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'undiagnosable' abdominal pain.

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Alexandermunday
Alexandermunday

Hi there,

I've had right severe abdominal pain, just below my rib line, It's a constant pain and i've experienced it for about 4 months now. At first I didn't really pay attention to it, it then became too painful to ignore at all. I would find myself waking up at night, or having to sit/lay down at work clutching my side. One day at work it became so painful I collapsed, and began having heart palpitations, after calling an ambulance I was sat inside it for 30 minutes or so hooked up to an ecg, my heart beat averaged about 125. I've seen about 10 doctors, 4 of my local GP's, and had 3 trips to AnE. The palpitations proceeded the severe pain a total of 3 times so far, It'd feel as if something in my right side had almost burst and spread across my body becoming numb and having severe chest pain - and I honestly thought I was having a heart attack because of the pain and the feeling of my heart pumping through my chest.

I guess the best thing will be to answer every question they've asked me..

I'm a healthy 19 year old male, I've eaten healthy, exercised often, i'm 10 stone 8, and i'm 5ft 8. I am not a drug user, although I am partial to the occasional binge drink (Like most teenagers).

I do not lift heavy objects, I work in a bar and don't lift any barrels/trays of glasses. I have been a smoker for a year now, and have been cutting down since the pain started, although giving it up entirely is quite hard as i'm finding it the only thing that has relaxed me. I've had no blood in my urine/feces/vomit. I have only vomited once during the 4 months. I do not have a temperature, I do not have a fever, the pain is not increased when pressure is applied. It is not relieved by warm/cold packs etc. The doctors are adamant I do not have appendicitis, i've had 3 ultrasounds which show no stones in my kidneys or galbladder and everything is as of normal size.

When I was admitted into AnE and asked to spend 2 more nights in the hospital I became so bad I had to have someone to hold me up while I walk, I couldn't sit up due to the pain and I would be so tired that I couldn't get out of bed. They had asked me to stay because of one blood test that showed my liver functions spiking high (I think it was billirubin? - and no I had not had a heavy night of drinking or anything the night before It was taken) They released me because they said being an outpatient would be faster (Which, it isn't, as the specialist i've been referred to will not be able to see me until december, when it's september now.)

Through all the doctors i've seen, i've stuck with one who has been incredibley helpful throughout this all, although completely clueless to what is going on with me.

Whilst in the hospital I've had a doctor tell nurses to stop giving me any pain killers because Im probably just a drug addict, and other doctors tell me it's complete anxiety, and others take one look at me and say it's a mucle inflammation under my rib.

It's got to the point where I can't work, my relationships are suffering incredibly because I can hardly do anything. I Can't drink without having incredibly bad hang overs which last for days or throwing up after the first couple of pints, some days I will wake up and sit on the floor because it's too painful to lie down or stand up. My relationship with my partner is suffering, as it is most of the time too painful to be intimate. This is ruining my life, and all the doctors are telling me 'come back if it gets worse, but there's nothing wrong with you'.

But as I said, 3 ultra sounds, 2 x-rays, 15 blood tests (Including one for hepatitus).

And nothing except one liver function spike, the once. My blood sugars are normal, there's nothing abnormal in my urine.

What i've told every doctor i've seen;

I've had severe right abdominal pain. Just below my rib. So severe I can not walk etc. I've had constipation for 4 months a long with the pain, which every now and then seems to just disappear. It seems to become more severe every other week, and on 3 occasions so painful I have collapsed and either thought I was having a heart attack or my appendix had burst due to the pain.

Please, any help is incredibly appreciated, I just want my life back!

Thank you, Alex.

8 likes, 127 replies

127 Replies

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  • CraigRanch
    CraigRanch

    Posted

    How was your Costoconginitis diagnosed? That's a new one for me to learn about!
    • becca07689
      becca07689 CraigRanch

      Posted

      Oftentimes, it's diagnosed based on symptoms and a fairly quick physical exam. 
  • waynet82
    waynet82

    Posted

    Dr did pain tests by pushing on certain spots, all costoconginitis is, is an inflimation of ligiments which surround your ribs. It started to feel like I had randomly done 100 push ups and any kind of pressure on my ribs was very painful. I was hoping they were related. But the Dr didn't say if they are connected.
  • terri58775
    terri58775

