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Upper Right Abdominal Pain
Exhausted! I experienced pain in upper right abdomen for several months. After many tests, they decided it was my gallbladder. It was removed in late 2012. Worst recovery ever! Pain was never relieved. Saw a GI specialists. Determined it was Sphincter of Oddi Dysfuntion. Had spincterotomy. Unsuccessful. Had botox injections into area. Unsuccessful. Was told I was a good candidtate for Transduodenal Sphinteroplasty (Major surgery to reconstruct biliary and pancreatic ducts). Unsuccessful. Have had Trigger Point injections performed at Mayo Clinic. Unsuccessful. You name the test, I have had it. ERCP, CT scans, MRI's (even specialized MRI). All results return normal. I have had blood work done continuously to check any other areas. Pancreas, Liver, etc. All is normal. I live with pain on a daily basis. Its as if I have gallbladder attacks everyday without a gallbladder present. It effects my digestive tract tremendously. I have lost 40 lbs. (20 of that was within a 2 month period.) I have tried countless medications from anti spasms, nerve medications, pain medicines, etc. The doctors are at a loss and seem to have given up. They want to refer me to pain management but that is a route I do not wish to take. I am still looking for a cause. I do not just want to treat the symptoms, I want to find a cause. I was a vibrant wife, mother of 4, until 2 years ago when this hit. I want to be her again! I have never reached out through the internet. I am my own advocate at this point and am looking for any suggestions or someone that can relate. Thank you for taking the time!
Best Answer
With all you have been through, you may be experiencing a lot of anxiety for not finding a diagnosis that works for you. The body and mind work together, and if numerous doctors are finding no cause, perhaps biofeedback or pain management counseling will help you. I am not saying you are not having discomfort, but these might be remedies you should pursue. These types of counselors can be VERY effective, and can refer you to a MD trained in pain management who could prescribe an anti-anxiety Rx to go along with these disciplines. If you are as uncomfortable as you say and it is affecting your family life, certainly they are worth pursuing. Good luck.
I am glad to hear that you had a very helpful meting with your primary.
Nothing worse when you have a problem and they can't understand what you are going through and just try to fob you off.
I agree with you that any long standing problem that there is no remedy for can play a factor in how we feel. And I have no doubt that you have already experienced this with you feeling unwell and how it affects your life and those all around you.
Best wishes.
Nothing worse when you have a problem and they can't understand what you are going through and just try to fob you off.
I agree with you that any long standing problem that there is no remedy for can play a factor in how we feel. And I have no doubt that you have already experienced this with you feeling unwell and how it affects your life and those all around you.
Best wishes.
Thank you very much, Jemma! I did meet with my primary today and she was very helpful in my questions. Smaller more frequent meals are more beneficial to me. And you are exactly right about some/any type of exercise. Although I have had my gastropareis under control for the past 4-5 years, it still may play a factor. Thank you, again!
Sorry to hear that you are so unwell and in pain every day.
I had not heard of gastroparesis before you wrote about that, but having read up on it, it appears that it causes problems with acid reflux and GER problems and that the food is emptied very slowly and sometimes stops on its way down from the stomach to the small intestines.
Because of this the gastroparesis, you will no doubt be well aware that some foods will be difficult to digest and should be avoided and smaller portions eaten more frequently is better to allow the food to travel from the stomach to the small intestines. Is your condition so severe that you have to have liquid and pureed foods?
With you having this condition, have you ever been referred to a dietician? If not, then this may be worth thinking about.
You may also already know that going for a walk and sitting for a couple of hours is better that lying down straight after a meal.
You may find the link below has very useful information with regard to your gastroparesis which is likely to be the cause of your problems.
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gastroparesis/#1
Although Medhelp does not allow web links, this site is not selling anything and has extremely useful information with regard to people suffering from gastroparesis.
I know that you are very much against going to pain management sessions, but if these are free to you, you have nothing to lose and can gain a lot of useful information. I too felt like you with regard to this, and did attend pain management sessions for a few weeks. I found it extremely beneficial and interesting as well as getting me out of the house, but also meeting other people (these were group sessions) who also suffer with chronic pain.
We were told that there is no magic wand and they could not cure any of us, but we learned about all sorts of things like managing and pacing what we did in the day, sleep, nutrition, communication, posture etc. We were also taught to do very gentle exercises to our own ability so as to keep mobility and to avoid muscle wastage.
