My father is in a great deal of pain

[mschrier1]

My father who is almost 60 has many problems right now. He just had shoulder surgery for torn rotar cuffs (sp?) on one shoulder- needs to have the other shoulder done when that one heals. On top of that he has two disk problems in his neck which are going to require surgery as soon as his shoulder surgery is healed.
So, he had the first surgery about 2 weeks ago. As you can imagine he has had every pain killer and drug in his body and his stomache is killing him.. He moans and moans at night - the other night he said he was going to have to go to the emergancy room in the morning his stomache hurt so badly. He said it felt like it was on fire- like maybe he was bleeding internally or something- he could not bare the pain. This has been going on for 6 days now. He can not sleep- he can not hardly eat- he was constipated for a few days- but then was able to have a bm and said he passed a white clump.. Didn't know what to think of that- but he hoped maybe that would bring relief in the days to come.  
That was three days ago- maybe 4. He is still in a great deal of pain but having to deal with all of his other problems he hasn't let my mother take him to a specialists to see what is causing all this pain.
Do you have any suggestions?  He does not have diarreah - if anything he has trouble going, period. Milk of mag did not help him so he switched to mylanta and Zantac which gave him temp relief- but not much.. He told me to mention headache's - bad ones- and his urin is bright orange...
He doesnt have any flu symptoms or anything like that.. No congestion- no runny nose...
Please help.

Michelle Schrier

[mschrier1]

FYI- my father was admitted to the hospital and it looks like Hepatitis A.  They will do the rest of the tests today but that is what they are focusing on.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

I would suggest evaluating the common causes of stomach pain first - including GERD, dyspepsia (ulcers or inflammation) or an upper GI tract mass.

If some of the pain killers are of the non-steroidal variety (i.e. Motrin, Naprosyn, Voltaren), this places your father at an increased risk of ulcers or GI tract inflammation.

An upper GI series or upper endoscopy (a more comprehensive test) would be the initial tests to consider.  A blood test for H Pylori (a bacteria associated with inflammation and ulcers) should also be considered.  

Regarding the constipation, many of the narcotic pain medications (i.e. Vicodin, Perocet, Morphine) causes constipation.  A laxative program should be discussed with your physician if this is the case.  

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[mschrier1]

He told him- was told perhaps medication is upsetting his stomache- so he has completely stopped taking all of the pain meds for his shoulder/neck problems. He feels like he wants to die- between the pain in his neck, the pain in his shoulder and now is stomache feels like its on fire.

[surgeon]

He should be in touch both with his regular doctor and his surgeon. There are ways to take pain medication without irritating the stomach; a patch, is a good choice. And he should at minimum have something prescribed for his burning stomach, and if it doesn't respond as expected, have it looked into further. Getting a patch for pain medication, and something to reduce stomach acid ought to help a lot.

[mschrier1]

Do you have a recommendation for something for his stomache?

[yoshi]

did he tell the surgeon ??
i would think the surgeon would know if this is from his surgery??
may be you or your mother should find out what are the common problems after such surgery??

[surgeon]

Sorry, in my first post I missed the white stool and orange urine; I read too fast. Dark urine may just indicate dehydration; but it's also possible there are liver or gallbladder problems going on, especially combined with pale stool. If it was only one clump and subsequent stools are normal, it might not be significant; but continued pale stools and dark urine definitely needs evaluation. It sounds like he needs to actually be seen and examined further.

[yoshi]

something you and your mother should keep in mind-in and out of hospital,surgery etc could bring on bacterial infection,so keep an eye out for that possibility

[mschrier1]

I just talked to my dad and he said only the white color that once. He says he has a lot of nausea - feels constantly like he's gonna throw up.  The burning in the stomache comes and goes.
Thanks for your help.

[mschrier1]

And what do you attribute the white bowel to? The Milk of magnesia maybe?