Upper GI series

Parent Cafe
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<p>Ok so this probably is not the right place to post this topic. However, I didn’t know where else to find a large gathering of people that were familiar with the medical field. I’m in trouble: I have had an ongoing medical problem that has bugged me since 2007 and now and I think that I’m ready to rid myself of it. </p>

<p>You see I have a constant gagging problem that is very hard to solve. I can’t exercise because when I exercise, I gag and throw up. This prevents me from doing any type of anaerobic exercise at all. It is because of this that I’m fat and repulsive right now, and there’s almost nothing that I can do about it. This really takes a toll on my mental health. </p>

<p>I have tried going to government care facilities, but those are a joke because they are so hard to get into. I got put on basically a six month wait list. The medical care system absolutely sucks for poor people!</p>

<p>Anyway, so I’m a full-time student right now and it’s difficult for me to work because I have PTSD. So I’m thinking about taking out extra loans to help me to solve my gagging problem. I went to the doctor about this, and they told me that I would need an upper GI series and possibly an upper endoscopy as well in order to diagnose this problem. I’ve read online that the upper endoscopy is like $800 with no insurance and the upper GI is about $300 without insurance. If I took out about $1300 in loans, do you think that would cover the costs? </p>

<p>I know that this isn’t a medical forum but it does involve taking out college loans. Plus I didn’t know where else to find a large gathering of medical professionals that would respond in a decent frame of time. Please help!</p>

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<p>I am so sorry you’re going through this. I’m a mom; when I was college age, I had an upper GI series done (which involved swallowing some revolting thick liquid through a straw with a hole in it then getting tilted back and forth on an x-ray table while everyone with enough sense left the room). I think the reason it was done was severe anemia (so they had to find out if there was an ulcer).</p>

<p>My husband suffers a choking response (different from gagging) from lack of salivary glands (a side effect of radiation after a Stage IV cancer diagnosis).</p>

<p>Describe gagging for me. When you exercise (what kind of exercise? Lifting weights? Treadmill?) do you feel unwell because maybe the pace is too much? Do you exercise on an empty stomach or after eating something? Do you suffer from GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease)? Are you covered under your parents’ plan or your school’s or not at all?</p>

<p>Certain girls on my daughter’s XC team boasted about throwing up after a tough race. Me personally I’d rather not.</p>

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<p>I’m confused. Are you suggesting you should take out college loans to cover a medical procedure? If so, I would suggest not. If you are a university student, aren’t you required to have health insurance either through your university or privately?</p>

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<p>@Classof2015</p>

<p>Well, let me say this before I begin:</p>

<p>My parents can’t help me with this this problem. Both of them are felons and neither of them have money themselves. I am uninsured and so are both of my parents. I live with my father who is a felon and can’t get a good job because of his record. I also have PTSD from very traumatic violence so it’s difficult to work a full time job right now because when customers get loud with me, it sends me back into my trauma and I go off on them. </p>

<p>With that being said, let me describe my symptoms:</p>

<p>In 2007 I used to basically be a body builder and would have long and strenuous work outs all the time. However, in 2007 something really traumatic happened to me and I started gagging during work outs. I was prescribed “Lamictal” at the time because the doctor thought that I had bipolar disorder, but it turns out that I actually developed post traumatic stress order (the two can look a lot alike). I no longer take this medication though. </p>

<p>Anyway, I don’t know if it was the stress, the meds, or what, but I just started gagging every time I worked out. It has been this way ever since 2007. I just gag all the time, and it really sucks. I will gag when I eat a lot of unhealthy cheeses and fried foods, I gag when I take certain medicines like Tylenol, and I used to gag when I was prescribed Klonopin (a benzodiazapine tranquilizer) as well. However, when I work out, the gagging is the absolute worst. </p>

<p>I can do walking exercise, with no problem and I don’t generally ever gag when I walk. However, when I begin to jog or run, I just gag uncontrollably out of nowhere. I’ve noticed when I begin to breathe heavily I just gag out of nowhere. I don’t think it’s my soft palette either because I got this throat numbing spray that numbs the soft palette, and used it when I jogged and it didn’t do anything and I still would gag. I’m not taking it too far either because I know when to quit, and I’ll jog for only 20 seconds and I’ll just start gagging, it’s ridiculous. </p>

<p>This also happens when I lift weights as well. When I lift weights I just start gagging out of control. In fact, the gagging is the absolute worst when I am trying to lift something heavy. It’s so bad, I can’t even help my father move the couch out to the moving truck without having a gagging episode. I will begin to lift the weight and I will get maybe 3 reps in out of ten and then I will just gag and sometimes vomit as well. </p>

