Aa
4yrs of pain 2yrs of tests still no answers
Pain started 4yrs ago, just a runners cramp in the RUQ area.Unbelievable beltching.The ache would come and go, i didnt pay much attention to it.After my daughter was born the ache became more prominent.After a few months of the ache, i started getting stabbing pains in the RUQ.The pain (very bad) would last a few hours then subside to the constant ache.Went to my Primary Dr.asked a few questions poked me in the abdomen by my gallbladder and said "its your gallbladder"He sent me to another Dr and so began the tests.I had an ultrasound, showed no stones.A CTscan of the abdomen and pelvic with contrast. showed a small hernia below the navel.Nothing to worry about, not the cause of the pain, said the DR.Had the tube down the throat, no signs of ulcer or reflux, small heital hernia.Still not the casue of pain, hernia small not to worry about.By this time i was so frustrated, in pain.Quit going to the Dr, started taking lots of tylenol.Few months ago the constant pain,beltching, stomach getting as hard as 9mnth pregnant,felt like someone was sqeezing me around my middle, and the severe stabbing pains started to go around into my back,by right kidney,up into my shoulder.Went to the ER, came out w/UTI.I have had UTI's before never caused so much pain,went back to the Dr another test, Hida scan.Before i went for Hida scan had another attack, so bad, two shots of demerol, and 7 hrs later another UTI.Had hida scan, tech said emptying normal.Back to the Dr in two days.Pain is so bad i would like to reach in and pull whatever is hurting out. Also notice extreme fatigue.Any suggestions?
I saw your comment on "liver Flush" and I am looking for a good product to help me to detox and flush my liver. What products did you use for this purpose, and did you feel better afterwards? Thanx!
Most insurance companies allow a second opinion from a gastro doctor if you're unhappy with this one.
Also a note. Asked the Dr. about my UTI's i have had this year and he said, well your pain is in your RUQ, and uti is down here, pointing to the lower abdomen, so its not connected, also a lipase/analasye(sp) was done and looked good.
Well went to the Dr today, he stated nothing wrong with the gallbladder. Asked me if I ever thought it was my weight, maybe should talk to a Dr. about stapling stomach. Is going to do a colonoscopy, but he said its doubtfull we will find anything there. So I asked him why, if he didnt feel he would find anything, then he came up with the answer "well i am not a phsycic, if Dr's were than all you would have to do is come in and we would write you a perscription" Nice huh. will see what happens, still no options as to how to stop this freakin pain.
Tell your doctor to get of his #ss and do something. That's what he get's paid $$$ for. I hear more stories, but mostly experienced how horrible doctor's can be within the past year and almost lost my daughter to parasites in the mass confusion of a difficult diagnose. Can your doctor refer you to a Gastroenterologist? If you still don't get anywhere you might want to try a Naturopathic. That's where my daughter and I ended up.
Stop taking Tylenol. It is bad for your liver. Instead of taking the pain away it is probaly causing more pain!
I would also like to suggest that you change your diet. Eliminate all hydrogenated fats from your diet. No french fries from a fast food restaurant, no margarine. Read labels. Many many foods contain partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oils/fats. If you go off all the hydrogenated fats it will take 6 weeks for them to clear out of your system and then you will start to feel better.
I had symptoms like you for years and had many of the tests that you described. I had my gall bladdar checked three times and no stones were ever revealed. Pain continued in my right side under my rib for years. I learned to live with it. Then I noticed that my breath was so bad that people wouldn't come near me. I decided I had to find a new doctor and find out what was wron with me. My new doctor did blood tests and my liver enzymes were elevated. He sent me for an ultra sound and they could see that I had fatty infiltration of the liver. Eventually had a biopsy done and found out that I have moderate fibrosis of the liver. So people with fatty liver should be concerned. Losing weight is important.
I would also like to suggest that you change your diet. Eliminate all hydrogenated fats from your diet. No french fries from a fast food restaurant, no margarine. Read labels. Many many foods contain partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oils/fats. If you go off all the hydrogenated fats it will take 6 weeks for them to clear out of your system and then you will start to feel better.
I had symptoms like you for years and had many of the tests that you described. I had my gall bladdar checked three times and no stones were ever revealed. Pain continued in my right side under my rib for years. I learned to live with it. Then I noticed that my breath was so bad that people wouldn't come near me. I decided I had to find a new doctor and find out what was wron with me. My new doctor did blood tests and my liver enzymes were elevated. He sent me for an ultra sound and they could see that I had fatty infiltration of the liver. Eventually had a biopsy done and found out that I have moderate fibrosis of the liver. So people with fatty liver should be concerned. Losing weight is important.
It could just be your liver with intrahepatic stones. They are composed of cholesterol, and are usually invisible on most scans (CT, sonogram, HIDA...). But, the symptoms are same as symptoms of gallstones. Many people, including me, have solved symptoms by cleansing liver. You should research and seriously consider liver cleanse, it may just be the solution for your problems. And, do not expect your doc to know about it. 3 different doc's I'v been to, never heard about it, but all 3 vere negative. I am glad I didn't listen to their opinion. Rare are MDs that actually know what liver fush is.
Ask for more then 3 opinions!