    Posted

    I'm 21 years old and having the same pain on my right side under my rib cage. I also have constipation, abdominal pain seems to worsen after eatting, especially fatty foods. I've been running a fever on and off, going from hot to cold in a moment. Always feeling tired..eyes burning as well as getting sick with acid reflux after eating. They have done a colonoscopy, and endoscopy then told me I had ibs.. But after consistent pain on my right side they sent off for blood work and an ultrasound to look for gallstones but instead found a polyp. I am now going for a Hida scan. Cancer runs in my family so I'm very scared of this being the issue. I don't know if this is connected to any of you but I figured if share anyway. This has been going on for over a year.
    • michelle16486
      michelle16486 terri58775

      Posted

      glad Your getting the hida scan this will show if You have a slugish gallbladder,..get off as much junk as You can,. at this point anything that upsets the galbladder will cause other things to go on,.. You also get to the point You think You have appendisitis?    the gut does what I call a vapor lock,... like a car can do with its gas system,..if it cant go the way it needs to it pushed backwards the air and we eat food that rots soooo you end up with a belly full of rot and gas not moving like it should,..this pain can cause the muscle between the small and large bowel to pull backwards   put water in a straw and then put Your finger over one end and see how much comes out, suction!,...when i say its   ,..the liver and galbladder work together dropping its biles if your galbladder is weak dont drink booze I cant say this enough,..if I drank one cocktail id get sooooo sick because of the very long time my problems went on my liver couldnt clear my system, so i not only burned from gerd,..they called it... get off chemical lased foods,.. get of glutens ,..but first You have to get that galbladder hida scan,.. let me say this also,. it isnt going to be like a miricle after,..it takes time for your body to heal,..from the onslaught of symtoms it has caused,.. and one more thing,..it sounds silly but get irish sea moss powder,..it will help the constipation,..it heals what ever it comes near, I also use it on My skin  never get acme because it wont let it,.. im not  NOT a doctor, but I finely has some of the control of My body back and one big big reason is the irish sea moss,..add it to half cup of some thing ,.. it smells like dryed sea sock but tastes like not much,..its sooooo soothing the minute it hits Your  ok I cant spell it,.. e-sof-i-cus,.. wraps Your stomch like You were swaddled in silk,... I thought after smelling it the very first time id yack it up,. but I was Amazed   ,. and its cheap!!!!!!!!!.   and it lets gas move,.. its like your coliced, try it once,.. just once please anyone reading this its just free advise from some one who has been put thru years and years of torment, it helps. stay away from beef unless it is grass fed,.. pick organic over others,..dont eat meals,.. rather snack on good stuff,..   by this time Your could have obsorbtion troubles starting,.. get Your records look everything up,...I found that My doc said  oh  tests there fine,. yet I had a 18 level vit D,... check check check,  every word everything Your doctor tells You read,.become aware.  ibs   to me is like going to the doctor and him saying yes You have sick.    well???? what sick what I got,... to me its a generlized term for nothing.  I had thru the roof colestrol yet I dont eat foods that should cause that,... responce of surgen?  must be genitic,.. ha i said funny NO one in my family has that,. ahhh ahhh ahhh He said well see Your regular doc,.... ask ask reasearch,...
  • sotnLrry
    sotnLrry

    Posted

    ive had the same pains for 2 months now i just turned 18 two weeks ago ive had the same pains directly under the sternum with throwing up now i havent had a rash on my chest that ones new to me and so is the grey stools that hasnt happened to me either ive had an endoscopy returning nothing but i did have an ultrasound done that showed my spleen was enflamedbut the docsaid it wasnt causing the pain, with my endoscopy they took two biopsies one in my esophogus and one in my bowels somewhere i dont know where it showed that my esophogus was enflamed too.(im not sure if it has anything to do with whatever this is)im still having these pains. my father had the same pains not but six months before i did and they said what the doctors for Will said, that my dad has Intussusception now my dad has not been able to do the surgery but he has meds hes been using that keep him from having the pains and i dont know what it is but when i had had random pains before the constant pain started he had given me one to see if it would help cause those pains were extreme even more than the ones i have now and it did wonders i dont know what it is but i really want to find out because its really worked for him he does everything he normally does hes gone to work with no complications and hes done manual labor with no problems and etc etc.
  • rob42116
    rob42116

    Posted

    Hi, I have had the same problem for for about two years. Every test and made to feel I was making it up. The only thing that made sense after testing my spine. Was nerve damage to my spine. It meant that the nerve was misfiring the most from my back and traveling along my bottom right rib. I also suffered heart attack like symptoms. After physio and nothing working it was getting easier. I think it's was called damage to my turrasic spine. Hope this helps.
  • sue_277
    sue_277

