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Recent HCV Diagnosis and URQ pain....
So i recently found out i have hcv, have no idea how i got infected, elevated ALt and all that other fun stuff, but i digress
for like 3 weeks now i have been having some pretty serious pain in my upper right quadrant (upper right abdomen), it feels like a horrible cramp, its really hard o describe, its kind of dull but snatches your attention like a sharp pain, whatever it is it *****. I also have been having a sharp pain in my upper left quadrant, but it comes and goes, although at some times it is really intense. And my right shoulder has also been kind of sore, which i know can be associated with liver problems. I have been to the dr. 3x now and he says its not my liver, although they did an ultra sound and I have portal hypertension and it only looks "slightly inflamed"; so im going to have to dish out a ton of money on a CT scan to further diagnose the problem
my problem is what do i do until they find out whats wrong??? This pain bothers me from when i wake up till when i fall asleep, i cry, it stresses me out, and on top of that i get migraine headaches....
I've been told to take aspirin/acetaminophen/ibuprofen, but none of them help, and I'm reluctant to further try something that doesn't help for fear of further damage to my liver
I asked him if I should go to pain management of what and he said hes not going to prescribe anything because "I'm the type of person that would get addicted"
Any advice?? I'm at a loss....... and in a lot of pain :(
for like 3 weeks now i have been having some pretty serious pain in my upper right quadrant (upper right abdomen), it feels like a horrible cramp, its really hard o describe, its kind of dull but snatches your attention like a sharp pain, whatever it is it *****. I also have been having a sharp pain in my upper left quadrant, but it comes and goes, although at some times it is really intense. And my right shoulder has also been kind of sore, which i know can be associated with liver problems. I have been to the dr. 3x now and he says its not my liver, although they did an ultra sound and I have portal hypertension and it only looks "slightly inflamed"; so im going to have to dish out a ton of money on a CT scan to further diagnose the problem
my problem is what do i do until they find out whats wrong??? This pain bothers me from when i wake up till when i fall asleep, i cry, it stresses me out, and on top of that i get migraine headaches....
I've been told to take aspirin/acetaminophen/ibuprofen, but none of them help, and I'm reluctant to further try something that doesn't help for fear of further damage to my liver
I asked him if I should go to pain management of what and he said hes not going to prescribe anything because "I'm the type of person that would get addicted"
Any advice?? I'm at a loss....... and in a lot of pain :(
i was just thinking about it, if i may have portal hypertension and therefore cirrhosis, why the hell would the doctors tell me to take Tylenol/aspirin/ibuprofen for pain?! that seems like irresponsible medical work....
just looked at the ultrasound and these are the results:
1. the portal vein is dilated suggesting portal hypertension
2 no masses or cirrhosis seen
guess only further testing will say for sure.......
1. the portal vein is dilated suggesting portal hypertension
2 no masses or cirrhosis seen
guess only further testing will say for sure.......
ya ive been waiting to see the Hepatologist, I was trying to get in sooner but apparently they are all going to some convention so may 1st is the soonest I can get in.
i figured a liver biopsy would be next, but I just moved to cali so no where here will take my FL insurance, so it looks like im moving back to Fla...
I wish insurance was more about the patient and less about money...
Man ya the one Dr that I've seen isn't a specialist, he just does internal medicine and he says he has treated hepatitis before.
but he says that I'm not having liver pain and it could be an ulcer or some other weird stuff, but i dunno. guess im off to a specialist ASAP
I wanted to do treatment anyway, I heard with that the tx combo plus those protease inhibitors works pretty good
and about the right shoulder pain, i've been reading up about referred pain and pain from the gallbladder/liver can be 'referred' to the right shoulder. but i kinda want to avoid a self diagnosis lol
just wish i could get to the dr. sooner, chronic pain sux :(
i figured a liver biopsy would be next, but I just moved to cali so no where here will take my FL insurance, so it looks like im moving back to Fla...
I wish insurance was more about the patient and less about money...
Man ya the one Dr that I've seen isn't a specialist, he just does internal medicine and he says he has treated hepatitis before.
but he says that I'm not having liver pain and it could be an ulcer or some other weird stuff, but i dunno. guess im off to a specialist ASAP
I wanted to do treatment anyway, I heard with that the tx combo plus those protease inhibitors works pretty good
and about the right shoulder pain, i've been reading up about referred pain and pain from the gallbladder/liver can be 'referred' to the right shoulder. but i kinda want to avoid a self diagnosis lol
just wish i could get to the dr. sooner, chronic pain sux :(
You should get a biopsy ASAP. The portal hypertension is serious. Get a referal to a liver clinic.
I am sorry to hear about your undiagnosed pain issue.
Anyone who has pain in their upper body that awakens them needs to find a doctor who can determine the cause of the pain because it could be potentially a very serious issue. If your current doctor(s) can not figure it out you should seek help from someone who can before things get worse.
* The upper right quadrant is a large area. It contains the stomach, liver, bile duct, gallbladder, parts of the intestines and head of the pancreas. Any one of these or could be the cause not even mentioning muscles, nerves, lymph nodes.
* As was mentioned the liver has no nerves so it can't feel pain. The area around the liver can feel pain. Your profile says your are 25 years old. Hepatitis C is most people has no symptoms. This is why the majority of people with hepatitis C and walking around with it and are unaware that they are even ill.
