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pain located in the right upper quadrant
I am a 34 years old man that suffers from abdominal pain located in the right upper quadrant, where the gallbladder is. This is where the pain is usually located and most severe. Sometimes moves to the right and the right flank and in the back somehow to the right of the spine. Very rarely happens to be in the left upper quadrant close to the flank and even more rare I feel it going to the groin, right side. It is coming and going, in the RUQ can be sharp in all the other spots is dull. It is accentuated by effort, movement (walking) and stress. If I lay on my back or change position it disappears. If I bend forward it makes it worse. I don
A related discussion, pain was started.
I am 36 years old (m) and I have had the same symptoms, off and on for three years. Funny thing is that I started experiencing them after my own father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, so I thought that it was just stress related.
I had all the tests done, including a HYDA scan and they found two small cysts. The pains come and go, and although are mostly on the right upper side, they also come on the left upper side as well, just below my bottem rib.
It kind of feels like a burning sensation. Lately, they have come back and I am going back to the doctor for probably another scan.
I was always so worried that the pains were related to my pancreas, given my father's history, although it seems like more gallbladder related.
I had all the tests done, including a HYDA scan and they found two small cysts. The pains come and go, and although are mostly on the right upper side, they also come on the left upper side as well, just below my bottem rib.
It kind of feels like a burning sensation. Lately, they have come back and I am going back to the doctor for probably another scan.
I was always so worried that the pains were related to my pancreas, given my father's history, although it seems like more gallbladder related.
have you had any luck in finding out what it is yet? I have something VERY similar.. it started about 4 years ago - a "funny feeling" in my chest upper right abdomen, under/behing my ribs. it felt like a hamster running in a wheel inside me! kind of fluttering and a bit achey... weird! At the time I had tests for EVRTYHING - liver, blood, MRI scans, gallstones, endoscopy etc etc ..nothing... but they did find a VERY small hiatus hernia, but that wasnt where it hurt and I get no GERD / heartburn etc.(I dont think its that)
Anyway, as it happened I lost a bit of weight and it seemed to go.
Its back now! has been for a few months, its intermittent, but is worse when I lean or bend forward - cant even lean over to eat dinner or type without triggering it, it sometimes hurts when I lie on my right side (always used to). Now the pain is more severe, it aches, it feels almost stitch like, but then it feels fluttery again, or I'll get sharp pricking pain, or it will feel like the area is very bloated , under pressure. Im currently taking a 2 week course of Zoton, and if that doesnt work its back for tests again - starting, again with gallstones.. I have to sit right back, lean back or lie down to stop it hurting.. Its getting so that sometimes instead of lasting say up to 10minutes its going on for 4 hours plus...
I'll let you know if they find anything out. It doesnt seem to make any difference if I eat like a mouse or stuff my face, drink or dont drink, anything, it jsut comes and goes... oh and when you press thea area there arent any lumps or anything (but there is an ample layer of fat!)
thanks
trish
Anyway, as it happened I lost a bit of weight and it seemed to go.
Its back now! has been for a few months, its intermittent, but is worse when I lean or bend forward - cant even lean over to eat dinner or type without triggering it, it sometimes hurts when I lie on my right side (always used to). Now the pain is more severe, it aches, it feels almost stitch like, but then it feels fluttery again, or I'll get sharp pricking pain, or it will feel like the area is very bloated , under pressure. Im currently taking a 2 week course of Zoton, and if that doesnt work its back for tests again - starting, again with gallstones.. I have to sit right back, lean back or lie down to stop it hurting.. Its getting so that sometimes instead of lasting say up to 10minutes its going on for 4 hours plus...
I'll let you know if they find anything out. It doesnt seem to make any difference if I eat like a mouse or stuff my face, drink or dont drink, anything, it jsut comes and goes... oh and when you press thea area there arent any lumps or anything (but there is an ample layer of fat!)
thanks
trish
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I found this forum while searching the Internet for a possible diagnosis for the pain I have had now for 6 years in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen.
I am a 52 year old American woman, living in a country that has poor medical services, and doctors who do not treat you, if they don't feel like it. You can only see a specialist if your GP makes the appointment for you. And you don't get the choice of which doctor you will see for any given problem. In this country, you see whomever they decide for you to see, and then you have to sit around waiting wait for 6 to 18 month for an appointment to come through the mail. Until you receive a letter telling you where to go, and whom to see.
The hospitals in this country are horribly filthy, and you can catch super bugs if you go anywhere near them. If you do go to one of their disgusting ERs you can sit around for 6 hours just waiting to see a nurse, and then an additional six hours waiting to see a doctor. That's if you can get past the filth and stench of the place. Then, if you are lucky enough to get put into their filthy hospital, where nothing gets cleaned, because the staff do not believe that keeping things clean & sanitary, or washing your hands, can make any difference what-so-ever to anyone's medical care/recovery! You then get put in a room so filthy that there is at least a years worth of dust on the floor (if you drop something, forget about retrieving it!), and a very musty/stale smell in the air. Where you will lie in most uncomfortable bed you have ever experienced in your entire life, and where you can lie for days, while they ignore you, and ask you every 4-6 hours if you want some paracetamol (which is the British equivalent to American regular Tylenol). You may get to see a ridiculously pompous doctor who brags that he is the best in his field, who hasn't got a clue what is wrong with you, does not even examine you, and then refuses to treat you, and turns your case over to another team because he does not like your personality, so you can stay in the filthy hospital, with all the filthy people who never wash their hands for another few days. Risking the infection of one of the notorious Super Bugs running rampant in this country because of the unsanitary conditions in the hospitals! What the doctor did not like about my personality, was the fact that I ask too many questions when it comes to my health, and doctors, in this country, consider that rude! I should just listen to the doctor, and do as I am told! Right? Wrong!
For the first few years, I was sent to 3 different doctors, who all promised to help me, but never did. The same 2 tests were repeated about every 6-8 months. An Xray, and an ultrasound scan. I have been told by several members of the medical profession, in this country, that, and I quote, "You don't look like you are in pain!" Of course, my reply is, "Just what do you think a person who is in pain should look like?!"
One time, I was in the hospital, I was lying in one of their many horrible beds (They do not have comfortable hospital beds like in America today. They are the same beds you see in all the old British war movies! Very lumpy, hard as a rock, and wholly uncomfortable!), in terrible pain, with tears constantly rolling down my cheeks. Until medication time, no one bothered to check on me. They passed by me several times, but not so
much as a glance. At medication time, a nurse asked me if I wanted anything for pain, and told me I could only have their Tylenol equivalent. I'll bet you can never guess what she said next. Yep! "You don't look like you are in pain!" Anyway, in order to tell you all that I have endured at the hands of this country, I would have to write a book. I guess we American do not express pain the same way Brits do! Perhaps if I dropped to
the floor and rolled around moaning, they would believe me. The only problem is, that would just make it hurt more.
Forgive my sarcasm, but after 6 years of constant pain, considering taking my own life a number of times, and dealing with intense depression, does not do a lot for one's personality. I have always considered myself to be a fairly strong woman, but I honestly do not know how much more I can take. I have no choice but to live in this horribly backward country, because I am married to a Brit, and I am stuck here until he retires, which is not for another 8 years. I do not want to live like this for another 8 years ...I don't think I have the strength in my any more.
To get to the point, nothing helps this pain, and I mean "nothing". Their so-called pain team, here in England, have tried everything from "nerve" pain medicine to a T.E.N.S. machine that send electronic impulses through your body. The first few years, I was on duragesic patches (Fentanyl). I asked my doctor at the time, if it was safe to use the patches over a long period of time without addiction, and he said yes. Of course that was a lie. I was told what they "thought" I needed to hear. Of course, if a new patch was not on my arm, before the old one stopped working (about every 3 days), the withdrawals were intense. It felt sort of like every bone in my body was being broken at the same time.
For years I begged my GP (General Practitioner) to take me off the patches, but he refused, saying the pain would be worse without any pain medicine. I guess he figured that I didn't know what I was talking about all those times that I specifically told him that the patches didn't help the pain. People in this country, are treated like children by doctors and the government ...but that is another story.
