Right mid abdominal and Back Pain

I suffered with similar symptoms for 8-years. I had severe pain immediately below my xiphoid process and about 1" to the RH side of the midline of my upper abdomen. The symptoms were constant. They were magnified when I laid flat on my back, when I ate a lot, when my stomach was empty and when I exercised vigorously. Unfortunately, even though I had my wife use a magic-marker to identify the area on my back that increased the pain my primary never examined the area nor did he order any scans. Also, despite my repeated requests to refer me to someone/anyone in the Sanford Health system that might help My primary refused to do so. I should have changed Dr.'s after the first 6-months but I trusted him. My primary Dr. had me try various dosages of Prilosec which over many months proved fruitless. Over many months he had me try tapering doses of prednisone which proved fruitless. I visited the ER on 6-occasions. I first visited Mayo in 2015 for this exact issue. Mayo performed gastric emptying tests and tested the strength of the muscle in my anus. Mayo wanted me to stay for 10-days to teach me how to poop. Mayo had a neurologist examine me. The app't took no longer than 20-minutes and I was told that I did not have a nerve problem. At no time did Mayo consider evaluating my spine despite me telling them what aggravated the pain. and was told to go home and take McKormick peppermint that I could pick up at Cub Foods. The peppermint burned my throat badly. Mayo then told me to purchase a OTC product called FD-Gard which contained peppermint extract. It did not help at all. The severe pain was with me every day. I ended up having 5-endoscopies and 1-endoscopic ultrasound which was performed at Abbott-Northwest. Eventually, I found a Dr. Paniotis Panagiotakis at MNGI that diagnosed me in 20-minutes as having AWP (abdominal wall pain). He was the Dr. that ordered the endoscopic ultrasound. That test showed that I had nothing wrong with my digestive tract. Dr. Boetticher's diagnosis was that I had, "a nerve problem" and that I see TC Spine Center which I did. TC Spine performed MRI's of my spine from top to bottom. Based upon those MRI's TC Spine determined that I had nothing wrong with my spine that should cause any pain. A research paper on AWP was written by Mayo's Dr. Seth Sweetser. I encourage you to find Dr. Sweetser's research paper on-line. In it, Dr. Sweetser says that AWP pain is very often overlooked and is very present in the population. He describes potential causes being ACNES (anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome). He also says that the symptoms of ACNES may be caused by Thoracic Nerve Radiculopathy. Dr. Sweetser's paper is too lengthy to repeat here. Ironically, I tried to get an app't with Dr. Sweetser but was turned down by Mayo on 9/15/21. saying there nothing more they had to offer. Suffice to say that once TC Spine said I had no issues in my spine I pursued the possibility that I had ACNES. After trips to Phoenix and a battery of diagnostic TPI's I pursued surgery for ACNES. That surgery was performed on 12/15/21 by Dr. Thomas Gillespie of St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix. Sadly, while the surgery can offer relief from the pain of ACNES the pain in my abdomen was not diminished. In 2/22 I contacted a spine surgeon at TC Spine named Dr. James Schwender. I did not meet Dr. Schwender but had a telephone visit. He looked at the EXACT same MRI's that another radiologist and spine specialist at TC Spine had looked at. His words to me were, "Mr. Olson, you have severe thoracic disease." On 5/25/22 Dr. Schwender performed surgery to decompress my RH T8-T9-T10 vertebrae. The pain in my abdomen disappeared after an 8-year long journey. There's more to this story if you are interested to hear more. Sorry for the long letter.

