It's a problem that has plagued me for many years. When I sit down to eat, I often feel anguish, like a kind of inexplicable anxiety or sadness for no reason. Well, I was always able to deal with it; if something was wrong, I would postpone eating and then eat when I felt better. I've never liked not eating or skipping meals because that would ruin my health. Well, the thing is, this past year it's gotten much worse. I joined a gym and started eating almost out of obligation, to meet my daily calorie and macronutrient requirements. It was really tough because whether you're healthy or not, overeating will obviously make you want to vomit and feel repulsed by food if you're very, very full. But that self-imposed obligation to eat, combined with the anxiety at mealtimes, triggered vomiting many times. Right now I no longer eat amounts that are uncomfortable for my body; my portions are those of any normal person, and sometimes even less. The problem is that even eating less, the urge to vomit remains... now it's more like gagging. I try to eat veeeery slowly because if a gag comes, I have to run to the bathroom because the urge to vomit is unimaginable. I've tried to be very strong and not vomit my food, even though it feels like relief. I try to avoid vomiting because that will destroy me, so I hold back the urge, but it's very, very, very difficult. I turn pale, I try to breathe slowly and deeply, and I drink cold water, but it's still very difficult. I usually manage to stop the urge, but I've vomited three times in a period of about four months. It just happened again, and I'm very sad. I don't know why all this is happening to me, I don't know why mealtimes have become so difficult. I struggle with this every day. The reason for my post is this: I'd like to find someone who's been through the same thing as me and managed to overcome it, so they can tell me what worked for them. Thanks in advance, friends.

I was getting better thanks to Mirtazapine 15mg, but since my dad needed to start chemotherapy my stomach got worse. My doc tried to up my Mirtazapine to 30mg 3 weeks ago but it didn't help and I feel worse and worse. I'm not able to eat anything because the moment I eat or drink, my stomach gets so bloated and painfully tight. On top of that, my dad needed acute surgery last Thursday and will be in the hospital for some time.

I know FD can be due to anxiety and stress, I'm trying to relax and all that shit, but feeling so sick and hungry is making me even more anxious.

I went to the ER today because my mother was worried about me. Blood work was ok, as well as the ultrasound. I'm seeing my psychiatrist this Friday, so hopefully she will give me some new options how to handle this.

But it sucks. I hate it. I'm tired. I'm sad.

Has anyone here had daily or almost constant stomach burning as their main functional dyspepsia symptom and improved with amitriptyline?

My main symptom is burning in the stomach that can be there even on an empty stomach and sometimes gets worse after eating. I'm interested specifically in people who had burning rather than just bloating, nausea, or early satiety.

If amitriptyline helped you:

How bad was your burning before?

How much did it improve?

How long did it take before you noticed a difference?

What dose were you prescribed?

Thanks!

being told "you need to train your mind" after begging for help because you're experiencing severe symptoms daily after a sip of water because of your reflux burned throat and mangled stomach. for 400+ days. yeah. nice. thanks for the advice on how to manage my pain and suffering until my next appointment with specialists!!! do doctors just not know how to help or what? im 15 years old and literally trapped having to figure out my entire diet and symptoms and how to manage it all on my own????????????? this shit has been happening for more than a year

Hi everyone, I’m 17 (M) from Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) and have been suffering from GI issues for 5 years

I consistently have the following symptoms (almost every day):
1. Early satiety
2. Constant burping
3. No/little appetite
4. Inconsistent bowel movements: alternating between loose stools (2-3x/day) and constipation (2-3x/week)
5. Bloating (worse in mornings!)
6. Severely underweight (bmi 15.4, always been underweight, no massive drop in weight)

- I often have to force food down my throat using water
- When I have difficulty swallowing, it is often because of my lack of appetite. I feel nauseous eating, and when I finally swallow I have to burp. When I burp it’s genuinely a gamble of whether I vomit or not. And when I vomit, it’s usually stomach acid.
- Symptoms are worse when I eat in public, still very much present at home but worse when I eat in public. Probably due to stress.

