Question:
Pain at base of sternum for hours

It happened 20 minutes after eating some canned soup I had eaten before. Nauseated, dry heaves, too. But a lot of pain. Called my PCP after half an hour. He said to try antacid and pepcid and see if it went away after a couple hours. I couldn't wait and called back an hour later crying. The pain was too bad. Went to ER. They did bloodwork and x-ray and ultrasound. All were negative (Bilirubin was slightly elevated). It took 3 shots of pain meds to make it tolerable. They sent me home with pain meds, nausea meds, and prilosec. This was Friday night. I'm calling my surgeon Monday morning, but does this sound familiar to ANYONE?? I still feel nauseated and unable to eat much at all.    — Laura S. (posted on October 13, 2002)

October 13, 2002
Forgot to add that I'm 10 weeks post-op and down 60 lbs. And up until this point, I've been feeling great.
   — Laura S.

October 13, 2002
i HAVE NOT HAD SURGERY YET BUT HAVE HEARD OF THIS VERY THING BEFOR. yOU MOST DIFFENTLY WOULD WANT TO SEE ABOUT GETING ENDOSCOPY TO SEE IF YOU HAVE A HERNIA OR AN ULCER. THAT IS THE BEST WAY OF CHECKING FOR PROBLEMS TRY TO REST AND CALL YOUR SURGEON TOMMOROW HOPE I HELPED. STAY AWAY FORM TOMATOE BASED SOUPS TILL THEN THEY TEND TO IRRATE THE STOMACH SOMETIMES.
   — sheri B.

October 13, 2002
Hi, I too am still pre-op... but what you have described sounds like Acid Reflux. I have that quite often, myself. I agree you need to have the scope done, to rule out possible gallbladder problems. As you may know it is not uncommon for post-ops to have that problem and require surgery to remove your gallbladder. Try antacid, Tums, Rolaides and another good trick is to take a half glass of water, drop just a spoonful of vinegar in the bottom, then drop a teaspoon of baking soda in the glass and stir it up... the drink it... it will help almost immediately. Hope this helps you, I know it is very painful! Take care.
   — Sheryl W.

October 13, 2002
Well, if you're going to go to your gastro. doc to be scoped, if that's negative have him/her order an ultrasound. Sounds to me like gallstones. When you have attacks, that's where you feel it first. The pain can be excrutiating. Good luck.
   — KelBurt

October 13, 2002
Have you been able to eat/drink anything since Friday? If so, then its not a stricture/blockage. I have had that horrible pain in the same area you are describing-the pouch. I had it at about the 2-4 month mark post-op. It was from eating too fast, or too much, or something too dense. Eating slower, chewing better, and eating less worked. If you have experienced that, was this pain different from the pouch pain you get when you eat too much?
   — Cindy R.

October 13, 2002
I really don't know the answer to your question but I am 3 weeks post op and have experienced this same kind of pain - I have been testing different things and think that I may be having a reaction to milk (lactose intolerant). I was also getting burpy in conjunction with the pain. I hope your pain is something very simple and can be controlled by diet. Good luck.
   — Leslie W.

October 14, 2002
This has not happened to me, but my boss had the exact pain you are talking about. They ran thousand of dollars worth of tests and it turned out to be an ulcer. Everytime her meds ran out it started again, this time they gave her a 6 month prescription. Talk to your surgeon. Hers also started around her 10 week mark.
   — Dana B.