About 2 years ago, I had had enough. I demanded that he take me off the patches. I asked the doctor, what my options were to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms. Of course, I would have to demand another 3 times, and wait another 6 months before he actually did anything for me. Then, he finally told me that my only option was to exchange the synthetic opiate (Fentanyl), for a natural opiate (Morphine), and then bring me off the Morphine gradually. He said it was easier to detox from a natural drug, than a synthetic one. Of course, here I am 18 months later, and the only difference is that I have changed one addiction for another, and still no help for my pain. Only now, I am sucking down horrible tasting 30mg vials of oral Morphine, called Oramorph. The good news is, that the withdrawals are not as bad with the Morphine, as they were with the Fentanyl patches. I survived the sixties and seventies without doing drugs, only to become a prescription junkie in the years when my life should be relaxing and happy, is not my idea of a happy way to live.
My symptoms, besides the constant pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen, are:
1. Constant fatigue, probably due to not being able to have a restful sleep for 6 years.
2. Always hungry, even after I have already eaten, which has cause me to be 70 lbs overweight. I can no longer exercise like I used to, because
of the pain, and now weigh a whopping 210lbs, and I am only 5'3". I hate myself ...literally. I can not bear to look in the mirror. I just start crying.
3. Excessive urinating, and I always feel dehydrated. I tried not drinking so much at night, because our bedroom is upstairs, and the toilet is downstairs, but still made up to 10 trips up and down the stair through the night. Plus it made me feel very dehydrated and thirsty. I no longer deprive myself that way at night. Now I drink loads of juice (Apple, Orange, Mango, & sometimes Cranberry). Of course they do not do 100% over here. The best you can get is about 15%, so it is mostly water. The excess weight hurts my joints, and going up and down the stairs is very painful on my knees & ankles.
4. I have some sort of sleep disorder, but I am not sure it is not related to my depression. I nod off several times while sitting up on the couch watching T.V., but go up to bed and cannot fall asleep. When I finally do fall asleep, I have a difficult time waking myself, and getting out of the bed. It is not a restful sleep. It's more like being in a coma from which I cannot return. One time I slept for 20 hours straight. I literally have to struggle for hours to pull myself from sleep, and then find the strength to get out of the bed.
5. I have regular dizzy spells, where I have to hold onto something to keep from falling. This may also have something to do with my sleep disorder. I have had this for over 2 years now. I fell on the stairs once , and all the way down them once from a dizzy spell.
6. I used to love sex, but no longer have the energy. My poor husband, I do so want to give him the world. He certainly deserves it. He has the patience of a saint. If only I had the energy, or the strength. This, of course, adds to my depression ...and his. He takes antidepressant ...I do not. I do not believe in masking the problem. I believe the only true way to cure depression, is to cure the thing depressing you. If only I could! You have to know what is wrong with you, before you can cure it.
7. For the past 4 years I could easily catch a chill, and shiver uncontrollably for hours. My husband & I would cover me with blankets, and I would sweat beneath them and still be shivering. If I attempted to come out from the covers before the episode was over, I would start shivering again. By the time it was all over, I and the blankets would be soaked through. It was like being in a sauna/ steam room. I had at least 4-6 episodes per week. About 2 months ago, it stopped just as suddenly as it started. I don't know yet, if it is gone for good, but it is the first time I have gone this long without a episode of shaking violently. That's the good news. The bad news is these past couple of months the pain has gotten worse. Not a lot worse, but worse, none the same.
8. Blurred vision. My vision goes blurry every once in awhile. I'd say at least once or sometimes twice a week. I am already blind as a bat, so this just makes it worse.
9. The area of the pain often feels like it is swollen, but only when the pain it at it's worst, but it is not something you can see because my stomach has become so large in the past 6 years, that I look like I am nine month pregnant all the time. If I stay on my feet too long, or walk too much, the pain gets worse. By the time my husband & I finish our monthly grocery shopping, which takes about 2 hours total, I am in so much pain, and out of commission for 2-3 days. If I lift my 3 year Grandson, who is actually tiny for his age, or even try to play with him in our back yard, or any kind of exertion, puts me in so much pain, that I am out of commission for 3-5 days. But I promised myself 2 years ago, that I would not allow this pain to dictate my life. I have what my family and friends have previously referred to as, a high threshold for pain. I am a tough cookie. I could stitch a wound on my own body, if it meant my survival, but this constant pain "every day" for 6 years, with no relief is getting the better of me. For me, remembering a normal time in my life has become a distant dream.
10. Constipation. I have to take prescription medication to help me move my bowels. I used to have such a hard time, that I would bleed. I started to worry me, because my Mother did that for 2 years before she was diagnosed with rectal cancer. So I asked the doctor to give me something to help me move my bowels, so I could see if the bleeding was just from Hemorrhoids, or something else.
11. Blood in my urine. This only happened to me twice, and not recently. It was 2 years ago, and it was quite severe. My bed pan was red with blood. The nurse thought nothing of it. She thought it was my period, but even after I told her that it was not, she ignored it. I told the doctor, but he also suggested that it was period blood. Of course neither of them knew, that I had been taking Primolut-N, and had not had a period for years. They also treat everyone like they are idiots. I know the difference, as I should think most intelligent woman would, whether the blood came from my vagina or from my bladder! Please forgive me if I am being to graphic. I am a very outspoken woman, but do not wish to offend anyone.
Those are the symptoms I can think of off the top of my head. I did convince one of the specialist I was sent to, to run a test to check that my Gall Bladder was working properly, but they found nothing wrong. They also, against my wishes, did an Endoscopy to check my stomach & duodenum, even after I told them that my stomach was fine. Then, because I asked the doctor who was to perform the procedure, if the equipment was clean, and if he could please wash his hands before doing the procedure, he got an attitude. Once he got the tube down my throat, and into my stomach, he pushed it in and yanked it back and forth so hard, and so much that I gagged and wretched so hard, that I almost told him to stop. My throat hurt badly for a week, and the shoulder I was lying on, during the procedure, was in so much pain I could hardly move. They wanted me to wait a bit before leaving, so a waited, but after about 30 minutes, just wanted to get the hell out of the nightmare. I did tell them my shoulder was hurting really bad, but they just looked at me and told me I should rest.
My shoulder only seemed to get worse over the next week or two, so my husband finally called the GP we were seeing at that time. I found out that the so-called specialist who had nearly choked me to death, also dislocated my shoulder. It was the first time in my life any part of my body had ever been dislocated. The GP's name was Dr. Kiddle. She was young, but a brilliant and promising doctor. She seemed to know instantly what the problems, and with a few movement of my arm, had resolved the problem, and the pain went away almost instantly. Unfortunately, Dr. Kiddle quit the profession soon after. Probably because she didn't want to see her patients sent to specialist that would never help any of them, because they are all a bunch of twits. Dr. Kiddle was all heart, and cared about her patients, which seem to be a very rare thing over here in England. Of course they found nothing wrong with my stomach, and put me through all that for nothing. I miss Dr. Kiddle, she was a good doctor ..something this country desperately needs more of!
I have had 3 surgeries in this country, and was butchered every time, so I have lost my confidence in the doctors here. I had my cervix butchered to the point of haemorrhaging so badly, that I had to be permanently put on excessive dosages of Primolut-N and Tranexamic to stop the bleeding. I took those medicines for 4 years, until I, myself, found an alternative online, to both the haemorrhaging and my fibroid tumours in my uterus, this past May.
I also had appendicitis, and was rushed to one of the 3 filthy hospitals in the area. Upon my arrival, I was put into one of their lumpy, uncomfortable beds, and a few moments later, a man came in to introduce himself as my surgeon. It wasn't the fact that half his face seemed to have been blown away, and that he only had one eye and one ear that bothered me. I am a very open minded person, and never judge people on their appearances alone. It was the fact, that he took it personally when I refused to let him sit on my bed. Nothing to do with his face ...everything to do with the excruciating pain I was in. I wouldn't even let my husband sit on my bed. This surgeon assumed it was because of his face, and left me with the ugliest 7 inch scar you ever seen. It should have been keyhole surgery. He claimed he wanted to make sure nothing else was wrong in there, but I knew different, because of the way he screwed up his face when I said "no", to him sitting on my bed, and then huffing out of the room before I could explain. He should not be allowed to practice medicine, but in this country, you can actually kill and maim your patients and get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist! Really scarry, let me tell you.
