I have been doing some thinking lately, and I was hoping some of you could help me piece some of this together. I apologize ahead of time if none of this makes sense. I don't know . . . I'm just overwhelmed, and I need help.

So to start off, I had a horrendous h. Pylori infection for years. It was the most agonizing experience of my life. After a GoFundMe donation happened, I was finally able to seek care and get it treated. I took all my medications like clockwork, and it seemed to be working. And for a few days after I finished the treatment, my stomach felt fine and I was eating without pain for the first time in forever. But days later, the EXACT SAME PAIN started up again! So by that point, all I could do was take a pain pill and stay stuck under my heating pad all day. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

In the mean time, I was starting to suspect CVID. I have constant respiratory infections (I am a lifelong non-smoker) , and now I'm getting chronic GI infection too, it seems. I used part of the GoFundMe donations to pay for testing, but all it showed was slightly elevated IgM levels, but not enough to cause concern. Not knowing what to do, that part of my care got put on the backburner.

Fast forward a few months. After 3 years of trying, I finally made it into a local indigent care clinic that has specialists. I've been making every effort to play medical catch-up. I haven't gotten to the CVID part yet, as my endocrinologist wanted to address my hormonal issues first. But after seeing a primary care doctor, he suggested I get tested for h. Pylori again. I will be doing that as soon as I can.

And tonight, I had another attack. It was so bad that I couldn't even cry, because the change in my breathing made the pain worse. It's at the point now where I just want to pop a Tramadol like an after-dinner mint. I can't even handle eating once a day, and I've lost 13 pounds because I don't want to eat . . . because it causes me too much pain. This is the exact same pain as before. The same fiery, burning, diffuse pain. It doesn't travel to other parts of the body, and it lasts for 12 hours. It's not my gallbladder, and it's not kidney stones. If I hear that one more time, I will scream. I am exasperated. It's the exact same pain. This has to be another h. Pylori infection.

So in my painsomnia state, I started thinking. And then I started Googling. Because maybe h. Pylori infections and CVID are connected? Sure enough, they are.

So I want to pursue this. I am sick to death of these attacks, and they're only getting worse and more frequent. But at my last primary care visit, they told me the clinic (the only place I can afford) no longer offers a GI specialist. So I don't know what to do. I have a follow-up with my primary care in about 4 months, and my endo follow-up is in August. But I'm not exactly feeling patient right now. And I'm not even sure either department would be willing to pursue this.

What can I do? What are my options? Help please.

Please note: the rules state that I cannot ask for medical advice, and that is not what I am doing. I need direction or advice in general. I need options, if that makes sense.

Thanks!