Posted By Hammad (Islamabad) on 02/20/2016

My illness started with a throat infection and dull stomach pain in 2013, which required me to take antibiotics for a prolonged period lasting perhaps about 4 weeks or so. I got busy with work when I recovered from my throat infection almost a couple of months later but I started to notice gastrointestinal symptoms, particularly discomfort in the upper part of the abdomen.

By about January 2014 this discomfort was increasing and I saw a Dr who prescribed me with Omeprazole but I really did not experience any benefit from it. As the symptoms continued I consulted again and I was given a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome and advised to make some dietary changes and that again did not really help very much and by November 2014, I began to experience a significant burning discomfort in the upper part of my abdomen, This was sharply localised to a small area.

I went on to have a CT scan of the abdomen in January 2015 when oral and IV contrast were given and this was normal apart from silent gall stones, however about 12 hours later I had a reaction which caused stiffness of your muscles and a fever and it was thought to be related to an allergy to the contrast.

I went to Karachi and saw Professor Wasim Jafri at the Aga Khan University Hospital and he arranged a gastroscopy for me and a colonoscopy. The gastroscopy showed mild gastritis and oesophageal, duodenal and gastric biopsies were normal and the colonoscopy was also normal. What is notable is that I have lost a significant amount of weight over the last couple of years almost about 20kg in weight with normal diet. I have also developed musculoskeletal pains, I am now using a neck collar because of quite significant pain in my neck and an MR scan of neck has shown evidence of cervical spondylosis with disc bulges at various levels and at C5/6 there is compression of the ventral thecal area. I get nerve pain radiating down towards my left shoulder and I feel overall the muscles in the neck and upper arms are a bit weak and similarly I m experiencing quite a lot of aches and pains in my lower limbs as well, particularly the thighs because of muscle wasting. Currently I am experiencing a dull upper pain quite frequently even after every food, certain foods such as spicy foods, black pepper and perhaps fatty foods trigger an increase in upper abdominal area I feel very full and uncomfortable after every type of foods.

Hydrogen breathe tests showed significant bacteria SIBO but antibiotics couldn't helped. Also I am having silent gall bladder stones, doctors says might be stones are causing all these issues.

I am losing weight day by day, with multiple gastro symptoms with painful muscular pains.

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