If they ever do find out what is wrong with me, I may fly to the states to have the surgery done. If you only knew all the medical horror stories I have heard since I moved here a little over 6 years ago. Both at the hospitals, and in the News. One surgeon took the wrong lung out of a patient, and left the poor person with the bad lung. Needless to say, the patient died in the hospital.
Children die over here way to much at the hands of incompetent doctors. In fact, on little boy died recently because the doctor misdiagnosed him, sent him home, and he was dead within hours. Another doctor took the wrong leg off a patient. They didn't die, but they would never walk again.
Gall Bladder illnesses are not considered life threatening, so you can wait up to 6 years for an appointment to be made for you for Gall Bladder removal. You can imagine my response when I was told that I had fibroids in my uterus, and needed to have a hysterectomy to stop the haemorrhaging? **** off! They would probably end up taking out my bladder, or a kidney by mistake. And if they gave me a 7 inch scar just to take out something as simple as an appendix? Can you imagine what kind of butchery they could exact upon my body in the process of a total Hysterectomy??!! Good lord, these people do not even believe in sterilizing their surgical equipment! I was told by doctors and nurses alike, that years ago, they used to sterile their surgical tools with alcohol, but stopped using it because someone said it wasn't safe.
This country is so backwards, it is unbelievable, but for someone like me, it is frightening. Heaven forbid, I should get into a car accident or something that requires emergency surgery. Not knowing if I will survive. Everyone that has surgery in this country gets an infection afterward, and are put on antibiotics. Then they ends up with something called Thrush in the mouth. Doctors and nurses in this country actually tell all their patients, that people always get Thrush in the mouth when they take antibiotics!? I have to tell you, I have had to take antibiotics for various things dozens of times in my life, but never had thrush in the mouth until I came to this country. And that was in their nasty hospital! I never even heard of Thrush in the mouth before coming to this barbaric country! For all the good these doctors have done me, I may as well be in the hills of Afghanistan.
I could go on about the atrocities I have to live with daily in this country, but for those who think that the British people are so fab because of their cute little accents ...trust me when I tell you that this is a country filled with backward people who have a bad case of Peter Pan syndrome, who have no reason to be, but are very full of themselves. They feel they are far superior to America/ Americans, and constantly make snide remarks about us on the Television. Yet, they do not even sell the most common civilised/ modern products that you & I can find in any store in America. They put our American celebrities on talk shows, and then make fun of them when they are gone. You should here all the nasty things they say about our government, and our President. You would be as appalled as I am. And most of these people have never been to America, and do not have a clue what real Americans are like. They judge Americans on the things they see in the movies, and all the derogatory & incorrect things they hear about America in the News over here.
There is so much I could tell you about England, but like I said, I would have to write a book to cover it all. Let's suffice to say, that unless you are very rich and very healthy, and can afford to import practically everything you may need from America, it is a very undesirable place for Americans to live. Unless you like going back in time, to when there were barely any modern conveniences, doctors butchered most of their patients, women are not important in medicine, house screens to keep out the bugs are pretty much non-existent, and minimum wage is about
PLEASE NOTE THAT MY CONDITION HAS NEVER BEEN DIAGNOSED. I HAVE TRIED FOR DAY TO ADD THIS MESSAGE TO THAT SECTION OF THIS FORUM, BUT I JUST KEEP GETTING THE SAME MESSAGE, WHICH SAYS THE FORUM IS FULL FOR THAT DAY!
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MY MESSAGE:
I found this forum while searching the Internet for a possible diagnosis for the pain I have had now for 6 years in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen.
I am a 52 year old American woman, living in a country that has poor medical services, and doctors who do not treat you, if they don't feel like it. You can only see a specialist if your GP makes the appointment for you. And you don't get the choice of which doctor you will see for any given problem. In this country, you see whomever they decide for you to see, and then you have to sit around waiting wait for 6 to 18 month for an appointment to come through the mail. Until you receive a letter telling you where to go, and whom to see.
The hospitals in this country are horribly filthy, and you can catch super bugs if you go anywhere near them. If you do go to one of their disgusting ERs you can sit around for 6 hours just waiting to see a nurse, and then an additional six hours waiting to see a doctor. That's if you can get past the filth and stench of the place. Then, if you are lucky enough to get put into their filthy hospital, where nothing gets cleaned, because the staff do not believe that keeping things clean & sanitary, or washing your hands, can make any difference what-so-ever to anyone's medical care/recovery! You then get put in a room so filthy that there is at least a years worth of dust on the floor (if you drop something, forget about retrieving it!), and a very musty/stale smell in the air. Where you will lie in most uncomfortable bed you have ever experienced in your entire life, and where you can lie for days, while they ignore you, and ask you every 4-6 hours if you want some paracetamol (which is the British equivalent to American regular Tylenol). You may get to see a ridiculously pompous doctor who brags that he is the best in his field, who hasn't got a clue what is wrong with you, does not even examine you, and then refuses to treat you, and turns your case over to another team because he does not like your personality, so you can stay in the filthy hospital, with all the filthy people who never wash their hands for another few days. Risking the infection of one of the notorious Super Bugs running rampant in this country because of the unsanitary conditions in the hospitals! What the doctor did not like about my personality, was the fact that I ask too many questions when it comes to my health, and doctors, in this country, consider that rude! I should just listen to the doctor, and do as I am told! Right? Wrong!
For the first few years, I was sent to 3 different doctors, who all promised to help me, but never did. The same 2 tests were repeated about every 6-8 months. An Xray, and an ultrasound scan. I have been told by several members of the medical profession, in this country, that, and I quote, "You don't look like you are in pain!" Of course, my reply is, "Just what do you think a person who is in pain should look like?!"
One time, I was in the hospital, I was lying in one of their many horrible beds (They do not have comfortable hospital beds like in America today. They are the same beds you see in all the old British war movies! Very lumpy, hard as a rock, and wholly uncomfortable!), in terrible pain, with tears constantly rolling down my cheeks. Until medication time, no one bothered to check on me. They passed by me several times, but not so
much as a glance. At medication time, a nurse asked me if I wanted anything for pain, and told me I could only have their Tylenol equivalent. I'll bet you can never guess what she said next. Yep! "You don't look like you are in pain!" Anyway, in order to tell you all that I have endured at the hands of this country, I would have to write a book. I guess we American do not express pain the same way Brits do! Perhaps if I dropped to
the floor and rolled around moaning, they would believe me. The only problem is, that would just make it hurt more.
Forgive my sarcasm, but after 6 years of constant pain, considering taking my own life a number of times, and dealing with intense depression, does not do a lot for one's personality. I have always considered myself to be a fairly strong woman, but I honestly do not know how much more I can take. I have no choice but to live in this horribly backward country, because I am married to a Brit, and I am stuck here until he retires, which is not for another 8 years. I do not want to live like this for another 8 years ...I don't think I have the strength in my any more.
To get to the point, nothing helps this pain, and I mean "nothing". Their so-called pain team, here in England, have tried everything from "nerve" pain medicine to a T.E.N.S. machine that send electronic impulses through your body. The first few years, I was on duragesic patches (Fentanyl). I asked my doctor at the time, if it was safe to use the patches over a long period of time without addiction, and he said yes. Of course that was a lie. I was told what they "thought" I needed to hear. Of course, if a new patch was not on my arm, before the old one stopped working (about every 3 days), the withdrawals were intense. It felt sort of like every bone in my body was being broken at the same time.
For years I begged my GP (General Practitioner) to take me off the patches, but he refused, saying the pain would be worse without any pain medicine. I guess he figured that I didn't know what I was talking about all those times that I specifically told him that the patches didn't help the pain. People in this country, are treated like children by doctors and the government ...but that is another story.
