A royal pain in the...side!

[caseyjones1]

I manage severe pain from deteroriating disc in my neck and spine as well I have been diagnosed with poly-neuropathy in my legs and mid section. I am working with pain specialist to deal with that. The issue I am having that no medical professional has been able to bring me any relief for is constant pain that I am having on my right side from an area on my rib cage that sometimes penitrates down to my hip. This is a pain that keeps me very restricted in my activities. It is constant for the most part. I can tell you the day it hit was Dec 12 2010. I have had my gall bladder checked, upper-lower GI., hidascan, mri, catscan, ultra-sound and xrays taken. My appendix was removed about 7 years ago. The pain in my side sometimes begins a trickle effect that tickles my skin or causes me to be sensitive to having my clothing or bed covers touch the surface of my skin. In the last two weeks my left side has began to experience similar affects but not as severe as my right side. This is driving me nuts because meds have not touched this. My blood work appears acceptable to my family doc. my pain specialist is stumped. Is there something they are missing or that I might suggest to them on my next visit?

[Tuckamore]

Hi Casey,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am very glad that you found us but very sorry that a DX appears elusive to your physicians.

My first thought was herpes zoster better known as Shingles. Yes it can occur without the usual rash and textbook symptoms.... it can produce mysterious symptoms and be difficult to DX. However when you mentioned it had spread to the other side it seems less likely.... though still not impossible. Once you have had a Shingles outbreak you can develop a condition called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Have you had Shingles in the past or could you have had a minor case and not have realized what it was?

There are multiple causes that could be causing your symptoms. It's impossible for me to guess what exactly may be the reasons. Another causation could be Fibro. Fibromyalgia in some instances can produce skin pain and sensitivity.

It may be possible that this is a neuropathy of some sort. I found this on an older post in our MedHelp Neurology Forum.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Neurology/Skin-very-sensitive-to-the-touch/show/410218
It's not an exact description of your symptoms but it is a bit similar.

Here are a few posts within MedHelp that might be beneficial:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Ask-a-Nurse/Sensitive-painful-Skin/show/1508073
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Neurology/Skin-Pain/show/1428983

You are approaching this in the right manner. Research and read. You may find something that will fit and offer your physicians some avenues to investigate. I hope this has been helpful.

I wish you the very best and hope that you will share with us your progress and what you discover We learn from one another. I hope you'll soon be feeling better and get to the root of your new symptoms.  I'll look forward to your updates.

Good Luck and Take Care,
~Tuck

[bigsissie]

Sounds as if you have a nerve getting pinched. This will cause the skin sensitivity and the "tickles" along with the pain. Ask your doctor to do a myelogram and a nerve conduction test. Also you may want to see if your doctor thinks that a medication for nerves like Gabitril or neurontin will help. Best of luck to you. Hope you get better soon.

Sissie