Wednesday, April 20, 2016

I Might Have a Peptic Ucler

The past year 1/2 or two, I've been having problems with my stomach. Not a belly ache; It felt like my stomach would contract and it would hurt for a while. I would drink peppermint tea for it to go away. The tea stopped working so I would have to sit in the shower. The warm water would ease the contractions. I had no idea why but it started once I moved to California. I've missed school days because of this issue and it's stopped me from doing what I need to do. I tried getting a doctors appointment but they're impossible to make where I live.


Recently I've been more sick than usual. My house runs on well water so we checked and it had high acidity which causes many health problems including stomach pains. I had this dull pain in my stomach and it lasted for 2 days straight. I vomited because my stomach couldn't take the pain. And now it hurts to breath, sit up straight, talk, and walk. I finally got in for an appointment with the doctors office I intern at. I saw the nurse practitioner who seemed to be a wet rag. She wasn't very simpatico with me. I told her what I've been experiencing so now she wants blood tests. These tests are going to check my liver and to see my H. pylori production. H. Pylori is a bacterium acid that is produced in your stomach and too much of it can cause peptic ulcers. That is not the only thing that can cause ulcers. Taking too much NSAID's like Advil, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, etc. eat your stomach lining creating holes (ulcers) in the stomach. 


I've taken a lot of Ibuprofen and Tylenol during middle school and high school for my severe headaches due to stress and not eating throughout the day. Hopefully, I'll get better soon because my goal is to graduate and eat more (healthy foods) during the day. I'm not going to let this get in my way.