Here is the web address for a site that explains how gallstones are formed.
http://www.chemeng.drexel.edu/faculty/spw/SPWfacultypage.htm
Kinetics and Mechanism of Gallstone Formation
Gallstones are essentially large crystals of cholesterol found in bile (Gr. chole, bile; stereos, solid), an important biological fluid. Bile is secreted by the liver and contains bile salts, which are needed for digestion of lipids, plus the phospholipid lecithin, a primary constituent of cell membranes. The gallbladder stores bile between meals, and gallstones result when cholesterol precipitates from bile during this storage period.
Cholesterol is insoluble in water, and precipitation from bile at first appears unavoidable. However, bile salts and lecithin are biological surfactants (i.e., they are amphiphilic) that self-assemble in bile and give rise to interesting microstructures that serve as cholesterol transport vehicles. For example, lecithin vesicles enhance the solubility of cholesterol in bile nearly one million fold. Such vesicles are thermodynamically metastable so that cholesterol crystals will ultimately prevail at equilibrium. Attainment of equilibrium is typically slow enough that cholesterol passes through the gallbladder without consequence, but diseased individuals are not so fortunate. Kinetic factors, presumably proteins, influence the rate at which vesicles yield crystals, and the question of who develops gallstones is a matter of chemical kinetics, not thermodynamics.
Our gallstone research aims at prevention of gallstones in humans by determining the mechanisms by which various proteins influence the rate of gallstone formation. We recently developed (the first) analytical technique that detects cholesterol nucleation in bile. We are currently using this technique, a fluorescence assay, to study cholesterol nucleation kinetics. Our research deals with thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the various microstructural transitions in bile and is certainly a molecular level approach. However, we collaborate with clinicians at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and our work has significant practical implications.
Ask for more then 3 opinions!
Here is the web address for a site that explains how gallstones are formed.
http://www.chemeng.drexel.edu/faculty/spw/SPWfacultypage.htm
Kinetics and Mechanism of Gallstone Formation
Gallstones are essentially large crystals of cholesterol found in bile (Gr. chole, bile; stereos, solid), an important biological fluid. Bile is secreted by the liver and contains bile salts, which are needed for digestion of lipids, plus the phospholipid lecithin, a primary constituent of cell membranes. The gallbladder stores bile between meals, and gallstones result when cholesterol precipitates from bile during this storage period.
Cholesterol is insoluble in water, and precipitation from bile at first appears unavoidable. However, bile salts and lecithin are biological surfactants (i.e., they are amphiphilic) that self-assemble in bile and give rise to interesting microstructures that serve as cholesterol transport vehicles. For example, lecithin vesicles enhance the solubility of cholesterol in bile nearly one million fold. Such vesicles are thermodynamically metastable so that cholesterol crystals will ultimately prevail at equilibrium. Attainment of equilibrium is typically slow enough that cholesterol passes through the gallbladder without consequence, but diseased individuals are not so fortunate. Kinetic factors, presumably proteins, influence the rate at which vesicles yield crystals, and the question of who develops gallstones is a matter of chemical kinetics, not thermodynamics.
Our gallstone research aims at prevention of gallstones in humans by determining the mechanisms by which various proteins influence the rate of gallstone formation. We recently developed (the first) analytical technique that detects cholesterol nucleation in bile. We are currently using this technique, a fluorescence assay, to study cholesterol nucleation kinetics. Our research deals with thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the various microstructural transitions in bile and is certainly a molecular level approach. However, we collaborate with clinicians at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and our work has significant practical implications.
just a comment about the HIDA scan..my daughter has had one & is scheduled for another in a couple of weeks..
you said the tech said emptying was normal....well...they do this whole chart thing with images over time. & usually the tech can't interpret the results...when you go to the doctor..ask for the specific emptying percentage. It seems everyone has a different standard of what normal is...most of what I read says 35% is the cut off point..anything less is not functioning. My daughter's doc goes by 30%..her's was 32%..his opinion is undecided..she's "on the fence"..hence the 2nd scan...some places say under 40% is not functioning..with normal being around 48%. If you were taking demerol before the test..it may have screwed up the results....
read up on HIDA scans....
unfortunately....you have to be agressive..which is hard to do when you feel like poop...
it sure sounds like your gallbladder ..especially since you just had a baby...
keep asking questions..hang in there!
you said the tech said emptying was normal....well...they do this whole chart thing with images over time. & usually the tech can't interpret the results...when you go to the doctor..ask for the specific emptying percentage. It seems everyone has a different standard of what normal is...most of what I read says 35% is the cut off point..anything less is not functioning. My daughter's doc goes by 30%..her's was 32%..his opinion is undecided..she's "on the fence"..hence the 2nd scan...some places say under 40% is not functioning..with normal being around 48%. If you were taking demerol before the test..it may have screwed up the results....
read up on HIDA scans....
unfortunately....you have to be agressive..which is hard to do when you feel like poop...
it sure sounds like your gallbladder ..especially since you just had a baby...
keep asking questions..hang in there!
Thank you lor....i have looked into your suggestions, and could be, i see my dr in two more days and i will bring that up when we talk...will post results. :+}
Have you had your bile ducts looked at? You could have sphincter of oddi dysfunction. Search the net for information. It is often found with biliary dyskinesia. Biliary dyskinesia is non-functioning gallbladder or sludge.
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