Pain - anyone have an idea?
 

I am getting pretty bad pain from the bottom of my ribcage all the way down my abdomen. It also reaches through to my back depending on how I sit. This is the second or third time this happened.

It isn't a heart attack because the pain isn't that far up and my arm is fine. It isn't gas because I just took 4 Gas-X strips and it hasn't helped. Any ideas on what this is? I feel like I am going to be sick from this! :(

Second or third time since when? How long does it usually last? I'd go see a doctor, myself. Could be a wide variety of serious things.

Since the end of February. It usually lasts about an hour or so then goes completely away. I am trying to figure out if it os being triggered by what I eat.

See a doc.

Go to the doc. My bro-in-law put off checking out a pain like you're describing he got a temporary colostomy bag for his reticence.

Gall bladder?

I think his intestine was perforated. The tissue was a mess so they shortened it and rerouted things until the tissue was ready for reattachment. um not to scare the hell out of bbro... just do the safe thing.

Sounds like a gallstone attack, but don't assume that it's not a heart attack. The symptoms in women are not always the same as in men, especially the arm-thing. (I think bbro is a girl, IIRC.) Get it checked out.

I wound up in the ER thinking I was having a heart attack -- 'twas gallstones. Had the stupid vestigial organ out, all is well.

Thanks for all your replies.

Griff, even though you didn't want to scare me, you kind of did!! I don't want to wear a bag of poo!!

I am leaning more toward the gall bladder problem. My mom has been treated for some problems with it.

*SIGH* just what I need, something ELSE wrong with me. Why couldn't it have just been gas. If I am lucky, maybe I'll get 5 things that are wrong with me. I already have 3, so this will make 4 depending on what the doctor says.

Much more likely than the truly weird thing my bro-in-law went through. Still it should be seen to immediately so it does not turn into multiple problems.

Bump. Can you give us an update, bbro? Did you get it checked out?

Pie - I was just going to go looking for this thread to update!

I talked to my doctor yesterday. The reason I didn't go earlier is because I didn't have an another attack and I was hoping to make it to April 10th to save on time missed from work. Since I was there yesterday for my lovely cold, I figured I would ask. I told her about all the pain and that my mom had gallstones. She looked at me and said "well, you just earned yourself a sonogram". - which I have tomorrow. She also took some blood to do a liver and gallbladder function test.

I have to meet with her after to discuss the results and hopefully that will be on April 10th.

Another update. Got the ultrasound - it was ookie. All that gell all over everything, yech. The only thing that worries me is on the few images I could see, I saw red a couple times. It is a black and white ultrasound and looked like someone colored on it. Kind of like this http://www.learningradiology.com/cas.../cow179arr.jpg, but not nearly as large of an area.

I will find out next Thursday, that is my marathon of doctor's visits.

The color just means they put the machine in Doppler mode, and it indicates whether substances are moving towards or away from the viewer, and how fast they're moving. Usually they're testing blood flow through various parts of the body, checking for blockages and whatnot. Red on its own is just a direction/speed; it doesn't necessarily mean anything bad at all.