I'm hoping someone can help me... I've been having reoccurring stomach problems for about a year or so. I don't have insurance, so I'm worried about what I can do.

I have what I'll call 'spells' with my stomach. If I had to guess, I'd say it was related to stress. I work in a business where I get jobs that last about a week. When I work on them, it's incredibly stressful. It's usually 14 hours a day with all kinds of problems. The last 3 jobs I did, I had this stomach problem start. Recently last week I had numerous things happen that were very stressful, and I had a flare-up yesterday that was the worst ever. So it seems like more than just a coincidence

It doesn't always seem to be the exact set of symptoms. But mainly it will include a sudden case of bad diarrhea, and a burning pain at a spot that's in the center and just under the bottom of my ribcage. Sometimes I'll just get the burning sensation, sometimes I'll just get the diarrhea, or I'll get both.

When it comes on, it comes on very fast. Nothing will relieve it. I've tried anti acid pills, anti acid tablets... No matter what way I lay, it will not make the pain stop. When I got it yesterday, it lasted for over 6 hours, and I was actually considering going to the emergency room. The pain got so bad that it made my breathing erratic. I did vomit a few times, but I induced it, just because I didn't know what else to do. I saw no blood there or in stool.

When I started having the problem, I tried to improve my diet. That's actually worked well overall... When I'm not having one of these spells, I have basically no problems. About 3 months back, I stopped eating any spicy foods, deep fried stuff, pizza, italian, rich bakery stuff. Before that, I've actually never drank coffee or soda ever. I don't drink alcohol. I haven't eaten red meat since I was 20. I go for brisk 2-3 miles walks once or twice a week. I'm not overweight. I'm a 41 YO male. I don't have any past history of major illness and I haven't had surgery. One area I may have made a mistake in is that I've been having about two bowls of cereal with low-fat milk a day. I know milk may be an antagonist in ulcers.

I'm hoping someone can help with advice. When I'm not having one of these spells, I have no discomfort otherwise.