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Worried constant pain right side
Last year, I had severe pain on my right side, just below my ribs, that radiated to my back. Nothing seemed to help. The doctors ran a HIDA scan, an MRCP, and a C-19 blood test, which came back at 7. Despite these tests, they couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Eventually, after months of pain, it went away. This was back in April 2024.
Fast forward to today—over the past month, I’ve been experiencing intense pain again on my right side under my ribs. However, this time, I’m also having stomach pain, and the discomfort still radiates to my back. Last year, I underwent both an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, and both came back clean. But in the past few days, the pain has worsened significantly. I’ve been feeling nauseous all the time and experiencing diarrhea.
Now, here’s the strange part. I know a lot about diabetes because my youngest son was diagnosed with type 1 when he was three years old—he’s now 23. Most of my life, my fasting blood sugar levels in the morning were between 78 and 90. However, starting a couple of years ago, I began testing randomly, and my morning blood sugars were consistently around 117 to 125. My doctors ran an A1C test, which came back at 5.2.
Even when I fast for 24 to 48 hours, my morning blood sugar remains around 125. They call it Dawn Phenomenon (Dawn Syndrome), I believe. It takes from 7:00 a.m., when my blood sugar is at 124, until 8:00 p.m. to drop down to 90, even while fasting. Something just doesn’t seem right.
Then yesterday, when the pain got really bad, my doctor ordered blood work, including a full CBC and a lipase test. In the past, my lipase levels averaged between 25 and 35, but this time, it came back at 90. By their standards, this is only slightly high, but it’s a big change from my usual levels. I don’t think it’s just a coincidence considering how awful I feel.
Now, I’m waiting to hear back from the doctors, but I just don’t know what to do anymore. I think I’ve had about 12 scans in the past 24 months, and I’m starting to wonder how much radiation one person can take before it becomes detrimental to their health.
I’m just wondering—has anyone else dealt with similar symptoms and found out what was going on?
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kathy74 - Any disagreeable side effects from the block? Still pain free?
He had the block, butbit didnt work....Iam so sad...hes having ALOT of constipation due to alot of pain meds...ugh! I feel so bad for him
Have you been able to identify the cause of these symptoms? I have been living with type 1 diabetes for 30 years, and my A1C has been elevated recently, but I have been making efforts to improve it.
In February, I experienced intermittent right-sided pain beneath my right breast that would awaken me at night. An abdominal scan showed no abnormalities, and the pain subsided after approximately six weeks. In June, I was diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy and have been managing that since.
However, toward the end of September, I developed recurring sharp, burning, hot pains on the right side of my back that radiated to the front, specifically in the upper abdomen beneath my ribs. These episodes lasted between 30 seconds and two minutes and occurred randomly over a two-week period. I noticed increased pain with movement and developed a constant, bruised-like sensation on my right side, similar to a punch followed by sharp pains.
Due to the severity, I sought medical evaluation and have seen multiple healthcare providers. I have undergone numerous tests, including two abdominal scans, two CT scans with contrast, endoscopy, colonoscopy, MRI, a HIDA scan, and extensive blood work. Initially, gallbladder issues were suspected, and it was removed; however, subsequent evaluations confirmed that the gallbladder was not the source of the pain.
Currently, the most intense pain is concentrated in two areas of my abdomen, which has persisted for months. These episodes leave me bedridden and cause me to minimize movement to reduce discomfort. Limiting movement appears to lessen both the pain intensity and need for pain medication. While movement is not impossible, it exacerbates the pain, sometimes taking days to regain control of the pain to sleep comfortably.
I am now waiting to meet with a doctor to see if he will preform an ERCP to see if my bile ducts have build up that could be causing the pain. Also, another doctor is finding out if my insurance will cover some type of nerve block. I work a desk job and not a very active life, however I was stretching and trying to get my health better before all this occurred and wondering if it is some kind of weird muscle issue that won’t heal and has not shown on the scans. Also, mesmeric ischemia is something else I am having doctors look into. With being diabetic and my blood vessels already being affected, I am wondering if they have been affected in my abdomen and causing this pain like being beaten up with the random sharp intense pains that come and go.
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2 ReactionsHi @jess39, I'm tagging @michael1012 to see if he has an update to his post from a year ago.
Jess, any further developments on your search for the cause of your pain?
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