In pain, scared, frustrated...

Hey guys,

I'm a white male, age 32. I've never had any digestion issues until recently.

So, back in October (10/10 to be exact) I felt a sudden intense pain in my right side. It came from out of nowhere and I had originally thought it was my liver... (it's not).

Oi... where to begin...

I guess back in July my job got a lot more stressful as I was suddenly put in charge of a major project that really put me in a very stressful situation with a boss who is difficult to work with (I think the stress is linked to this).

Anyway the original pain felt like a weird discomfort, sort of like a side stitch you get while running, but not as intense. Right under my ribs in the front, but the pain also radiates around to my back and even toward my spine... Well that day the pain got worse and worse until the only thing I could do was sit up in bed with a heating pad on my side which seemed to dull the pain (or at least distract my mind from it). I later decided to have some soup and that made the pain ease up almost completely and I was able to continue on with my day.

However now this pain has been coming and going, occasionally flaring up.

So finally I made an appointment to see my doc. I am lucky because he's also a gastroenterologist as well as my primary care Dr. Then the merry-go-round began. Because the pain was nebulous, moving around - at the time I saw him it was hurting in my back and he thought maybe it was my kidneys - so he put me on Cipro which is an antibiotic for kidney infections. They also tested my urine and in the end I found out I was clean. I didn't even end up finishing the prescription because I had no infection.

2 weeks later I was back in his office complaining about the pain again. This time he thought maybe it was my gall bladder so he sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound. They looked at everything in my upper right quadrant and found that I had no gall stones or kidney stones. I remember the Dr's receptionist leaving a message on my voice mail "your gall bladder is fine! This is great news!" And I was so frustrated. Because I was still in pain.

I tried to see if it would resolve by itself but by November 20 or so I had another "attack" (for lack of a better word) where the pain really flared up again. So I called my doc again. This time he poked and prodded at me and noticed that I have a slight scoliosis in my spine, so he again sent me to the darn hospital for x-rays. All they found out was that yes, indeed I do have slight scoliosis so he told me to do some stretching exercises and see if that helps (it does a bit, but I'm still in pain).

Now it's freaking almost 2012 and I've been dealing with this for nearly 3 months with no answers... . Back in October I noticed my stools were a bit looser, sometimes even looking like partially undigested chewed up food - gross. I started taking a probiotic and that resolved itself - for the most part my stools are back to normal size shape and color.

So... now Christmas came and went and I went back to work today feeling glum and stressed about going back to my job and sad that all my visiting family have left to their homes out of state.

After lunch today I had to run to the bathroom and had some pretty intense diarrhea. I figured it was caused by the stress of returning from the holiday and didn't think about it. However about an hour after the side pain came back with a vengeance. This time it is in the front under my ribs on the right side, but I also feel it radiating in my back almost up underneath my shoulder blade. It is a sort of ache/soreness - always nebulous that feels worse when I sit for an extended period of time and better when I get up and walk around (or run).

In fact I've taken up running almost every day because for an hour or so after a good run the pain is gone and I feel normal.. then it creeps back. :(

I have a hunch that the pain is caused by gas and since I've eliminated the fact that it's not my liver, kidneys, or gall bladder I'm thinking maybe it's my stomach / gastritis or something in my ascending colon (right under the liver/gall bladder area).

I've had to pay out the nose thanks to my company's crummy insurance for all these appointments and procedures and I'm slightly terrified that something could be really wrong. I mean, maybe it's just a chronic condition because other than the pain / rumblings from my stomach I really don't have any other symptoms (well, except for the occasional diarrhea). My doc says if I still have pain he FINALLY wants to give me a colonoscopy and I might push for an endoscopy as well.

I've done a lot of reading on the net in many various sites over the past few months and am just so sick of all of this. I'm sick of this pain. I'm sick of my body being out of whack. I'm sick of the runaround I've gone through with the needless procedures and x-rays that I've paid over 1000 dollars for... luckily I'm single and have the money, but still... 1000 bucks is a lot! Especially when I still have no idea what's wrong. :(

So... my theory is that the pain is gas related... and food related.

I don't even know what to say. I guess I'm posting here because I really don't want to go back to the doc again... and am wondering if anyone has had any experience like this... could it resolve itself? Is there a specific diet I should be following? Or should I just suck it up and make the appointment (again).

I should note that I'm still very stressed by my job and had been considering leaving, but now that I have these health issues I'm afraid I'm stuck there. I need the insurance (crummy as it is). I'm also frustrated because once 2012 rolls over I get a new deductible to meet.... ugh. It all just sucks.

I know this is a wonderful community of caring supportive people so I wanted to just lay it all out there and see what you guys think...

Thank you to everyone for your help... I hope I can figure this out... I hope I can be normal again... :(

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Live laugh and love... and then laugh some more. :)

Thanks for the reply rufous57, I really appreciate it.

I really got a lot more careful with my diet when all of this started, making sure I'm getting lots of fresh fruits and veggies and trying to avoid processed and fatty foods for the most part. And I think that's helped.

I did notice that sometimes a fattier meal will bring on the weird pain. Sometimes I also get really bloated as well. I had an order of gyros from a nearby restaurant this past weekend that really made me feel bloated and weird.

Is that common for gallbladder issues?

It's so frustrating. I haven't had any bad pain like I did last week when I made the original post, but I still can feel it lingering in there. This morning when I woke up I could feel it. The pain is right along my right side pretty much like under my ribs where my liver is (and gall bladder, and ascending colon). For me it is still more in the back than the front (but I have felt it in the front too). Also for the most part it seems like the pain is minor, almost negligible.

I also sit for extended periods of time at my job, and that seems to cause some discomfort as well, so during my two 15-minute breaks I go for walks and that seems to really help. I also run on my own when I'm at home and I swear after a good run, I feel fine. I know that the body and digestive system love exercise as motion and movement keeps everything moving, so I've been hoping that with adequate exercise, rest, and diet it will clear up on it's own.

I haven't been back to my Doctor, yet. I haven't been in near enough pain or discomfort to warrant another visit, but then again it's been nearly three months of dealing with this now and it's been frustrating. Some days are better than others. It definitely seems stress related, because when I'm on edge about something at work, it seems to flare up. Could it be an ulcer that is just presenting odd symptoms?

Anyway, that's where I'm at right now. I'd appreciate any and all opinions, comments, and advice.

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Live laugh and love... and then laugh some more. :)