Stomach pain

[kingrat]

I need to find a doctor. I used one clinic in Kirkland a couple times when I lived over on the Eastside, but that's a little bit on the inconvenient side now. Tomorrow morning begins the round of calling places to see which work with my insurance and which can see me on short notice.

So here's what's going on. I think I have an ulcer of some sort, but it could be anything really. Except an ear infection. Definitely not that. Since 1996, I've been getting pains in my stomach sporadically. I didn't get them in 1999 or 2000. But two or three times a quarter all of a sudden I get almost a piercing pain in my stomach accompanied by what feels like a lump in my esophagus. It comes on somewhat suddenly. And then I don't get them again for a long time. But I've gotten them twice in the last week now. I would be doubled over in pain except that doesn't do any good.

Pepto seems to help some. Nothing else does. It still doesn't go away though.

In 1996, I went to the clinic in Moscow that was my regular health care provider. They fobbed me off on a physician's assistant (P.A.). He had a horrible bedside manner. He didn't examine me at all and gave me some medicine to take for 30 days that was supposed to ease the symptoms. Told me to see if that improved the situation. I told him that typically the symptoms only lasted for 6 to 8 hours and wouldn't reoccur for 1 to 3 months. So taking the medicine for 30 days wasn't going to tell me anything. "Take it anyway," he replied. Of course, he didn't think I needed to follow up with the clinic either. Just see if my symptoms improved. I dutifully took the medicine for 30 days, and had no reoccurrences within that time. I've not bothered to talk to a doctor about it since then.

However, with the recent two outbreaks, methinks it's time. I have a decent tolerance for pain, but I hate it. I won't be up for doing much until this subsides. Not to mention I am tired due to only sleeping about 3 hours last night.

Comments

[liberpolly.livejournal.com]

If it's ulcer, they recently found that it's caused by bacteria, so a course of antibiotics - and you are good. It is easy to test too. So your experience may be better than 6 years ago :)