About 2 years ago, I had had enough. I demanded that he take me off the patches. I asked the doctor, what my options were to alleviate the withdrawal symptoms. Of course, I would have to demand another 3 times, and wait another 6 months before he actually did anything for me. Then, he finally told me that my only option was to exchange the synthetic opiate (Fentanyl), for a natural opiate (Morphine), and then bring me off the Morphine gradually. He said it was easier to detox from a natural drug, than a synthetic one. Of course, here I am 18 months later, and the only difference is that I have changed one addiction for another, and still no help for my pain. Only now, I am sucking down horrible tasting 30mg vials of oral Morphine, called Oramorph. The good news is, that the withdrawals are not as bad with the Morphine, as they were with the Fentanyl patches. I survived the sixties and seventies without doing drugs, only to become a prescription junkie in the years when my life should be relaxing and happy, is not my idea of a happy way to live.
My symptoms, besides the constant pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen, are:
1. Constant fatigue, probably due to not being able to have a restful sleep for 6 years.
2. Always hungry, even after I have already eaten, which has cause me to be 70 lbs overweight. I can no longer exercise like I used to, because
of the pain, and now weigh a whopping 210lbs, and I am only 5'3". I hate myself ...literally. I can not bear to look in the mirror. I just start crying.
3. Excessive urinating, and I always feel dehydrated. I tried not drinking so much at night, because our bedroom is upstairs, and the toilet is downstairs, but still made up to 10 trips up and down the stair through the night. Plus it made me feel very dehydrated and thirsty. I no longer deprive myself that way at night. Now I drink loads of juice (Apple, Orange, Mango, & sometimes Cranberry). Of course they do not do 100% over here. The best you can get is about 15%, so it is mostly water. The excess weight hurts my joints, and going up and down the stairs is very painful on my knees & ankles.
4. I have some sort of sleep disorder, but I am not sure it is not related to my depression. I nod off several times while sitting up on the couch watching T.V., but go up to bed and cannot fall asleep. When I finally do fall asleep, I have a difficult time waking myself, and getting out of the bed. It is not a restful sleep. It's more like being in a coma from which I cannot return. One time I slept for 20 hours straight. I literally have to struggle for hours to pull myself from sleep, and then find the strength to get out of the bed.
5. I have regular dizzy spells, where I have to hold onto something to keep from falling. This may also have something to do with my sleep disorder. I have had this for over 2 years now. I fell on the stairs once , and all the way down them once from a dizzy spell.
6. I used to love sex, but no longer have the energy. My poor husband, I do so want to give him the world. He certainly deserves it. He has the patience of a saint. If only I had the energy, or the strength. This, of course, adds to my depression ...and his. He takes antidepressant ...I do not. I do not believe in masking the problem. I believe the only true way to cure depression, is to cure the thing depressing you. If only I could! You have to know what is wrong with you, before you can cure it.
7. For the past 4 years I could easily catch a chill, and shiver uncontrollably for hours. My husband & I would cover me with blankets, and I would sweat beneath them and still be shivering. If I attempted to come out from the covers before the episode was over, I would start shivering again. By the time it was all over, I and the blankets would be soaked through. It was like being in a sauna/ steam room. I had at least 4-6 episodes per week. About 2 months ago, it stopped just as suddenly as it started. I don't know yet, if it is gone for good, but it is the first time I have gone this long without a episode of shaking violently. That's the good news. The bad news is these past couple of months the pain has gotten worse. Not a lot worse, but worse, none the same.
8. Blurred vision. My vision goes blurry every once in awhile. I'd say at least once or sometimes twice a week. I am already blind as a bat, so this just makes it worse.
9. The area of the pain often feels like it is swollen, but only when the pain it at it's worst, but it is not something you can see because my stomach has become so large in the past 6 years, that I look like I am nine month pregnant all the time. If I stay on my feet too long, or walk too much, the pain gets worse. By the time my husband & I finish our monthly grocery shopping, which takes about 2 hours total, I am in so much pain, and out of commission for 2-3 days. If I lift my 3 year Grandson, who is actually tiny for his age, or even try to play with him in our back yard, or any kind of exertion, puts me in so much pain, that I am out of commission for 3-5 days. But I promised myself 2 years ago, that I would not allow this pain to dictate my life. I have what my family and friends have previously referred to as, a high threshold for pain. I am a tough cookie. I could stitch a wound on my own body, if it meant my survival, but this constant pain "every day" for 6 years, with no relief is getting the better of me. For me, remembering a normal time in my life has become a distant dream.
10. Constipation. I have to take prescription medication to help me move my bowels. I used to have such a hard time, that I would bleed. I started to worry me, because my Mother did that for 2 years before she was diagnosed with rectal cancer. So I asked the doctor to give me something to help me move my bowels, so I could see if the bleeding was just from Hemorrhoids, or something else.
11. Blood in my urine. This only happened to me twice, and not recently. It was 2 years ago, and it was quite severe. My bed pan was red with blood. The nurse thought nothing of it. She thought it was my period, but even after I told her that it was not, she ignored it. I told the doctor, but he also suggested that it was period blood. Of course neither of them knew, that I had been taking Primolut-N, and had not had a period for years. They also treat everyone like they are idiots. I know the difference, as I should think most intelligent woman would, whether the blood came from my vagina or from my bladder! Please forgive me if I am being to graphic. I am a very outspoken woman, but do not wish to offend anyone.
Those are the symptoms I can think of off the top of my head. I did convince one of the specialist I was sent to, to run a test to check that my Gall Bladder was working properly, but they found nothing wrong. They also, against my wishes, did an Endoscopy to check my stomach & duodenum, even after I told them that my stomach was fine. Then, because I asked the doctor who was to perform the procedure, if the equipment was clean, and if he could please wash his hands before doing the procedure, he got an attitude. Once he got the tube down my throat, and into my stomach, he pushed it in and yanked it back and forth so hard, and so much that I gagged and wretched so hard, that I almost told him to stop. My throat hurt badly for a week, and the shoulder I was lying on, during the procedure, was in so much pain I could hardly move. They wanted me to wait a bit before leaving, so a waited, but after about 30 minutes, just wanted to get the hell out of the nightmare. I did tell them my shoulder was hurting really bad, but they just looked at me and told me I should rest.
My shoulder only seemed to get worse over the next week or two, so my husband finally called the GP we were seeing at that time. I found out that the so-called specialist who had nearly choked me to death, also dislocated my shoulder. It was the first time in my life any part of my body had ever been dislocated. The GP's name was Dr. Kiddle. She was young, but a brilliant and promising doctor. She seemed to know instantly what the problems, and with a few movement of my arm, had resolved the problem, and the pain went away almost instantly. Unfortunately, Dr. Kiddle quit the profession soon after. Probably because she didn't want to see her patients sent to specialist that would never help any of them, because they are all a bunch of twits. Dr. Kiddle was all heart, and cared about her patients, which seem to be a very rare thing over here in England. Of course they found nothing wrong with my stomach, and put me through all that for nothing. I miss Dr. Kiddle, she was a good doctor ..something this country desperately needs more of!
I have had 3 surgeries in this country, and was butchered every time, so I have lost my confidence in the doctors here. I had my cervix butchered to the point of haemorrhaging so badly, that I had to be permanently put on excessive dosages of Primolut-N and Tranexamic to stop the bleeding. I took those medicines for 4 years, until I, myself, found an alternative online, to both the haemorrhaging and my fibroid tumours in my uterus, this past May.
