Mysterious pain

Hi everyone,

I am five weeks out from surgery and the weight loss is going great. I stumbled upon the "three week stall" and didn't lose for sometime but since this week my weight loss has been phenomenal.

I want to get right to the point/concern... since the day I have come home from the hospital I have had intense stabbing pain that was in both my sides. Yes, for all you joggers, it kind of feels like the side pain you get when you are running and haven't had enough water. So my thoughts, and the PA's thoughts at the clinic was that I must be dehydrated. Needless to say, I began to drink a lot more liquids/water to the point that I was making myself sick. I also thought this would aid in my weight loss during my stall but it didn't do anything.

The pain that was in both sides of my abdomen transferred to only my right side (unless I lay a certain way on my left side). This pain is just as intense and lays deep in my lower ribs. Gallbladder, right?  I went to the clinic to get it checked and she agreed that I was right on the money. She asked me if the stabbing pain begins right after a meal. I told her I would have to observe that because as of that time I could only pin-point the pain at morning and night. She ordered me an abdominal ultrasound and sent me on my way.

I did notice that the pain came after my meals. I was scheduled and had my ultrasound on Tuesday. I called yesterday because the technician told me that the PA would have it early that morning. I couldn't get a hold of her, she called me this morning to give me the news.

My ultrasound came back normal. She doesn't know what's wrong with me. In fact, she kind of passed me down to my primary care physician and said that she doesn't think this is surgery related. "I really don't think it can be, because you're at least 6 weeks out." Apparently I would have had a fever if there were complications with the surgery. But, I didn't have any pain until after I had surgery.

I just don't know what to do. I call it mysterious pain because I haven't gotten any answers. My PCP is extremely busy and I doubt I would get anything resolved with her either. Any ideas on what could be wrong? Or the steps I should take to get feeling better? I'm able to function pretty normally but whenever the stabbing pains arise, I usually have to muscle through it and hope for the it to end soon.

I had something similar happen. I thought gallbladder too. But an ultrasound and other tests ruled that out. Eventually it just went away.

I think it's good that you are trying to get answers from your medical team. You never know when it's serious or when it's nothing at all!

I was recently hospitalized for a very similar type of pain.  It ended up being pancreatitis caused by dehydration - I also have gall stones but it doesn't appear that they are causing any issues right now.  Was any blood work done on you?  That is how it was diagnosed for me.  I ended up being in the hospital for 2.5 days getting IV fluids and put on a liquid diet until my blood levels returned to normal.  My surgeon told me if the pain returned I was to immediately go to the ER again.  I think it's very important for you to either see your PCP or surgeon - no matter how busy they may be.  Obviously, I do not know what exactly is causing your pain but if in fact it is pancreatitis it can be dangerous to not have it treated.  Good Luck and I hope you feel better soon!

Thank you, both of you. 

No, I didn't have any blood work done. In the office, a week ago,  the PA told me that IF the ultrasound didn't find anything than we should try a CT scan. When I talked to her this morning, she didn't seem to push the CT scan. She just kind of said, we can try that but I don't think anything will be found. Or we could even say the ultrasound was inconclusive and do that again.

 I don't have the kind of money to sponsor their guessing game. This is driving me nuts! I'm thinking I will most definitely need to follow up with my PCP.

Only other idea I have is kidney stones - just because I am going through that right now.   Does the pain come intermittently, last a few hours, then go away?  Is it in your back and then comes around the the front?  Do you want to kill someone when the pain hits?  :-)

An abdominal CT Scan is the gold standard for kidney stones.  Also, they found a couple other things on mine - one that needs treating.  So, it IS a good way to get a picture of everything going on in your abdomen.  It will tell if you have any micro leaks, or anything else related to surgery.

There are lots of great websites about kidney stones, and you can see if your symptoms match.

Just a thought.