Hello,
I am writing this on behalf of my mom. She's 63, and on June 21st, she began to experience bloating in her stomach, along with some pain under her left rib cage. We brought her to the ER a day or two later, who ruled out any heart issues, and determined this pain in the left rib area was coming from her stomach. The ER said she should try Pepcid, but this did not help. They also suggested she stay away from dairy products, or any citrus, vegetables for 4 days. She visited her GP a few days later, who gave her Prevacid to try. The Prevacid seemed to help with the pain, and she seemed to be able to eat better without a lot of problems, but still has the swelling in her stomach. She says her midsection (stomach area) is hard like a rock, and rumbles and growls all the time.

She went back to see her GP again today, who gave her something a bit more powerful to try for a month before determining the next move. I feel like they are just pushing her from drug to drug and not doing enough to help figure out what this is. I'm not sure what they gave her. My mom has no health insurance, and I've been combing the internet trying to figure out what this might be.

She doesn't have any bleeding, any vomiting, or anything like that. Just the rock hard stomach, bloating, and discomfort. Any advice would be helpful.

The only medications my mom was taking prior to the Prevacid was 1/2 a blood pressure pill and a water pill daily. She is 63 and I was telling her she should be taking a vitamin a day, but she never did.

She has completely stopped drinking coffee since 6/21 when all this started. This was her favorite drink over the years. Plus she pretty much stopped eating junk food and anything spicy...etc. Her doctor told her what she could/couldn't eat. But now, it's like she is afraid to eat anything because she's afraid she's going to feel crappy afterwards. Plus she loses sleep, waking up with the rumbling in her stomach, and the discomfort/bloating.

She says she doesn't have any pain, just the bloating and discomfort, and says her stomach gets hard. Plus the rumbling and noises it makes. I am not sure if it's an ulcer...it's a possibility, but don't ulcers usually cause pain?

I agree about the GI, and I am going to have to find a way to get her into one ASAP. Her GP on Friday 7/14 upped the strength of the Prevacid and said to try it for a month, before they suggest any further tests. I'm not sure that's such a good idea.

On a side note, I wonder if this couldn't be from nerves or stress? This past year hasn't been easy. She lived with her dad (my grandpa) for the past 13 years, when my grandma passed away in 1993 to kind of help each other out. July 2005, he got sick and eventually passed away April 2006. Now it's just her living in his place with my handicapped sister she takes care of. She has a lot of bills, and has some incoming money but has a tough time managing it. I offered for her and my sister to come live with me, but she doesn't want to trouble me, and likes her own space.

I don't know. I am worried sick about her. She never gets sick, and has always been strong. I don't know. Her diet has never been great, but she'd always been able to eat and drink whatever she wanted, until now.

Thanks for listening, and for everybody's support, I appreciate it.