I can relate to all the comments and have death with it for 25 years now only to find the diagnosis myself. I have hypermobile ehlers danulous, dysautonomia and mcas along with ibs/ gastroenteritis , umbilica hernia ( one on each side above my hips as well) ovarian cysts, slowed digestion, esophageal spasms, can't remember the name but there's a hole that the nerves run through like a wire harness in your back on the right lower side and mine apparently closed pinching the nerves, sciatica, calcium deposits, snapping scapula, fibromyalgia, gerd, peptic ulcers, chronic nausea, always tired but can never sleep or stay asleep, extreme swelling in my legs especially the lower legs ankles and feet that can last week's causing me to not be able to walk I've gone from 246 lbs to 297lbs in 1 week from swelling ( still unsure if the cause the Drs disagree. Vein specialist that tests my veinous insufficiency disease said it's a heart issue... Primary said it's a vein issue then both diagnosed as severe edema) I have much more wrong with me and it got worse along with my breathing after covid in the winter of 2022 also diagnosed with long covid... Recently having issues with my pancreas. A lot of times my tummy cramps after eating causing me to puke and has ever since my first C-section in 2000, they noticed they were short a sponge right before closing me up and took out my intestines placing them on the silver tray next to me then they shoved them back in and stapled me closed... I was so messed up after that surgery, in and out of the ER every test known to mankind all negative or normal results even spinal taps which caused me to lose too much fluid and gave me the worst migraines for over a year ( that Dr lost his license for causing similar complications issues in other women during c- sections but I'd moved away by then and didn't hear about it for ten years. . I also had very painful cramping behind my belly button especially after intercourse or lifting anything from in front of my feet to my waist level or higher... On top of all that fun stuff I was in a near fatal MVA in 2010 with a two trailer semi 🚛 truck hauling 153,000 lbs of scrap metal and steel that was going 60mph as I was coming to a stop on his right side and couldn't stop because my breaks failed.. sraped down the trailer hit the center connector soun around and crunched down my side again then we popped out like hitting a pop can violently rolling a quarter mile while I was stuck in the seatbelt outside my blazer as it rolled and the front axle broke off and hit me crushing my ribs and then when it finally stopped rolling my blazer landed on me, I died and was met by my great grandma and my father who said they love me but it wasn't my time and I had to go back, while there in the blackness I couldn't see them but could feel their energy and the most overwhelming love that's indescribable on earth and no pain ... Then I fell back into my body and was in the most excruciating pain I've ever felt ( which says a lot for someone like me) the Drs said I wouldn't survive and forced me to say goodbye to my kids who were 8 & 9 in the middle of the night but I fought breath by breath ( what had killed me was a pneumothorax from multiple broken ribs that punctured my lung in several places and caused me to drown in blood ) then they said I'd never walk ECT .. I had to relearn how to walk, talk, eat and even swallow ( open and closed jaw fracture and two titanium platee, one of which had to get replaced 3 months later due to mrsa infection and I'm about to get them removed this year 🙏) I had to relearn words ( I had a severe TBI and retrograde amnesia), what they mean and how to write, literally everything and once I got on my feet barely able to care for myself... My mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and I was her sole caregiver and was pregnant with my now 8 yr old miracle baby who's named after my great grandma and my momma Ruby Lynn 💕 my mom fought for almost 4 years with stage 3&4 ovarian cancer until she died in my arms when I was 7 months pregnant.. I nearly died 2 times after that from starvation because I couldn't hold food down from stress and then again after I had her I was in the ICU for 2 weeks for post labor preeclampsia after my C-section and she was sent to the NICU for breathing issues.. same hospital I was at after my accident.. so so soooo much more trauma happened and I burned out and stopped going to the Drs unless I had to.. I finally am on the ball again and really hoping attempt 9864e467897543 is the charm 🤷‍♀️🙏 one things is for certain though. Positive thinking was the only way I got this far through everything and advocating for myself too. Don't settle because one Dr doesn't find the answer, it doesn't mean there isn't one it just means they couldn't figure it out and gave up.. don't give up on yourself too ❤️ I'm sorry I rambled I really was just going to put my symptoms but who knows, maybe someone will read this that needed to hear some part of it to help them 👌🫶 who has had a MRI with contrast and what can you tell me to help me be more prepared for it ? I did a lower lumbar and thoracic spine MRI so far and that one's next 🤞