Advice on pain under ribs right side
I really need some advice—I feel so lost and broken.
Last year, I started having pain on my right side under my ribs that sometimes radiated to my back. My bowel movements were normal, but the pain persisted. I was worried something was seriously wrong, so I went to the ER. They did a CT scan with contrast, but they found nothing. All my blood work was normal, and my CA-19 score was 7.
I then saw my gastroenterologist, who ordered a HIDA scan and an MRCP. Both tests came back normal, and no one could figure out what was going on. The pain was always worse when I sat, like I was squishing something. Eventually, after months, the pain just went away, and I don’t even know why.
Fast forward to a month ago—the pain is back, but worse. This time, I feel sharp pains on the right side of my stomach, which radiate down to my ribs and around to my back. I also have a reduced appetite and occasional nausea. After a month of dealing with it, I went to the ER again. They did an ultrasound and blood work; the blood work was normal, but the ultrasound noted:
> "The included liver is slightly increased in echogenicity, which may be due to steatosis or other hepatocellular conditions."
This time, I also have very loose stools. The only thing that seems to help a little is ibuprofen.
I told my gastroenterologist that I was worried about cancer—either pancreatic or liver—but she doesn’t think so, given all the tests I’ve had in the past eight months, including CT scans. She can't imagine something like that being missed so many times.
I’m scheduled for an MRI at the end of the month. Has anyone experienced anything like this?
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@kzeiss CA-19 is a blood test for pancreatic cancer markers.
You are right in that sometimes it takes just that one doctor who is a great diagnostician … it’s like winning a lottery, eh!
Please let me know if you get any answers. I have been dealing with chronic diarrhea since June 2024. The pain under my right rib, just as you described, started shortly after. I can also get the pain on my left side but not as far over and not as severe and not nearly as often. The pain can range from very sharp and painful to dull aching. As you said, ibuprofen only helps mildly. I have to go lay down and put a heating pad on the area. My Gastro has run several tests. One was an ultrasound on my liver done in the office. It showed mild fatty liver which they dismissed. I do not drink alcohol now and never have. They did a ct scan w/contrast which only showed a 4 cm splenic aneurysm not worth having a surgeon look at yet and on left side. I have had tons of blood work and stool samples. I have not had an MRI or HIDA scan. Hope we both get answers.
I had very similar symptoms for over a year. Every day I would wind up laying on the bed doubled up. I had so many tests done no one found anything. And my primary noticed something on my blood work and said let's do a c scan of the liver and gallbladder. Sure enough gallbladder filled with stones. Gallbladder gone, pain gone.