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Gastroenterology Community
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Gallbladder or Epigastric Hernia?
by perpetual, Oct 24, 2007 05:17PM
I'll try to keep this brief. Thanks in advance for reading!
In late August I felt a tightness and painless swelling a few inches above my belly button. About a week after I noticed this tightness on a couple occasions I had a CPR class where I was bending over a lot. After that class I had a pain in that area above my belly button. I didn't think much of it and grabbed a fried chicken sandwich for lunch. Within 20 minutes I had terrible pains all over my abdomen and chest. I went to the ER and was told it was probably GERD and given prevacid. I saw my regular doc a few days later and he thought it was gallstones. Here are the tests I had following that:
Ultrasound - no stones
HIDA scan - gallbladder didn't visualize after an hour but did when given a morphine injection
Upper Endoscopy - nothing abnormal found
CT scan - nothing abnormal except a hernia just above my belly button that I was born with
So all that took place over the course of about 3 weeks. At first I kept eating what I wanted and had the pain for hours whenever I did as well as super tender in the area of my gallbladder when touched. I totally changed my diet and all that pain went away as well as the tenderness around my gallbladder. From the start of all this and still now I have had yellow mucous with every bowel movement, many times with diarrhea.
Until about two weeks ago I felt no pain in the hernia site even when touched. Then I noticed I was more sensitive there but no real pain. Then 4 days ago I woke up with terrible pain in the hernia location that lasted all day. I felt it again for an hour or so the next day and it was very tender to the touch, radiating pain with medium pressure. The next day it was fine, then the next it was very painful for hours again, so it is coming and going but always painful to medium pressure.
Also I've had a ton of belching during this time usually starting an hour after I eat but they are small burps and can slightly burn. I don't have hardly any gas but I always produced a lot before all this!
And on top of all this about two weeks after this started I started getting pelvic pain, testicle pain, and sharp pains in the tip of penis. I saw a urologist who said I appeared fine but could be low grade prostatitis which I am currently on medication for, although I am not convinced that's the problem.
Can anyone make anything of all this? I have an appointment with my surgeon on monday to review and schedule a surgery for my hernia but I want any other opinions too.
If anyone read all this - seriously you are my hero. Thank you.
In late August I felt a tightness and painless swelling a few inches above my belly button. About a week after I noticed this tightness on a couple occasions I had a CPR class where I was bending over a lot. After that class I had a pain in that area above my belly button. I didn't think much of it and grabbed a fried chicken sandwich for lunch. Within 20 minutes I had terrible pains all over my abdomen and chest. I went to the ER and was told it was probably GERD and given prevacid. I saw my regular doc a few days later and he thought it was gallstones. Here are the tests I had following that:
Ultrasound - no stones
HIDA scan - gallbladder didn't visualize after an hour but did when given a morphine injection
Upper Endoscopy - nothing abnormal found
CT scan - nothing abnormal except a hernia just above my belly button that I was born with
So all that took place over the course of about 3 weeks. At first I kept eating what I wanted and had the pain for hours whenever I did as well as super tender in the area of my gallbladder when touched. I totally changed my diet and all that pain went away as well as the tenderness around my gallbladder. From the start of all this and still now I have had yellow mucous with every bowel movement, many times with diarrhea.
Until about two weeks ago I felt no pain in the hernia site even when touched. Then I noticed I was more sensitive there but no real pain. Then 4 days ago I woke up with terrible pain in the hernia location that lasted all day. I felt it again for an hour or so the next day and it was very tender to the touch, radiating pain with medium pressure. The next day it was fine, then the next it was very painful for hours again, so it is coming and going but always painful to medium pressure.
Also I've had a ton of belching during this time usually starting an hour after I eat but they are small burps and can slightly burn. I don't have hardly any gas but I always produced a lot before all this!
And on top of all this about two weeks after this started I started getting pelvic pain, testicle pain, and sharp pains in the tip of penis. I saw a urologist who said I appeared fine but could be low grade prostatitis which I am currently on medication for, although I am not convinced that's the problem.
Can anyone make anything of all this? I have an appointment with my surgeon on monday to review and schedule a surgery for my hernia but I want any other opinions too.
If anyone read all this - seriously you are my hero. Thank you.
Member Comments (6)
by spook999, Oct 24, 2007 05:56PM
To: perpetual
I can totally relate to your story and I too have a hiatus hernia. I have been advised by my consultant not to bend or lift anything heavy as this apparantlly can trigger the pain of the hernia and this is always the case. I also have to be careful about what I eat . Recently I have had a lot of discomfort the GP as advised me to go to check it out because gall bladder can cause the same discomfort, beltshing, central stomoch pain that radiates into back and reflux. Do u notice the pain is connected to exertion and /or foods?
by perpetual, Oct 25, 2007 04:48PM
To: spook999
Yes and no. At first it was totally food related. Any time I ate fatty foods I would start hurting about 15 minutes later and hurt from 2 to 16 hours. At that time I felt it all through my abdomen and chest, my heart had serious throbbing pain. So I stopped eating anything fried, all dairy, anything carbonated, basically all I eat is grilled/baked chicken, vegetables, pasta, and fruit. Now my pain seems to be slightly related but only when I eat a lot of food at one point. It doesn't always take that though and some days my hernia site doesn't hurt at all. I also notice it hurting after lifting even moderately heavy items or going # 2. It is always really sensitive to the touch and when pressed the pain radiates to my heart, back, and lower abdomen. I don't have a hiatus hernia because it would have been found in my endoscopy. This is epigastric, a few inches above my belly button, a few lower than a hiatus hernia would be located. I find that I have pain all over my body at different points, lasting only a short time but I mean from my jaws to my heel and all inbetween. I hope a hernia repair works but I can't get any definite answer about what my problems are much less about how to fix them!
by mr.lucky66, Oct 25, 2007 06:56PM
Now I thinking if my hernia (iginal? under testicle) is realated to this or in some way one exasterbates the other. My surgical apt. for monday is for both problems (hernia and GB) but my doc didn't make any connection
by PeterGriffin, Oct 25, 2007 09:46PM
My surgeon and 2 other doctors I've seen say there is basically zero connection between my hernia and most of my symptoms. I'm not so sure about that though because when I press on my hernia not only does it hurt in the surrounding area but a sharp pain goes to my heart, back and sometimes groin. Who knows!
by PeterGriffin, Oct 25, 2007 09:47PM
PeterGriffin = Perpetual, forgot I was logged in on an old name. D'oh!
by Melindaj, Mar 14, 2008 04:53PM
To: PeterGriffin
I just found out today I have a epigastric hernia