# Diagnosed with IBS (C) but no explanation for chest pain/pain between shoulder blades after eating



## Elyse J Meyer (Feb 1, 2015)

Hi,

I was diagosed with IBS almost a year ago. To say that it has completely taken over my life would be an understatement and I'm not entiredly convinced that the diagnosis is correct as I feel there may be something in addition to IBS going on.

My symptoms:


After I eat, I get pain in my stomach as if the the food is just sitting in my stomach and then I get a pain that radiates up to my sternum and then up into my upper back between my should blades, almost like a constricting/aching feeling and I get shortness of breath, heart palpitations and light-headedness/nervousness.
Constant pain in the middle portion of my stomach around the navel area
Pain in stomach while eating and after eating
Constant feeling of bloating in my stomach
Pain in my intestinal area (mostly right side) about an hour or so after digestion of food
I have lost the "normal" feeling of what a person gets when they have to have a bowel movement, like the regular urge to go #2 that we've all been used to since we were out of diapers, lol. Instead, I feel as though my colon and stomach are so swollen that I should at least try to have a BM. It usually takes a lot of straining and somtimes I'll have one, sometimes not. If I do have a BM, I feel a little bit of relief but then my stomach goes right back to feeling swollen again, The bowels, however do feel a little alleviated. However, I always have a feeling of incomplete evacuation.
Excessive flatulence after eating...and I mean everything, even liquids. I do notice I have more flatulence after dinner, that being the meal where I consume the most food.
Sorry to be gross but the odor and consistency of the stool is very odd. I don't know how to describe it, other than to say it's definitely not normal.
I'm only able to sleep about 5 hrs a night and that is with a prescription that I take to help me sleep (clonazepam 1 mg). I'm often awake at 4 am (having gone to bed at 10pm) with a sore lower back, my bladder is bursting and my stomach hurts
I also have a strange other afflection where my arms are falling asleep at night, causing me to wake up several times a night because they're aching so badly. This isn't a pinched nerve or the way I'm sleeping...if it try to lie down on the couch on my back to have a nap with my arms straight at my sides, the minute I bend my arm at my elbow, I start to lose circulation on my arm and it wakes me up.

I have had a colonoscopy and endoscopy and all major dieseases like Cancer,Celiac, Crohn's have all been ruled out. I have also been cleared of any ulcers.

I'm now at the point where I'm having to take two Tylenol #3s just to be able to eat food. Otherwise, the pain from the food (and I mean any food) in my stomach is unbearable because of the after effects, mostly the very bizarre upper back pain

Unfortunately, my Gastro Doctor is an arrogant *so and so* and I'l just leave it at that. I have tried to explain to him several times that a lot of my symptoms don't match with IBS but he doesn't seem to care much. I've clearly become a pain to him and have had to press him to do further tests. For example, I asked about a condidition called gastroparesis so he reluctatnly order a gastric emptying test. I just had it last week and am waiting to hear the results.

Also, At MY urging, because of the chest pains, I got him to refer me to a Cardiologist who did a stress test and ordered a CT scan. I have been all cleared with the exception of some fluid around my heart which he says not to worry about. For the record, I asked him what caused fluid around heart and he said it can be common and nothing to be concerned about and often comes as result of your body trying to fight off some sort of virus. I explained to him that that made sense because what I can't seem to get across to people about this horrrible affliction is that it is not just so much the PAIN that I have do deal with, it's the constant feeling of nausea/sickness/mailaise that is so difficult. There just doesn't seem to be anything to help with that part, unfortunately.

Thanks for reading this very long post, I know it's a lot. Just wondering if anybody else has the upper back pain like I do and the immediate reactions to food like I have. I always though IBS was something that was more of a delayed response-type disease, because of how long food takes to get to the bowel. Nobody seems to have a clue why I'm having such immediate and then also constant pain.

Thank you very much.


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## flossy (Dec 8, 2012)

Hi -

Since not too many people reply here, I will:

Never had any - how did you describe it - "pain that radiates up to my sternum and then up into my upper back between my should blades, almost like a constricting/aching feeling and I get shortness of breath, heart palpitations and light-headedness/nervousness."

-A lot of the other discomforts? Yes (sighs).

The only thing I can always, always eat and not have it feel abnormal in my body is my chicken soup. (Link: http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/197729-chicken-brown-rice-soup-recipe-good-for-the-tummy-area/)

If you don't exercise, maybe you should start? I lift weights (nothing too heavy) 4 or 5 times a week for about a good hour at a time, have been for years. It helps me feel better.

I hope this helps a little bit. IBS-C is a condition with no easy answers, unfortunately.

Keep postin' and keep us updated!


