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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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I was so glad to find this wealth of information. I spent a few hours reading through the posts ( landing from a Google search for "undiagnosed chronic stomach issues"). Thank you all for sharing your experiences. It really does help others to feel that we're not simply "creating our own pain in our heads..."
My wife ( 47- I never told you that, if she asks... ) has been struggling with a lot of the exact same issues with most of this crowd. She has not been able to enjoy any real food ( without dire consequences ) for a solid two years now. She has endured every single test, scan and scope imaginable from GI specialists, internists, rheumatologists, etc. I do everything I can to help her try to live some semblance of a semi-normal life. She has the highest tolerance for pain that I've ever seen in any human, but she has worn down to a point where she just can't... She has handled the constant pain, lack of nourishment, lack of energy and mental anguish of questioning her insanity, like a champ. She feels like a complete failure as a wife, mother and grandmother and says that she's an invalid and hates that she has become such a burden. She simply cannot go anywhere, unless she knows that her stomach will hold out ( which is VERY RARE ). Most of the time, she just does not eat. I happily run all of the errands and do what she cannot with housework during the day, which just causes her more guilt. I would gladly do anything in the world just to see her have even a handful of good days. She is my everything...
In our 25 years of marriage, I have watched her endure more than any human should, and rise above it and somehow come out on the other side, stronger. This is different. CHRONIC is CHRONIC, and there doesn't seem to be another side to get to, a light at the end of the tunnel, or a glimmer of hope. Sorry, just catching you guys up. We're not complainers. We push through. Just giving a little backstory. A medical history ( or even a list of what we've THOUGHT was the diagnosis and ruled out ) would put you all to sleep. To add to the mystery, we also lost a house and all contents to toxic mold ( not your regular mold ) after a hurricane. She was exposed around the clock for 3 years until we tested the house and had to abandon it in place. We're de-toxing her now.
She also has a gastric sleeve ( 5 years ago ), and had a "mommy make-over" about the same time this all started. We still believe that multiple rounds of antibiotics ( 9, I think, in 3 months ) when she had a bad respiratory attack have destroyed her good bacteria in her gut and reaked havoc with her intestines and digestive system, but who are we?
Wake up! Almost done...
Thank you again for all of the information. I DO actually have a question. I have been researching for the last couple of years and a year ago I found a potential ray of hope in a program called "Gut Thrive in 5" from a company called the Whole Journey. We watched countless videos and hundreds of reviews and documents about the program and I was impressed enough to order the program ( with supplements ) for both of us. I volunteered myself to go through it with her, since it is a food / lifestyle reset and that's a team effort.
We were supposed to start this program a year ago, but she has felt so bad and she is so scared of adding any "die-off" symptoms to her current pain load, that we keep putting it off. I am NOT about to push her to start.
Has ANYBODY tried this program and seen any real results? I'm just curious. I keep trying to motivate her to get it going. She's not the type to give up, but I'm getting concerned.
I did not post to necessarily find answers, but to let you all know how grateful I am for the information. I will continue to scour through these posts in the evenings. THANK YOU!
Thank you all for your time.
Will
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2 ReactionsHas she been tested for food allergies? Gluten tolerance? I would say that personally, I traveled to tertiary care at Stanford. It's a good bet to confer with the up to date experts.
Yes. She has. That was one of the first things we looked at after the GI scopes and unsuccessful internal scans. Thanks for the information. We were hoping it would be the next likely candidate. Although, you never know if that may be something new, worsening the current state. Thank you!
Look into Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome. It causes pain related to eating, body position or physical exertion. As it's considered "rare" it's often missed as a diagnosis.
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2 ReactionsThank you so much. Digging into it. We really appreciate it.
@willintx - I assume they checked her gallbladder, bile ducts and pancreas?
Also, as @jhmontrose suggested- ask about the Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome, also known as MALS.
Both of us have suffered with extreme pain from this- the celiac artery is compressed by a ligament and the intestines don’t get enough blood for digestion and causes abdominal pain similar to angina in the heart. It is rare, therefore many doctors don’t include that in the testing.
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5 ReactionsI know it’s rare but it took 15 years of many doctors and tests to find Mesenteric Artery Ligament Syndrome. It’s knife stabbing pain in the epigastric area and damages Celiac a plexus nerves which causes major digestive issues. You can read and check out more on Facebook on the Mals Awareness page. Feel free to ask any questions!
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1 ReactionHas ANYONE found any answers for left deep rib pains that absolutely no tests can diagnose?? My 86-year-old cannot function and is living her last years in pure misery. My father is beside himself that he can’t help her. They went to two Gastro’s who completely blew them off which just angers me beyond belief. Now they’ve switched to their third Gastro and are finally letting me be involved so I can at least listen and help them with meds, etc.
My mother’s symptoms are: comes on in the morning as dull and then attacks her left side under her rib cage. She talks about it radiating to her back. They’ve been to the ER over 20 times and they just give her different medicines. Every test you can imagine comes back normal. Please help! It’s ruining the golden years of my sweet parents.
Thank you!!
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2 Reactionsthank you! I will check into it
I have been experiencing abdominal pain for a full year 😣 I’m still trying to figure out with my team 🙏🏻