DESPERATE for your Help/Experience

[em1lyd1ck1nson]

So I recently had a HIDA scan done.  After 60 minutes into the scan, the nurse comes over to me and says that the radioactive tracer has not showed up in my small intestine, and I'll be re-imaged every 5-10 minutes until it does.  Fast forward 45 minutes later and still no sign of the tracers in my small intestine, the nurse tells me she will wait 15 minutes and try one last time before sending me away.  FINALLY, at the two hour mark the tracer shows up in my small intestine.  All systems go and on to the CCK.  I thought for sure that something would come of this.

However, today I get a call from my regular doctor and she says the report is normal.  I am at my wit's end dealing with pain, nausea, etc.  I have had 3 abdominal ultrasounds, a CT scan, blood work done twice, and now a HIDA all with normal results.  I am going bonkers!!!  Please, if you have any suggestions or similar experiences I am BEGGING for your input - anything will help.  Thanks!

Symptoms:  pain in right side under ribs that radiates to lower right abdomen, upper right back, and sometimes the shoulder; nausea; pulsing sensation in upper right back and upper right abdomen; gurggling noises in upper right abdomen; coffee, eggs, and dairy make pain worse; hurts to lay on stomach; frequent urination

[rca91]

havn same syptoms but no nausea cant eat much but gaining wait like crazy and have diarreha had ultrasound bloodtest urinetest and hida test all test normal except cholesterol was up a little no pain for a few days but f.oot feels like it is stuck in my right side but already had full hysterectomy will just wait until something worse happen again

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Take Care and Get Well Soon...:)

[em1lyd1ck1nson]

And to give the final update:  Paterla Anitha, you were right all along - I have renal colic.  Finally got the diagnosis of stones in the kidney.  I sure wish you were my original doctor...I would have had answers A LOT sooner and saved a boat load of money.  

[em1lyd1ck1nson]

I am more or less giving an update on my "quest" for answers as the cause to my URQ pain (that has been radiating all over my stomach and back). Even though my tests were all normal - u/s of abdomen, hida scan, and blood work - the doctor said she wanted me to see the surgeon. I went ahead and made an appointment with him, which is a month down the road, but in the meantime I went and had an upper gi series xray test as originally suggested to be done after the HIDA. (I have a friend that thought she had gallbladder problems, went through all of the tests, but it turned out that she had a hernia diagnosed during an upper gi - I figured I'd give this shot.)

I go into the exam and I am happy to see that a radiologist will be there during the test and able to tell me results right away. Before starting he asked what my symptoms were and I proceeded to tell him - essentially upper right quadrant pain that has been strangely radiating to the lower right abdomen...I told him it felt like there was a little man in there knocking on my belly trying to get out. (To me it feels like kidney AND ovary AND flank pain all rolled into one. I have a right ovarian cyst which has been there a long time, but the pain doesn't feel the cyst pain I've had over the last five years and I didn't tell him that.) Before the official exam starts, the xray machine is already on me and he asks me to turn a bit. He immediately said it looked like there was a kidney stone there (he was talking to a tech) and commented on a shadow in my kidney. He didn't say anything further about the shadow on my kidney. The test proceeded and finished, which he said was normal and everything looked good. He left the room, of course I was relieved but still frustrated, and said hang out for a minute until he has a chance to review my films. Five minutes later the tech comes back in and says he needs to get one more xray. I went back up on the table and got one last xray - I believe it was of my right kidney area because the guy used my hip bone to "center" the image; at least I think that's what he was doing because before the exam he used my left rib to "center" pictures of my stomach.

Thinking about it, this is the second exam I've had done in the last two weeks where each of the people performing the tests have mentioned or asked about my right kidney - I hope there is an answer waiting for me on Monday. (The good thing about tests being scheduled on Friday is a three day work free weekend; the bad thing is awaiting test results.)

Well, I told the radiologist I felt like there was a little man hanging around in my right abdomen - he said if that alien was there he would find him. I hope and pray that he found him.

[em1lyd1ck1nson]

Wow, thanks for that information.  It seems every visit to the doctor they don't hear me after I say pain in right side below ribs...  I keep getting sent for gallbladder scans and whatnot, but the spread of the pain to the lower right side is what keeps me pushing for an answer.  Within the last few days I have had difficulty urinating, primarily because it feels like the ureter is inflamed.  My groin has also felt swollen.  

Not like I think this really means anything, but I figured I'd mention it as well.  During the HIDA scan the tech must have been newer, because after the first hour of scanning she came over and asked me if I had ever had any procedures/surgeries done on my right side.  (She asked me this before mentioning the small intestine issue.)  I told her no and she almost insisted I did.  Again, I told her no and asked why.  She said the tracer showed up in my kidney before anything else.  I'm sure that's a normal occurrence, but maybe it served as a clue.  

Thank you so much - it seems you've been more helpful than a typical doctor's visit.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

The most common cause for this type of severe pain which starts at the back just below the rib cage and radiates to the front and goes into the pelvis is 1. Renal colic. It occurs as episodes of pain recurring in nature. The pain is spasmodic in nature as the ureter is trying to push through the obstruction, which is usually a renal stone. The ureter is the tubular structure that connects the kidney to the bladder. So each time the urine tries to pass through the obstruction it causes severe pain. It can be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, sweating and sometimes blood in the urine. Small stones can pass through undetected. The other causes for the pain are: 2. Pyelonephritis (infection of the kidneys) and Glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidneys), here you are likely to have fever, 3. Gastroenteritis, diverticulitis, bowel obstruction, polyps and Irritable bowel syndrome, here there should be accompanying bowel symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting, 4. Pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, endometritis and polycystic ovarian syndrome, here there will be pelvic pain with vaginal discharge/bleeding. Please discuss this with your doctor am sure he will provide further assistance.

He will ask for blood tests, urine analysis, an x ray and an ultra sonogram of the abdomen. Sometimes he may ask for an Intravenous pyelogram and a CT scan.  In the meantime take OTC Naproxen for pain relief and plenty of oral fluids.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.