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## Elyse J Meyer (Feb 1, 2015)

Thanks for your reply. I wasn't aware that not many people reply here as I'm new to the forum. Is it better to post somewhere else?

Anway, when I described the "pain that radiates up to my sternum and then up into my upper back between my should blades, almost like a constricting/aching feeling and I get shortness of breath, heart palpitations and light-headedness/nervousness.", I should have said "shoulder" not should (lol) blades.

Thanks for your suggestion about the chicken soup. I'll try it. As for exercise,I do try to walk a lot but with the lack of sleep and constant feeling of weakness it's about all I can handle. Can't lift weights as I have a bulge in a disc in my neck c-6,c-7 area and my neurologist has suggested I not lift anything heavy. I've asked him about the possible connection to that and the reaction to eating and he doesn't think it's related.

Funny, though, after I made that first post, I had an appointment with my GP and she was sent a copy of the results of the gatric emptying study and it turns out I do have a mild case of gastroparesis. I had that study done on the 20th of January, she received it on the 21st. Nobody called me to discuss it. I had made the appointment with her for pain meds. It was only as I was leaving the appointment that she said, oh, I see you had a test done though your Gastro doctor, here are the results.

I'm beyond disgusted with the way I've been treated by my Gastro doctor. He's been dismissive, arrogant, condescending and rude. In fact, I remember when I was lying on the bed in the OR room just before my colonoscopy, as he and the Anaesthetist were in the room to preparing me, he walked past me and tossed some sort of plastic thing (whatever that thing is called that they put in your mouth to keep it open when they put you under) and it hit me in the face. Yes, I'm sure he didn't mean to do hit me in the face but I know the nurse saw what happened and looked disgusted. And when the Anaesthetist was asking me a question, I was in the middle of answering him and the Gastro doctor just started talking to him as if I wasn't even talking or even there! The Anaesthetist, a very nice man, I could tell was annoyed by this by the look on his face. He quickly answered the doctor and then turned to me and said, "I'm sorry, you were saying?".

I'm calling the Gastro doctor today and am going to demand an answer as to why I wasn't called about the results. I'm also going to write a letter to the hospital where he works and the Governing Board of Physicians to complain about him.

I could go on and on about how I've had to go back to him explaining to him about the pain and how I'm trying everything with no luck and how a year later I'm so much worse but at this point I've almost given up. The pain is just too much to deal with on a daily basis. In fact, I've considered suicide more than a few times and am thinking it would be a welcome relief to this absolute heII I'm living in. I do, however, want something on record about this man and how he's done so very little to help me.

Don't think I'll post much here anymore because it seems that with the gastroparesis and the IBS and everything else, I'm grasping at straws in terms of trying to get help from others but I do thank you for your response.

Take care and good luck to those who are suffering. I hope one day they'll find a cure for some of these diseases that make you live a life of constant pain. I understand the focus of the medical community has to be on saving lives and people often say things like well at least it's not cancer and in no way does my heart not go out to those with fatal illnesses but there is also the issue of quality of life too.

Regards

I


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## chubbylover1978 (Feb 8, 2014)

I get this when I'm constipted, I have ibs-a. Its indigestion and heatburn, try gaviscon or see the doctor about a ppi (proton pump inhibitor) such as omeprazole. I take omeprazole each morning and when it happens I take another and it helps.


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## Elyse J Meyer (Feb 1, 2015)

chubbylover1978 said:


> I get this when I'm constipted, I have ibs-a. Its indigestion and heatburn, try gaviscon or see the doctor about a ppi (proton pump inhibitor) such as omeprazole. I take omeprazole each morning and when it happens I take another and it helps.


Thanks very much for this advice. Never heard of ibs-a. I do take Gaviscon but I'll look into the PPI's too.

Yet another Drs appointment today with a General Surgeon (again at MY urging, not my Gastro's) because when I had the colonoscopy the useless Gastro guy said the only thing that came up on the Colonoscopy report other than possibly IBS was that I had internal hemorrhoids. Funny thing is though, when I was doing the prep for the colonoscopy (when they make you take that super powerful laxative) after about the 3rd time I had to "go", I felt like a pop or something and I was bleeding quite a bit and from that point on, part of my rectum was sticking out! Told the Gastro guy about it and he said it was just prolapsed internal hemorrhoids. The surgeon, however, just told me that what it actually is is a rectal prolapse and will require surgery. Oh, the fun of all of this. It truly has been a heIIish nightmare for the last year and it just keeps getting worse. Seems like I'm falling apart!

Thanks again for the input. Will ask my GP about it.


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## Twindy91 (Jan 22, 2020)

Hi There, did they ever figure your problem out? Im going through the exact same thing


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