<p>I went to a regular doctor about this, but they told me that I would need an upper GI and possibly an upper endoscopy to solve this problem. I think that both of those would cost about $1300 out of pocket, and I’m considering taking out these loans to solve this once and for all. </p>

<p>Also, I should note that a few people have thought that the problem was related to acid reflux, but I don’t think that it is. I have been prescribed Nexium, Zantac, and Prilosect and none of them made this problem go away. I will say that they did get rid of a burning sensation in my lower esophagus where the neck meets the collar bone, but I still gagged when I exercised. Also, I always drink plenty of water when exercising as well, so I don’t think the problem is due to dehydration. I guess it could be related to anxiety but I just don’t know how to get rid of it. I will admit though, that I used to smoke marijuana and that completely cured the problem, but I can’t smoke it anymore because it’s illegal and my father is on probation.</p>

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<p>Oh dear. It sounds like the gagging is really impeding your efforts to be healthy, which must be frustrating and annoying. Are you in school right now? Is there a health office you could visit that could do this procedure at a lower cost? </p>

<p>Another option would be finding a part time job that offers health benefits. I have always heard that this is something Starbucks offers. Maybe you could get a part-time job there and then get health insurance through them.</p>

<p>If you gag when you eat unhealthy cheeses and fried foods, that sounds kind of ulcer-ish (discomfort triggered by high fat items). </p>

<p>Since you’re ok walking, I wonder if something in the higher levels of exercise might relax the flap that keeps acids and bile down, and things start backing up. My son had this because he would lie down after eating (to watch TV) and he’d complain about throwing up. I told him he had to stay upright for at least a half hour after eating to digest. Maybe the increased physical movement makes it hard for your body to regulate itself. And the stress of heavy lifting also makes me think that blood flow is going to your lifting muscles and not to the muscles that keep things flowing one way (into the stomach, vs the opposite direction).</p>

<p>Is there a clinic (i.e., free) nearby, maybe associated with a teaching hospital, where you could go for an evaluation and describe your symptoms? I know Sloan Kettering (where my husband was treated) had a free “head and neck cancer screening day” (sounds like a party, right?) where real doctors did clinical evaluations all day long.</p>

<p>The NY Times runs this “guess the diagnosis” thing every weekend in the NYT Magazine. Maybe you could send your symptoms there and see if someone can posit an answer.</p>

<p>I suffer from anxiety and recently saw a gastroenterologist for feeling like I can’t swallow (lump at the base of the throat). Then I read it can also be a symptom of anxiety. He put me on Omazeprole, which is helping a little. He also suggested yoga.</p>

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<p>You say you are a full time student. I don’t know ONE college that does not require health coverage either through the college or privately. </p>

<p>Many states also have insurance for very low income folks. Have you looked into that…since it seems no one in your family has income?</p>

<p>Is there a community free clinic in your area…or some place,where you can see a doctor on a sliding fee scale?</p>

<p>I would suggest that getting medical advice on a message board may not be in your best interest.</p>

<p>And taking out a college loan for medical tests…not my suggestion.</p>

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<p>I’m confused about your school. All the CCs and Us I’m familiar with require all full time students to have insurance. Double check with your student health center to see if they can help you figure this out. If they aren’t able to help you, they should be able to refer you somewhere you qualify for help as a full time student.</p>

<p>Ask at your Us health center where the nearest community health center serving us. They should be able to help you get low cost or free care.</p>

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<p>You need to be prepared for the possibility that you will take out these loans for the upper GI series only for them to tell you they need to run ten more tests, or that they just plain don’t have an answer for you. I have been sick with something that causes daily random GI distress of all kinds and have had every test they can come up with, and now almost seven years later I am no closer to knowing what is wrong with me.</p>

<p>I agree you need these tests done. I don’t think loans are the way to do it-- for all you know these tests are only the beginning. And once they do figure it out, you will need the means to pay for the treatment, maybe several treatments. I think you are barking up the wrong tree pursuing loans. You need insurance.</p>

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<p>@classof2015</p>

<p>You mentioned getting a part-time job in order to pay for this treatment. However, as stated above, it’s very difficult for me to work right now. I have God awful post-traumatic stress disorder that pretty much screws me out of most jobs. When I get jobs working with customers, I generally just get that one customer that screams in my face, and then I go berserk and cuss them out. I will try to apologize afterwards, but it generally gets me fired. This has now happened at two jobs now. Any type of confrontation and I go off. This is very difficult to deal with and I wasn’t always this way. I used to be very cool, calm, and collect in an argument: I would always be polite and diplomatic, but every since these very violent and life threatening episodes in 2007, I just can’t keep calm. It’s a big problem and I have been clinically diagnosed with PTSD. </p>

