Hello all, I'm back at EC after many many months of absence and of course my first return post is health related, go figure. Pretty much I moved to England in September for my MA which leaves me here until June (with a break back home in December and another coming up mid April to mid May). In October my digestive issue (sometimes when I eat it feels like it gets stuck going down, not choking thankfully but causes a lot of pain cause gas builds up, been taking lansoprazole for it) compounded causing an immeasurable amount of gas constantly coming up (I burp all the time now it seems.) For about a month and a bit, I ate minimally (stupidly) because it was just so frustrating trying to eat. In fact, i have difficulty swallowing in that it's like a mental block. I already took some time to eat because obv. didn't want to deal with that pain, but now it takes like two hours to finish a plate of lasagne or garlic bread. Now granted, I'm doing more than just eating when eating (watching tv, on computer, etc) but I swear it takes forever to get my swallowing to happen... I am eating much more now, having three meals a day plus snacks and such though because it's hard to find food that's tasty to me over here, it's pretty much honey nut cheerios and bel vita biscuits for breakfast, then a sub or cheese toastie at lunch, and then lasagne or ravioli for dinner. Obviously not much variety but least I get food given from end of October until mid November I'll admit I was barely eating at all (one day all I had was three chocolate chip cookies...that's how bad it got). I had this absurd thought cause i was in such a bad place that hey if I'm not eating I don't have to deal with the swallowing issue. I got by pretty much at first with lots of chocolate milk and those Ensure drinks. I came to England weighing about 165/170 lbs on September 19 and by November 24 I was 153 lbs. Also don't know why I did that since Oct 24 I had a fainting spell where my head felt all swimmy. Yet instead of trying to eat more...I ate less. Eventually I kicked myself in the butt and forced myself to start eating again cause I broke through my depression or w/e it was and todl myself, you feel like shit because you're barely eating. Duh. Though obviously eating same thing all the time is annoying, same time I kinda did the same back home anyway (would sometimes daily have some cookies, timbits, banana bread, mini cupcakes and at dinner would have something like some chicken or turkey or steak or whatever with potatoes and then again at night some more cookies lol. But yeah long story short, am still having this swallowing issue unfortunately which is annoying being a journalist cause as anyone in the field can attest as well as anyone in university doing a BA or MA or anyone in college, one rarely has time to spend two hours on a meal >_> lol. I'm not asking for diagnosis cause obviously that's not what this forum is about and I plan on seeing my doctor to start tests in April (my profs who are of course concerned with the health of all their students suggested I see a GP while here and start getting stuff done here but I'm tbh a little turned off the NHS here. The surgery that is recommended to students I couldn't book an appointment with when I first got here and was having panic attacks even after calling 66 TIMES in TWO DAYS! And again, some people don't have time to spend two hours in a walk-in clinic waiting for an appointment (though eventually did so). But yes, again not asking for a diagnosis, just nice to get the explanation and frustration out. Also still dealing with some depression because of everything that happened. I hate it where I'm living (ruddy little town called Gillingham in Kent) and just everything in the UK is kind of associated with the negativity now because of what happened. Even my feelings towards my friends here are so-so cause I feel like that's all they see of me now, a weak kid who let homesickness and such get to him. I know for a fact they don't, but still you know...yeah. Plus I just have this constant fear it'll happen again even though four months later it still hasn't (knock on wood). Thanks to anyone who reads this, just nice to get frustrations out.
Would love any thoughts though about the issues I've dealt with, if anyone thinks I'm probably fine since I can't really see a doctor for a while...though when I last saw the doctor when I weighed 150, they still told me my health was fine. That I weighed a normal weight for my height (BMI of 21), great heart rate (around 45 bpm which is about what it's been for years...why im always told i have the heart of an athlete) and a great blood pressure (I forget what this was but still). But yeah...any opinions about the swallowing thing or the weight loss or what I'm not always feeling at 100%?
