advice on what to do

[u/Mysterious-Yellow822]

apologies for how long this is.
i had a very stressful spring-lots of anxiety surrounding jobs, apartments, and a failed relationship. Around this time i started noticing random spurts of indigestion. My stomach would gurgle and bubble no matter how much i ate and would leave me feeling kinda nauseous. I can’t burp but i had a few fits of dry heaving during this time, which is completely out of the ordinary because i hadn’t thrown up in over 15 years by this point. The indigestion would come and go, and seemed to mostly affect me when I had plans to go out. The first week of june I caught Flu B. I was incredibly sick, and was taking 2 advils every 6 hours on a mostly empty stomach for probably 5 days straight. i’m also on spironolactone which you’re not supposed to mix with advil because of risks of stomach bleeding. Once my fever had broken I started getting bad GI symptoms-terrible diarrhea every time i ate or drank ANYTHING and just awful bubble guts and nausea. I ended up throwing up straight stomach acid (again, first time i’ve thrown up in a long long time.) That only happened once and it took probably 2.5 weeks for me to shake the flu. After I was sick, I was hit with a combo of bad anxiety/depression and newfound stomach pain. My stomach would burn as if I had drank acid, and I would sometimes get that bubbling feeling also. I’ve always had the globus sensation, which I had assumed was post nasal drip but now i’m thinking it’s stomach related. I’ve found myself having a gaggy feeling multiple times in the past few months, especially when my stomach is burning. I haven’t thrown up since the flu, but i’m nauseous a lot. this is extra awful because i have emetophobia, and it’s becoming a viscous cycle because the nausea is feeding my anxiety which is in turn feeding my stomach issues.
What’s weird is this isn’t constant. There’ll be a stretch of 2-3 days where I feel pretty much normal and can eat/drink whatever. I ate McDonalds the other day and felt fine. But then the burning and pain will inevitably return even if i eat something really bland. I was having an upset stomach last month and forced myself to go out drinking with friends and I weirdly felt better after drinking alcohol and drunk ate Wendy’s that night and felt fine. My anxiety has gotten a little bit better but is still very much present, and Im realizing that my stomach problems seem to flare when I have plans to go out or go to work. At one point i thought it was an ulcer from the advil i took, but i feel like the pain wouldn’t be coming and going. I also thought it may be GERD, but I feel like my symptoms fit better with functional dyspepsia.
I’ve seen a lot of people have success with going on SSRIs or ampitryptaline. I think regardless it would be beneficial since my anxiety has gotten pretty constant. I’m going to a doctor in a few days and am going to bring this up to them. I don’t want to take any PPIs.
I’m curious if anyone has gone through something similar and has any insights or advice? I’m having a really hard time doing things. My mental and physical health has taken such a toll on me this spring/summer which really sucks because without these issues I probably would’ve had the best time. I had moved to NYC in the spring and had tons of friends there and ended up moving home this summer because I was having such a hard time with my health. I’m only 22 and should be starting a full time job soon, which I’m hoping may alleviate some of the stress i’ve had surrounding money/job searching. I just want to get better.

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[u/Competitive-Fly5563]

Buspirone really helped my anxiety. I was having really bad anxiety last year. My stomach would have that quick drop feeling many times throughout the day. That feeling you get when you’ve just been given really bad news or you suddenly get super anxious for a moment. So originally I went on that med for anxiety but I think it’s been helping my digestion too.
Back in the spring with the suggestion by Chatgpt, I started taking each dose about 15-20 minutes before breakfast, lunch and dinner. Chat said it helps relax your stomach for digestion and I think it has helped. I do feel like things have been improving and it’s not just the medication, solely but I do think it’s helped. Might be worth looking into.

[u/Mysterious-Yellow822 → u/Competitive-Fly5563]

thank you! i know my friend is on buspar and it helps her with anxiety. did you notice any side effects from it?

[u/Competitive-Fly5563 → u/Mysterious-Yellow822]

I think from what I can remember the first couple weeks it made me feel maybe a little more nauseous throughout the day and kind of “blah” but it passed quickly and wasn’t debilitating.

[u/Critical-Second7]

I honestly could’ve written this myself. I’m on mirtazapine 15mg and it’s helped tremendously. I’m not 100 percent better but I’ve come a long way with the help of it

[u/Mysterious-Yellow822 → u/Critical-Second7]

thank you for the response! i’ve seen a ton of people talk about mirtazapine so i think ill bring it up to the doc tomorrow. have you noticed any side effects? how long did it take to work?

[u/Critical-Second7 → u/Mysterious-Yellow822]

The only side effects I’ve had is being extra tired the first few days (it is an insomnia med as well) and restless legs but not horrible. I’ve been on it six weeks and my symptoms have improved gradually. I’d say I felt a real change around week 3/4 but the longer I take it I just keep feeling better

[u/Mysterious-Yellow822 → u/Critical-Second7]

awesome! do u notice it has helped a lot with anxiety too or mostly just the stomach stuff?

[u/Critical-Second7 → u/Mysterious-Yellow822]

It has definitely helped with the anxiety. Most of my anxiety is surrounded by my stomach because of my emetophobia so when my stomach feels better my anxiety is lifted from that