* It usually takes 20-40 years for hepatitis C to destroy the liver and even then it is rare to have any pain until the very last stage of liver disease and you would have many other very serious issues that would happen before any pain occurs. Since it takes many decades for hep C to destroy the liver most people with stage 4 liver disease are in their 50s having acquired the virus in their teens and 20s when the incidence of the spread of hepatitis C was highest. In the 1970s and 80s. You are only 25 years old so even if you had hepatitis C from birth it is unlikely it would have destroyed and scarred the liver by now. Although other causes of liver disease could cause a person's liver to fail in less time.
* "And my right shoulder has also been kind of sore". A "sore" shoulder has nothing to do with liver disease.
* " I have portal hypertension and it only looks "slightly inflamed" Portal Hypertension is a sign of stage 4, cirrhosis and has nothing to do with inflammation of the liver. If you have stage 4, cirrhosis you need to treat your hepatitis ASAP as your time to treat is running out before you may not be able to treat. I hope you are mistaken. You need to see a hepatologist if this is true, as cirrhosis can be a life threatening disease. inflammation of the liver is determined by biopsy and so is the stage of your liver disease. Stages 0, 1, 2, 3, 4=cirrhosis. If you have cirrhosis you must not take aspirin or ibuprofen as they can cause internal bleeding.
"in a lot of pain :("
You need to see a doctor as soon as possible to determine what is causing your pain. There are many conditions and illnesses that can cause pain in the abdomen. Most of them have nothing to do with hepatitis C or liver disease luckily, but if your doctor was correct in saying you have portal hypertension then you have very serious liver disease that needs to be confirmed, assessed and treated ASAP.
Good luck to you!
Hector
Anyone who has pain in their upper body that awakens them needs to find a doctor who can determine the cause of the pain because it could be potentially a very serious issue. If your current doctor(s) can not figure it out you should seek help from someone who can before things get worse.
* The upper right quadrant is a large area. It contains the stomach, liver, bile duct, gallbladder, parts of the intestines and head of the pancreas. Any one of these or could be the cause not even mentioning muscles, nerves, lymph nodes.
* As was mentioned the liver has no nerves so it can't feel pain. The area around the liver can feel pain. Your profile says your are 25 years old. Hepatitis C is most people has no symptoms. This is why the majority of people with hepatitis C and walking around with it and are unaware that they are even ill.
* It usually takes 20-40 years for hepatitis C to destroy the liver and even then it is rare to have any pain until the very last stage of liver disease and you would have many other very serious issues that would happen before any pain occurs. Since it takes many decades for hep C to destroy the liver most people with stage 4 liver disease are in their 50s having acquired the virus in their teens and 20s when the incidence of the spread of hepatitis C was highest. In the 1970s and 80s. You are only 25 years old so even if you had hepatitis C from birth it is unlikely it would have destroyed and scarred the liver by now. Although other causes of liver disease could cause a person's liver to fail in less time.
* "And my right shoulder has also been kind of sore". A "sore" shoulder has nothing to do with liver disease.
* " I have portal hypertension and it only looks "slightly inflamed" Portal Hypertension is a sign of stage 4, cirrhosis and has nothing to do with inflammation of the liver. If you have stage 4, cirrhosis you need to treat your hepatitis ASAP as your time to treat is running out before you may not be able to treat. I hope you are mistaken. You need to see a hepatologist if this is true, as cirrhosis can be a life threatening disease. inflammation of the liver is determined by biopsy and so is the stage of your liver disease. Stages 0, 1, 2, 3, 4=cirrhosis. If you have cirrhosis you must not take aspirin or ibuprofen as they can cause internal bleeding.
"in a lot of pain :("
You need to see a doctor as soon as possible to determine what is causing your pain. There are many conditions and illnesses that can cause pain in the abdomen. Most of them have nothing to do with hepatitis C or liver disease luckily, but if your doctor was correct in saying you have portal hypertension then you have very serious liver disease that needs to be confirmed, assessed and treated ASAP.
Good luck to you!
Hector
I feel your your frustration my friend. I have been experiencing the exact pain that you describe almost to a tee. The pain started about one year ago for me and I wasn't able to do anything until this past November. Since,! I have had blood work, ultra sound, x rays, Ct scan, endoscopy, and just yesterday a hida scan which constraints on the gallbladder all have returned normal.. This freaking pain has got me to my wits in. Don't get me wrong I am grateful the docs haven't found something seriously wrong but man I sure wish they could get to the bottom of it.
Well I hope you have better luck then myself on a diagnosis and hope you feel better really soon.
Well I hope you have better luck then myself on a diagnosis and hope you feel better really soon.
Why dont you get a biopsy of your liver. Thats' the recommended Gold Standard (wut-ever that means)
But yeah, my ultra-sound was normal, but my biopsy showed I had stage 2 fibrosis, so I went into treatment.
Maybe it is your spleen that hurts, the liver doesn't have any nerve endings.
I never had any pain, like the one you are describing.
But yeah, my ultra-sound was normal, but my biopsy showed I had stage 2 fibrosis, so I went into treatment.
Maybe it is your spleen that hurts, the liver doesn't have any nerve endings.
I never had any pain, like the one you are describing.
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