No clue what’s going on

Hello all. Sorry I’m advance for how long this is.. I tend to babble and I’ve touched on my anxious feelings in here due to these issues.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted which I suppose is good as I was feeling better for a bit. But now with the results of more tests my anxiety is back with a vengeance and I can feel the depression tuning itself up again too. I know none of us are likely doctors, but it always helps when I post on here and everybody talks me down... I am really terrified and I am sure I’m going to die. I’m so scared of death and I’m only 18, but because of these health issues my anxiety has been super amped this past year..

So it all started with cases of what we thought was recurrent Cdiff. After getting quite ill several times for about a week at a time (watery bowel movements, bad stomach cramping, sometimes low grade fever) I went to the doctor and got a stool test that said I tested positive for Cdiff. I was treated with Flagyl. A couple months later I got sick again, tested stool again, but Cdiff came back negative.. doctor treated me anyways. 

I got sick AGAIN, was treated again, but this time I had awful side effects from the Flagyl and this is when my anxiety got really, really bad and I had a major depressive episode. I cried all day for days, I couldn’t sleep, I had constant chest heaviness and pressure and sometimes felt like I couldn’t breathe. I went to the doctor to get my heart checked - she didn’t do anything to check it, just assured me it was anxiety. 

After the last time I was ill I was sent to see a GI doctor. I got a colonoscopy and endoscopy done and he said things looked “fine” except I had slight inflammation in my stomach and biopsies showed what “could have been” signs of celiac disease. No Crohns, no UC, so IBD is apparently out. (Even though I’m not sure how if there was inflammation in my tum.) He sent in for food allergy panels and another celiac panel (I have gotten it done before.) Tests just came back yesterday. Nothings wrong. 

So now I’m just left to believe no one will ever figure out what is wrong with me. I haven’t been really ill in a couple months but I’m still worried. Last appointment my GI said really the only gastro problem left is IBS but I don’t think this is the case.. I research ( a lot ) and there is not supposed to be any inflammation with IBS. I have also had elevated CRP levels in a couple of blood tests which worries me a lot - this can be a signal for a lot of really serious diseases, and generally is not elevated in people with IBS...

I’ve also lately been noticing this little sharp, cramping pain that comes and goes in my lower abdominal/pelvic region.. it doesn’t last long at all, but I also read last night that Ovarian cancer can mimic symptoms of IBS & elevated CRP can also be a sign of cancer, so I’m really worried and sure that I am dying of cancer or something. sad 

I was doing so well until I got these tests back. I have gotten other blood tests done that test organ function, thyroid levels etc. and those all came back fine - it was always just the CRP. I know it sounds like I want there to be something wrong with me but really I just want an explanation. I get weird skin rashes on my body too, like little patches of eczema, but I’ve always had sensitive skin.. every symptom just seems related to me now and I am super terrified and sad. I feel like Im way too young to be worrying about these things and it’s frustrating. I feel like these docs don’t even know what they’re talking about anymore honestly and I’m so close to giving up. I’m exhausted with all of this. I cried all night after my mum told me the results, didn’t sleep well and really don’t feel like getting out of bed this morning. Any insight at all would greatly help me. Thanks in advance.

Hi kennedy61910

Stop panicking and getting anxious! You ought to be delighted all your tests are normal. Your CRP test is showing inflammation because your stomach is inflamed due to the Flagyl antibiotics. They are very strong AB's and leave you with gastritis. You should keep a food diary and see if any particular foods kick off the pain then eliminate all the foods that cause the pain. Drink warm decaf tea coffee and milk and drink water and nothing acidic. I took Flagyl and it messed my stomach up big time. It is now fine after 2+months of eating foods and drinking liquids that were gentle on my gut. The worst thing for stomach pain and gastritis is stress and worry! Stop stressing and worrying and get on with healing your stomach from the side effects of the Flagyl......

Consider treatable conditions like IBS or Gastritis.  Gastritis is inflammation of the stomach lining and shows up on endoscopies.  This is perhaps the inflammation that showed up on your scope.

IBS can start after infections such as C Diiff and is known as Post infectious IBS.  Are you experiencing bowel habit change? Some people with IBS do show inflammation but not to the same degree that IBD patients have.  IBS can cause horrendous panic, terror, despair and health anxiety.

Do not rely on googling your symptoms for answers,  Google will send you into a whirlwind of anxiety.  It provides very general information and does not take account of individual cases. Listen only to what your doctor tells you.  I had exactly the same health anxiety for three and half months and nothing could shake me from it until my final doctor diagnosed IBS.  Serious conditions would show up very quickly on scans and if your doctor would have told you if he suspected something sinister.

You have had very thorough testing done and your doctor is considering IBS because everything else is being ruled out.   Purely for reassurance, ssk for CA125 test since you are worried about Ovarian cancer. Tell your doctor how worried you are.  When I did this, my doctor recognised my IBS.  It linked in with my bowel symptoms.