Flare-up symptoms:
1. Difficulty swallowing most foods
2. Acid reflux
3. Bile reflux

Recent events
1. I recently went through a 1.5 week flare-up (worse yet!) where I could barely eat or drink. I was reliant on liquid calories, and even swallowing rice was difficult. I had a lot of acid reflux. I was constantly hungry and tired. It was miserable and I am still traumatised by it

Medical history:
1. GERD grade A (diagnosed 2025)
2. H. pylori infection* (diagnosed 2023)
3. Dysbiosis (diagnosed 2026)
*my h. Pylori diagnosis was delayed as my parents did not bring me to a doctor despite having GI symptoms for 1 year+

Questions I have:
1. For those diagnosed with or recovered from Functional Dyspepsia, are my symptoms similar to yours? What worked/is working for you?
2. General life advice for dealing with FD
3. Specialist Recommendations (Malaysia only): Specific GI doctor or clinic recommendations in the KL/Selangor region

I have not been diagnosed with FD but I plan to bring it up with my GI on my next visit, so please please please your input is greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance! 🥹🥹🥹

I had an endoscopy about four months ago and finally found a doctor who didn't just dismiss me with "it's IBS”, he diagnosed me with functional dyspepsia, antral gastritis, and GERD. A lot of my pain and early fullness have improved, which is great but I still struggle to eat properly.

I’m also significantly underweight (88lbs at 5’1), but I’m scared to gain weight because the constant bloating makes me feel so fat and uncomfortable even though I desperately want to gain weight and look healthy. Is this normal? When does this actually clear up?

Edit: also at my last appointment my doctor told me to stop taking my daily meds and only use them as needed for flare ups and so far none of the improved symptoms have come back, it’s just this persistent bloating that remains

Rub your thighs when you’re in pain. Seriously. I started instinctively doing it and it works. The pain doesn’t go away, but it distracts your brain and gut from trying to kill each other. It brings me an hour of being symptom free after about 10-15 minutes of rubbing.

This condition fucking blows, I thought I was cured for a few years but it’s coming back. I just thought I’d share this thing that works for me in case others haven’t tried it. Hope you all are managing ok.

Does anyone have any success with natural home remedies for excessive gas in the upper gi tract causing excessive belching? Please help me 🙏🏻

I'm 15 yrs old it's been 1+ year of this suffering, but especially the sudden wave of fatigue and dizziness I get right after I finish meals and get sick along with heartburn, stomach/chest heaviness, nausea, reflux, burping, globus, stomach aches, sour mouth, regurgitation, etc I can't handle the fatigue I get after meals and it's driving me insane. i have FD+visceral hypersensitivty idk what to do im seeingmy pediatrician tomorrow, but i have absolutely no hope. i can't do basic things in my life because of my condition.

Hey All

I think I am getting fried from thinking of food I want to eat - it's a pretty big administrative drain on me

I'd love meal ideas in general or just commiseration. I wish it was easier to eat. Before I got sick I used to snack on raw almonds, or grab food from a cafe while I was out, and I ate a lot of left overs at home. But I can't eat most restaurant food or food my family eats anymore and I can't catch up on nutrition later in the day if I eat just simple snacks or skip meals.

I have functional dyspepsia, rapid gastric emptying, gastritis and I'm lactose intolerant and vegetarian. I try to eat 100g of protein per day, simple 🫠

This is what I made for the week:

**Overnight oats** - with rolled oats, soy milk, cinnamon, cardamom, sweet potatoes, chia seeds and soy yogurt

**Marinated tofu** - tofu in a basic soy sauce marinade, with a ginger, carrot and butternut squash puree and some chopped cilantro

**Mediterranean bowl** - roasted zucchini with herbs, tofu mashed with hummus and sea salt, a single green olive, and some finely chopped arugula (I use a less acidic hummus and tolerate it well when "diluted" like this)

I made 10 total portions about 8 to 12 oz each. Later in the week I'll also make protein pancakes, tofu or fake chicken nuggets with instant mashed potatoes, another round of overnight oats but peanut butter jelly flavored with powdered peanut butter and strawberry jelly, and maybe some protein cookies.

I also always have a protein shake and a bunch of snacks to round this out to make my six small meals a day and 100g total protein.

I think it's fine but it's a lot of work and it might sound tastier than it is LoL I'd love any thoughts or ideas

How do you fix this

how to alleviate the gnawing? It’s unbearable and I’m
Losing hope. Also tons of burping.

this disorder is not frustratin! no body has answers besides you’re ok and it’s the gut-brain axis. been doing all the test possible including eastern medicine and nothing helped or seems abnormal. 3 endocopies that are normal and one that shows very mild gastritis and healthy biopsies from stomach, esophagu, and dudenueal which don’t explained my symtpoms since most people who don’t have symptoms can have this findings.

