Chronic Adbdominal Pain and Nausea

[DAR239]

Hi, there.  I'm a 20-year-old male college student.  For the past ten months, I have been suffering from chronic abdominal pain and nausea.    The pain is a sort of dull ache in my stomach, not sharp or crampy.  I get intensely nauseated but do not vomit.  The intense episodes come in spells, but I operate with a low level of nausea  and general "squishiness," for lack of a better term, almost all the time.  Sometimes I get intestinal cramps, but this is not nearly as common as the other two symptoms.  Also, another odd little symptom that is worth mentioning is that I often suffer from canker sores in my mouth.

I have been tested for just about everything: ulcers, heliobacter, gallbladder, tumor and cancer, celiac disease, gastroparesis, etc.  So far, the doctor has found nothing.  These symptoms are making it hard to meet the demands placed on me by school and work.  I often call in sick at my job, and I've missed a lot of classes.  I don't mean to sound pitiful, as I know there are people who are worse off than I am, but being nauseated all the time is sapping my will to live.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

I agree with the workup thus far.  Although likely already done, I would at least consider an upper endoscopy and abdominal ultrasound to rule out liver/gallbladder disease as well as upper digestive tract disease.

More specialized testing can be done with a gastric emptying scan or 24-hr pH study with esophageal motility testing.

If the tests continue to be negative, you can look outside the GI system.  Various neurological diseases can lead to chronic nausea.  A brain MRI would be a reasonable start to explore this possibility.

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.

Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_

[vegasmma]

I have had similar symptoms for the past 3 months; morning nausea,  morning vomiting, and pain right below my right rib.

I have had several tests conducted: An upper GI endoscopy with biopsy, abdominal ultrasound, barium GI test, stool samples for y pylori, etc. Everything came up negative except for inflammation in the stomach.

My second Gastroenterologist doesn't know what is causing the stomach inflammation. He put me on Aciphex, which has done nothing for the past month. The only drug that has kept me from feeling extremely nauseous and kept me from vomiting was Phenergan.

I have been taking 1000 mg of MSM and 1000 mg Fish oil capsules with DHA  120mg, EPA 180mg at night and in the morning and that has helped much more than the Aciphex, but I am still slightly nauseous every morning. I'm hoping someday to find a cure, rather than just treating the symptoms.

Goodluck. I know how miserable it can be living like this.

[metsfan]

I'm not as severe as the above mentioned, but have had abdominal pain for the last 6 days. I don't have nausea or heartburn syptoms (symptoms), but my stools are dark and round with a slight smell. There is also a small area right above my belly button that is somewhat tight, but this has been present for years. I have been taking Pepcid Complete and Pepto-Bismol on and off since the beginning.

About me: I'm a 39 year old male

Can someone please give me a short diagnosis as to what can be causing my pain

[DAR239]

I have had both an endoscopy and an abdominal scan, as well as a HIDA test.  All of them came back negative.

vegasmma: thanks, good luck to you as well.

[DDH4065]

You "may" have a hemangioma on your liver.
Here's my story.
Back in 04 a hemangioma was found on my liver when getting a routine ultrasound for a bladder condition. At that time my Dr decided to send me for a Tagged Red Blood Cell test to confirm that it was just a hemangioma. The Tagged Red Blood Cell test confirmed that it was a hemagioma so the Dr decided that it was best just watch it and sent me for ultrasounds every year to track it's progress since I wasn't having any problems or pain & it wasn't increasing in size.
In early June of this year 2007, I started having intense pain on my right side near my gall bladder along with bloating, nausea & stomach upset.  
I was sent for an  ultrasound & no stones were found in my gall bladder. They sent me home with Protonix and said call us in 2 weeks. I called them in 8 days and said I was feeling no better, still had pain in my side and constant nausea. They then said that maybe I had an ulcer and sent me for an endoscopy which came back normal. I then insisted that a HIDA scan and CT scan be done as I was not accepting that my condition was STILL acid reflux. The CT scan showed the liver hemangioma increased in size. I am now waiting for another consult with my Gastro Dr on Aug 27th   for him to discuss "options" with me on what to do.
I am going to look into RFA radio frequency ablation of the hemangioma if need be as I do not want surgery.
PLEASE DAR239 ask your Dr for an ultrasound of your liver.

