Abdominal/Pelvic Pain

[jad814]

About 10 days ago I started having really sharp pains (sort've crampy) in my lower abdomen (right above pubic area and also felt in rear) that seems to occur sporatically.  It doesn't seem to be caused or relieved by eating, going to the bathroom, etc.

After it happened for 4-5 days I went to the ER, and after a stool test, blood tests, CT scan and X-rays it was determined I appeared (via CT scan) to have Appendicitis, although it was dubbed "acute" (I guess in that it hadn't bursted yet), and I had my Appendix removed that day (Wednesday around midnight last week) via the laproscopic (spelling aside) procedure.

I went home late on Thursday, and I have been noticing some (early in the AM, sporatically during the day if at all, and before bed) the same type of sharp (cramp like) pains in the same areas.  If I'm laying down, I can feel some pain over towards the right near where I'd envision my appendix is/was, but mainly it just makes me "tighten up" down there when it hits, and it seems to go away on its own. Sometime it lasts a minute, other times it stretches near an hour.

I'm not having any problems going to the bathroom regularly, and I'm having no pain when I actually go.  I haven't noticed anything irregular (blood) in my urine or stool that would make me panic, however, the fact I'm still having similar pains as pre-surgery has me a nervous wreck.

Thank you in advance for any/all help, and I appreciate taking the time to read this at a minimum.  I hope I'm not the only person who has, or is, going through this...

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

After reading your posts,I feel that you may be having irritable bowel syndrome.It is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder of unknown cause. Common symptoms include abdominal cramping or pain, bloating and gassiness, and altered bowel habits(alternate constipation and loose stools).

Irritable bowel syndrome can be a very difficult diagnosis to make. IBS is called a diagnosis of exclusion, which means that a doctor considers many other alternatives first, perhaps performing tests to rule out other problems.

Treatment includes addition of more fiber in your diet,cessation of smoking and taking stress,antispasmodic medicines,antidiarrheal medicines,antidepressants and new medicines like Alosetron (Lotronex) and Tegaserod (Zelnorm).

You can read more about this from the following website and discuss it with your doctor:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/irritable_bowel_syndrome/article_em.htm

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[jad814]

I had my post-op meeting with my surgeon and explained the fact that my bowel movements have started to become irregular.  Irregular in the sense that I don't always go once a day, when I do go it seems to be either hard stool or very loose (not completely water-like), and overall the quantity is well below my average when I feel I was "normal".

I'm a nervous wreck over all of this because whatever is wrong is causing me to have intermittent (completely random points in the day) sharp shock-like pains in my backside which to me feel like it's all across my lower abdomen/pelvis, however the Surgeon persists that I'm not suffering from something serious (the pain is serious ... I can deal with minor to moderate pain), and to be honest I'm just losing faith.

For the rest of the week he (my Surgeon) put me on a 72 hour Citrucel (for the first 2-3 days), Magnesium Citrate (Day 3-4 if Citrucel doesn't work) regimine because he feels I'm suffering from an "Impaction".  If after 3-4 days the above doesn't work, he wants me to administer a Fleet's Enema, and if that doesn't work schedule another appointment (by the way - PETRIFIED of the enema part).

Any advice is appreciated, and again thanks in advance for reading.

[BhumikaMD]

You need to consult a doctor to rule out appendicitis, kidney stones, diverticulitis, crohn's disease, pelvic inflammatory disease etc.

The further plan of management would involve -

'-Blood tests including full blood count, electrolytes, urea, creatinine, liver function tests, pregnancy test and lipase.
-Urinalysis
-Imaging including erect chest X-ray and plain films of the abdomen
-An electrocardiograph to rule out a heart attack which can occasionally present as abdominal pain

If diagnosis remains unclear after history, examination and basic investigations as above then more advanced investigations may reveal a diagnosis. These as such would include

-Computed Tomography of the abdomen/pelvis
-Abdominal or pelvic ultrasound
-Endoscopy and colonoscopy'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdominal_pain

Let us know about what your doctor advises and if you need any further information.

Regards.