I also had appendicitis, and was rushed to one of the 3 filthy hospitals in the area. Upon my arrival, I was put into one of their lumpy, uncomfortable beds, and a few moments later, a man came in to introduce himself as my surgeon. It wasn't the fact that half his face seemed to have been blown away, and that he only had one eye and one ear that bothered me. I am a very open minded person, and never judge people on their appearances alone. It was the fact, that he took it personally when I refused to let him sit on my bed. Nothing to do with his face ...everything to do with the excruciating pain I was in. I wouldn't even let my husband sit on my bed. This surgeon assumed it was because of his face, and left me with the ugliest 7 inch scar you ever seen. It should have been keyhole surgery. He claimed he wanted to make sure nothing else was wrong in there, but I knew different, because of the way he screwed up his face when I said "no", to him sitting on my bed, and then huffing out of the room before I could explain. He should not be allowed to practice medicine, but in this country, you can actually kill and maim your patients and get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist! Really scarry, let me tell you.
If they ever do find out what is wrong with me, I may fly to the states to have the surgery done. If you only knew all the medical horror stories I have heard since I moved here a little over 6 years ago. Both at the hospitals, and in the News. One surgeon took the wrong lung out of a patient, and left the poor person with the bad lung. Needless to say, the patient died in the hospital.
Children die over here way to much at the hands of incompetent doctors. In fact, on little boy died recently because the doctor misdiagnosed him, sent him home, and he was dead within hours. Another doctor took the wrong leg off a patient. They didn't die, but they would never walk again.
Gall Bladder illnesses are not considered life threatening, so you can wait up to 6 years for an appointment to be made for you for Gall Bladder removal. You can imagine my response when I was told that I had fibroids in my uterus, and needed to have a hysterectomy to stop the haemorrhaging? **** off! They would probably end up taking out my bladder, or a kidney by mistake. And if they gave me a 7 inch scar just to take out something as simple as an appendix? Can you imagine what kind of butchery they could exact upon my body in the process of a total Hysterectomy??!! Good lord, these people do not even believe in sterilizing their surgical equipment! I was told by doctors and nurses alike, that years ago, they used to sterile their surgical tools with alcohol, but stopped using it because someone said it wasn't safe.
This country is so backwards, it is unbelievable, but for someone like me, it is frightening. Heaven forbid, I should get into a car accident or something that requires emergency surgery. Not knowing if I will survive. Everyone that has surgery in this country gets an infection afterward, and are put on antibiotics. Then they ends up with something called Thrush in the mouth. Doctors and nurses in this country actually tell all their patients, that people always get Thrush in the mouth when they take antibiotics!? I have to tell you, I have had to take antibiotics for various things dozens of times in my life, but never had thrush in the mouth until I came to this country. And that was in their nasty hospital! I never even heard of Thrush in the mouth before coming to this barbaric country! For all the good these doctors have done me, I may as well be in the hills of Afghanistan.
I could go on about the atrocities I have to live with daily in this country, but for those who think that the British people are so fab because of their cute little accents ...trust me when I tell you that this is a country filled with backward people who have a bad case of Peter Pan syndrome, who have no reason to be, but are very full of themselves. They feel they are far superior to America/ Americans, and constantly make snide remarks about us on the Television. Yet, they do not even sell the most common civilised/ modern products that you & I can find in any store in America. They put our American celebrities on talk shows, and then make fun of them when they are gone. You should here all the nasty things they say about our government, and our President. You would be as appalled as I am. And most of these people have never been to America, and do not have a clue what real Americans are like. They judge Americans on the things they see in the movies, and all the derogatory & incorrect things they hear about America in the News over here.
There is so much I could tell you about England, but like I said, I would have to write a book to cover it all. Let's suffice to say, that unless you are very rich and very healthy, and can afford to import practically everything you may need from America, it is a very undesirable place for Americans to live. Unless you like going back in time, to when there were barely any modern conveniences, doctors butchered most of their patients, women are not important in medicine, house screens to keep out the bugs are pretty much non-existent, and minimum wage is about
I found this forum while searching the Internet for a possible diagnosis for the pain I have had now for 6 years in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen.
I am an American living in a country that has poor medical services, and doctors who do not treat you, if they don't feel like it. You can only see a specialist if your GP makes the appointment for you. And you don't get the choice of which doctor you see. In this country you see whoever they decide for you to see, and then you have to sit around and wait for 6
to 18 month for an appointment to come through the mail. You receive a letter telling you where to go, and whom you will be seeing.
The hospitals in this country are horribly filthy, and you can get catch super bugs if you go anywhere near them. If you do go to one of their disgusting ERs you can sit around for 6 hours just to see a nurse, and then another six hours to see a doctor. That's if you can get past the filth, and the stench. Then, if you are lucky enough to get put into their filthy hospital,
where nothing gets cleaned, because the staff do not believe that keeping things clean & sanitary, and washing you hands can make any difference at all to anyone's medical care! You then get to be put in a room so filthy that there is a years worth of dust on the floor (if you drop something, forget about finding it!), and it smells like a dung heap. Where you will lie in most uncomfortable bed you have ever been in in your entire life, and where you can lie for days, while they ignore you, and ask you every 6 hours if you want some paracetamol (which is the British equivalent to American aspirin). You may get to see a ridiculously pompous doctor who brags that he is the best in his field, who hasn't got a clue what is wrong with you, does not even examine you, and then refuses to treat you, and turns your case over to another team, so you can stay in the filthy hospital, and all the filthy people for another few days! Oh, and back then I was polite. I still am, even though they probably do not deserve it, except I refuse to not ask questions when it comes to my health. That trip to the hospital, I had to sign myself out of the hospital at 2am in the morning, because the staff members where throughing a birthday party on the ward, amongst patients who were trying to rest and recover. Three women died that week I was there, from being neglected by staff after surgery. There was some woamn there who was doing a story on it, and she said one woman was cold by the time they found out she had died.
For the first few years, I was sent to 3 different doctors, who all promised to help me, but never did. The same 2 tests were repeated about every 6-8 months. An Xray, and an ultrasound scan. I have been told by several members of the medical profession in this country that, and I quote, "You don't look like you are in pain!" Of course, my reply is, "Just what do
you think a person who is in pain should look like?!" One time, I was in the hospital, I was lying in one of their many horrible beds, in terrible pain, with tears constantly rolling down my cheeks. Until it was time for meds, no one ever bothered to check on me, or even looked at me for that matter. At meds time, a nurse asked me if I wanted anything for pain, and told me she could only give me their aspirin equivalent.
I'll bet you can never guess what she said next. Yep! "You don't look like you are in pain!" Anyway, in order to tell you all that I have been through with these ignorant people, I would have to write a book. I guess we American do not express pain the same way Brits do! Perhaps if I dropped to the floor and rolled around moaning, they would believe me ...only that would just hurt more.
Forgive my sarcasm, but after 6 years of this pain, considering taking my own life a number of time, and dealing with intense depression, does not do a lot for one's personality. I have always considered myself to be a strong woman, but I honestly do not know how much more of this I can take. I have no choice but to live in this horribly backward country, because I am married to a Brit, and I am stuck her until he retires, which is not for another 8 years. I do not want to live like this for another 8 years ...I don't think I have it in me.
To get to the point, nothing helps this pain, and I mean nothing. Their so-called pain team here have tried everything from nerve pain medicine to a T.E.N.S. machine that send electronic impulses. For the first few years I was on duragesic patches, called Fentanyl patches. I remember asking the doctor if this medicine was safe to take over a long period of time, and he told me it was safe, and nonaddictive. Of course that was a lie, and I was told what they thought I needed to hear. Of course, if that patch was not on my arm on time every three days, the withdrawals were so bad, it felt like every bone in my body was being broken at the same time. For years I begged my GP to take me off the patches, but he refused, saying the pain would be worse without any pain medicine. I guess he figured I didn't know what I was talking about all those times I said it didn't help the pain. About 3 years ago, I had had enough, and demanded that he take me off the patches, and asked him what options I had for the withdrawals. Of course, I would have to demand another three times, and wait another 6 months
before he actually did anything for me. Then he told me that my only option was to exchange the synthetic opiate (the patches), for a natural opiate (Morphine), and then bring me off it gradually. Of course, here I am 18 months later, and the only difference is I changed one addiction for another, and still no help with the pain. Only now, I am sucking down horrible tasting 30mg vials of oral Morphine, called Oramorph, every 4 hours around the clock. The withdrawals are not as bad, but after surviving the sixties and seventies without doing drugs only to become a prescription junkie, is not my idea of a happy life. It would even be so bad, if it at least helped the pain!
