Lifelong issues from childhood car accident
Hi! I’m 31/F and learned only recently that when I was about 5 I was in a car accident, jeep got Tboned, flipped over and rolled down a hill. No known injuries but since that age I had GI issues. Namely silent reflux and really bad intestinal transit. As a child I didn’t know how to express it, I don’t remember the accident, but I started avoiding most food groups except easily digestible carbs, mostly bagels and bread, potatoes bananas.. and the like. I skipped meals nonstop and have always had early satiety. I ate very little, only had BMs like 3 times per week, and stayed very lean and mostly free of discomfort until I was around 21. At this point as life stressors increased in adulthood, plus eating mostly only carbs my whole life (didn’t think to have protein shakes of course) became insulin resistant and gained a ton of weight in about 2 years. Cue the WORST backup problems, constantly getting colon hydrotherapy and still skipping meals nonstop to ease the nausea and discomfort. I would never be able to eat three meals in a day twice in a row. So when I became insulin resistant and generally ate more than I ever have, it created nonstop stool backup.
As time went on my overall absorption of any pill or capsule dwindled, developed SIBO with no real symptoms, was trying miralax, magnesium, fiber supplements and even stimulant laxatives to no avail.
Interestingly enough I can sometimes empty out by massaging my abdomen, random movement or shaking, or taking any type of antihistamine or antinflammatory. The emptying out can happen very suddenly. Avoiding gluten helps a bit.
As of late, I have been trying to “wake the nerves up” by shaking and moving gently because I feel like they are just shut off and for days now, my intestines have been extremely swollen and tender to the point of having a distended abdomen. I have no other symptoms but I have no idea what is going on. My transit hasn’t really improved.
I routinely get stretch marks on my lower abdomen that come and go and sometimes my “gut” hangs over. It seems like I have a lot of fluid and inflammation. Sometimes it all goes away out of nowhere.
I don’t even know what to ask my G.I. doctor. I did get an endoscopy and gastric emptying study all of which came back normal. He didn’t seem to grasp my discomfort and the fact that pretty much my whole life I have never been able to eat three normal meals a day. I’m assuming this is because of the weight gain.
I’m wondering about potential intestinal adhesions from the car accident and then also nerves possibly just being stunted from a big event like that? And then just maybe a ton of inflammation?