    Posted

    I know I am a bit late with this one but hey I too have this awful pain, taking tramadol, buscopan and

    omezprazoles as well.... I am currenlty waiting to have a scan, however my doctor in the meantime requested that I did a urine sample which has come back abnormal, I now have to do a sample weekly to monitor it. im clueless just like everyone else here and Ive got to admit I have had this pain for years always thought it was hiatus hernia turns out it isnt as painful as this.... uuummmmm never mind however I have just seen today that this pain can also come from a B12 DEFICIENCY and if not treated can cause severe damage to you small intestine maybe we should all get blood tests too

    will post after my scan then

    and hello everyone smile

  • letti89970
    letti89970

    Posted

    Hello,

    I know it was a while ago since you posted this. I hope that by now you have found what was wrong and you're back to normal. I've had the same pain since 2008 so I know how frustrating, and painful it can get. About two months ago I ended up in the ER and my liver enzymes were elevated. They did every possible test and they all came back normal. (Besides the liver enzymes.) then the GI doctor suggested for me to have a procedure called ERCP. They put you under general anesthesia and do a scope. But they go all the way into your bile duct. To my doctors surprise, he found one huge gall stone, and a whole bunch of smaller stones. He cut a piece of the muscle and inserted a stent. That night, and even a week after I was pain free for the first time in years! It's crazy because the CT scan, and ultrasound had all come back negative. Well my luck ran out about two weeks later when the stent moved and the pain came right back. They had to go back in and remove the stent but my doctor, once again, was surprised by the fact that I was already creating more stones. He took the stent out, cut more of the muscle and hoped that I would be ok. I am writing this four weeks later, laying on an emergency room bed because the pain is back! They are doing more tests and I really hope they figure things out. This is not a good way to live. I completely understand what you are going through and I hope they figured out the cause of your pain.

  • mamabordas59
    mamabordas59 Alexandermunday

    Posted

    my son has endured three surgeries and debilitateing pain for three years . He missed an entire year of school and at one point just shrugged and said he guessed he would just have to deal with it.Turns out it was a problem with the shpincster of odie. This is more often overlooked and misdiagnosed as well as much more comon in young males then you think.All that suffering , being told we as parents were making our son sick. It was food it was this or that and all the surgeries, he has had his gallbladder, appendix shunts put into the sphinckter of oodie. But they never told us after the the shunt disolved it could come back and it did, please stand by your soon and fight for his well being. Our son is finally well enough to live happy active and normal.
  • sherie50004
    sherie50004 Alexandermunday

    Posted

    I sure hope you are feeling better. I've had the same symptoms for some time and went through all the tests, possible gall bladder, IBS, a lot of stuff, once they even thought I was having a heart attack! The problem ultimately wasn't with my organs, it was with my spine. I have scoliosis of the thoracic spine with a curvature to the right and a herniated disc just below the center of my shoulder blades. The problem was that all the nerves to my abdomen are getting pressured and pinched to the right of my spine where the herniated disc is. This condition makes my intestinal tract react on the right side to the point where I am almost positive that I have liver, gall bladder or other serious diseases and sitting too long in one place really accelerates the problems. I get IBS symptoms severely. What finally helped me was a physical therapist who worked on my spine and found my ribs on the right side of my spine lock instead of acting naturally like the handles on a pail. When I am suffering badly I will roll a hand towel tight and place it lengthwise along the right side of my spine and lay on my back, she also instructed me to put a small ball just under the spine just below where your shoulders connect to your spine. The rolled towel forces my spine straight and releases the stuck ribs and the ball under my spine near my shoulders opens up my shoulders and chest and really relieves the pressure on my upper abdomen. Not that this is what is wrong with you, but this is what worked for me. Since all the nerves for your abdomen pass through the thoracic spine I would advise many to have their spines looked at. I really pray that this helps at least helps some of you who are suffering.
    • linda26297
      linda26297 sherie50004

      Posted

      after reading your reply it was like a mirror image of myself I too have scoliosis  and sometimes when I bend forward  i feel my ribs diggininto me ... I have just been to see my doctor unexplained abdo pain  had bloods taken found out they all came back fine awaiting a colonoscopy which by reading  I am convinced  i am suffering the same way may I ask how they finely found out and how long did it take to find the cause of your pain ? Im desparete  these pains are so affecting my sense of well being please reply 
  • justin98307
    justin98307 Alexandermunday

