Hypoxia and Medicine

Strong abdominal pain (Upper Right Quadrant)?

I am a 20 year old male. I am 6'0" and weigh 154. Since around Christmas of last year I have been constantly experiencing pretty strong pains in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen, which get extremely severe at times. A few of the attacks have been so severe I have collapsed and have been transported by EC unit to the ER, requiring opiates to ease them. Along with the attacks come severe nausea, vomiting and shortness of breath. During some attacks, the pain radiates into my right shoulder. The worst attacks seem to occur after eating a particularly greasy meal, and where I'm from, if it's edible, it's usually full of some kind of grease. Gravy seems to be the worse culprit of all. I have modified my diet to include less grease and fat, however, the pain persists. I have saw a GI specialist, had more CT's with and without contrast than I can count, 3 ultrasounds, x-rays, blood work, etc. Each time, I am disappointed to discover nobody has a clear diagnosis. Between myself and my co-workers (I am an EMT), we suspect it's my gallbladder. However, my doctor maintains that it would have shown up by now and he has put me on medicines used for ulcers, abdominal and intestinal distention, and many other medical conditions with absolutely no success. I am starting to get really discouraged and somewhat depressed that nobody can find what's wrong. Am I going crazy or is there something I could be overlooking? Any ideas of what I could do to be rid of this problem for good? Medical co-pays and sick days are difficult to come by when trying to start a family, pay off a house and car, and keep food on the table, so continual visits to the doctor aren't really an option which really makes things difficult. Side note: I recently learned my mother had the same problem develop when she was pregnant with me. She suffered for close to two years before doctors decided to to remove her gallbladder, and has not had a symptom since.

Public Comments

1. Sometimes people have what they call silent stones.They are stones that are not picked up on scans. Try a new doctor and have an ultra sound done.
2. Your symptoms are exactly those caused by gallstones. I had this same problem and, like your mother, suffered for about a year and a half before I had my gallbladder removed. I also had many different trips to the doctor and ultrasounds, CT scans, and even an upper GI with barium. EVERY time the tests came back normal & the doctor would say that I might have a stone that is lodged somewhere & it will eventually pass on its own. A few days after each attack I would feel better but it was just a matter of time before the next one. The doctor also put me on meds like Zantac; which didn't help. Then one night 4 months after my baby was born (pregnancy aggravates the condition), I awoke in EXTREME agony feeling like someone was stabbing with a butcher knife. I went to the ER and they did an ultrasound of my gallbladder (after giving me a ton of morphine) and found that it was "filled with gallstones" (none were showing a year before). I ended up having surgery within a few hours to remove my gallbladder. Like your mom, I have had NO attacks since. I feel really badly for you because they won't just take out your gallbladder if no stones are showing, so you will probably have to wait until more develop and, as weird as it sounds, hope that they are big enough to be seen on the ultrasound. I wish I had better advice but it's pretty clear what your problem is. I hope you can get some kind of relief soon. Best of Luck!