Abdominal Pain

October 20, 2002

Okay,

I'm 18 months post op and I've been complication free since surgery (minus

my seroma at surgery time) but the last few days have been really icky for

me.

Wednesday I started feeling pain in my back, like my lower ribs, then it

radiated to the front. I was gassy, but nothing was coming out and my

stomach started to distend. It went away Wednesday night, but returned

Thursday AM, subsided a little, then came back with a vengeance including

abdominal pain on thursday night. Friday was just sore all day (gas was

gone) and went to see my doc. The on call doc poked and prodded for a

while, got no pain response from my gall bladder, my white blood cell count

was normal etc etc so thought it was an ulcer, gave me ulcer meds (Protonix)

and sent me on my way. Friday night I ended up in the ER with the most

horrific pain ever. They gave me Dilaudid for the pain, checked my stool

for blood (don't ask) and found none. Nothing out of the ordinary on all

blood tests. Bowel obstruction has been ruled out cause things are still

moving through...

The general surgeon on duty sent me home with an appt for X-Ray and Upper GI

with Bowel Follow Through (sounds daunting doesn't it?) for Monday...

I'm feeling good today, soft bland diet and all...

Has any one had an experience like this?! I'm getting a full workup

tomorrow, but I thought I'd ask y'all while I'm at it..

thanks,

October 21, 2002

Hi :

Where exactly is the pain? Is it in the center or is on the left

side? If it is in the left side, you could be having an attack of

diverticulitis (an inflammation of the walls of the colon). The best to

check for this is by a CAT scan after drinking a solution. If you are

having left sided pain, you might want to mention this to the doctor and

have them check it out. If it is diverticulitis, it can be treated with

antibiotics and a liquid diet. If not treated, it can get worse and can

cause all sorts of problems. I have had this disease for over 10 years

and just recently had to have a section of my colon removed because mine

got so bad. Don't wait - have it checked out.

Hugs,

Jerri in MI

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