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URQ Abdominal pain every year
Starting in November 2016 I had a slow sudden onset of abdominal pain in my Upper Right Quadrant. It lasted for a few hours and I developed a fever/Chills for 4 days afterwards. Later in the same year I began having a slow onset of abdominal pain which would start as an uncomfortable pain in the upper right quadrant feeling pain on the top of my right shoulder. This pain would increase to about a 7-8 on a 1-10 pain scale. I self-admitted to the hospital on numerous occasions only for the pain to suddenly subside in a matter of 30 or so minutes. I went to a Gastroenterologist and had testing, but he could not determine the cause of my pain. This pain went away in January. I had every conceivable blood test taken.
In 2017 the pain returned (Again in November) and again I self-admitted to the Hospital (Only for the pain to go away in about 30 minutes to an hour) and started seeing my Gastroenterologist again. More tests/Scopes/Ultrasounds/MRI’s etc. and again nothing. The Pain would last anywhere from 15 minutes to an Hour. I tried a different Gastro doctor but again he could find nothing wrong. The pain subsided in December/January. The pain seemed less severe than the year before.
In 2018 the pain again started this time in December & Lasted until February 2019. I began seeing an Eastern Medicine doctor as I could not get any answers from any of my doctors. The pain seemed even less than the previous year. Again, NOTHING abnormal was found whatsoever.
I now have begun again to have the pain in September of this year. The pain is now quite severe. I almost vomited from the pain the other day. I’ve had two bouts and they lasted 20 minutes and 45 minutes respectively.
The pain begins slowly and culminates in extreme pain, then disappears within a minute or two entirely. (Again lasting from 15-60 minutes) My dieting/exercise/locations, etc. do not in any way seem to be causing my pain. I eat, exercise, wear the same clothes, etc. etc. The pain only seems to occur for a few months and the rest of the year I’m just fine.
I am a 52, White Male 6’ 230lbs. I have had my Gall Bladder removed (Late 90’s) , Had a Hemorrhoidectomy (2016-2017), a Septoplasty in (2013). In the last two years I had two bouts of shortness of breath believed to be Allergy related and were cleared up by Albuterol treatment.
My Self Diagnosis (What else can I do) is either some sort of Adhesion or Sphincter of the Odi.
Any advice or insight is appreciated. (Please do not advise me to see yet another doctor, as they cannot find out what the issues are.)
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@dk007 , what you described mimics the multi-year experience I had. My condition turned out to be a major bowel blockage due to a twisted and overlapped large intestine. I had 13 of the episodes you described before a technician finally spotted the problem. My primary, ER doctors, a gastro surgeon and another well-known gastrointestinal doctor finally spotted something on a CT scan but dismissed it as “probably fatty tissue.” I suggest you ask your doctor to look for volvulus stomach or twisted organs. Most doctors and techs who read the CT scans have never heard of it, will not look for it and will therefore miss it. Good luck. I know how painful those episodes can be.
Thank you. May I ask how it was finally corrected? Also did you have to be in pain for it to show on the CT?
@dk007 , my painful attacks kept sending me to ER (where I got an IV, pain relief injections CT Scan, and lab work to rule out a heart attack) until attack 14, when the technician reading the scan thought he saw a blockage. I ended up with Emergency surgery (open incision) that resulted in the removal of 31 inches of my intestines in addition to the valve that separates the small and large intestines. The challenge with this condition is that it is rare and doctors do not know to look for it. I have also had my gallbladder removed, and I found the attacks I had were similar to a gallbladder attack. So sudden, so painful.
One thing that came to my mind, is your diet. Without a gallbladder, eating fatty food can bring on a lot of pain. Is there any connection between what you just ate, and onset of pain? That is all that came to my mind, and I wanted to share. I am so sorry you are suffering with this. Lori Renee
Thank you. I sometimes do eat fatty foods but have not seen any correlation when I eat. Also other times during the year I get no pain at all.
@dk007, I just remembered that the first time I went to the ER with my horrible pain attack like you have, the ER doctor told me the pain was caused by a residual gallstone. I had never heard of their existence, but they are real.... His diagnosis turned out to be incorrect, but you may want to Google residual gallstones to learn more. Another ER doctor diagnosed a later attack as abdominal spasms. Bottom line: my attacks were coming from twisted bowel that resulted in a blockage.