Digestive System and Lupus

I have had issues with my digestive system plenty of times. I have had something called gastritis. Gastritis is inflammation of the stomach. The symptoms of this condition are nausea and vomiting, and loss of appetite with feeling full.¹ If the pain is severe it can be an ulcer as well as gastritis. I went to see a gastroenterologist and was diagnosed by having an endoscopy. An endoscopy is when the doctor uses a light flexible scope to look into the stomach. Pictures can be taken and biopsies are obtained. An upper GI x-ray exam and certain blood studies may also be helpful.

Lupus and pancreatitis

I have also had something called pancreatitis, which is inflammation of the pancreas. It can be acute or chronic. It can be caused by the medications we take or lupus can attack our pancreas. Also, as we know, lupus can attack every organ we have. The response to treating this is steroid therapy. According to the Mayo Clinic, The symptoms of this disease are:²

1. Dark urine
2. Pale stools or stools that float in the toilet
3. Yellow skin and eyes
4. Pain in your upper abdomen or middle part of you back
5. Nausea and vomiting
6. Weakness or extreme tiredness
7. Loss of appetite or feeling of fullness
8. Weight loss for no reason

My experience with digestive issues

When I found myself going through my second kidney failure, I found myself vomiting blood and really bad stomach pain. There was a morning I woke up and I could not stop throwing up. I was not paying attention to how the vomit look until I really looked down and realized I didn’t drink anything red. I would vomit every 2 minutes which made me dizzy and made me feel as if I was going to pass out.

I had gotten so bad I had to end up going to the emergency room and ended up getting admitted to the hospital. My pulse was always over what it should have been. When I was admitted they performed a procedure called endoscopy on me and it wasn’t bad at all. They make you countdown from a 100 and when you wake you are in the recovery room. You might bite your lip or even make a bowel movement. One time while having this procedure when I woke I realized I did bite my lip.

Gastritis and pancreatitis diagnosis

I was diagnosed with having ulcers on my stomach and my treatment was simple as possible. I ended up taking Protonix and Carafate. Then I was sent home and as long as I took those medications, I was actually okay to eat and everything. Without those medications, my health would have declined and I would not have been able to eat food. I was diagnosed with gastritis and pancreatitis at the same time. These diseases can be acute or chronic but each one can be treated the same.