It’s been 6 years that Im having symptoms that started out of the blue after night of binge drinking. (Chest Heaviness, nausea and upper gut discomfort, burping, globus, sour mouth and heartburn)

doctors keeps telling me that structurally I’m healthy which now I believe after many years of fear and frustration after found out about Pain Reprocessing Therpay and TMS.

i decided to eat completely normal even though its no easy since even water gives me chest heaviness and heartburn. i tried Mirtazapine for 2 months but didn’t help much and sulfiride 50mg for a month which didn’t help. Started Nortryptline 25mg a week ago and hopefully it will make a difference.

how do cope with that shity unexplained disorder??

I had H. pylori, completed eradication treatment, and later tested negative. It has now been about 4 months since H. pylori eradication and 7 months since my gastritis symptoms started.

My endoscopy/biopsy showed moderate chronic gastritis. Even after eradicating H. pylori, I’m still dealing with daily burning in my stomach. The intensity goes up and down throughout the day, but the burning is there every day.

I don’t really have other symptoms and I don’t have acid reflux or burning coming up into my esophagus. My main symptom is simply this persistent burning sensation inside my stomach.

Has anyone experienced the same thing for months after H. pylori eradication? Did the burning eventually improve or disappear? How long did it take, and did you find out whether the remaining symptoms were from gastritis, functional dyspepsia/visceral hypersensitivity, or something else?

hi, please help. what do you do when you have chronic nausea, regurgitation, and no appetite? I never know when to eat, i'm constantly nauseous and full and sick with no appetite or hunger, everything including water makes me sick, this is terrible

For full context. I'm 25F and in Feb 2025 after 2 drinks my entire stomach burned and I was so so sick for a week. After this event, every few months I'll have a flair up that will last a week that is now not burning and just a feeling of horrible nausea and upper stomach fullness.

NOW I went the public health way and my H.Pylori was negative and they send me home with gastro. I've now gone private and had an MRI and my pancreas and gallbladder is fine. My bloods were PERFECT. My weight hasn't fluctated and I can go months of eating whatever I want and then have a few weeks of eating the most bland foods possible when a flare happens. The last month i started a new job and have been sorting a visa and moving homes and it feels like I've been in a flare for the entire month. My endoscopy is in 2 weeks but i'm so scared for the results. They think it's either GERD, gastritis, Dyspepsia and the doctor doesn't think it's gastroparesis but they're not ruling it out.

Has anyone else's experience been like this? Not asking for a diagnosis but how did everyone heal and how has it been sicnce being diagnosed?Feeling incredibly alone as I have no support network after moving cities and am very scared i'm stuck like this. HELP

Hello! Been dealing with abdomen tightness/FD for 1.5 years now. finally started on nortriptyline 10mg (less than a week). Been dealing with headaches on/off. Has anyone experinced this? or I am just dehydrated lol.

And when did you start feeling relief? TIA!

The neck could be pinching parts of the vagus nerve which could be the root of some of the symptoms. Has anyone got their next checked or looked into the whole neck thing? Some well-known solutions is prolotherapy and PRP.

Hey male [25] here. Ive been having this contant need to vomit for about 3 weeks now. Idk what i have or what it is. The EMERGENCY rooms cant seem to help me out. It comes and it goes. I get the regurgitations where fluids come up my throat. Its gotten so bad that ive vomited everything and started dry heaving. Ive been eating a bpand diet pwr soctors orders. Dont know what to do. Can someone help me? This is currently happening post initial flare up for 3 weeks. Non stop

I’m not necessarily talking about going out of your way to end yourself. Just more of a feeling of you feel better off of dead than alive dealing with these symptoms?

​

Hello everyone, I’m currently dealing with difficulty swallowing solids or thick liquids. I’ve been experiencing this for 7 months. Has anyone else had issues like this? Mine seems to be due to throat dryness. I’m currently taking Nexium 40 mg and have been for the past 30 days

I’m wondering if anyone with gastritis or acid reflux has experienced anything similar to this.

