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Good Morning. I'm a 25 year old female, and I'm having a problem with my stomach. For the past 6 days, I am having a hard time keeping food down. My stomach gets both pain and nausea, and sometimes it's causing me to vomit. I notice that there is some blood in the vomit as well. I don't have health insurance so I can't go to a regular physician. I've already been to Urgent Care but the people there didn't know what was wrong with me and didn't have the time to figure it out. Antacids like Tums and Pepto Bismol aren't helping. I have been under a lot of stress lately, both personal and at work, and my sleep schedule has been crazy because I work at night. Could all of this point to a stomach ulcer? And if so, is there any way that I can treat this without seeing an emergency room, is there a home remedy? Thank you for any help you can provide.

Anonymous (Male, 32)

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Enrique Jr. M. Castro MD,RN

Your symptoms of abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting of even early satiety as you have described as having a hard time keeping food down points to symptoms of gastritis. Gastric ulcer is associated with pain worsened by food intake, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. Although gastric ulcers do not normally improve with antacids, it is also usually accompanied by melena or passing out of black or dark colored stool due to bleeding from the stomach.

Diagnosis can only be made by a barium study. Once a diagnosis is made, it should be accompanied by a test for detection of H. pylori. It is hard to treat gastric ulcers because a combination of medications is necessary and there are no over-the-counter drugs available to treat this condition. Treatment of gastritis is almost the same as with gastric ulcers. I suggest that you consult from your health provider for proper diagnosis and treatment.

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5min Life Videopedia

Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum

Adrenal Exhaustion

BACKGROUND

The adrenal gland is your body’s stress handler and can get exhausted with chronic stress. Nevertheless, until it is so damaged that it can actually kill you, blood tests will be normal.

Symptoms

Consider adrenal support if you have any of the following:

Persistent fatigue
Symptoms of low blood sugar (severe irritability when hungry as in “Feed me NOW!”)
Chronic sore throat and respiratory infections
Crashing with stress
Low blood pressure with dizziness on standing

Hypoglycemia/Low Blood Sugar

The adrenal makes a hormone called cortisol that supports you during stress by keeping your blood sugar from dropping. As the gland becomes exhausted your blood sugar can drop too low during stress, causing hypoglycemia/low blood sugar symptoms such as irritability, fatigue and anxiety. The 5 hour glucose tolerance test is useless, so don’t waste your time doing it. Instead go by the symptoms and whether you get better using the advice described under "Treatment."

TREATMENT

Treatments help both the adrenal and low blood sugar issues.

General Diet Advice

Avoid sweets

They make you feel better briefly, then they throw your blood sugars onto a roller coaster of highs and lows. Instead, eat more protein (e.g., meat, beans, cheese, nuts) which slowly and steadily maintains your sugar at a stable level. When you get symptoms of low blood sugar, the amount of sugar in a Tic Tac or about one half packet of sugar poured under your tongue is enough to bring your sugar back up — without putting you on the “sugar roller coaster.”

Eat small meals

Frequent small meals throughout the day are healthier than fewer large ones (think "grazing").

Recommended Supplements

Adrenal glandulars, licorice, vitamin C, and pantothenic acid

These and other adrenal supporting nutrients help give you stable energy during the day and settles down blood sugar swings.

Chromium

Chromium 250 mcg/day decreases low blood sugar symptoms over time.

Cortef

Natural practitioners may also prescribe an ultra low dose of bioidentical cortisol (called Cortef) which is very safe at doses under 20 mg/day, but very toxic at high doses.

Related Information

The Adrenal Gland and Adrenal Fatigue

View More

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Managing Stress

Stress can hit you when you least expect it—before a test, after an accident, or during conflict in a relationship. While everyone experiences stress at times, a prolonged bout of it can affect your health and ability to cope with life. That’s why social support and self-care are important. They can help you see your problems in perspective…and the stressful feelings ease up.

Sometimes stress can be good. For instance, it can help you develop skills needed to manage potentially threatening situations in life. However, stress can be harmful when it is severe enough to make you feel overwhelmed and out of control.

Strong emotions like fear, sadness, or other symptoms of depression are normal, as long as they are temporary and don’t interfere with daily activities. If these emotions last too long or cause other problems, it’s a different story.

Symptoms of Stress

Common reactions to a stressful event include:

Physical or emotional tension are often signs of stress. They can be reactions to a situation that causes you to feel threatened or anxious. Stress can be positive (such as planning your wedding) or negative (such as dealing with the effects of a natural disaster).

Disbelief and shock
Tension and irritability
Fear and anxiety about the future
Difficulty making decisions
Being numb to one’s feelings
Loss of interest in normal activities
Loss of appetite
Nightmares and recurring thoughts about the event
Anger
Increased use of alcohol and drugs
Sadness and other symptoms of depression
Feeling powerless
Crying
Sleep problems
Headaches, back pains, and stomach problems
Trouble concentrating

Tips for Self-Care

Photo: A depressed women The best ways to manage stress in hard times are through self-care:

Avoid drugs and alcohol. They may seem to be a temporary fix to feel better, but in the long run they can create more problems and add to your stress—instead of take it away.
Find support. Seek help from a partner, family member, friend, counselor, doctor, or clergyperson. Having a sympathetic, listening ear and sharing about your problems and stress really can lighten the burden.
Connect socially. After a stressful event, it is easy isolate yourself. Make sure that you are spending time with loved ones. Consider planning fun activities with your partner, children, or friends.
Take care of yourself.
- Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet
- Exercise regularly
- Get plenty of sleep
- Give yourself a break if you feel stressed out—for example, treat yourself to a therapeutic massage
- Maintain a normal routine
Stay active. You can take your mind off your problems by giving—
helping a neighbor, volunteering in the community, even taking the dog on a long walk. These can be positive ways to channel your feelings.

More Information

CDC works 24/7 saving lives and protecting people from health threats to have a more secure nation. A US federal agency, CDC helps make the healthy choice the easy choice by putting science and prevention into action. CDC works to help people live longer, healthier and more productive lives.

Page last reviewed: May 21, 2012
Page last updated: May 21, 2012
Content source: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention
Page maintained by: Office of the Associate Director for Communication, Division of News and Electronic Media
URL for this page: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/HandlingStress/

Content provided and maintained by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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Clinical Trials

Clinical trials within 150 miles of United States.

Magnetic Acupressure in Reducing Pain in Cancer Patients Undergoing Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins - Baltimore, Maryland

The Effect of Pseudoephedrine on Rhinitis and Sleep

Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center - Hershey, Pennsylvania

Mindfulness Relaxation Compared With Relaxing Music and Standard Symptom Management Education in Treating Patients Who Are Undergoing Chemotherapy For Newly Diagnosed Solid Tumors

CCOP - Main Line Health - Wynnewood, Pennsylvania

Palonosetron Hydrochloride in Preventing Nausea and Vomiting Caused by Radiation Therapy in Patients With Primary Abdominal Cancer

Geisinger Cancer Institute at Geisinger Health - Danville, Pennsylvania

Electrical Stimulation Pain Therapy in Treating Chronic Pain and Numbness Caused By Chemotherapy in Patients With Cancer

Virginia Commonwealth University - Richmond, Virginia

FDA Approved Drugs

FDA approved drugs for the treatment of Pain

acetaminophen (generic)

A-Pak Laboratories Paediatric Analgesic Paracetamol


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