Chronic nerve and abdominal pain for 3 years

Posted by hagerfam5 @hagerfam5, Jul 7, 2025

For over 3 years now it all started one day after a round of golf. I woke up the next morning with sharp pain in my back thoracic in a pinpointed area radiating around the lower rib cage to the abdominal muscles to the upper hip joint. I describe it to doctors as a sharp needle like pain in my back ribs and front alongside what feels like a side cramp that lasts for weeks on end with no release . My first episode was the worst. I spend nearly 3 months in bed barely able to eat and even urinate or bowel movements. My entire body felt like I had the flu for 3 months. I have had MRIs cat scans colonoscopies all with clean results. In those 3 years I have had up to 4 episodes a year. When I am functional the pain is at a 4-5 range daily it has never let up. When I am in an episode it is a 9. Another symptom is I feel like there is a softball lodged up under my front left rib cage with pressure so intense it is hard to breathe. After a week or two it feels as if the balloon is deflating slowly through a small hole where people in the room can actually hear it squeal. Sometimes it takes days for all the “air” to release. When it begins to release it’s like euphoria cause I know at least the pain will become at least bearable for a while I have often felt like I am having a heart attack the pressure is so intense but have gone to ER with clean EKG. Daily if I lay down the softball beats like my heart and u can visually see my abdomen bouncing up and down. After over 3 years of this I have become exhausted. At times I have no life and spend weeks and often days in bed. Right now after seeing a neurologist and pain management at Kaiser I receive nerve block injections in my back every 3 months and also Botox injections in the muscles in my back as the muscles are so contracted they r as hard as a rock. Chiropractor and massage therapists will not even attempt to help. They often describe that the muscle feels like a bone it is so hard and they cannot massage it out. I had a splenic blood clot in 2018 and it is still there as it cannot be removed. It is managed by blood thinners but it is in the same area. I have other nerve pain throughout the left side of my body from jaw to shoulder to hip to knee and ankle. Although not as severe. They all often feel like the muscles are cracking not in the joint but in thigh muscle shoulder muscle etc. I am the sole supporter of my family and am scared this will go on for my entire life. I am a 48 year old male. At times I feel like I can’t go on but know I have to and will. Any help would be appreciated I am contemplating switching from Kaiser so that I can go to Mayo Clinic or UCSf for further diagnosis. Kaiser says they are done and have no answers for me and will not give me a referral outside of their system. Thank you for any feedback

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Thank u all for the comments. It is so hard when I am in an episode like today where it feels like there is a balloon of pain in my upper left abdomen where I am out of breath and my body goes into fight or flight. It is the most intense pressure like a hunger pain but like the balloon is pushing on my heart and will not release. Eventually small kinda bubbly feeling which is like heaven when it releases even just a little. I can sit still I am pacing laying down walking around and so mentally anxious I cannot relax. I try and breath my way through it but it is so hard. I am normally a quiet happy person and would never be a negative person. For the last year or so I wonder if I can even go on. I have my family that keeps me going but I worry I am just a burden to them at this point. If I was a single man I would have hung it up already. My doctors are just completely useless. I have gone to ER multiple times and they always just send me home in pain. Often they think it’s IBS which is just ridiculous. I have wondered if I should go in when it’s bad and if they try and send me home say if u do I will end it on my own. When I am alone I cry wondering why me. I used to be outgoing and energetic. I played golf I went on weekend and day trips with family and now my life is nothing. Haven’t played golf in years and family ends up going without me most of the time. I scream at God why me and please just make this go away. I hope in the fall I can switch health insurance but that just means I have to start all over again. I am so lost and barely hanging on

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I have been in extremely bad shape for years. Pain in my lower back, hips, abdomen, and legs. I tried EVERYTHING. 6 weeks ago I finally got an appointment from a back surgeon at Cedar Sinai, and after seeing me and my studies he suggested surgery right away. So now I am going in for a fusion of 3 vertebrae in October, and I hope this game of hell will be over soon.

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