<p>Also you asked if there was a free clinic next to a teaching hospital in my area? The answer is yes, and it is called, “Shands”. However, I have tried and tried to get care from that hospital and it’s damn near impossible. It took me going there 3 times the first time I got care from them. When you first go into Shand’s, they give you a list of general documents that you will need to get health care. Then you have to wait a month to get an appointment and have to go to see a notary exactly two days prior to the appointment. Once you give Shand’s financial people the documents, you almost never have all the papers you need the first time, so then you have to come back another month and a half later to make another appointment. So then once you go back again, if you are missing even a single paper or a single signature, you have to wait another 1 and a half months and make another appointment. So then you finally have the shands card. </p>

<p>By this time, you then make an appointment to see a doctor. You then have to wait another month and a half to see the doctor. Once you do see the doctor, you have to wait about 3 months to then see a specialist. Now almost 5 months has gone by, and after 6 months of having your shands card, you have to renew the shands card and start all over again. Free health care is a joke!</p>

<p>I will try the NYC times thing that you mentioned. Do I write them an email to do this, or what do I have to do to send my symptoms out there?</p>

<p>Also for all of you that said that the Universities require individuals to have health insurance, mine does not. I go to the University of North Florida. Also the school’s health insurance is $900 a month and I can’t afford that. No way!</p>

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<p>The cost for student health insurance at U of North Florida is under $3000 a YEAR according to their website. It his is the cost for a single student. It is offered through United Healthcare to students.</p>

<p>It also clearly says that before you waive the school policy, you must be certain that your family or other coverage will cover you on the Jacksonville area…sounds to me like you have to have coverage. In fact it clearly states that on the waiver form, if you waive the school insurance, you MUST provide the health insurance carrier and policy you are using.</p>

<p>The open enrollment period for their insurance began in April.</p>

<p>I googled “university of north florida student health insurance” and got the info.</p>

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<p>You say in post 9 that since 2007 you have had these explosive outbursts? BUT in 2011 on this forum, you wrote that you were a people person and needed contact with people in your work.</p>

<p>I’m mighty confused. The information you have provided here is a bit contradictory…about your own interactions with people, and about the health insurance requirements of your university.</p>

<p>Be that as it may…your school has a student health service and you should be able to get information from them about what to do next…both to manage this GI issue, and to get your PTSD under control.</p>

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<p>You should look into Victim’s Assistance Compensation. Also, you may well be insured if you did not waive out. It would just have appeared with your fees and you may not have noticed it. You should go back and check.</p>

<p>[Crime</a> Victim Compensation](<a href=“http://www.victimsofcrime.org/help-for-crime-victims/get-help-bulletins-for-crime-victims/crime-victim-compensation]Crime”>http://www.victimsofcrime.org/help-for-crime-victims/get-help-bulletins-for-crime-victims/crime-victim-compensation)</p>

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<p>jnelson – I don’t know how you would submit your symptoms to the NYT but I googled it and found this: <a href=“Doubled Over in Pain - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com”>Doubled Over in Pain - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com;

<p>You might also be able to do some therapy on your own by googling recovering from PTSD or dealing with a rage response. The idea is first to recognize your own triggers (a customer screaming in my face wouldn’t be my idea of a day at the beach either) and instead of responding the way you always respond (rage boiling up inside you then exploding out of control), give yourself a 30 second delay where you recognize the trigger, then wait. You don’t respond. Not yet. You’re thinking. You’re saying to yourself “this is a trigger. I can choose how to respond.” And maybe you do nothing. Maybe you shrug it off. Maybe you curse under your breath. But the key is – you have choices. You can choose how to respond, instead of just responding. </p>

<p>It’s like the arm of an old fashioned record player coming down in slow motion on the record, playing the same song. Instead of watching the needle settle down into the same groove, scratching out the same old tired song, you’re putting a new record on – one with a new song.</p>

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<p>I encourage you to rule out physical causes of your problem of course. But I will also add that PTSD is also known to cause many GI symptoms. I have a close family member with IBS, probably PTSD driven. So if physical causes are ruled out, you might want to consider that. In any case, as your PTSD is by your own admission already adversely affecting your life, I would definitely encourage you to get counseling. Does your university have a counseling department?</p>