The forum on this site is VERY informative and I've learned alot.
See the message board on this site concerning liver hemangiomas as well.
http:www.medhelp.org/forums/gastro/massages/37713.html
Good luck. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

[rainie46]

good morning! i am writing this to you because i have a 15 yr old daughter who also suffers with the same as you. She has gone through this for the last two years. She was a home bound student last year, and so far has not attended school at all this year. She suffers from this. We have done test after test, with everything coming  back negative. I feel for you. The last doctor we took her to told us that it is all stress related. Can someone have stomach pain for two years and it just be stress. Is there ever going to be one day that she dont have stress? No one can hurt everyday like this and not have frustration levels beyond belief. She has lost all faith in the medical community. This also caused me to miss alot of work due to her illness. The doctors have thrown their hands in the air on this. It is sad that no one can help both of you. Somedays i feel like screaming out for help! Please if you find an answer please let us know. We have even taken her to pysch and therapy sessions, with no help. Therapy should have helped relieve some stress, but she still suffered pain through all of the sessions. Good luck to you!

[pokey78]

Have you been tested for gastroparesis?  Your symptoms sound oddly similar to mine (apart from the canker sores).  For some reason, doctors don't always check for it, which is why I've been in severe abdominal pain for the past few years and just got a diagnosis a few weeks ago.

[ecstranz]

My wife has suffered from the a very similar problem for the a couple of years.  She would feel nausiated and crampy.  The doctors diagnosed it as IBS of which there really is no treatment for except modifying your diet.  Some diagnosed it as food allergies.  It made her life miserable.  She was never able to go out anywhere because she would have diareaha at a moments notice.  It was terrible.  It was like always having the flu.  There would be days of feeling alright and then it would hit her.  After two years of going through this on again off again problem she was getting the pain one day in her intestines and we decided that we needed to go to the hospital to have it checked out.  The ER doctor decided to do a CT and found that her appendix was swollen.  Not hugely swollen but had swelling none the less.  The blood test showed some elevated signs of an infection but not alot.  The sugeon came in and looked at it closely and recommended that we remove the appendix.  We thought it was a good idea and wondered if this could have what was nagging her for so long.  After the surgery the surgeon said that he had only seen a case like hers a couple of times and he had done thousands of Appendectumy surgeries.  He said that she had what was called Chronic Appendicitus.  Her appendix was swollen all the way up into her intestine.  He had to remove the appendix and part of her intestine.  He believed that this condition could have been going on for a long time!  He said unlike Acute Appendicitus, Chronic Appendicitus routinely flares up and then retracts for a while before flareing up again and can go on for some time without bursting the appendix.  A lot of doctors don't believe in Chronic Appendicitus but we do because she feels so much better now.  She is still getting phantom pains in that area that we can't explain but nothing like what she had to go through for so long.  I hope her story can help you or others experiencing similar problems.  

[Linda10]

Have any of you been tested for diverticulitis? A Ct-Scan of the abdomen and or a colonoscopy could tell a lot. It's not a disease that affects only the elderly. I'm 28 and suffered sever attacks until I had to have surgery. It's just a thought...something else to rule out.

Good luck...

[ton163]

Hello I am a 43 year old male who just had an endoscopy. I have erosions on my stomach lining. I will be seeing my gastro doctor in another 2 weeks to explain more about the erosions.I am on previcid 2 times a day.My question is I am still having lower back pains.Could the back pains that I am having is from my stomach problems or is it another issue i have to deal with.

[safuse123]

My husband has the exact symptoms as you and has been suffering for the past 5 months, in and out of the emergency room had all the tests except the gastric emptying scan which they just gave him a prescription to have done.... he is currently taking suppositories for the nausea, he gets some relieve from it but it doesn't last.....  have you had any luck with your symptoms, has anyone found what was wrong ??????

