I am a 25 year-old female from NY. Throughout my life, I have been relatively "healthy." However, I live in constant discomfort/ pain. My stomach has given me tons of problems. I was hospitalized twice as a child for gastroenteritis. When I was about 10, I was diagnosed as lactose intolerant. When I was in college, I was diagnosed with IBS. When I was 19, I had surgery to drain an abdominal abscess caused by seemingly nothing. Months later I felt a lump and returned to the surgeon thinking it was scar tissue, and he told me it was a hernia. My former primary doctor (I no longer have insurance) attributed my stomach pain to anxiety. A pharmacist once suggested I be tested for Celiac's disease(I have allergies to just about everything), but when I did research, I found that patients with Celiac's disease were typically underweight or suffered from unexplained weight loss. I (unfortunately) have always struggled with weight and have spent most of my life overweight/ obese. I'm starting to feel like a crazy hypochondriac, and living with constant discomfort is ridiculous. What should my next step be? I'm at my wits end.
posted on
Thu, 13 Mar 2014

Tue, 17 Feb 2015
Answered on

Wed, 18 Feb 2015
Last reviewed on