Inexplicable Abdominal Pains

[caoutchouc]

Hey there,

This is sort of a last resort for me, as I am growing more and more despondent with no answers. I have been experiencing pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen since May 1st of 2011. It is right under my ribs on the right side, and at time radiates into my back.

It never goes away (even with pain killers, such as Morphine and T3s), only has peaks and valleys. I haven't noticed it getting worse after eating, but it will get worse with sudden physical movement (e.g. sneezing, running, bumps on the bus) and also will get worse out of nowhere. The pain initially started quite mildly, and increased over the next two days to the point I could barely walk. Since then, I am at a constant 3-4/10, often getting up to 10/10.

I have had numerous tests done - an ultrasound, CT, various blood tests - and almost everything has come up normal. I had slightly low levels of TSH, a somewhat elevated glucose test, and a B12 deficiency (recovering vegetarian :P ) but that is it. In my first trip to the ER I was seen by quite a few doctors (including a few surgeons), and none of them could come up with anything. After my second trip to the ER, a doctor suggested (well, mocked...) that I just had ulcers, and I was tested for H. Pylori and put on the appropriate medication (Nexium). The pain did not subside in the slightest and my test came back negative.

My doctor, though I love her, has obviously come to a point where she doesn't know what to do, and attempts to other referrals have not panned out (the GI basically told me he couldn't help me and kicked me out, the surgeon wouldn't see me after looking at my folder).

Any thoughts on all of this? I'm getting desperate and know that I cannot do this forever.

Thanks a ton in advance for any light you can shed my way! :)

[margypops]

Sounds like Gall bladder to me ..you do need a Hida scan  meantime stick to low fat food, do not eat late at night,Lemon juice may help ease the pain.If you put it into the search engine there is a list of foods to avoid that will trigger an attack, and foods you can eat that wont. Flax seed tea is something that eases pain you boil some flax seeds till they go 'goohey then you drink it. Not super tasting but can soothe the pain ..good luck its very painful I know demand the Hida scan

[caoutchouc]

I know I had an ultrasound & CT scan way back in May and there were no abnormalities (including the gallbladder). My doctor brought up doing another ultrasound/CT scan to see if anything has changed.

I believe my liver enzymes were checked and were normal, but my doctor hasn't mentioned anything about pancreatic ones -- I'll make sure to ask her in my next appointment (probably next week or the week after).

Right now I'm keeping a daily log of pain and tracking any triggers, so hopefully that will shed some light as well.

Thank you so much for your replies! I appreciate it greatly.

[Kaneda2112]

CalGal hit it on the nose, I can't believe you've suffered with this for so long without a HIDA scan or an MRCP - a medical imaging technique that uses magnetic resonance imaging to visualise the biliary and pancreatic ducts in a non-invasive manner. This procedure can be used to determine if gallstones are lodged in any of the ducts surrounding the gallbladder.

[CalGal]

Have you had your gallbladder checked via ultrasound, HIDA scan with CCK injection, and a check of the level of your liver and pancreatic enzymes?