[dflynn]

I WAS JUST DIAGNOSED WITH DIVERTICULITIS AFTER 3 MONTHS OF TEST I LOST 25 LBS IN A MONTH FROM THE NAUSEA I HAD A CT SCAN, ULTRASOUND,HIDA SCAN, COLANOSCOPY AND THEY ALL SHOWED NOTHING THEN THEY SENT ME FOR A MECKEL SCAN BECAUSE I WAS HAVENT RECTAL BLEEDING AND IT FINALLY SHOWED WHAT I HAD

[jessi91356875]

My sister, Joey (16), she's had the same problems as all of you and they've lasted for two years now. She used to say in the morning, before school, that she felt sick, like she was going to vomit and some of the time she did. That started back when she was little, around kindergarten. She has pain above her belly button, right below her ribs. She's been to almost every doctor here in Omaha Nebraska. They've taken out her gallbladder and done every test known to man. As one doc put it, "she's had the complete workup and there's really nothing I can do for you", so were do you go when a DOCTOR of all people says there's nothing they can do for you?!?!
There was a doc we went to that said it was stress related. I'm sorry, you can't stress yourself out that much for this long.
Her father left about a year ago, so they put her on antidepressants, thinking it was depression. After that didn't work, they sent her to a therapist. That didn't work.
They want to send her to Indianapolis for an ERCP but she doesn't want to, as one of the possible side effects is pancreatitis.
I myself wouldn't want pancreatitis at 16 years old.
Well, she hasn't been to school this year so far and she didn't go at all last year, she was home schooled.
I'm afraid for my mother, as this has put her under such financial distress and I can't help her out.
Joey has had so many tests that my mother's insurance money was out by May of this year.....should last all year long. My mom has filed for financial assistance to help pay for the tests.
Sad thing about this is, she's a member of the medical community-a nurse. That's what hurts her so badly, she's a nurse and can't do anything for her daughter that's in constant pain.
They've recently decided it could be due to sphincter of oddi dysfunction. That's why they want to send her to Indianapolis.
If anyone, anywhere, knows anything about this "disease?" "epidemic?" could you please help us out?!
I'm so afraid for her and there's nothing I can do for her at all.
Joey just feels so helpless.
So, please help if you know anything about this at all.

[bendsmith1981]

Hey all,

        I am writing this as a last ditch effort to help my girlfriend feel like a normal human being.  She has had weird abdominal pain for the past year and a half.  First, I'll give you all some background.  She is a 28 y.o. server at a nice restaurant.  Before these problems started she had a normal life which consisted of working and hanging out with friends and playing sports.  When she was 16-17 she a had a bout with anorexia.  She said that she would not eat and take diet pills.  However, that was 10 years ago and she seem to have made a full recovery ( do you say that with eating disorders? Its not like they are cancer right ?)
      O.K. Now the recent stuff.  Nov 07- she starts having intense stomach pain that cause her to go home from work.  The pains seems to subside but over the next couple of weeks they come back at random times with no apparent correlation to a specific diet.  The pains continue to intensify so we go see a gastro – doc (i know there is a real classification, but we all get it.)  By this time the pains are fairly regular and she has made several trips to the ER.  Blood was taken and various other tests were performed and everything came back fine.  Anyway, the gastronomical women thinks its the gall bladder and says that its removal will be the cure all – NO MORE Pain!!!  
     So, its 2 months later and the gal bladder has come out.  Life looks like easy street.  

     Well after being able to eat a somewhat normal diet again. The pains are back and worse that ever.   ( Hadn't occurred to me that I should describe the pains so here goes --- She seems to get random sharp abdominal pains throughout the day usually they occur every 36-72 hours.  By this i mean a couple of time a week. They don not seemed to be based on diet either.  We can have pizza one night and she is not bothered.  Other nights, a turkey sandwich on wheat bread (dry) will cause her serious pain.  She also complains that her whole abdomen some nights gets boiling hot.  There are some foods that she knows will cause pain but her diet does contain a good amount of fruits yogurts and grains she also eats very little meat.      