This might sound weird, but do you use straws when you drink? Probably around 2 years ago, I pretty much only drank from water bottles with a straw, and had something similar to you. When I stopped drinking with straws, I could swallow easier.
Nope. I drink a lot of tea with no straws. Liquid I'm able to generally swallow normally, but when it's food that's when it takes longer...
Did you go back home in December? Did you eat okay when you were at home? It might be that you're stressing yourself too much. Everyone who comes to Europe from Canada says that the food here is better. I was somewhat surprised to hear that you don't like the food in the UK. p.s. If the lansoprazole helps then that's already a sign that you should see a doctor. Three plus months waiting until you get medical help in the US is a long time.
It's getting help in Canada actually. And not sure why you say if the lansoprazole helps means I should see a doctor. Wouldn't it mean i don't need to see a doctor? And as for December, I sort of ate okay at home? Still took time but I figured out yesterday with what I'm eating I'm getting about 2500-3000 calories a day. So...that's good? I just wish I knew why my hands are often shaking when I exercise and weight lift every day...i dunno. It doesn't impede me doing daily things but like I just notice when they're held still in the air and I look at them they shake. ---------- Post added 10th Feb 2015 at 08:20 AM ---------- I have read though that when you're really stressed out it can cause bodily shaking and I've been more or less stressed since I got here day one. And it didn't really go away when in Florida only cause well The episode I had in October/November was such a weird change and I was coping with it on my own, so now I'm just constantly worried it might happen again where I feel faint or w/e...even though it hasn't since October...
Here's my 2c. If the lansoprazole helps it means that it could be an actual medical condition instead of something psychosomatic. From my experience, doctors prescribe it when people have stomach ulcers or acid reflux and only for short intervals of time. I'm not trying to scare you or anything like that, but I would definitely not take it long term without a doctor's prescription or previous analysis. Since you kinda ate okay at home, I guess it could be stress related. I was a foreign student for my entire university education (preparatory edu., bachelor and master), so the stress of being in a completely different environment is not something that is foreign to me. I've seen among my peers and experienced myself depression, isolation, intense anxiety, etc. It is not uncommon for people to start behaving quite erratically in such situations. I don't know how things are organized in the UK, but don't you have counselors or student groups for foreign or exchange students? I know that it's a bad practice for foreigners to socialize among themselves, but sometimes hearing about the problems they're facing can help you understand your situation better. Anyway, just take it as a fun game and not as something extremely serious. Whatever happens you can always go back to Canada.
Not sure it's psychosomatic. I've been taking the pills tho since summer and I'll admit it's when I went off them cause I ran out when I got to uk my issue of food feeling like it gets stuck going down (not choking but until I burp it would cause discomfort and couldn't really do anything like water would probably make it go down but I'm in such discomfort can't even do that ) but what seemed like more so than ever before. More gas and discomfort. I've had two of those barium swallow s but one came back negative and the other I was scared the goop would get stuck. I am seeing someone but not applying her tips which is me being stupid. Luckily this is only a one year am so I'm done in June. But any idea why my hands shake? It's like when I hold them up they shake but when at rest they're fine.
I can't diagnose you through the forums, you should see a medical professional in person for that. Sounds like you might have GERD though. It's more common for someone your age that an ulcer. Source: In the medical field.
Thanks GreyIce, yes that's what I am thinking but I am just concerned about the swallowing thing too, worried it could be dysphagia of some sort which I read is much more difficult to work on...plus probably scared myself reading the shit about it online, how you can become malnourished and such....I have such a fear of anything relating to death and so it scares me shitless. That period of me losing weird, I am skinnier than i used to be (i still have a gut and um...moobs lol. But I can also feel my ribs and such so it's been quite a trial...I'm always fearful my feeling of weakness will happen again and with only two months left in my MA (I literally have only 58 days left) aside from the five weeks for exams in May 11-June 10, I want to finish this and go home and start healing...
