Ok. I’ve been experiencing a few different symptoms over the last few months and I’m now starting to look into it with more depth.
The symptoms I have: Acid reflux, stomach distention or bloating, general abdominal pain or discomfort, various different types of stool and more recently, upper right abdominal pain under the ribs which radiates through to my back, as if there is a knitting needle being poked in there. The upper-right abdominal pain feels like something is squeezing or trying to be pushed, it’s discomforting but not excruciating.
The other most prominent discomfort is in my lower right abdomen and generally on my right side, again it’s just discomfort it’s not painful enough for me to react harshly or anything.
About 3-4 weeks ago I visited the hospital with chest pains and palpitations, I was kept overnight were various (nearly 10) EKGs were done, I even had a 24 hour portable EKG strapped to me overnight. During this visit I had various bloods taken and absolutely everything came back normal and I was let out.. they’re going to have me back up soon to do some more little tests and get a scan of my heart.
AFTER this visit to the hospital I noticed my now current symptoms more. I visited my GP and told them my family has a history of Gastric problems usually being stomach bloating/distention and acid reflux and I was prescribed Omeprazole which is working wonders for me, I rarely if ever have acid reflux and my stomach doesn’t feel nearly as bad.
I have also started trying to eat a more vegetable filled diet.. making soups form fresh veg, eating healthy yoghurts, whole-wheat bread, fruit and generally just trying not to take in too many fatty foods.
As for my stools they have changed over the past 4 weeks, from being normal to being bright orange, to mild diarrhoea.. then last night I had ONE pale/clayish coloured stool then maybe a couple of hours after I had frequent bouts of diarrhoea.. but even though I visited the toilet maybe 5 times during the day.. it was very small amounts I was letting out and it was kind of small broken up pieces that look/seemed fluffy.
Most recently (within the last half hour) I had another one of the many small bowel movements of today (probably the 5th or 6th time I’ve been today) and now I notice a more prominent discomfort in my lower right abdomen, under my bell, in line with the hipbone I’d say. Again it’s not painful but it feels weird and discomforting and as of writing I’m experience the back pain roughly at the same point I have the upper-right pain under my ribs, but radiated through to my back – no upper-right pain at the moment either but I noticed it coming and going throughout today, still again like all of my symptoms it’s not painful but it’s quite discomforting and annoying more than anything.
I have a another blood test and helicovacter scheduled as well which should be soon.
Anyway, that’s all I can think of really.. I’m going to call up my GP as soon as I can for an appointment but I just wanted some quick opinions on this.
Does this sound like it could be Gallstones? I’m not afraid of having my Gallbladder removed if it is as I’ve read the body can function fine without it.. but yeah, any information would be great.
@TweetyBird
I visited my GP today, he done the usual routine of feeling around my upper/lower abdomen and asking questions, he did my bloods and gave me another Helicobacter test which I’ll be handing in soon. He also scheduled an ultrasound of my chest and belly areas to see what’s what.
I’ve to call up in a few days for my blood test, hand in the stool sample and await a call from the hospital for my ultrasound scan, then 5 days after that he says contact him to see what he thinks.
Out of everything both of you have suggested, my main concern is mortality. I know it’s pretty silly of me but I just fear something serious may be brewing. Should I be worried about any major complications or could these sort of things be cured or managed?
Thank you so far!
Gallstones can present with various symptoms, but the classic symptoms are pain under the lower right rib which can wrap around or penetrate through to your back (which can be excruciating and make you writhe to try to find a comfortable position), and referred pain in the point of the right shoulder (irritation of the diaphragm refers pain there).
There can be pain in the lower abdomen from gallstones, but it’s unusual. Pain in the lower right abdomen could be your appendix, or constipation (doesn’t sound like that).
It certainly sounds like there’s something going on with your liver or biliary tree (the common bile duct which takes bile from the liver to the gallbladder and stomach, past the pancreatic duct). An ultrasound will show up gallstones.
I don’t want to be a scare monger, but a significant proportion (5-40%) of people who have their gallbladder removed experience problems afterward. Postcholecystectomy syndrome, or PCS can cause digestive problems and pain. The doctors don’t warn you! The symptoms include really terrible reflux-type pain and biliary colic-type pain. Meds don’t seem to be much good. You can also be really unlucky and end up with biliary gastritis from the constant drip of bile into the stomach.
Some people have no problems afterward, and some do. The gallbladder stores bile and concentrates it, releasing it when you need it. The concentrated bile is more effective at emulsifying fats than bile straight from the liver is, and without it your digestion WILL change. Don’t let them take it out unless they can prove you have a problem with it! Good luck with it all.
I carefully reviewed the symptoms you described. You describe enough of the symptoms of cholelithiasis to make it worth investigating.
"helicovacter" — You mean Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori. The doctor’s looking for this bacteria.
diabetes causes kidney problems, avoid sugar and high amounts of carbohydrates.
eat small meals at regular times.