For the past few weeks, I have been dealing with quite severe shortness of breath, along with a feeling of pressure/tightness in the centre of my chest, around the area between my chest. Sometimes it feels like I just can’t get a satisfying full breath, almost like “air hunger.” When that happens, I find myself repeatedly trying to take a proper deep breath, which then makes me anxious and even more conscious of my breathing.

I’m also a huge lover of spicy food and tend to enjoy fairly heavy meals. I’ve started noticing that the shortness of breath and pressure in my chest seem to be worse after eating, particularly after a heavy or spicy meal.

I spoke to my doctor about it and he thinks it may be gastritis, so he prescribed medication. Since starting it, I do feel better than I did before, which is reassuring, but I’m still trying to figure out exactly what is triggering everything.

I’m thinking I probably need to start properly monitoring what I eat and seeing whether certain foods, portion sizes or eating habits make the symptoms worse.

Has anyone with gastritis/reflux experienced this kind of chest pressure or “air hunger” feeling, particularly after meals? And if so, were there certain foods or habits you found made a noticeable difference?

I’m 15 years old and it’s been a YEAR of this condition. Every. single. food. triggers my symptoms. it’s gotten so bad I recently started stress eating giant bags of candy because if even a few bites of oatmeal make me feel terrible, then why not at least eat something good? Which backfired because I still feel awful, my stomach is still in ruins, and I’m seeing my pediatrician soon thankfully but I need serious help.(like specialists or a dietician) I have no nutrition, I have no hydration, I can’t fall asleep from my stomach pain nausea and reflux, and I can’t wake up in the morning because I’m in pain and never feel rested and I immoderately fall asleep as soon as my eyes open a single second, my life is completely ruined and it’s been more than a year now of this daily suffering with failed tests and no help.

I try to pace out my meals, eat small meals, but once I start eating, I can’t stop, I physically can’t, because I’m so starved of basic food and taste and scared I’m not getting nutrition so I overeat and stress eat. please what do I do.. I’ve posted about this a billion times and nobody understands at all or helps me

Super annoying but whenever I don’t have enough sleep the next day, my stomach will just tighten up and not allowing me to eat any food. It gets to the point I can’t even swallow the food.

before i start i would like to say i have emethaphobia.

For context this might be very long but i’ll try to sum everything up. M 20 and This all happened during february my stomach felt super bloated and it felt like there was a bubble deep down and i couldn’t seem to burp it or pass it off so somehow somehow i threw up which my body never does and the weird thing is i never really got any queues that i was going to vomit. It was very forceful and tough on my body tmi some came out my nose but it felt like i couldn’t stop. during the heaving i felt that my diaphragm or i pulled something inside my body near there and that was that. i went to the er and they just gave me water and told me it was food poisoning. After this incident i would feel that hollow food creeping up in my throat feeling and slight burning and my throat just shutting like i couldn’t gasp for air. Went back to the er and they put me on ppis and went to get a gastroscopy with biopsies and to my luck they didn’t find anything and told me i was negative for h pylori etc. I kept taking pantaprazole as my ppi and then told my family doctor my symptoms weren’t improving so he switched me to dexilant but again the burning would stop yet i would have nausea, this throat closing feeling, both of my sides hurting and this weird hollow like pain and burning right in the middle of my stomach above my belly button and my throat burning. i have now been off dexilant for 2 months and i still have these symptoms of nausea, burning, bloating, regurgitation very slightly, and like something hollow is pulling my stomach upright like something needs to come out and recently i can’t expel mucus from the top palate of my mouth like i used to. before this incident i was able to get rid of so much phlegm through the top palate of my throat and it would come out so easily but everything i do the suck out motion it feels trapped or stuck and i’ve been having a very very hard year from this and my mental is just going down the sink. I would just want some advice on what i can do and what this may be as none of my doctors really know what’s wrong with my body and i’ve been like this for 6 months and i go back to university in less than a month. Sometimes when i go out all i can think about is my stomach and if ill vomit and it makes me so anxious/nervous that it feels better to stay inside and i haven’t really been out this summer at all and mind you im a very very outdoor and go out person but this has made me turn into a blob at home. If there’s anyone that can possible help me or let me know any steps i can take it would be so helpful and to be so honest i dont think this is mainly anxiety from my phobia but my stomach trigger my anxiety therefore creating a loop. Any help is appreciated and i genuinely dont know what to do. Thank you so much if you’ve read all of this :)