Thanksgiving Day 2004 I had my first violent stomach pain ever - I was
experiencing  horrible pain in my upper stomach above the navel for a
couple of hours and was voluntarily and involuntarily throwing up - one
final voluntary throw-up and the pain vanished immediately. My
immediate thought was that it was food poisoning (everyone got sick who
ate that meal from Cracker Barrel). The pain struck again the next
night - same scenario. I did have a couple of CB biscuits but not the
turkey and dressing which some felt were the guilty parties. Someone
also suggested that it may have  been the fact that I had been on a
strict diet - fruit, vegetables, lean cuisines, etc. - doing it the
right way and NOT fasting as I had done for most of my life - I had
been on this diet for over two months and  was not used to eating a
"normal meal." Then this pain disappeared for a couple of weeks when on
my birthday - 12/17 - I  thought I would have a "normal meal" again -
this time Chinese food - orange chicken  and steamed dumplings, my
favorite which I had not had in sooo long. By this time I was worried
that I might get the pain again and was keeping watch, and, believe it
or not, the very minute after midnight 12/18 when my birthday was over,
the pain struck again hard for an hour.  Then it disappeared, poof,
just goes instantly, does not fade away - and it didn't pop up until
Xmas Eve (not Day) when I had my final "normal meal" for the year -
Heavenly Ham,  sweet potato casserole, okra. And by the way, when I say
normal, I mean normal - not  overindulging, especially when I am
worried that pain might hit again. Same thing - violent upper stomach
pain, forcing myself to throw up  - this time the pain only lasted
about 20 minutes. The pain popped up again a couple more times - forget
exactly when but remember they were, except for Thanksgiving, always
Friday nights when I was eating a little more than I would the rest of
the week but not much - example - a sub and a salad, and the pain
always popped up somewhere between 10 pm and 3 am.

My next thought once I ditched the food poisoning/change in diet
scenarios - ulcer caused by past food habits, obsession with diet coke,
or stress. My mind just tortures me - Stress is a euphemism for what I
am always feeling. I bought tums and rolaids and they do not work. I
tried milk to ease the pain - doesn't work. If I had an ulcer, seemed
like those might work. Also, I do not have all the symptoms of an
ulcer. Guess you don't have to. Other  thoughts - heartburn, stomach
cancer, stomach virus - they all seem to have many of the same
symptoms/causes.

The pain disappeared for the next couple of weeks, and I was close to
forgetting about it. But now I'm getting a little nervous. Monday,
January 17, at about 2:30 in the morning  I woke up with the upper
stomach pain - it wasn't agonizing like it had been but was
uncomfortable, and I could not lie prone, my favorite position. It is
"that time of the  month" so I try to comfort myself with the idea that
it is menstrual cramps although the pain was still a little too high up
in the stomach. I was able to go back to sleep  with that rather dull
pain still there, woke up at about 6:30 and it was still there. And it
stayed there - was mild enough around noon so I was able to run errands
- but by 1 pm it got really bad for about an hour. Then it was dull and
went away by 5 pm, stayed away. I woke up about 6:30 am Tuesday,
January 18, and had no pain for about an hour. Then I was about to go
to work, and at 7:30 pow - just hit hard and stayed hard  for about
three hours. Around eleven it weakened and I thought it was going to go
away. Then around noon it got a little worse and stayed there until I
went to sleep around 8 pm - it was never excruciating, just a dull pain
in the upper stomach that  was uncomfortable, painful if I lay on my
stomach, and it just would not let up for a minute. I woke up at 2 this
morning, felt no pain, woke up at 6, again no pain. I felt no pain all
this morning, was able to do my daily workout for an hour, then as soon
as I finished it, a dull pain came back, again not agonizing but
worrisome and stayed for about an hour, and I tried some Mylanta. The
pain just vanished a couple of hours ago before I typed this - don't
know if it is the Mylanta which I have never had before or natural -
I'm still clinging to the possibility that it is that "time of the
month." In fact, I might not have even given this recent development a
second thought if a) the pain is sometimes higher up in the stomach
than usual for a menstrual cramp and b) I had already had these other
non-menstrual episodes.

Sorry to turn this into a long, tedious story.

Obviously I will take that "much much very much dreaded" step of seeing
a doctor if this continues, but in the meantime I really would
appreciate any suggestions. Anything to ease the pain if it returns  -
any recommended foods, beverages, non-prescription medicines other than
tums and rolaids (and Mylanta although it may just be working - verdict
is still out)........Again, the only constant here is stomach pain and
it has only occurred intermittently - in total about 9 days scattered
throughout the past couple of months. I only felt nausea that first
time and perhaps at times yesterday - the other times I forced myself
to throw up but didn't really have to, thought it would make me feel
better and it never did. I have no loss of appetite, no blood - I'm not
weak or fatigued. I've been a little bloated this past day, but again,
that could menstrual. Thanks in advance.