Stabbing sharp pain lasting 30 minutes in Ribs.

[Parin]

Hey, I'm a 21 year old male and in a decent condition. I've been having these stabbing sharp pains in my side for about three years now and they only last about 30 minutes or so and I wont hurt again for about two weeks or so. Last night I was getting in my car and the pain actually sent me to the ground. I had to lay down and eventually my financee saw my and we just went to the ER and they said it was nothing really. The pain is in my upper right ribs right below my breast. The previous bouts were not severe enough to make me want to go to the hospital, I would just stop, sit down, and tough it out. I've had no surgerys or anything. Every now and again though my back, right beside my right shoulderblade will hurt as well. Can somone tell me what this is or how to make it stop becuase I dont want that to happen again.  I dont really think this is relevent but I do have something call osgoodslaugther (I can't really spell it) in both my knees, but other than that nothing else wrong with me I think.

[Tuckamore]

Hi Parin,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am glad that you found us and took the time to post.... but sorry to hear about your extreme pain. I m glad that you will be consulting your physician.

Your family may be correct, what you are experiencing could be Gallbladder pain. Stones in your Common Bile Duct can cause excruciating pain. It's called Choledocholithiasis.
It does seem to me that this would have been suggested or diagnosed when you went to ER. If I understand you correctly ER said it was "Nothing really."  Cholecystitis can be more difficult to DX. It is inflammation of the gall bladder, usually without the presence of stones. It can not seen on x-ray as a general rule.

"Nothing really"  doesn't cause pain and I am sorry to hear that they apparently dismissed it as such. Did they do any tests? An x-ray may have revealed stones, not always but often they will show on x-ray. Did they do one?  

I think you mean you have Osgood-Schlatter disease. It is an overuse injury that occurs in the knee area of growing adolescents. It is caused by inflammation of the tendon just below the kneecap (patellar tendon) where it attaches to the tibia (shinbone).  Most symptoms will completely disappear after this growth spurt. In males this is about 15-16. If you are still having symptoms at 20 I think this should be reevaluated. But your correct that this should not be related to your abd pain.

Is your pain associated with eating, especially fatty food? "Bad diet" doesn't cause gallbladder disease when you are young... however it will make symptoms worse or cause an acute flare. If you have stones it is the movement of the stones down the Common Bile Duct that is causing the acute and sudden pain. Hypothyroidism and food allergies are major contributing factors in the development of gallbladder disease.

You could have a Gastrointestinal problem rather then Gallbladder Disease. Again I am glad that you are consulting your PCP.... you'll soon have answers. Please let us know how you are doing.... and please share with us the result of your appointment. I'll look forward to hearing from you.

Best of Luck and Take Care,
~Tuck

[Parin]

Thank you. I was told by a few people, family members who are nurses and a pharmacist at my work that it is most probably my gallbladder. I know next to nothing in the medical field but they said that it was most likely because of my bad eating habits that could be triggering this. I'm scheduled for a appointment but I'm going to try to start eating better and see if that fixes it as well.

[namnam46]

Hi Parin,

First, I want to welcome you to the PM (Pain Management) Forum and let you know that we are glad you found this Forum. We are all CP (Chronic Pain) Patients that help each other with our own expertise and experiences that we have developed through our own CP Issues.

I'm so sorry about the extreme pain you were in the other night.  That's so frightening when something such as that happens to you. I know that your Fiancee was extremely frightened to have found you on the ground!!

I would recommend that you go to your doctor and tell him/her what is going on with you each and every time that this happens.  Having this pain every couple of weeks is way too much!!  In case you didn't read this Welcome Message, I need to let you know that there are no Doctor's on this Forum.  AS I stated above, we are all CP Patients, such as your self, that try to help each other.  

That being said, I'm wondering if this could have anything to do with your Gallbladder.  It's located on your right-side and can cause this type of pain.  But this type of pain can also be caused by bruising or an injury od some type with your rib.

I hope that you will get this checked out and get the answers that you deserve!!  After you get the diagnosis that you need, I hope that you will get the pain relief that you need to be able to go forward with your life.

Best of luck and I'll be looking for your updates.........Sherry  :)