Ulcer pain or Hernia pain?

Yesterday, I had some pretty severe abdominal pain, mostly high in my abdomen under my sternum and above my naval.  I went to the ER when it did not subside after about 5 hrs.  The ED doc did some labs, and an ultrasound.  Gave me iv Fentanyl for pain, which didn't really help. The tests did not show anything, but the ER doc was suspicious of an ulcer and gave me a prescription for Nexium.  Before I left the ER, about  8 hrs after it had started, my pain and tenderness was almost completely gone.  So I tried to eat a bit when I got home because I had to know if I was gonna be OK to go to work today.  The pain returned, although was much less severe. I did call in sick for the day though just to see if it would get any worse/better.  (I am a nurse and work 12 hr shifts and there is no way I could have worked with that pain).  When I get to searching on line about what might be the problem, 2 things come up: ulcers and internal hernia (Petersen's hernia).  I had one other episode of pain like this 6-8 wks ago.  No nausea with it, just a sharp, colicky pain that was worse even with a swallow of water.  It started after eating a few bites for lunch.   In between episodes I have had maybe some smaller episodes that have resolved inabout 2 hrs with less intense pain.  So who can tell me about ulcers and internal hernia symptoms/pain? BTW, I don't drink, smoke and less than a cup of coffee a day in caffeine.

what about your gallbladder?

The ultrasound showed my gall bladder was OK.  Also the ED doctor didn't think from my symptoms that it was gallbladder.

Feel free to read my story.  I've had an internal hernia and 4 other obstructions.   Insist on finding out the source of your pain -- a "guess" is NOT sufficient.  Call your WLS ASAP.  Don't wait.  One time, I was 12-24 of perforating which could have been fatal.  Another time, I ended up in ICU.   You should have an complete work up and if nothing is discovered, exploratory surgery should be considered.  Only ONE out of my FIVE obstructions showed on a CT Scan.  How frightening is that? Don't wait.  Do it today.

Butterfly Reborn,      I read a bit of your postings, boy have you been through it girl!  Life is so unfair at times, but we cannot dwell on that can we?  We just have to move on, one day at a time and  make the best of what we are given.   I have a daughter , age 16, who at age 9 was diagnosed with a life threatening neuromuscular disease.  It used to bother me when people would ask me how I cope with it.  NOT very well, I would think, but what choice do we have but to face our woes and go on, or be quitters and give up on everyone  and everything in our lives?  Anyway, enough said about all that, I believe that all things happen for a reason, even if we never know what the reason is.     Well, I went to my WLS surgeon the other day.   He thinks it is either my gallbladder or a Petersen's hernia.  So I guess I will be having a HIDA scan to see if it is something with my gallbladder or if I need an exploratory surgery to check for an internal hernia.  I was certainly not planning on more surgery this summer but it looks like I may be headed that way. I was wondering did you have episodes of pain alternating with periods of no pain or very little pain with the inernal hernias?  The more I read about the internal hernia symptoms (which I am unable to find a lot about) the more I think that may be the cause of the pain--at least based on symptoms.  The surgeon didn't seem to think it is an ulcer because I would have pain almost immediately after eating. Hmm.... what I had was painful enough, but I am sure it could have been worse.  I am sure that a complete bowel obstruction is just about unbearable, and I think a bad gallbladder attack would have been more painful than what I experienced.  However, I knew that pain was NOT from anything that made sense, like eating too much at once, and it lasted quite a while, about 8 hrs.  Then it subsided almost as quickly as it started, tenderness gone and all.  The pain would start within 10-15 secs of swallowing even jus****er!  I don't think that sounds at all like a gall bladder or an ulcer. I am an OB nurse by trade, and I have to applaud you at your advocacy of your health care and treatments.   It is so important to be your own advocate.  I have learned to be an advocate for my daughter's health.  Some docs are great about it, others kind of skeptical.  Most listen to me, but it helps that I can put RN behind my name.   Thanks for listening.  Janet

Well, I have suffered through both. In March 2007, I had a Peterson's space hernia.  I suddenly had waves of pain in my lower abdomin surrounding my belly button.... like pretty bad labor pains.  I went to bed hoping to sleep it off.  I woke up in the a.m. and the pain had intensified to the point I could no longer stand up straight and when the waves of pain hit, I couldn't stand at all.  I was still having bowel movements, but they were skinny like spagetti.  This ended with hernia repair surgery. Fast forward to April 2008.  I started noticing pain under my sternum upon waking.  It almost felt like anxiety but it definitely hurt.  I took my Prevacid and about an hour later, the pain would go away.  Then I started noticing that certain foods and drinks caused me more pain.  Then it progressed to the point that I had the same bad pain in my chest in the afternoon as I did in the morning.  Meanwhile, I was going to the doctors and begging for pain relief and answers.  Then I had a seizure.  Everything was confused by the siezure - suddenly, everyone was focusing on the siezure activity and not the orginal complaint.  I end up with a neurologist who puts me on siezure medication and tells me not to drive for 3 months.  Meanwhile, I'm not a believer that siezures are the problem.  I see my GB surgeon and he orders the plethora of testing.   I have all of my tests complete except for one... my appointment to go over the tests with my surgeon is a week and 2 days away .... when suddenly, I wake up in the morning in excrutiating pain.  It felt like I was having a heart attack.  Pain in the middle of my chest, radiating horribly in my shoulder and I couldn't catch my breathe.  LONG story short - I had a perforated ulcer.  My gastric contents were emptying into my abdominal cavity.  Once at the hospital, the only test that showed something wrong was the chest CT showing air under my diaphragm.  They flew me out and I had emergency surgery that night. I will say, that while all the testing was going on at the first hospital, I took 3 little sips of tea, just dying for something to comfort me.  I felt that tea hit my stomach and spread all over in my abdomin like flames.  That's when I knew what was wrong - and when I started screaming and passing out.  THAT is a pain I never want to experience again.  If you have pain in your chest - especially after eating or drinking - DEMAND to be checked for an ulcer.  I came so close to meeting my maker that I saw angels and people with halo's in my room and I kept mumbling about how beautiful they were.   Also leading up to the ulcer, my iron dropped extremely low and I was very very exhausted just going from one room to the next.  I was scheduled for iron infusions the day my ulcer perforated.  Needless to say, I missed that appt.  SO pay attention to any correlation bewteen low iron (anemia) and chest pain after eating or drinking. Hope that helps! Pam

I just had this... Ive had a pain that has come and gone for a couple months.. last thursday it took its toll on me and put me in ER... they did tests... ct scans everything turned out ok.. my pain was so bad they took me into surgery and I had a internal hernia... it was wrapped around my small bowel. Now Im fixed and home resting for a week!! Let them do a diagnostic surgery.. laproscropy... This is my second one..

That is exactly what mine turned out to be! However, my recovery has not been so easy, the doc had to do my repair partially open, and I developed an abcess in my wound. So now I am home recovering and packing an open wound in my belly 2x daily. The doc thinks he may be able to do some type of closure on it next week. I am also having a lot of trouble with nausea and vomiting even with just trying full liquids. Did you have any trouble with that? I had my surgery 6/18

oh wow I am so nervous I have had this dull/ nagging pain I thought maybe since I have been eating alot of beef (hamburger patties) lately and I had 3 major bowel movements but the pain was still there so today I called my wls dr and he scheduled a abdominal ct scan...I do drink wine so I instantly thought omg I have an ulcer...i hope everything is ok I havern't had any problems and I am 16 months post op