My symptoms, besides the constant pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen, are:
1. Constant fatigue, probably due to not being able to have a restful sleep for 6 years.
2. Always hungry, even after I have already eaten, which has cause me to be 70 lbs overweight. I can no longer exercise like I used to, because of the pain, and now weigh a whopping 210lbs, and I am only 5'3". I hate myself ...literally. I can not bear to look in the mirror. I just start crying.
3. Excessive urinating, and I always feel dehydrated. I used to try not drinking so much at night, because our bedroom is upstairs, and the toilet is downstairs, but I still made up to 10 trips up and down the stairs, and felt like I was dying of thirst. Thus, I now drink loads of juice (Apple, Orange, Mango, & sometimes Cranberry). Of course they do not do 100% juice in this country. The best you can get is about 15-29 %, so it is mostly water. The excess weight hurts my joints, and going up and down the stair is very painful on my knees & ankles.
4. I have some sort of sleep disorder, but I am not sure it is not related to my depression. I nod off several times while sitting up on the couch watching t.v., but go up to bed and cannot fall asleep. When I finally do fall asleep, I have a difficult time waking myself, and getting out of the bed. It is not a restful sleep, but more like being in a coma from which I cannot return. One time I slept for 20 hours straight. I literally have to struggle for hours to pull myself from sleep.
5. I have regular dizzy spells, where I have to hold onto something to keep from falling. This may also have something to do with my sleep disorder, but it has gone on for the past year, and remembering a normal time in my life has become a distant dream. I fell down the stairs once , and on them once because I could not grab something to hang onto fast enough.
6. I used to love sex, but I no longer have the energy. My poor husband, I do so want to give him the world. He certainly deserves it. He has the patience of a saint. If only I had the energy, or the strength. This, of course, adds to my depression ...and his. He takes antidepressant ...I do not. I do not believe in masking the problem. I believe the only true way to cure depression, is to cure the thing depressing you. And if only I could!
7. For the past 4 years I could easily catch a chill, and shiver uncontrollably for hours. My husband would have to pile blankets on me, and I would sweat beneath them and still be shivering. If I attempted to come out from the covers before the episode was over, I would start shivering again. By the time it was all over, I would be soaked through, and all the blankets as well. It was like being in a sauna/ steam room. I had at least 4-6 episodes per week. Just as suddenly as it started, about 2 months ago, it just stopped. I do not know yet if it is gone for good, but it is the first time I have gone this long without a episode of shaking violently. That's the good new. The bad news is these past couple of months the pain has gotten worse. Not a lot worse, but worse, none the same.
8. Blurred vision. My vision goes blurry every once in awhile. I'd say at least once or sometimes twice a week. I am already blind as a bat, so this just makes it worse.
9. The area often feels swollen, but only when the pain it at it's worst, but it is not something you can see because my stomach has become so large that I look like I am nine month pregnant all the time. If I stay on my feet too long or walk too much, the pain gets worse. By the time my husband & I finish our monthly grocery shopping, I am in so much pain, I am bed ridden for two days. If I lift my 4 year Grandson, who is actually tiny for his age, or even try to play with him our back garden, in fact any kind of exertion puts me in so much pain, that I am out of commission for 3-5 days. But I promised myself 2 years ago, that I would not allow this pain to dictate my life. I have what my family and friends have previously referred to as, a high threshold for pain. I am a tough cookie. I could dig a bullet out of my own body, if I had to, but this constant pain every day for 6 years, with no relief, is getting the better of me.
Those are the symptoms I can think of off the top of my head. I did convince one of the specialist I was sent to, to run a test to check that my Gall Bladder was working properly, but they found nothing wrong. They also, against my wishes, did an Endoscopy to check my stomach, even after I told them that my stomach was fine. Then, because I asked the doctor performing the procedure if the equipment was clean, and if he could please wash his hands before doing the procedure, he got an attitude. Once he got the tube down my throat, and into my stomach, he pushed it in and yanked it back so hard, and so much that I gagged and wretched so hard, that it dislocated my shoulder. First time in my life I ever had any part of my body dislocated. Of course they found nothing wrong with my stomach, and put me through that for nothing. And, of course, I left the hospital in serious pain, and was in serious pain for 2 weeks, until I could not stand the pain any longer. Of course, I did not know that my shoulder had been dislocated for two weeks until I saw my GP at that time. She seemed to know exactly what to do. Brilliant woman, but she quick because she couldn't bear the though of sending her patients to a bunch of pompous assed so-called specialist, who pat one another on the back for being the masters of the universe, but really don't have a clue what they are doing! It is a shame, she had the makings of a really good doctor. Something this country desperately needs. She just cared too much about her patients.
I have had three surgeries in this country, and was butchered every time, so I have lost my confidence in the doctor here. I had my cervix butchered to the point that I started haemorrhaging, and had to be put on excessive dosages of Primolut-N and Tranexamic to stop the bleeding. I had to take that medication for 4 years, until I myself found an alternative online this past May.
I also had appendicitis, and was rushed to one of the 3 filthy hospitals in the area. Upon my arrival a man came in to introduce himself as my surgeon. It wasn't the fact that half his face had been blown away, and that he only had one eye and one ear that bothered me. It was the fact, that he took it personally when I refused to let him sit on the bed I was in. Nothing to do with his face ...everything to do with the excruciating pain I was in. I wouldn't even let my husband sit on my bed. This surgeon assumed it was because of his face, and left me with the ugliest 7 and a half inch scar you aver saw, when it should have been keyhole surgery. He claimed he wanted to make sure nothing else was wrong in there, but I knew different because of the way he screwed up his face when I said "no", to him sitting on my bed next to me, and then huffed out of the room before I could explain. He should not be allowed to practice, but in this country, you can actually kill and maim your patients and get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist! Really scarry, let me tell you.
If they ever do find out what is wrong with me, and find that surgery is needed, I may fly to the states to have the surgery done. If you only knew all the medical horror stories I have heard in the news since I moved here a little over 6 years ago, One surgeon took the wrong lung out of a patient, and only left with the bad lung, and the patient died in the hospital. Children die over here way to much at the hands of incompetent doctors. In fact, on little boy died recently because the doctor misdiagnosed him, sent him home, and he was dead within
hours. Yet another doctor took the wrong leg off a patient. He didn't die, but he would never walk again being left with one bad leg. Gall Bladder illnesses are not considered life threatening, so you can wait up to 6 years for an appointment to be made for you for Gall Bladder removal. Can you image my response when I was told that I had fibroids in my uterus,
and need to have a hysterectomy? Uh ...**** off! They would probably end up taking out my bladder, or a kidney by mistake. And if they gave me a 7 and a half inch scar just to take out something as simple as an appendix? Can you imagine what kind of butchery they could exact upon my in the process of a total hysterectomy??!! Good lord, these people do not even believe in sterilizing their surgical equipment! Besides, I have found an alternative to that as well.
Years ago, they used to sterile them with alcohol, but stopped using it because someone said it wasn't safe. This country is so backwards, it is unbelievable, but for someone like me, it is frightening. Heaven forbid, I should get into a car accident or something that requires emergency surgery. Not knowing if I will survive. Everyone that has surgery in this country gets an
infection afterward, and are put on antibiotics, and then they ends up with something called Thrush in the mouth. Which they tell people you always get Thrush in the mouth when put on antibiotics!? I never even heard of it before coming to this barbaric country, and I have been on antibiotics many times in my life!