    Posted

    Hey guys I'm curious to know if you have solved the problem with what is going on yet? My names Justin I'm a 25 year old male from British Columbia, Canada. I'm a fairly healthy guy I work as a power lineman and very active. I'm currently in the hospital recovering from a major surgery. My symptoms were exactly what all of you are describing. I was diagnosed with diverticulitis. It is very rare to have at my age as its usually is found in people over 50 years old. If you guys are still in pain then tell your doctor's to check you for this. It can usually be seen through a CT scan machine. Diverticulitis is also almost the exact same symptoms as crohn's disease or colitis. These are all going to cause those pains while spots here and there are becoming inflamed somewhere in your colon. It's pretty serious as sooner or later it can become so inflamed it could burst. Which would result in stool in your abdomen (poison to your blood). In my case I had to get a decent section of my colon removed and then sewed back together. So that being said while that heals I have a temporary ileostomy. This means my small bowel and large bowel are separated and the small bowel is ran out the side of my stomach. Which means for the next few months my stool comes out my stomach into the bag. If your lucky this is only temporary. If not.. it's forever. I'll also let you know I'm a recreational pot smoker. Pot killed the pain and made it tolerable for me, but know that smoke irritates the bowels so immediate relief could cause more pain later. I discovered cookies made from with hash oil gave me all day relief... with obvious other side affects like being extremel  stoned. This scares me a lot as I said I'm a lineman, how am I gonna do my job with an ostomy bag? It's not that bad. There are tons of ostomy support groups all over and they all have helpful information. There's also ostomy armor. This allows guys like myself to continue working labor intensive jobs with an ostomy. I can always give you guys more info if you need it. Get yourselves some CT scans and tell your doctor's to check you for diverticulitis, crohn's, or colitis ASAP. Cancer can be hiding in these things as well. Please let me know how this goes for you guys. I can't imagine 8 months of these pains. It's been 2 months since my first flare up and that was enough for me.
  • OglopKing
    OglopKing Alexandermunday

    Posted

    Hi Alexander

    I hope you're doing well, or at least much better than your first couple of posts here. I've been feeling the exact same symptoms which started in my lower right abdomen, and doctors keep telling me there's nothing wrong. 

    Same story. Blood tests, ultrasound, constipation, pain now in the mid torso area and feeling really weak at times. No discernible problem. I'm getting to the point now where I'm freaking out that it's something more sinister (and I hate they use that word) like the horrible C word. You know how your mind spirals as you seek to look for answers? That's where I am now. Everyday I hit Google to search for different key words and today I stumbled across this post. 

    They just don't believe there's anything seriously wrong. 

    My GP suggested speaking to someone for therapy and getting physiotherapy but I've been going to the gym to see if my lifestyle changes might help but really it just keeps me feeling tired and I keep spiralling in my thoughts.

    Have you had any more luck or answers since your last post? I'm having stress and health anxiety which leads me to being unable to focus at work.

    Hope to hear from you (or anyone else with insight) soon. 

    -Shaun

  • K-2014
    K-2014 Alexandermunday

    Posted

    Hi Alex

    This is truly scary as if I was to write a letter I would just have to photo copy yours and change just a few things!

    My story I don't drink a drop of alcohol never liked the taste I don't smoke or do drugs.

    I believe in everything as natural as possible. I am on a very low fat diet.And well I use to walk 5 miles a day but  that stopped too much pain.

    And sadly now a days some Doctors are very strong on prescribing anti-depressant pills its the new magic pill to happiness I guess lets cover it up when we cant figure out the root of the problem!

    My enzymes had spiked up to 8,000 with the normal being 130-140.

    They kept me in for 3 days then released me saying that they call this idiopathic and the chances of it happening again are slim...well  it happened again but this time the pain was not 10 out of 10 but 20 out of 20.And they let me sit in ER with no  consultation for 10 hours.Well finally 15 hours later I got into the ICU where yet again they admitted me for this time 4 days.So this time during my stay they gave me an MRI with some sort of dye and that came back normal. As for blood test a good 20 viles.After my stay they released me and I was given a an appointment with a specialist who seems quite nice he sent me for yet more blood test surprise,surprise my Family Doctor called to tell me he got the copy's of my blood test and all tests came back negative.

    Lets talk  may Ultrasounds...you guessed it all come back normal.

    So desperate and yes scared I decided to go to a local clinic for another opinion Anyways this Doctor who has 37 years under his belt  said as soon as he pressed under my rib  "get to the Hospital its your Gallbladder my partner and I told him all the test they had done and everything always comes back normal,he proceeded to tell us that in his years of practice he has seen a lot of test come back normal but he has seen Gallbladders come out  filled with thousands of stones that NEVER showed up on tests!!! ok I said so how do you find the right Doctor to see this?he had no answer!!!.

    so  back to the Hospital" I go where after waiting all day I was given yet more pills as they said everything is fine!!!

    So I am sitting here with severe pain under  right rib that is radiating to my back.

    So whats a person to do? I truly feel for anyone in this type of pain and worse nobody to turn to.

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