<p>I’m not a parent- just a high school senior- but since Yahoo answers and Tumblr users and Google aren’t being helpful at all, this was the only place I could think of to ask. I trust parents over students when it comes to health issues, anyways.
Today I went to the doctor because I’ve been having random weird stomach aches that at first make me think that I’m really hungry, but when I eat they just get worse and I can’t get rid of them unless I take a tums (but then they slowly creep back up) or just go to sleep. I’ve also had an upset stomach quite frequently for the past few weeks, but that’s kind of something that I’ve dealt with my whole life. Anyways, I explained all this in detail to my doctor, who automatically said it was gastritis and prescribed me medicine. When I got home from play practice today, I looked up gastritis and it sounds way worse than whatever I have. There are a lot of horror stories on tumblr from kids who say they spend hours doubled over and can’t eat certain foods.
I’m obviously not in that bad of shape if I can go to school everyday, so I’m kind of afraid I was misdiagnosed. I wouldn’t be so worried if he had actually done any tests, but he didn’t, so I’m not sure.
I also read that stress can induce gastritis, and when I get stressed or nervous, I usually get a horrifically upset stomach, and since I’ve been doing a lot of REALLY stressful activities lately (monologue performances, a timed essay competition, state literary competition this weekend where everyone expects me to get first, and the fact that school’s been really busy, etc), I wonder if that’s the cause.
I’m also a bit lactose intolerant- not terribly, but to a point where I can’t drink anything made primarily from milk (hot chocolate, milkshakes, McFlurries, etc)- so I wonder if its getting worse. </p>
<p>Anyways, if anyone can tell me anything about this, I’d REALLY appreciate it!</p>
<p>A lot of doctors will use the term “gastritis” in a general way to describe “stomach irritation.” Stress can contribute to stomach issues, as you’ve obviously deducted.</p>
<p>If you feel you were kind of blown off by your doctor, I would advise you to consult a gastroenterologist. This kind of doctor specializes in problems of the digestive system. He may want to do a trial with a certain medication, or he may want to do more specific tests. We see a lot of young people at my G.I. lab. They are usually there for an endoscopy, which is an examination of the esophagus all the way down to the first section of the small intestine. Sometimes, if the patient also is anemic or experiences bowel problems, they will do a colonoscopy at the same time. Even if the g.i. tract looks pretty normal, they can take biopsies to check for H. pylori, which is a bacteria which can cause gastric ulcers, they can check to see if you have celiac disease, they look for actual ulcers and areas of irritation and inflammation, etc.</p>
<p>First of all, I am not a doctor or a health professional in any regard. However, you may have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), which has symptoms of gas, bloating & discomfort. Many women, and some men, are affected by this. There can be different food triggers, as well as stress & anxiety. Only a doctor can diagnose it, there is no cure, but it is very common.</p>
<p>I’m going to recommend an over the counter product which is a natural probiotic. I personally know 3 women who take it and it has made a significant difference in the quality of their lives. It’s Digestive Advantage (by Schiff), and is available at drug stores, Bed Bath & Beyond & even Target.</p>
<p>I suggest you give it a try, (I believe they recommend 7 days before it is fully effective), and try to de-stress. (Their website is the name of the product.com) Regular exercise helps too!</p>
<p>Gastritis just means “inflammation of the stomach” and can be caused by a lot of things. Since you are having stomach pains, your doc’s label of gastritis is probably correct as far as it goes.</p>
<p>I’d say follow the doctor’s advice for while and see if it clears up. If the pain persists try another doctor. In fact I’d ask for a referral to a gastroenterologist - a doctor that specializes in these sorts of things.</p>
<p>Good luck. I hope you are feeling better soon.</p>
<p>Don’t believe or take medicine from any doctor who simply assumes it is “too much stomach acid”, without actually testing, or considering the possibility that it might be too little. (And I’ve had FIVE gastroenterologists who made that assumption, without any testing whatsoever.) More people suffer from too little stomach acid than too much. But one (too much) makes pharmaceutical companies a fortune (think purple pills), the other can be dealt with by a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar.</p>
<p>I would agree, my oldest son has gastritis since he was a baby. It took years and finally a scan to determine what it was at age 10. We thought the poor little guy had ulcers it was so bad. The kid makes acid…lots of acid. So the poor little guy was miserable for ten years. The worse he ever had it was in high school (and I think under stress) when he would be doubled over in pain. Other times it would just be random weird stomach aches and queasiness as you describe. Follow the physician’s advice and start to make mental notes about what might trigger the problems. For my son it was mostly greasy food. He still eats it and really never changed his diet much, but he’s likely to take some ranitidine before he eats it or he’ll pop a ranitidine when he feels some symptoms coming on.</p>