New Weird thing

I had surgery three years ago, RNY and Gall Bladder removal and I have been very successful....But I have had problems with abdominal pain on and off since. I have developed lactose intolerance and my bowels move very slowly since the procedure...But this is stuff I can live with..But this new thing is ridiculous. I get severe and I mean excrutiating pain in my left upper quandrant that radiates down my whole left side. It is cramping pain which lasts for about 2 hours at a time. I have been rushed to hospital twice now....The pain reminds me of my gallbladder pain, just on the other side, and probably worse... I have had blood tests, endoscopy and ultrasound and the GI doc has found nothing wrong.... Nothing I eat seems to bring this on, the attack I had Sunday was after drinking a cup of coffee with skim milk, and the time before that, it was stir fy chicken and vegetables (not in fat, with chicken broth). I am sensitive to sugar and I do have dumping, but this is nothing like that....Does anyone have any ideas...My doc is currently stumped! Kelly

Hi Kelly, I wonder if it isnt adhesions forming around the bowels or in other places in the abdominal cavity? I know over time that you build up scar tissue and it does tend to go in places that we really can't monitor with out going in with a scope to see and most drs won't go in for a exploratory surgery unless they have a true hint of what maybe going on. I have some of the same symptoms but was told by my surgeon that adhesions tend to form over time that they cause pain. I am also a nurse and have seen many patients who have had surgeries, even decades out complain of pain in a area only to find out that it is due to adhesions. I also have the pain that radiates up to my left shoulder area and have found it be related to extreme gas.....or constipation. If all your blood and GI work up is normal...I would keep an eye on your bowel movements and also your gas levels the days that you are having the pains. Monitior what you are eating also for a few days and see what seems to be triggering it. I am in the same boat as you and I have figured out that I can't do any sugar free or no sugar added ice cream....sends me into extreme stomach cramps, pain and gas, and that pain extends to my left shoulder area. I also suffered post revision from life threatening complications and know that left shoulder pain is also a sign of a stomach leak and/or fistula, but I think that your GI dr has ruled that out. If he hasnt done a gastrograffin test, I would ask him to do a Gastrograffin swallow test can rule out a leak(yeah I know that it is nasty). Good luck and hopefully you will find out that it is only diet related! Keep me posted on your progress! Hugs, Dawn

Have you been checked for leaks? I was 3 yrs post op and had a leak that festered from, apparently, day 1. I ended up with peritonitis and nearly died. I also had perforated bowel, multiples abcesses and adhesions. My pain was SEVERE in my diaphram and radiated into my shoulders. Attacks were somewhat infrequent, nothing brining them on, and they would last for hours at a time. I would lie on my bed with a pillow in my stomach and cry and moan until it was over. I never had a fever. By the time they finally found the leak, I had been to ER 15 or more times. I was swollen and looked either pregnant or malnourished (like picutes in our schoo books of sick children). I could hardly stand or walk, I was throwing up foam and unable to eat or drink anything. I was hospitalized for 45 days, and after my emergency surgery was in a coma for 6 days and on a ventilator. Just ***** your head off and insist that they find the problem. If the dr won't do it, go to ER. If you don't like their answers, go to another ER. Just keep *****ing till they find it. They pulled out TWO LITERS of PUS from my peritoneal cavity, in addition the the perforated bowel. TWO LITERS -- that's why my belly was so swollen. And I never had a fever. Imagine that. ER told me I had a ruptured ovarian cyst and go home I'd be fine in a week. I waited 4 days and went to my PCP. She took 1 look at me and told me do not pass go, do not collect $200, GO TO ER AND DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE PAIN IS GONE -- she knew they'd keep me. Don't let it fester like I did. Don't take the doctor's word that youre fine. Pain is a sign that something is wrong. I don't think they every considered peritonitis in me because I had no fever. IMO, that's no excuse. With my history of WLS they should have seen it. Anyway.....good luck to you and I'll pray that you find that nothing is wrong, that it's just gas or something!

After my hysterectomy I had a partial bowel obstruction. I would loke a muscle spasam or charlie horse just below my rib cage I could feel it getting tighter and tighter then on top of that I would get a VERY sharp pain then it would all relax. This would happen every minute or two. Each episode lasted a couple of hours or more. Several trips to er and they had no idea. Of course every time I went the pain would be gone by the time I was seen. Finally my own Doctor was able to diagnois it and correct it without surgery. I just wondered if this sounded like the pain you were having? Feel better soon, Nancy