   Lastly, the reason for me writing this, is the large impact this has had on her quality of life.  I  know she's not a terminal cancer patient but hear me out.  She worries now about things like going out with friends because if she does get these pains she wants to be close to home and able to just lie down and bear it.  Up until this point in my life I have had a very high opinion of most doctors and medical professionals (I've gotten hurt quite a few times and they always seems to stitch me up right).  In summarizing costs this this is ridiculous.  All tolled she has been to some sort of facility over 10 times.
I'm really looking for help here, we are frustrated beyond belief.  The most common thing said to her when she tels people about her symptoms is “you're to young to have problems like that”

thanks all
Ben        
        

[kathryn lee]

I'm glad your wife feels better. Sounds like the same stuff I am going through. It seems like the only things that doctors test for are the acute problems. I've never heard of chronic appendicitis before and I am a nursing major. I was diagnosed with having appendicitis at the age of 15, that was 11 years ago. They didn't remove my appendix because I wasnt running a fever or vomiting. Anyways, since the age of 21 I have undergone 6 knee surgeries and have been on Darvocet for pain. Back to the subject, I have been having bouts of abdominal pain since Nov. 2005. The first gastro doc put me through the proverbial sonogram, CT, and not to mention an EGD and a colonoscopy that didnt work because the anesthesiologist couldnt start a central line because my veins were playing hide and seek. Then my IM guy ordered a CT, HIDA scan, and a sonogram that came back normal. He thought it was an infection, so he sent me home with Protonix which didnt work. Since Aug. 20th Ive been to ER twice and nothing. The gastro doc that I have now ordered a gastric emptying study, and some more bloodwork. I see him again Oct. 1st. Ill ask him if its possible I could have chronic appendicitis. Thank you. Wish you a speedy recovery.

[DWelding]

I have a 14 year old son that has been diagnosed with gastric paresis.  We have tired all the treatments.  The raglan made him severely depressed. The erythromycin made him sick.  He missed 2/3rds of his school days last year and is three weeks into the school year and has missed 6 of the 13 days so far.  We would like to find a doctor in the Los Angeles area that would consider a gastric pacemaker but have been unable to fine one.  Any suggestions?

[2greatkids]

Have you been tested for various bacteria that eat up your stomach - ask your doctor - have you been checked for Crohn's. Your symptoms sound a lot like what my sister has - Crohn's disease.

Hope you get better.

[crazy kaiser]

My gosh can someone maybe shed some light? Im so so desperate..
My daughter is 24 with a 10 month old baby. She has been in the hospital now for three weeks.
It all started with a pain just a smidge below the belly button a tad to the right. She already had the appendix removed when she was 14.
I am so scared for her life. She is down to 92 pounds with extreme wreching vomiting and this pain.
She cant even eat ice chips without thowing them up.
They have done evevy test known to man and all is negative.
ct scans endoscopy berium enama xrays blood ultra sound showed sludge. I asked if this can cause the constant pain below the belly button and the dr and surgeon said no.
She is begging me to help her especially when she is wretching for 20 minutes or more.
My daughter is so in love with her baby! But the drs are telling me she is sick from stress or having a crisis. Im so sad because i know this is not whats going on. She is really very very sick. tonight she told me she is desperate and pleaded for help. What do i do?? Im so worried for her.
Deb in calif

[teripec]

I am no doc but canker sores in my opinion are caused from acidity, stomach pain causes nausea and increases acidity which can also end up causing holes in your stomach and esophgus. I had your symptoms and other symptoms The one that was the most constant was burping, burping that sounded as if someone was speaking as they loudly expelled. The pain is what would get me to the doctors. For 2 years I tried to find out what was the matter with me but if the syptoms (symptoms) don't follow the norm, throw in depression and lethargy in, it becomes an up hill battle of diagnosing yourself. Long story short, on good days I fought for myself and found I had a 3 inch round tumor in my large intestine.Best thing I can say to you, is don't give up on youeself, your body will speak to you. the symptoms can change because your body will keep trying to get you to listen. Careful of medicines that tend to hide the problem by masking the symptom.

