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Chronic Abdominal Pain
I have had acute abdominal pain since April 2011 and it has escalated over the months.. The pain begins early morning, remains unrelenting and escalates throughout the day. It is sharp at times and gnawing most of the time. It radiates down from my sternum and to the lower left of my abdomen. My family doctor nor GI specialists cannot find the cause. I have had CT scans, ultrasound, video capsule endoscopy, colonoscopy, blood tests, push endoscope, H pylori tests, ova stool test for parasites and MRI, to name a few. EVERY test result has been returned as "unremarkable"--no cause found. I am currently taking Paxil 25mg, Nexium and Oxycodein for the pain. Nothing has helped me determine the source of this pain. I am reaching out to this community to see is anyone has a similar experience.
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@daughter .. Has your dad had any previous abdominal surgeries?
No he has not. It seems like it is more the nausea that is bothering him and he is only able to keep liquids down. He is receiving IV nutrition because he cannot eat.
@daughter .. Your first description of his pain made me think diverticulitis, but it would have shown in the tests you described he had. I wish I could help. I deal with nausea quite a bit with all my stomach and esophagus problems. Zofran sometimes works amd sometimes does not in quelling it. I spent 17 months on a feeding tube. It might be an option for your dad. There are various types I had a 24 hour pump.. as I went back to food I disconnected it during the day and did my feeding over night as instructed. Some people use a syringe feed method. One thing I liked about the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville FL when I was so sick was they worked as a team to try and figure out how to best treat me.
Heart doctors would know if his pain might be what they call referred pain. Continue to be the good advocate you are for your dad. Get second, third.. fourth opinions if needed. Please keep us updated.
I will keep y'all in my prayers.
Zaroga
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1 ReactionHi Pam,
The problem with adhesions is they always seem to come back causing more pain. I’ve learned in all my research that the techniques used during surgery (handling of organs, types of gloves, etc..) are crucial in trying to minimize adhesions. It wasn’t until my 6th abdominal surgery, that I came across this information and I can tell you first hand adhesions are painful causing our organs to stick together so every time you move you hav pain. If adhesions are what’s happening with you I know I have found 1 doctor so far that specializes in nothing but chronic pelvic pain, adhesions, endometriosis, he is Dr Cook in Los Gatos, Ca. I’m currently searching for other doctors like this throughout th US because no all of us can go to California and will post names as I find them. I hope this helps somewhat.
Good luck!!
Cindy
Yes, I have this terrible pain also. It mostly starts at night, and I thought, that it was connected to food, I ate for supper. So now I am hardly eaten dinners anymore. The pain lately was so bad, that my Primary Doc thought, it might be pancreatis and is sending me back to my GI. But I had CT scans, while in the ER, and it does not show anything.
I also have a lot of headaches, and pressures. I do not know anymore, what to do. Have not received any real help from the medical field.
@edda Just a thought about this. Sounds to me like some sort of slowly progressing disease. I have LiteChain Amyloidosis, and it has grown so slowly that doctors have given up just waiting for it to do something. Most protein-related disorders act this way. Might have your doc order a SERUM FreeLite(C) Protein Assay and a 24hour urine protein assay. A sFLC figure above about 1.4 mg/dL, or a 24-hour above 0.5 G/Day are signs of trouble. It is quick and cheap. Have ARUP or Quant test them. Amyloidosis starts with a single atom at conception, and doubles every few hours, but usually only reaches noticeable stages at about the age of 50 or so.
Please look into Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome - Abdominal compressions!!
Have you have had a ACTH test, I had chronic abdominal and chest pain, fatigue, muscle weakness for years and saw so many Dr. I went to a mayo clinic last year and finally a Dr ran a ACTH test on me and discovered I have a cortisol deficiency. I am on Hydrocortisone and It’s changed my life. Before going to Mayo I was at Stanford and UCSF no one thought to run the test. When my cortisol is low or my body unbalanced because of the cortisol I get the sever abdominal pain until it gets balanced again. Prayers with you !!
I'm curious. Have they mentioned Irritable bowel syndrome or gastritis?
@daughter. Hi, I am Gary and a volunteer mentor and I have chronic pancreatitis which may start out localized, but can radiate into the back, other parts of the abdomen and is usually accompanied by nausea and vomiting. I have not been back through all of your posts, but have his pancreatic enzymes been checked at any time when his pain was severe. If it is pancreatitis, his amylase and lipase would be highly elevated if his pancreas has not exhausted itself. Mine no longer elevate because of fatigue and part of it has been removed. Smoking is an aggravating factor for P, but usually not a causative factor. Once you have chronic P, then lots of other things begin to cause pain and other issues in your abdomen. Well, I have exhausted my area of expertise, so I will leave you with those queries. Best of luck and keep coming back if you learn a little something, someone my be helpful along that path.