Take care.
Best wishes.
I had not heard of gastroparesis before you wrote about that, but having read up on it, it appears that it causes problems with acid reflux and GER problems and that the food is emptied very slowly and sometimes stops on its way down from the stomach to the small intestines.
Because of this the gastroparesis, you will no doubt be well aware that some foods will be difficult to digest and should be avoided and smaller portions eaten more frequently is better to allow the food to travel from the stomach to the small intestines. Is your condition so severe that you have to have liquid and pureed foods?
With you having this condition, have you ever been referred to a dietician? If not, then this may be worth thinking about.
You may also already know that going for a walk and sitting for a couple of hours is better that lying down straight after a meal.
You may find the link below has very useful information with regard to your gastroparesis which is likely to be the cause of your problems.
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gastroparesis/#1
Although Medhelp does not allow web links, this site is not selling anything and has extremely useful information with regard to people suffering from gastroparesis.
I know that you are very much against going to pain management sessions, but if these are free to you, you have nothing to lose and can gain a lot of useful information. I too felt like you with regard to this, and did attend pain management sessions for a few weeks. I found it extremely beneficial and interesting as well as getting me out of the house, but also meeting other people (these were group sessions) who also suffer with chronic pain.
We were told that there is no magic wand and they could not cure any of us, but we learned about all sorts of things like managing and pacing what we did in the day, sleep, nutrition, communication, posture etc. We were also taught to do very gentle exercises to our own ability so as to keep mobility and to avoid muscle wastage.
Take care.
Best wishes.
Im still in debate of a 2nd opinion. I have my primary and the same GI specialist from the beginning. My primary did refer me to Mayo Clinic and sadly I was placed with an intern who oversaw my care and suggested trigger point injections. I never once met with the actual GI doctor.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I did not mean to click on the best response for the first answer. I am new to any type of forum. I have tried to watch my diet and try to see what works or what may trigger. Several years ago I was tested for gastroparesis and was positive. I have been able to control that with diet. During that time I did have H-pylori. I had the test done recently (within the past 2 months) and it was negative. Ive never experience acid reflux or GERD. I just seem to be a mystery. My symptoms are centrally located in one spot. I can pin point to where it is. My thinking is that if there is more of a general diagnosis, I would feel general symptoms in other areas. Our household diet is quite good. Its rare that anything is fried in our home and we are more focused on vegetables and chicken is probably the preferred meat. Sadly, the white products are easier to digest for gastroparesis sufferers. I have been tested for gluten and that was negative as well. Thank you for reaching out and offering :)
I did not mean to click best answer. I am new to this forum thing. With all due respect, Im not at the point to there I want to take anxiety meds. Im quite tired of meds. I feel that is a cop out to tell me its in my head. I am pretty laid back. And I was referred to a well respected pain management that works in and with one of the top rated hospitals and all she wanted to do was write a pain script. She actually was offended I wouldn't take it. Im not opposed to speaking to someone, Im just against "guessing" at a medication which may or may not work. I do believe the body and mind work together. But currently I believe they are having a disagreement. I do thank you for your input :)
Have you taken a look and evaluated the type of foods and the way these are cooked to see if there is a link to that?
Keep a food diary and write down everything that you eat and drink to see if there is a time when you feel worse after eating anything.
The other thing that can cause digestive discomfort is Helicobacter Pylori and the most accurate test for this is having a breath test or a stool sample tested. Other digestive problems can be from your stomach making too much acid and if you suffer from GERD or acid reflux if you have a hiatus hernia.
Cut out all processed foods and that includes white bread, pasta, white rice, cakes, biscuits. Don't eat heavily spiced foods and those that are fried.
To begin with have a bland diet to see if that helps.
Best wishes.
Keep a food diary and write down everything that you eat and drink to see if there is a time when you feel worse after eating anything.
The other thing that can cause digestive discomfort is Helicobacter Pylori and the most accurate test for this is having a breath test or a stool sample tested. Other digestive problems can be from your stomach making too much acid and if you suffer from GERD or acid reflux if you have a hiatus hernia.
Cut out all processed foods and that includes white bread, pasta, white rice, cakes, biscuits. Don't eat heavily spiced foods and those that are fried.
To begin with have a bland diet to see if that helps.
Best wishes.
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