Hey everyone, thank you in advance for your responses.
I started dealing with IBS type symptoms when I was nineteen; back then, the problem seemed to be more about the stomach and the vomiting. Doc told me I had gastritis and put me on Prilosec, which helped a little. But as the years have passed, bowel symptoms have definitely become the main concern, and stomach problems not so much, aside from a really weak appetite and a ton of heartburn/acid reflux. I experience a lot of diarrhea, and just generally loose, strangely shaped and colored stools. It's at its worst after eating the first few bites of food, and from then on out it's a struggle to get the rest down, and I usually don't finish a normal serving. It's not really any particular food that does this to me... it's any food. (Sorry if this gets long-winded, but I want to make this as clear as possible.) So I saw a couple other doctors, and basically I had a bunch of blood work done, and food allergy tests, and H. Pollori test, and liver and gallbladder tests: these show I am the picture of health. Probably have IBS. Got an ultrasound on my guts... nothing jumps out except a really small swelling near the inferior vena cava. About six months ago, a followup CT scan said that this swelling looks benign, is probably a lymph node, but it's size has changed from 2.2x1.4x1.3 to 1.6x1.6x2.4. Abnormal lymph node supposedly. So... a few weeks ago, I started feeling just generally crummy. My heartburn has been flaring up in the form of fairly bad chest pain (no vomitting though), the diarrhea and weird stool has been very frequent, my appetite is very weak, and now I have other weird symptoms that are bothering me. I've had slight jaw-popping for the last couple of years, but now it's gotten real bad, basically TMJ. Now there's a feeling in the left side of my face that can only be described as similar to hemifacial spasm. I feel generally lethargic and my head feels pretty cloudy. I have moments of "normalness" but it's pretty much everyday now. I guess my big questions are: Are these latest weird symptoms possibly connected with everything else, i.e., the IBS stuff or the swelling, or is this just the onset of TMJ and worsening IBS, two separate things I'll have to deal with? Should I be worried about something serious? I sincerely would appreciate any sort of theory, suggestion, or comment. Thank you!
I started dealing with IBS type symptoms when I was nineteen; back then, the problem seemed to be more about the stomach and the vomiting. Doc told me I had gastritis and put me on Prilosec, which helped a little. But as the years have passed, bowel symptoms have definitely become the main concern, and stomach problems not so much, aside from a really weak appetite and a ton of heartburn/acid reflux. I experience a lot of diarrhea, and just generally loose, strangely shaped and colored stools. It's at its worst after eating the first few bites of food, and from then on out it's a struggle to get the rest down, and I usually don't finish a normal serving. It's not really any particular food that does this to me... it's any food. (Sorry if this gets long-winded, but I want to make this as clear as possible.) So I saw a couple other doctors, and basically I had a bunch of blood work done, and food allergy tests, and H. Pollori test, and liver and gallbladder tests: these show I am the picture of health. Probably have IBS. Got an ultrasound on my guts... nothing jumps out except a really small swelling near the inferior vena cava. About six months ago, a followup CT scan said that this swelling looks benign, is probably a lymph node, but it's size has changed from 2.2x1.4x1.3 to 1.6x1.6x2.4. Abnormal lymph node supposedly. So... a few weeks ago, I started feeling just generally crummy. My heartburn has been flaring up in the form of fairly bad chest pain (no vomitting though), the diarrhea and weird stool has been very frequent, my appetite is very weak, and now I have other weird symptoms that are bothering me. I've had slight jaw-popping for the last couple of years, but now it's gotten real bad, basically TMJ. Now there's a feeling in the left side of my face that can only be described as similar to hemifacial spasm. I feel generally lethargic and my head feels pretty cloudy. I have moments of "normalness" but it's pretty much everyday now. I guess my big questions are: Are these latest weird symptoms possibly connected with everything else, i.e., the IBS stuff or the swelling, or is this just the onset of TMJ and worsening IBS, two separate things I'll have to deal with? Should I be worried about something serious? I sincerely would appreciate any sort of theory, suggestion, or comment. Thank you!