[musicchick581]

Did they find the  tumor in an ultrasound or xrays?

[naeer]

My daughter is 22 yrs old with a 5 mth old.  She was fine for 3 weeks after the baby was born, but then all of a sudden she started to have pain and flu like symptoms.  They put her in the hospital on IV therapy.  Then less than two weeks later the same symptoms appeared.  End result was her gallbladder was bad, and she needed it removed.  Life was good for a couple weeks and then she ended up with another hospitalization and diagnosed with pancreatitis, caused by the gallbladder surgery.
After all of this we are still dealing with pain, nausea, vomiting and no eating.  She is also loosing weight rapidly.  We have had every test possible and now the dr. is treating her for sphincter of oddi.  I am also at my wits end.  I can't sit back and watch my daughter turn into a skeleton.  She can't take care of her son, is severly depressed, and would rather die than live with this.  
I would look for a dr who believes in her, not one who says it is from stress.  Stress does do horrific things to a person, but not what you are describing.
I pray to god every night to take this away from my daughter and give it to me.
The dr. says there is one more test that can be done, but it is only done in Seattle.  We live 8 hours away, and then he said it would be a last resort because it could cause more pancreatitis.
I hope you find a dr. who will help your daughter.  

[naeer]

An aquaintance of mine just had a pacemaker put in at OHSU(Oregon Health Science University) in Portland, OR.
This is a fantastic hospital.  Maybe if you went to their website you could find a GI specialist who could recommend a collegue somewhere else in California.  Our dr. was going to talk to a dr. who travels between Portland and San Francisco.
Good luck.

[workabee]

My 40 year old son has had nausea, throwing up, loss of weight, flu like symptoms and had blood work came back negative hepatitis - said gallbladder no prob, no ulcers, doctor "thought" there may be tumors on liver - MRI was done - he was rude/did not want to answer questions - this has been 2 weeks ago and still my son is having nausea and unable to hold food.  He does not want to go to doctor because of way he was treated before.  He has severe pain in right upper chest area - very tired - blood pressure was low.  Do these symptoms sound like gallbladder even if test did not show it could it be?  Anyone have these symptoms and what was treatment/outcome.

[st.george1123]

Dear Doctor.
i am only 18 years old and have had progressivally worse symptoms of nausea every morning. Followed by vomiting consisting for 3-6 for 2 hours...
Recently i have visited the emergency room several times. the syptoms (symptoms) come in cycles of 3-4 weeks..
Blood samples have shown little chance for hepatitis, or liver infection, i stay extremley fit..have good eating habits and get pleanty of sleep...
Tests showed that protein levels in were too high, potassium too low, pallate count low, and blood sugar high...
i have already had an edoscopy and ultrasound.everything seemed normal
Do you have a diagnosis; i would really appreciate it..ive tried everything..

[teripec]

x-rays were taken and i am sure something showed. my pain would take me to the emergancy room, and there was never a reason given to me for my pain, they would just tell me to see my physician, well i didn't have my own doc thats why i was going to the emergancy room. they did'nt give me reason as to why i should find myself a doc., so i did'nt, i went in that circle for a couple years. then i became increasingly scared and changed my medical insurance and tried to find out what was wrong with me. i thought maybe it was gyn, so that doc. did a vaginal ultra sound and the tech had bump the tumor and i screamed out in pain. results came in and the gyn doc says test were neg. all is fine and i say.. why did i yell in pain? gyn doc. says, i don't know but for gyn you are fine, whatever it is its not my department so i waited another year with differant kind of test inbetween, till that needed text book, one time only black clot came out with stool, then a colonascopy was done tumor was found and then surgery..sorry about my long story to your simple question

[Jatech]

All of these undiagnosed gastro symptoms sound familiar try a simple combination
off ''Inner Health caps daily'' Honey instead of sugar and Olive Leave extract caps,I
have been for every test known to Western Med and found the usual things, polyps
Hemangioma's etc. Probiotics have settled myself with 12 months off persistance
bad gut flora effects your all your digestive organs!