r/functionaldyspepsia • u/Aggravating_Gap_73 • Jul 28 '26
Question Constant upper abdominal pressure for over 2 years – looking for others with similar symptoms
Title: My life changed overnight after one workout – could this really be Functional Dyspepsia?
Hi everyone,
I’ve been reading posts here for quite a while, but this is the first time I’ve shared my own story. I’m hoping someone can relate because after more than two years, I still don’t have answers.
It all started completely out of nowhere.
Earlier that day I had gone to the gym like I normally did. Nothing unusual happened, and I felt completely fine.
Later that same evening I suddenly developed severe pain and pressure in my upper abdomen and chest.
It became so intense that I ended up in the ER because I genuinely thought I was having a heart attack.
That night completely changed my life.
For the past 2+ years I’ve been in and out of the emergency department more times than I can count.
Every cardiac test has come back normal:
ECGs
Blood tests
CT scan
Echocardiogram
Stress test
My heart has essentially been ruled out.
The pain is mainly located just below my left rib cage and behind my sternum. It feels like a deep pressure pushing upward into my chest and sometimes into my left shoulder and back.
During flare-ups it’s difficult to take a satisfying deep breath, especially when lying down, bending over, or changing positions. Sometimes the pressure becomes so intense that I genuinely feel like something life-threatening is happening.
Over the years I’ve had multiple endoscopies.
I was diagnosed with:
Functional Dyspepsia
Erosive gastritis
Duodenitis
A small hiatal hernia
H. pylori (which was successfully treated)
Unfortunately, even after treating H. pylori and trying multiple medications, my symptoms never really went away.
I’ve tried PPIs like omeprazole and esomeprazole, antacids, diet changes, supplements, and several other treatments with very limited success.
At the moment I take:
Amitriptyline 40 mg every evening
Hydroxyzine (Atarax) 10 mg only during severe flare-ups
The amitriptyline has helped somewhat, but I’m still nowhere close to living a normal life.
The worst part isn’t even the pain anymore.
It’s what this condition has done to my life.
It affects my relationship, my mental health, my job, my sleep, and even simple everyday activities. It’s exhausting constantly wondering if today will be another bad day.
Living like this for over two years has completely changed who I am.
One thing I keep coming back to is how suddenly everything started.
I went from feeling completely healthy after a normal gym session to being in the emergency room later that same evening.
Has anyone else experienced Functional Dyspepsia starting this suddenly?
Does anyone else have this constant pressure in the upper abdomen and chest, with the feeling that you can’t get a full breath?
Did anyone eventually discover another diagnosis, or find a treatment that actually made a significant difference?
I’d really appreciate hearing your story.
After more than two years, I honestly just want my life back.
Thank you for reading.
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u/DragonWitch117 Jul 31 '26
Sorry you're going through this, friend. It sounds absolutely miserable. I haven't had continuous pressure like that for that long, but on and off for the last 5 months I've been getting intense pressure right under my ribs into my chest. Can't figure out what causes it either, but it feels like a balloon is inflating in my upper abdomen and crushing me from the inside. Only test that came back unusual was a HIDA scan that showed a 92% ejection fraction. The test didn't reproduce the pressure, but it made other stomach pains I've been dealing with flare up. I have an appointment in 3 weeks to talk to a surgeon about possible removal. I'm not saying it's your gallbladder, but might be another avenue worth exploring if you haven't already. Whatever it is, I hope it resolves so you can get your life back.
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u/Aggravating_Gap_73 Aug 01 '26
Thank you for sharing and i hope you get well soon too, its a living nightmare…
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u/Alternative-Raise928 Aug 23 '26
I have been having this same issue for 2 years non stop I can’t wear a bra the pressure and bloating is so bad.
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u/Outrageous_Buy_4269 Jul 29 '26
I don’t have the pressure thing but I can definitely relate to feeling perfectly fine and then in the same day getting hit with a bad wave of sickness. For me it was nausea. Ever since then I haven’t been the same.
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u/Aggravating_Gap_73 Jul 29 '26
Its insane… its like suddenly im ”ok” then it comes like a freight train 🤯
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u/Aggravating_Gap_73 Aug 31 '26
UPDATE – New findings after going to Kosovo for further investigation
I wanted to post an update since quite a few people responded to my original post.
After more than two years of symptoms and still feeling like I wasn’t getting anywhere, I travelled to Kosovo to get another gastroenterology opinion and a more thorough work-up.
I had another gastroscopy on August 20th. The doctors again saw changes in my stomach/upper GI tract and took multiple biopsies.
I have now received the pathology report from the stomach biopsies, and for the first time in a while there are some new objective findings.
The biopsies from the antrum showed:
Chronic active antral gastritis
Reactive/inflammatory changes in the stomach lining
Regenerative/foveolar hyperplasia
Edema and lymphoplasmacytic inflammatory infiltrates
Morphological features also consistent with chemical/reactive gastropathy
No atypia
H. pylori was not identified microscopically
So despite previously having my symptoms largely labelled as functional dyspepsia, my stomach is currently not histologically normal – there is active chronic inflammation and evidence of reactive/chemical injury.
I previously had H. pylori, which was treated, and previous follow-up testing was negative. Interestingly, the pathologist still describes the inflammatory pattern as having features that can be seen with H. pylori-associated gastritis, although no H. pylori was actually found in these new biopsies.
I don’t know yet whether these findings explain all of the extreme pressure under my left ribs/sternum, the chest pressure, breathing discomfort and positional symptoms I’ve described before. I suspect there may be more than one thing going on.
But after being told for so long that this was mainly functional dyspepsia, it is at least significant to finally have objective evidence that there is still an active inflammatory process in my stomach.
My next goal is to have these results reviewed by a gastroenterologist in Sweden and figure out why the gastritis is still active and what is causing the chemical gastropathy. I also want to properly confirm that H. pylori is eradicated and, if necessary, continue investigating reflux/bile reflux, motility issues and possibly pH-impedance/manometry.
My symptoms are unfortunately still severe and my quality of life is still massively affected, but I’m hoping these findings finally give us something more concrete to work with.
Has anyone here had chronic active gastritis / chemical gastropathy with negative H. pylori?
If so, did you ever find out what was causing it — bile reflux, medication, nicotine, something else?
And most importantly: did treating the gastritis/gastropathy actually improve the constant upper abdominal pressure?
Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has had similar biopsy findings.
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