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<p>@thumper1</p>

<p>Well when I registered for the school, they told me that they needed several documents before getting in, and proof of insurance isn’t one of the things that they needed. I’ve now registered for two consecutive semesters and neither time did they need proof of insurance. And since school is basically the only income that I have right now, I’m damn sure not gonna call and ask them if I need to be insured, because I don’t want to take the risk of getting kicked out for not being insured! Also, I love how you say that insurance for a single student is only $3000 a year. You act like that’s small potatoes, but that’s a king’s ransom for me!</p>

<p>Also, yeah I did say that I liked contact with people. However, after careful deliberation, I no longer think that it’s an essential thing that I need in a job. I am however very extraverted, and love to be around people. It’s just that I don’t really want a job right now working around people because when dealing with customers, some of them really get angry at you sometimes and go off on you, and I believe that this would aggravate my PTSD and make me go off on them. </p>

<p>@mimk6</p>

<p>Ok I will look into that. Thanks. </p>

<p>@classof2015</p>

<p>Thanks, I will check that out. I have seen several counselors about this and it’s about 10 times better than it was a few years ago. I’m still struggling with it though. </p>

<p>@NrdSb4</p>

<p>Yeah I was getting counseling for this problem. However, the UNF counseling department just cut it’s budget and now they are only seeing people that can be treated in a maximum of 6 sessions. So because I need long term treatment they can no longer see me.</p>

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<p>^^^^^Darn, that’s too bad.</p>

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<p>Listen again…proof of insurance is needed if you want to WAIVE U of North Florida’s health insurance. Without that proof, you cannot waive their insurance. So…You may hactually HAVE the insurance because typically this is included in your costs UNLESS you are able to waive it.</p>

<p>You were thinking about taking a college loan for $1300 for tests. You could apply this to the insurance at your school IF you don’t actually already have it. </p>

<p>Your college allows this cost to be paid in installments. </p>

<p>You should check to see.</p>

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<p>@Thumper1</p>

<p>So I checked it out, and the insurance is included in the price of tuition as one of the “perks” of going to UNF. I investigated in further and it appears as if they can give me a “referral” visit in order to go see a specialist but they can not give me specialist treatment. </p>

<p>However, I did some calling to some local insurance companies and most of them tell me to wait until October if I can because that’s when Obama is going to make healthcare much more affordable and is going to make it where they won’t hold it against you if you have preexisting conditions. However, I did find out that my gagging problem is not considered preexisting because it has never been formally diagnosed by a doctor. On the other hand, my PTSD is because it has been diagnosed. So I could actually get short term insurance right now if I wanted to in order to treat my gagging problem and I could keep the policy until January when the healthcare change is guaranteed to go into effect. However, I would have to pay for my PTSD treatment completely out of pocket. I’m probably just going to wait until healthcare reform to tell the truth.</p>

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<p>Tada! Well at least you know you have some health insurance for some things through your school. Will the insurance pay for a doctors visit to the specialist, or not? I understand no treatment…but what about an initial visit with a specialist?</p>

<p>Your school should have some kind of psychological services provisions. See if you can get some counseling for the PTSD through the college.</p>

<p>I thought the preexisting condition clause didn’t go into effect until January 2014, but I could be wrong.</p>

<p>In October, you may be able to find coverage through the health care exchange in your state. The jury is out on whether this will actually be more affordable. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it is.</p>

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<p>I think that the PTSD and gagging is related. When you lift weights, you hold your breath and increase what’s called extrathoracic pressure, known as a Valsalva maneuver. Like when you lift something heavy, poop, or push a baby out. I suppose this kind of physiologic process could lead somehow to a gag reflex in the esophagus/epiglottis area. That’s pretty unlikely but maybe could involve some complicated neurologic connection. But that seems to like a really really complex issue that will ultimately require not only a GI eval but maybe also an ENT/swallowing expert one, and still seems like it will end up being a psychologic/somatic symptom, sometimes called a somatic conversion reaction. You need to consider that when two pretty unrelated organ systems are associated in a symptom pattern, like here. </p>

<p>So, for my money, even though an upper GI will be interesting to rule out other causes of dysphagia/gagging, I think your money/effort is best spent on counseling. How can you have any kind of job with confrontational symptoms you ascribe to your PTSD? That will be very difficult. Work on these issues, and you may find that your gagging symptoms will improve, too. Or, work on all of these issues at the same time. Look for counseling, find out about your healthcare coverage options, and arrange an upper GI all at once if you can.</p>