Paracetamol and Alcohol causes pain in upper abdomen

[just_jay]

Hi all,

I am 26yr old female, who had a gallbladder operation last year in October. 4 months after that, I got started getting intense pain in my upper abdomen. The first 2 epiosodes, 1-2 months apart, were accute, but did not last long in total (a few minutes). The pain feels like a gripping/ stabbing pain (I really don't know how to describe it) that comes and goes in waves, lasting a few minutes each time. After the first 2 episodes, the pain started again 2 months later, and lasted for at least half an hour, with the pain intensifying and coming and going in waves.

By the 3rd episode, I could hardly breathe and I started to feel hot, and was sweating and vomitting. The 4th episode occured 2 weeks later, and I was admitted into the emergency department. The doctors did a blood test and an ultrasound, but the results were inconclusive. I then followed up with another ultrasound, MRI (focusing on the bilary tract), and more blood tests. Again the doctors could not find anything. They couldn't see any gallstones in the bilary tract or anywhere else. Apart from a mildly fatty liver and pancreas, all was good.

The 5th episode happened, and I spent an hour and a half on the bathroom floor, vomiting and sweating. The pain came and went in waves, and each time it intensified, I would try and vomit to ease the pain. On a scale of 1to 10, the pain at its worst was a 9.

Now, the thing in common with the 3rd and 4th episodes is the fact that I had paracetamol in the morning, about 2 hours before the pain started. The 5th episode, I had paracetamol the day before, and an extra strong dosage in the morning when my gut started feeling funny (sorta like nausea without the vomiting). I cannot remember if I had paracetamol in the first 2 episodes.

Now, I had been taking panadol for 15 years, taking on average 6-8 tablets a month. Since the 5th episode of pain, I have totally stopped taking paracetamol and moved on to Ibuprofen. I have been fine for 2 months, but I got another attack yesterday. This one lasted over an hour, again, with the pain coming in waves. It was not as bad as the previous episode, but I will still vomitting but not sweating. I had 2 Ibuprofen the day before, and nothing on the day itself. I did however, have some wine on an empty stomach.

Now my question is, what is wrong with me? A traditional chinese medicine doctor suspected my liver, which got me thinking it was panadol, so I stopped taking it. The pain occurs in the middle, and sorta below where my bra ends. Once, I felt the pain near the right upper abdomen, but the rest of time, it has always been in the middle. I do not get any pain in the back, or anywhere else. Can alcohol trigger the same effect (I had wine in the past 2 months but nothing happened)?

Please let me know if you need anymore information and I will try my best to answer them.

[crambone]

sounds like pancreas problems to be,,,your tests showed something with that right?,,,i have a friend with pancreatitis,and he describes the same stuff,,,next time you have an attack and go to the hospital,have them check your amalayes/lipase enzyme levels,,,drinking couses pancreatitis 10x more then liver problems,,,ya,,i never knew that either!,,,he gets just the way you describe!

[just_jay]

I've also had an gastroscopy, and have no hernia, gastricitis or acid reflux. There was no evidence of leaking bile either.