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Ultrasound Worry and Anxiety! Help?!

Posted , 9 users are following.

ldharv
ldharv

Hello all,

So today I went to my GP to discuss how things have been going over the past two weeks since I last went to see her to discuss my symptoms of:

Stomach discomfort/pain, especially left hand side but also lower and right at times

Acid reflux/indigestion

Back discomfort - mainly upper or middle

Last time she just gave me a prescription for 40mg of omeprazole, felt my stomach area and said it didn't sound serious or anything like cancer and to come back in a few weeks (today) if things had continued. Now, things have continued until a day or so ago when my symptoms started to improve - stomach pain/discomfort is much less regular, I feel better and heartburn/reflux is less.

I still went today and mentioned the above continuing until recently. I also mentioned a h.pylori test to her and she agreed this was a good idea and I need to do that in a few weeks (after the omeprazole has stopped and is out of my system). She also said she wasn't sure what the pain/discomfort was in my left hand side, what I mentioned before was reflux symptoms (despite these being the same symptoms I mentioned today) but suggested I had an ultrasound. She didn't sound worried but even though I said please don't refer me or suggest anything she thought wasn't required, she still went ahead an ordered an ultrasound.

It was a bit out of left field, she never mentioned it the first appointment and she didn't give me a reason why seeing as my symptoms haven't changed and in fact they've got slightly better. Another GP I spoke to last week via video app said they also thought it was nothing to worry about, not cancer and just a bad flare up of my gastro reflux.

Anyway, now I'm very worried! Why would she order an ultrasound if she wasn't worried at all?! I'm likely to have to wait for ages for an appointment, any idea how long (in UK)? I seriously tempted to go private and go for an ultrasound early next week - even though my wife, my mum and other family members are telling me not to and just to wait (they all aren't worried). Anyone got any experience in this? Just when I was starting to feel better, this anxiety is going to come back massively now if I wait for this appointment.

Thanks all as always

To add, when I said it was mainly left hand side (like I did the first time I spoke to her and the other GP), she said this time she wasn't sure what would cause that as the stomach is the other side and that is the side of the spleen. Is that correct?! I thought the stomach was that side and reflux could cause pains and discomfort that side. Very weird.

0 likes, 32 replies

32 Replies

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  • Vish2015
    Vish2015 ldharv

    Posted

    Go for endoscopy. It will get hpylori tested. And yes, hpylori infection is very weird. It goes and come unpredictably. A week you will be good, and then 4 days with various discomfort and this loops again and again.

  • ldharv
    ldharv

    Posted

    Thanks for all of the replies, advice and knowledge - it’s really appreciated by me and you’ve really helped. My appointment came through today - 20th Feb. This seems really quick for NHS, how long did everyone else have to wait? I’m worried about how quick it is, I went to see the Dr on 29th Jan so about 3 weeks from requesting. Is that normal? It’s only if it’s under 2 weeks they’ve asked for it to be quick right?

  • pippa58442
    pippa58442 ldharv

    Posted

    Your doctor is only offering an ultrasound to rule things in or out because she has not been able to offer you a diagnosis. I was offered an ultrasound not because my doctor was worried but because he couldn't give answers. I was told several times by my doctors that they were not worried. However, my anxiety was through the roof and I couldn't wait a month on the NHS so I went private. My dad recognised that waiting for an NHS ultrasound would increase my anxiety and organised my private appointment. Unfortunately, my ultrasound was inconclusive and I couldn't tolerate the pelvic ultrasound.

    However, you should do what is right for you and if you can't wait because of your anxiety, I would suggest going private. Don't listen to what your family is telling you because this is not helping you. The fact that they are not worried is irrelevant to your individual needs because you are worried and that is what counts. They are not experiencing your gut symptoms or your anxieties so they are not the best people to advise you. Simply explain to them that you know that waiting will trigger massive anxiety and that a private, quicker ultrasound will help your anxiety. You know your own body.

    An ultrasound will show whether any of your abdominal organs are causing your pain and will answer your questions about your spleen. However, this scan will not show your stomach; you would need an endoscopy to check your stomach. The lady doing my scan told me that the ultrasound wouldn't show my stomach.

  • ldharv
    ldharv

    Posted

    I think my main worries at the moment are the left sided pain (which can increase after eating) and the back discomfort/pain. When I Google them they keep on coming up with pancreatic cancer worries 😦 any help? Just want to know it isn't something bad based on what I'm saying. The back discomfort is higher up my back (either in the middle, upper back or just to the left side of the middle) and it like a pressure, like someone is pressing a finger just to make me feel a bit uncomfortable. It can come and go. Same with the pain in the left side, comes and goes and is sometimes sharp or just a general discomfort stitch type feeling.

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 ldharv

      Posted

      Try a food diary to see if any foods are causing pain since you are getting pain after eating. Ask your doctor about gastritis, h pylori and IBS; these possibilities are more likely. Don't google symptoms because you will get inaccurate information for your particular case and you will panic more. Only your doctor can diagnose you ,ease your worries and give you treatment. Your doctor is more likely to give you accurate information. I had pancreas worries and googling symptoms made me worse. Asking my doctor reassured me straight away when I was told at my age pancreas trouble was unlikely. I was 42 at the time. Believing my doctor gave me one less thing to worry about. Ask your doctor!

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 ldharv

      Posted

      I have had a stitch like pain with IBS which moved all over my stomach and I also had back pain. I had stabbing, sharp pain along with sore to touch pain and a deep grinding pain that felt like it was inside my abdomen. Pain after eating is common with IBS and so is back pain. These two symptoms can occur with Gastritis too. Try to relax!

    • ldharv
      ldharv pippa58442

      Posted

      Thank you so much Pippa, really thankful you take the time to reply to me with great advice.

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