptoms I am about to describe sound characteristic of anything in particular. I realize any input is not a diagnosis and that I should still seek medical attention. I also have no significant medical history and am a 23 year old female.
The problem is that for about 4-5 months I have been having intermittent epigastric pain, or at least I think that is an accurate description. The pain is in the area of the stomach, except it is directly along the midline of my body. I usually have an episode about once every 3 weeks to once a month. In every case, I have woken up between 3am & 6am with extreme nausea and severe epigastric pain, although at this stage I would say the nausea outweighs the pain. I never have vomitting with these episodes. What usually happens is that after 1-2 hours, the nausea subsides and the pain remains. In one instance, the pain went away after 1-2 hours as well and there were no residual symptoms. In another instance, I had cramping in the area for the next two days that was extremely painful. In this particular example, the cramping was sporadic, probably once every 30 minutes - once every hour. The only thing that relieves these symptoms is if I am able to sleep it away. Not eating doesn't help, neither does eating. I tried taking antacids, that didn't solve the situation either. One other thing that is possibly notable is that on many occasions, I have had diarrhea that accompanies the symptoms. What is important to mention is that I have absolutely no physical indications that I am going to have diarrhea (no pain, no lower abdominal discomfort), which is always the case in a normal scenario.
If you have any opinion on what I have described above, I would be very appreciative to be informed of it. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and respond.
AnswerIt is always tough to diagnose intermittent abdominal pain, especially in women. This could be gallstones that are intermittently blocking the gall bladder; if the pain coincides with your period, could be endometriosis. With the cramps and diarrhea, could be a food intolerance, a lot of times, lactose intolerance. I would try and time when it happens, try and backtrack to see if a specific food sets it off, see how it correlates with your periods, and try one of the over the counter meds, like tums/gaviscon and see if you get relief. This would be helpful info to narrow it down... if the tums doesn't help, you should see your doctor. Hope this helps....
