Unexplained Pain on Left Side

Hi All, I am coming to all of you experts looking for help.  I have been struggling since mid October with sharp pain on my left side.  The pain comes and goes throughout the day and it does not seem to be related to when I eat.  Sometimes it is so sharp I cannot stand up.

had RNY on 7/31/08 and everything was going great until October.  They did an EDG the first of November and discovered I had an ulcer, was put on meds for that.  But, the sharp pain still was there.  Then they did a CT scan and determined I had Gall stones.  I went into the hospital mid December with sharp pains and they couldn't figure out why my pain was on my left side if my Gall Bladder is on my right side.

I had surgery on Dec. 15 where they removed my Gall Bladder and also repaired a hernia and removed scar tissue on my left side (the site of my pain). Bingo! We thought my pain problem was solved.  No such luck.  I have the pain on a continuous basis since.  I have had an upper GI where they also looked at the small bowel. That was normal.  I had a colonoscopy and another EDG and they were normal.  I had another CT scan about 3 weeks ago and that was normal.  I have been on Carafate, Prilosec, Citotec, Flagyl and was prescribed Valium (which I did not take because I hate the way it makes me feel.)

I really feel my doc is taking good care of me but just does not know what else to do.  I have to call his office again tomorrow to check in and see what they want me to do next.

At 7 1/2 months out I still am not able to eat much.  I have been getting nauseous when I eat, so I am wondering if I have another ulcer.  I have lost 85 pounds and am 5 pounds over my goal.  They don't want me to loose any more, but I just can't eat much without having pain.

Has anyone here gone through anything like this, or every heard of such a thing? I am so frustrated with feeling bad all the time, and being afraid to eat.  I would love to hear from any of you. 

Thanks!
Kathryn

Kathryn,
Hi, I'm not sure what is causing your pain, but I have struggled a lot with this pain, so I just wanted you to  know that you are not alone.  Feel free to send me a message sometime if you want.  Hang in there!

There is a woman on the Connecticut Forum who had all kinds of complications...don't know the whole story exactly but you might just hop on over there and ask.  I know she's had surgery again an is doing a lot better.  Her username is Mickey D. 

Just a thought...good luck!!

Hi Kathryn,
My name is Tammy, I have also been having trouble with pain in my left side which is severe at times. I have had a cat scan and endoscopy which both came back normal.  I have an appointment with a gastro specialist on April 2nd, so far my PCP said she ws looking for issues with my liver, or pancreas ( but blood work came back normal so prob not that) and scar tissue or adhesions of the remnant stomach to my liver, pancreas or intestines.  I have read others post regarding issues with the remnant stomach ( the large portion that was disconnected) filling with stomach juices and becomming inflammed to the point where they finally had it removed and problems were solved, the other issue I haev heard about is they say after losing so much weight our bellys create pockets of empty space that USED to be filled with fat so while our food is going thru the intestines they sometimes slide into these pockets causing severe pain, which is what I suspect is happening to me, and this is very difficult to diagnose unless its actively happening and unfortunately the people that WERE diagnosed with this were only diagnosed after years of searching for the cause and finally going in for an exploratory surgery OR when thier intestines ruptured and had emergency surgery.  So what I've concluded from the research I have done is this is a potentially serious thing and not to be take lightly. I am going to give you my email , I would love to hear how your doing and what results YOU get and I will relay the same to you if your interested. I wish you all the best....Tammy   ([email protected]) 
PS  This may not be related but i noticed when i stopped using splenda and sugar substitutes that the pain was less often actually was almost non existent, and 2 days ago i started using splenda again and yesterday and today the pain came back with a vengence, I'm going to play around with it and see if there could be a relation there,  who knows, at this point I'll try anything!  lol  good luck to you  =)

I have had  the same pain on and off since October 2007.  I have had a CT, CTA, x-ray, bone scan, and colonoscopy with no results beside they found a kidney stone. Yea!  My doctor is at a lost and continues to stay it is a pulled muscle that never healed.  I don't think it is a pulled muscle.  My gastric bypass surgery was 03/23/2009 and my surgeon looked at my spleen when he did my surgery, and found nothing.  I push thru the pain a lot but sometimes I can't and have to rest.  

I'm probably switching my regular doctor after surgery and maybe a new doctor will have some ideas.   I'm  think ing of requesting a upper GI next.  Keep us posted if you find out anything and I will too.

My pain started before my gastric bypass surgery. So I know it is not related in my case. All I know is I can not continue to live with this pain.  I have to find out the problem.

Becky

Kathryn,

I am 6 years post -op and was  fine up until 2 years ago.  I woke up with pain on my left side, went to the doctor thinking I had the flu, passed out in his office, they took me to the hospital via 911 and had a Cat Scan.   The Cat scan showed I had a tumor.  I was operated on that night and at that time, they could only get 80% of it without taking some of my intestine.

I got a staph infect from the OR and was in the hospital for 4 weeks on IV antibiotics.  After that...I finally went  home and while I was recovering, I noticed a huge hernia.  5 months later the herein was fixed and they removed the rest of the tumor.

6 months later...I got another hernia and had that repaired a year ago in July, they did take 12" of my intestine and I did  go to a different doctor.  While recovering I started pooping and throwing up blood.  Was back in the ER and admitted to ICU with a hemoglobin of 6.  Had all the tests and found I had a ulcer that busted open and that's why I was bleeding.

NOW...I have 2  more hernias and they will be repaired in July.  Is all this related to my RYN from 2003?  some doctors say yes and some say no.

I have been reading alot about Weight Loss patients having complications years out and I don't like it.

Robin

I started having the same kind of pain about one month after my surgery. My doc went back in and found scar tissue I am not almost 2 years out and I am starting to have the pain again. Lately it has been worse. I can't eat with out the pain... I can feel my food or drink passing through that area. Then if I cough or laugh I get a burning sensation there. It is so strange. IDK what it is I am getting frustrated.
Lee Anna

My diaphragm was damaged during lapband surgery and it caused horrible referred left shoulder pain. I also had severe pain under my ribcage on the left side. Unfortunately, from what I was told, nothing can be done for diaphragmatic damage. (I sought help from gastroenterologists,  chronic pain clinics and other bariatric specialists and nothing helped.) My situation may have been exacerbated by my original surgeon not taking my complaints seriously. The pain worsened until I had the band removed a couple of years ago. I still experience the left shoulder pain at least a few times a week, though.

You might want to bring this possibility up to your doctor, though.  What you describe about not being able to even stand while experiencing this pain sounds too familiar to me.

I hope you can find the root of the problem and feel better soon.

Take care,
Nicci 

Hi,

I had shard pain on my left side & it turned out to be an ulcer that I developed almost 2 years after surgery. Still being treated for it. The only way to make the pain go away was to constantly eat little bits. I carried a jar of peanut butter around with me so I could take little bites before I was diagnosed.  Now I'm on liquid Carafate & Prevacid capsules & even though the ulcer is still there I have no pain.

Good luck!

Hello, I am also having the same issue. I am almost two years out and I have had every test in the world done. At least that is how I feel. I know that after the surgery I have become lactose intolerant. I have had several friends suggest that I should take Gluten out of my diet to see if that will help. My start weight was 272 and I am now 135. I am not sure what the problem is but I did have scar tissue removed last August and that did not resolve the pain. Feel free to e-mail me. I would love to be pain free.

Thanks,
Beth Lovato