I could go on about the atrocities I have to live with daily in this country, but for those who think that the British people are so fab because of their accents ...trust me when I tell you
that this is a country filled with backward people who have a bad case of Peter Pan syndrome, who have no reason to be, but are very full of themselves. They feel they are far superior
to America, and constantly make snide remarks about America, and American on the Television, yet they do not even sell the most common civilised/ modern products that you can find in
any store in America. They put our celebs on talk shows, and then talk about them like dos when they are gone. There is so much I could tell you about England, but like I said, I would
have to write a book if I did. Let's suffice to say, that unless you are very rich and very healthy, and can afford to import practically everything you may need from America, it is a very undesirable place for Americans to live. Unless you like going back in time, to when there were barely any modern conveniences, doctors butchered most of their patients, women are not important in medicine, house screens to keep out the bugs are pretty much non-existent, and minimum wage is about
I am an American living in a country that has poor medical services, and doctors who do not treat you, if they don't feel like it. You can only see a specialist if your GP makes the appointment for you. And you don't get the choice of which doctor you see. In this country you see whoever they decide for you to see, and then you have to sit around and wait for 6
to 18 month for an appointment to come through the mail. You receive a letter telling you where to go, and whom you will be seeing.
The hospitals in this country are horribly filthy, and you can get catch super bugs if you go anywhere near them. If you do go to one of their disgusting ERs you can sit around for 6 hours just to see a nurse, and then another six hours to see a doctor. That's if you can get past the filth, and the stench. Then, if you are lucky enough to get put into their filthy hospital,
where nothing gets cleaned, because the staff do not believe that keeping things clean & sanitary, and washing you hands can make any difference at all to anyone's medical care! You then get to be put in a room so filthy that there is a years worth of dust on the floor (if you drop something, forget about finding it!), and it smells like a dung heap. Where you will lie in most uncomfortable bed you have ever been in in your entire life, and where you can lie for days, while they ignore you, and ask you every 6 hours if you want some paracetamol (which is the British equivalent to American aspirin). You may get to see a ridiculously pompous doctor who brags that he is the best in his field, who hasn't got a clue what is wrong with you, does not even examine you, and then refuses to treat you, and turns your case over to another team, so you can stay in the filthy hospital, and all the filthy people for another few days! Oh, and back then I was polite. I still am, even though they probably do not deserve it, except I refuse to not ask questions when it comes to my health. That trip to the hospital, I had to sign myself out of the hospital at 2am in the morning, because the staff members where throughing a birthday party on the ward, amongst patients who were trying to rest and recover. Three women died that week I was there, from being neglected by staff after surgery. There was some woamn there who was doing a story on it, and she said one woman was cold by the time they found out she had died.
For the first few years, I was sent to 3 different doctors, who all promised to help me, but never did. The same 2 tests were repeated about every 6-8 months. An Xray, and an ultrasound scan. I have been told by several members of the medical profession in this country that, and I quote, "You don't look like you are in pain!" Of course, my reply is, "Just what do
you think a person who is in pain should look like?!" One time, I was in the hospital, I was lying in one of their many horrible beds, in terrible pain, with tears constantly rolling down my cheeks. Until it was time for meds, no one ever bothered to check on me, or even looked at me for that matter. At meds time, a nurse asked me if I wanted anything for pain, and told me she could only give me their aspirin equivalent.
I'll bet you can never guess what she said next. Yep! "You don't look like you are in pain!" Anyway, in order to tell you all that I have been through with these ignorant people, I would have to write a book. I guess we American do not express pain the same way Brits do! Perhaps if I dropped to the floor and rolled around moaning, they would believe me ...only that would just hurt more.
Forgive my sarcasm, but after 6 years of this pain, considering taking my own life a number of time, and dealing with intense depression, does not do a lot for one's personality. I have always considered myself to be a strong woman, but I honestly do not know how much more of this I can take. I have no choice but to live in this horribly backward country, because I am married to a Brit, and I am stuck her until he retires, which is not for another 8 years. I do not want to live like this for another 8 years ...I don't think I have it in me.
To get to the point, nothing helps this pain, and I mean nothing. Their so-called pain team here have tried everything from nerve pain medicine to a T.E.N.S. machine that send electronic impulses. For the first few years I was on duragesic patches, called Fentanyl patches. I remember asking the doctor if this medicine was safe to take over a long period of time, and he told me it was safe, and nonaddictive. Of course that was a lie, and I was told what they thought I needed to hear. Of course, if that patch was not on my arm on time every three days, the withdrawals were so bad, it felt like every bone in my body was being broken at the same time. For years I begged my GP to take me off the patches, but he refused, saying the pain would be worse without any pain medicine. I guess he figured I didn't know what I was talking about all those times I said it didn't help the pain. About 3 years ago, I had had enough, and demanded that he take me off the patches, and asked him what options I had for the withdrawals. Of course, I would have to demand another three times, and wait another 6 months
before he actually did anything for me. Then he told me that my only option was to exchange the synthetic opiate (the patches), for a natural opiate (Morphine), and then bring me off it gradually. Of course, here I am 18 months later, and the only difference is I changed one addiction for another, and still no help with the pain. Only now, I am sucking down horrible tasting 30mg vials of oral Morphine, called Oramorph, every 4 hours around the clock. The withdrawals are not as bad, but after surviving the sixties and seventies without doing drugs only to become a prescription junkie, is not my idea of a happy life. It would even be so bad, if it at least helped the pain!
My symptoms, besides the constant pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen, are:
1. Constant fatigue, probably due to not being able to have a restful sleep for 6 years.
2. Always hungry, even after I have already eaten, which has cause me to be 70 lbs overweight. I can no longer exercise like I used to, because of the pain, and now weigh a whopping 210lbs, and I am only 5'3". I hate myself ...literally. I can not bear to look in the mirror. I just start crying.
3. Excessive urinating, and I always feel dehydrated. I used to try not drinking so much at night, because our bedroom is upstairs, and the toilet is downstairs, but I still made up to 10 trips up and down the stairs, and felt like I was dying of thirst. Thus, I now drink loads of juice (Apple, Orange, Mango, & sometimes Cranberry). Of course they do not do 100% juice in this country. The best you can get is about 15-29 %, so it is mostly water. The excess weight hurts my joints, and going up and down the stair is very painful on my knees & ankles.
4. I have some sort of sleep disorder, but I am not sure it is not related to my depression. I nod off several times while sitting up on the couch watching t.v., but go up to bed and cannot fall asleep. When I finally do fall asleep, I have a difficult time waking myself, and getting out of the bed. It is not a restful sleep, but more like being in a coma from which I cannot return. One time I slept for 20 hours straight. I literally have to struggle for hours to pull myself from sleep.
5. I have regular dizzy spells, where I have to hold onto something to keep from falling. This may also have something to do with my sleep disorder, but it has gone on for the past year, and remembering a normal time in my life has become a distant dream. I fell down the stairs once , and on them once because I could not grab something to hang onto fast enough.
6. I used to love sex, but I no longer have the energy. My poor husband, I do so want to give him the world. He certainly deserves it. He has the patience of a saint. If only I had the energy, or the strength. This, of course, adds to my depression ...and his. He takes antidepressant ...I do not. I do not believe in masking the problem. I believe the only true way to cure depression, is to cure the thing depressing you. And if only I could!
7. For the past 4 years I could easily catch a chill, and shiver uncontrollably for hours. My husband would have to pile blankets on me, and I would sweat beneath them and still be shivering. If I attempted to come out from the covers before the episode was over, I would start shivering again. By the time it was all over, I would be soaked through, and all the blankets as well. It was like being in a sauna/ steam room. I had at least 4-6 episodes per week. Just as suddenly as it started, about 2 months ago, it just stopped. I do not know yet if it is gone for good, but it is the first time I have gone this long without a episode of shaking violently. That's the good new. The bad news is these past couple of months the pain has gotten worse. Not a lot worse, but worse, none the same.
8. Blurred vision. My vision goes blurry every once in awhile. I'd say at least once or sometimes twice a week. I am already blind as a bat, so this just makes it worse.
9. The area often feels swollen, but only when the pain it at it's worst, but it is not something you can see because my stomach has become so large that I look like I am nine month pregnant all the time. If I stay on my feet too long or walk too much, the pain gets worse. By the time my husband & I finish our monthly grocery shopping, I am in so much pain, I am bed ridden for two days. If I lift my 4 year Grandson, who is actually tiny for his age, or even try to play with him our back garden, in fact any kind of exertion puts me in so much pain, that I am out of commission for 3-5 days. But I promised myself 2 years ago, that I would not allow this pain to dictate my life. I have what my family and friends have previously referred to as, a high threshold for pain. I am a tough cookie. I could dig a bullet out of my own body, if I had to, but this constant pain every day for 6 years, with no relief, is getting the better of me.
