Chronic upper stomach Pain/Nausea going on 4 yrs. ALL TESTS NEGATIVE
I have been dealing with upper stomach pain and nausea for 4 years. Started two years after gallbladder removal. On 12/27/18 I had a Nevro H10 nerve block device implanted. Within a couple of months, the device was working well, probably 80% improvement (which I'd take now!). I was back to working out, biking, felt like I got my life back! Then after about 4-5 months, the symptoms started coming back. It's been 14 months now and Nevro still can't capture the working setting again. In the meantIme, the problem has worsened in the past 4-6 months. I wake every day with pain in the middle of my stomach, just below rib cage. It's more of an "upset stomach/nausea" pain and usually let's up a little about an hour after waking up. Sometimes it can also make me feel "fluish" and overall crappy, especially if I exert myself at all. If I start working on a project at home, I wIll start to feel lousy and have to rest. It will also sometimes be accompanied by extreme sweating. I cannot even play a simple round of golf. I've had EVERY Gastroenterology test and all is normal. Even a camera pill. I also had a series of heart tests done and everything is fine. Blood tests had shown a very low Iron levels, but we did iron IV's to get that back up. In addition to the stomach, my feet started going numb and getting pain with pins and needles, especially when I sleep. Yesterday, I was diagnosed with Neuropathy and some nerve damage in my feet. On Monday I'm having tests to determine what is causing it. I do not have diabetes. I am also having a glucose tolerance test Monday. Neurologist said "it's possible" that what's causing my feet Neuropathy "could" be causing my stomach issue. I personally don't believe that. Started seeing a Chiropractor again too. He feels the stomach pain could be gas/air bubbles that are getting trapped in my esophagus area. He's working the area to stimulate the nerves and loosen the gas pockets.I also use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea, which alarms him because it forces constant air into my stomach all night long. I'm switching to a bi-pap machine to see if it helps. My MD tried a steroid pack last week, but it didn't help. In 6 months I've had just ONE day (actually 3/4 of day) of no pain and normal energy. It's very hard and I cannot live like this anymore. Since I can't travel to the Mayo Clinic due to the Pandemic, I am having my MD refer me to a local Diagnostic clinic/hospital. The closest one to me is UT Southwestern in the Dallas area. Hopefully they can figure out what is causing this. All Liver and Pancreas tests are also fine. I've had a HIDA scan to make sure the "plumbing" where my Gallbladder was removed is not causing it (it's in that area). This problem can vary day to day and even hour to hour in intensity and can go from "ok" to bad and back again. The ONLY thing that takes the pain away is Hydrocodone. I had to take anywhere from "zero" to 1.5 pills to control it for the last 5 years. Now over the past 4 months, I have had to take 2 to 3 pills per day to control the pain and nausea (I also take nausea prescription, but it doesn't work well anymore. I am very concerned about addiction so working with my Doctor and making sure I take no more than three in a day. As far a prescriptions, I take Trintellix and Adderall (one pill each) in the morning along with a new blood pressure med I just started taking a month ago. I have not been able to sleep for years so I take Clonazepam for sleep. No food allergies or gastrointestinal problems. If anyone has a guess or if any of this sounds familiar, I'm open to ANYTHING! I also do Cryotherapy once in a while and the cold does help, but it doesn't last. I'm asking my pain Dr about a SPLANCHNIC pain shot to see if he thinks it will hep until we can figure this out or get my NEVRO device to work. THANK YOU!!!
Chris
Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.
How bad was the surgery?
@trip17 - The surgery was okay. Laparoscopic, pain not bad. After surgery I had spasms of the diaphragm because the ligament was attached there. However, with gabapentin this nerve pain was very tolerable. No regrets!
How long was recovery?
@trip17 - the severe pain was gone immediately. The post-op pain lasted about 2 wee
HI . My wife had similar pains . But no bledder removal. Once all tests were OK - Our doctor suspected that it can be something connected with her nerves. We had a meeting with a nerve specialist . He agreed with our doctor and recommended to start to take CLONEX . It was a real miracle after a few hours the pain diasppered. She took a few days a strong dose of 2 mg and then 3 times a day a 1/4 of 0/5 mg.
Thank You! I will look into that! We are down to it being either a ligament that is squeezing an artery or a nerve issue. I took a test for the Ligament artery (called MALS) a couple days ago but have not heard anything. If that's not it, it has to be a nerve, but I'm heading to UT Southwestern Diagnostic to let them try to figure it out. I want to go to Mayo in Jacksonville, but don't think my insurance will cover it.
Thanks. Should find out results of test Monday. I read where someone stayed in the hospital 3 or 4 days with this surgery. That seemed like a long time for laparoscopic surgery. When they took out my Gal Bladder I was supposed to go home same day, but had some complications during surgery so I stayed overnight, but not 3 days. It would be “extremely” rare for this to be my issue but I have all the symptoms. If negative it’s off to UT Southwestern Diagnostic Clinic or Mayo in Jacksonville. I have no good days anymore and it’s really wearing on me.
@trip17 - I know that feeling that every day is bad.
Laparoscopic surgery is still surgery where they poke around inside- before going home one has to be able to eat, drink and use the bathroom. Some people have nausea- I did after my gallbladder and I couldn’t eat so they kept me another day.
Think positive for now!
I guess everyone reacts differently. I actually had a roast beef sandwich about 2 hours after surgery with no issues. Just had a tough time standing up first couple of times. Once I was able to walk down the hallway, I went home next day.
Test was negative. so frustrating. I need something to help with pain management until they figure this out. Hydrocodone only works for about 4 hours and I refuse to take more than 2 a day. has to be something better,