So I went to the doctor today and, it turns out I may have gastritis (and possibly a stomach ulcer). For the past few days, every time I eat I get severe pains in my stomach, like burning, constant pain that lasts for hours (feels like awful heartburn but in my stomach not my esophagus, and Tums do nothing to help) Today I barely ate anything because of the pain. The doctor prescribed me a Proton Pump Inhibitor, which decreases the acid your stomach produces, and said to come back in a week if it doesn't work, and he said he would order some tests.
On top of all that, I had to wait 45 minutes to see the doctor (it wasn't a walk-in clinic, I had an appointment), and he gave me, literally, 2 minutes of his time, briefly heard my symptoms, wrote a prescription, and left the room. I called my dad this evening (he's a doctor) to talk it out with him, and he said that before diagnosing me the doctor should have ordered a scope (down my throat into the stomach) or at least sent me for blood work before diagnosing me with anything, but advised me to take the pills for a week or two and see how my symptoms are and at that point if I still have the pains I should either go and request a scope or find a new doctor.
I've been under a lot of stress lately, and that's the only thing I can think of that could have caused this. I don't smoke, drink alcohol (well, very rarely anyways), or eat terribly, and I only drink one cup of coffee a day (all of those in excess can cause gastritis or ulcers). I have a pretty low threshold for anxiety as it is, and I tend to cope with stress by avoiding it, which is probably the worst coping mechanism... (this is something positive FI brings out in me, we always talk through issues head on)
What do you all do to deal with stress? Exercise? Meditation? etc. etc.