Those are the symptoms I can think of off the top of my head. I did convince one of the specialist I was sent to, to run a test to check that my Gall Bladder was working properly, but they found nothing wrong. They also, against my wishes, did an Endoscopy to check my stomach, even after I told them that my stomach was fine. Then, because I asked the doctor performing the procedure if the equipment was clean, and if he could please wash his hands before doing the procedure, he got an attitude. Once he got the tube down my throat, and into my stomach, he pushed it in and yanked it back so hard, and so much that I gagged and wretched so hard, that it dislocated my shoulder. First time in my life I ever had any part of my body dislocated. Of course they found nothing wrong with my stomach, and put me through that for nothing. And, of course, I left the hospital in serious pain, and was in serious pain for 2 weeks, until I could not stand the pain any longer. Of course, I did not know that my shoulder had been dislocated for two weeks until I saw my GP at that time. She seemed to know exactly what to do. Brilliant woman, but she quick because she couldn't bear the though of sending her patients to a bunch of pompous assed so-called specialist, who pat one another on the back for being the masters of the universe, but really don't have a clue what they are doing! It is a shame, she had the makings of a really good doctor. Something this country desperately needs. She just cared too much about her patients.
I have had three surgeries in this country, and was butchered every time, so I have lost my confidence in the doctor here. I had my cervix butchered to the point that I started haemorrhaging, and had to be put on excessive dosages of Primolut-N and Tranexamic to stop the bleeding. I had to take that medication for 4 years, until I myself found an alternative online this past May.
I also had appendicitis, and was rushed to one of the 3 filthy hospitals in the area. Upon my arrival a man came in to introduce himself as my surgeon. It wasn't the fact that half his face had been blown away, and that he only had one eye and one ear that bothered me. It was the fact, that he took it personally when I refused to let him sit on the bed I was in. Nothing to do with his face ...everything to do with the excruciating pain I was in. I wouldn't even let my husband sit on my bed. This surgeon assumed it was because of his face, and left me with the ugliest 7 and a half inch scar you aver saw, when it should have been keyhole surgery. He claimed he wanted to make sure nothing else was wrong in there, but I knew different because of the way he screwed up his face when I said "no", to him sitting on my bed next to me, and then huffed out of the room before I could explain. He should not be allowed to practice, but in this country, you can actually kill and maim your patients and get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist! Really scarry, let me tell you.
If they ever do find out what is wrong with me, and find that surgery is needed, I may fly to the states to have the surgery done. If you only knew all the medical horror stories I have heard in the news since I moved here a little over 6 years ago, One surgeon took the wrong lung out of a patient, and only left with the bad lung, and the patient died in the hospital. Children die over here way to much at the hands of incompetent doctors. In fact, on little boy died recently because the doctor misdiagnosed him, sent him home, and he was dead within
hours. Yet another doctor took the wrong leg off a patient. He didn't die, but he would never walk again being left with one bad leg. Gall Bladder illnesses are not considered life threatening, so you can wait up to 6 years for an appointment to be made for you for Gall Bladder removal. Can you image my response when I was told that I had fibroids in my uterus,
and need to have a hysterectomy? Uh ...**** off! They would probably end up taking out my bladder, or a kidney by mistake. And if they gave me a 7 and a half inch scar just to take out something as simple as an appendix? Can you imagine what kind of butchery they could exact upon my in the process of a total hysterectomy??!! Good lord, these people do not even believe in sterilizing their surgical equipment! Besides, I have found an alternative to that as well.
Years ago, they used to sterile them with alcohol, but stopped using it because someone said it wasn't safe. This country is so backwards, it is unbelievable, but for someone like me, it is frightening. Heaven forbid, I should get into a car accident or something that requires emergency surgery. Not knowing if I will survive. Everyone that has surgery in this country gets an
infection afterward, and are put on antibiotics, and then they ends up with something called Thrush in the mouth. Which they tell people you always get Thrush in the mouth when put on antibiotics!? I never even heard of it before coming to this barbaric country, and I have been on antibiotics many times in my life!
I could go on about the atrocities I have to live with daily in this country, but for those who think that the British people are so fab because of their accents ...trust me when I tell you
that this is a country filled with backward people who have a bad case of Peter Pan syndrome, who have no reason to be, but are very full of themselves. They feel they are far superior
to America, and constantly make snide remarks about America, and American on the Television, yet they do not even sell the most common civilised/ modern products that you can find in
any store in America. They put our celebs on talk shows, and then talk about them like dos when they are gone. There is so much I could tell you about England, but like I said, I would
have to write a book if I did. Let's suffice to say, that unless you are very rich and very healthy, and can afford to import practically everything you may need from America, it is a very undesirable place for Americans to live. Unless you like going back in time, to when there were barely any modern conveniences, doctors butchered most of their patients, women are not important in medicine, house screens to keep out the bugs are pretty much non-existent, and minimum wage is about
Thank you for your answers. In mean time I did an abdominal CT scan, come back normal. Did again urine tests, complete blood tests with liver function, normal just elevated cholesterol. Negative for helicobacter pylori.
I start to feel the pain moving to my back, also to my left upper quadrant and left back.
I start to feel the pain moving to my back, also to my left upper quadrant and left back.
I am having almost exactly the same symptoms. Is the pain sometimes almost a burning sensation? I also have it move up my spine also to under my shoulder blade.
I am not sure. I have the pain across the middle of my back sometimes now, but mostly the right side under my rib cage and along my spine. The next step for me, after a CT Scan and back x-ray, will most likely be with a gastro-intestional specialist.
Sometimes is a burning sensation but rarely. I have the pain sometimes on my back at different location, mid spine, right and right kidney and right blade. Goes also to the flanks. Somebody suggested that might be the colon as I feel it in both right and left sides. What do you think? Is the colon pain felt in the back as well?
This may sound kind of wierd but I had the same symptoms as yourself and went to see a urologist.A simple test and was diagnosed with I.C. a rare bladder condition.There is no linning and can only hold 2 oz of fliud before all those symptoms you mentioned react.It seems like dr's dont deal with people problems like they used to.
You might want to mention the IC to your doc.Here is the name of it but can gaurantee its spelled right.
Intersistal Cystisis
You might want to mention the IC to your doc.Here is the name of it but can gaurantee its spelled right.
Intersistal Cystisis
hello sounds like ulcers to me i would check that ave maybe a cat scan of the pelvis could locate a problem with the gull bladder it did in my case.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You can consider further testing to evaluate the the upper GI tract and liver. The ultrasound is a good start. You can also consider a CT scan to further image the liver. An upper endoscopy would be a more comprehensive test to evaluate the upper GI tract - and can evaluate for ulcers, inflammation, or GERD.
More specialized testing can include a HIDA scan with CCK stimulation. This can evaluate for the gallbladder ejection fraction. If low, this can cause gallbladder-type symptoms in those without gallstones.
An MRCP can be considered to evaluate the biliary ducts.
You can discuss these options with your personal physician. Without examination, I cannot give a recommendation whether more testing can wait or not.
Followup with your personal physician is essential.
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_b
More specialized testing can include a HIDA scan with CCK stimulation. This can evaluate for the gallbladder ejection fraction. If low, this can cause gallbladder-type symptoms in those without gallstones.
An MRCP can be considered to evaluate the biliary ducts.
You can discuss these options with your personal physician. Without examination, I cannot give a recommendation whether more testing can wait or not.
Followup with your personal physician is essential.
This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.
Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_b
I know you're waiting for the Doc's response...but this sure sounds like GERD. If you want to rule-out GB problems, see if your physician will order an ultrasound of your GB. good Luck!
I already had an abdominal ultrasound and everything was normal.
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