So I've been experiencing some unusual pain in my right side stomach lately and it persisted for about four days until today when I bit the bullet and decided to go get screened for Hepatitis-- which all came back negative. So now that I can cross off Hepatitis from the list of things to worry about I'm thinking I may have gallstones or even pancreatitis. I'm a complete and utter hypochondriac and part of me knows that my right side stomach pain is just a factor of the anxiety I've been going through lately due to unrelated stuff but I want to be sure. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely thrilled that it's not hepatitis, but I'm now confused as to where to go from here. I want to talk to my doctor when I go in in a few weeks and I'm due to have some other regular blood work done that could shine a light on my unusual stomach pains. It's also possible that I've developed a stomach ulcer. Sorry, I'm rambling, but does anybody who's had experience with gallstones, pancreatitis or peptic/duodenal ulcers have any input they can give me? I'm just looking for some positive input other than reading WebMD all day driving myself mad.
I don't mean to resurrect a dead thread or anything, it's still on the front page of this subforum but some feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'm seeing my doctor on Monday.
Hi! Sorry, I have no experience with any of this, but I wanted to just assure you that people are here for you. I'm hugely glad for you that it's not hepatitis, and I would advise you to settle with the statistical unlikeliness of your pain being from anything too dangerous in order to stave off your anxiety until you get some actual answers. Good luck, and just know that we're all here for you. (*hug*)
Thanks. As for hepatitis, I know it's not Hep C, that was all they tested for at the clinic. I know Hep A and Hep B are curable or at least treatable now but I don't think it's either of those because the pain is in my back, as well. From all the crazy reading I've done online everything seems to point to gallstones. But I guess I'll find out tomorrow when I go to the doctor, hopefully they can give me a diagnosis there.
Well, the doctor seems to think it's either gallstones or gastritis. I'm getting an ultrasound done on my right side to find out just what the heck is going on in there after I get my blood work done. Does anybody here have any experience with gallstones?
Listen, Benway, and know I mean it well : Stop driving yourself crazy, and specially without the bloodwork. Most of the serious stuff will show on bloodwork. I've had the most annoying pains you can think of, and I tend to go crazy trying to figure it out on my own. At the end it was either stress (from work), or the result of a bad diet, or lack of some random vitamine. But mostly stress. Stress kills you. Just wait for the bloodwork, and if your stomach is bothering you, then give it a break for a couple of days : Vegetables and juice, or just nothing (well, water only) if you think you can get away with it. Also check what you've been eating, 'cause stomach is the most strict, unforgiving and ungrateful bitch... You can do whatever you want with your lungs for years. You mess with your stomach a single day, you are f... Hope it goes well, specially the bloodwork.
Believe me, I know stress, I'm under undue amounts of it right now and it's not just because of the pain in my side-- I think the pain in my side manifested possibly because of the stress. I wonder if it's possible to worry yourself sick to the point you get gallstones? It's just routine blood work but the doctor said it will shine some light on whatever's going on in there, plus I'm getting an ultrasound done on my belly so they can take a peek in there and see if there's gallstones. I'm a little horrified at what they might find because I don't know. I haven't been eating much lately because I've had a severe loss of appetite, I've dropped 12 pounds in a month. But I know what you mean by driving yourself crazy trying to figure it all out. Sometimes I think WebMD should be illegal because of the tizzy it gets people in, convincing themselves (myself included) that we have a debilitating illness. This is gonna be a fun week.
Benway, just want to say that if your doctor cannot find anything from the ultrasound and the pain does not go away, you might consider taking a CT scan. Of course it is up to you and your doc as well as your insurance plan etc, but there is a lot of stuff you cannot see clearly from ultrasound compared to CT. Yes I know you will be exposed to radiation from CT so hopefully they can find the cause from ultrasound or other means. I used to have stress-related stomachache but it usually went away within the day. I would definitely not wait it out if something persisted that long. I think you are right to get stuff checked out. Good luck!
Well, I go in for the ultrasound and blood work on Thursday morning, so I'll be killing two birds in one stone in one day, and by Monday I'll have the results of all that. I'm not sure I know what a CT scan is, and I'm not really afraid of radiation-- I've had a cat scan done, before, maybe they're similar. But what's really weird is that today I'm not experiencing any pain or discomfort in my side. Maybe I'm just not as keyed up with anxiety, today, I don't know, but today there's nothing in my right side giving me an issue. Like I said I'm just thrilled it's not an STD, because I have no way to explain to my family (who I live with) that sort of thing and I don't need my mother knowing I suck cock because she's already crazy enough as it is, I don't want to drive her crazier. Thanks everybody for your support and if you have any further input I look forward to hearing it, because if it is gallstones I'd like to know what to expect with surgery or medication and whatnot.
I don't have any personal experience with gallstones (if it is that) but my family members are in the medical field and they've talked about that in front of me. I think my dad once had that too. I know it can be really painful so I don't think you're overreacting at all. The good thing is that doctors are very used to dealing with gallstones and it'll be fairly easy to get rid of them. To get rid of gallstones you often have to get them removed surgically but it's not very invasive at all. My mom said it's really simple and safe. It's important to get it checked out so it's good you're going to the doctor. If you do have them, often fatty foods/fried foods will make it worse (at least according to my family). I also don't have personal experience with gastritis but I do know stress and hot/spicy foods can make that worse. One thing you might try regardless is looking at your eating habits and seeing if something you eat makes you feel worse at certain times. You could try antacids to alleviate some of the immediate pain but of course you are doing good by going to the doctor. They might give you other medicine or something idk. When people say "it's just stress" about stomach pain or other physical symptoms, I find that insulting. Mental illness and anxiety is just as legitimate as any physical ailment. It sounds like you have a physical cause for this along with stress but don't discount your anxiety. I do have experience with CT scans and they aren't bad at all. You don't have to worry about radiation because they put grounding protection on you. They think of all precautions. They might do an ultrasound instead which is what you see them giving pregnant women on tv shows. Sorry for the long response haha. Good luck and I hope you feel better.
No offense but you seem a bit of a hypochondriac. You don't just develop hepatitis. Unless you're actively participating in unprotected sex with someone who has hepatitis or doing some illicit drugs involving the sharing of needles, with someone with hepatitis. It's highly doubtful that you have hepatitis. Gall stones might accompany some bad acid reflux but not always. Does it hurt after you exercise? Perhaps you're out of shape. Or perhaps it's psychosomatic. Good luck.
No offense taken, I'm a total hypochondriac, I'm always on WebMD convincing myself that I have a life threatening illness. Like I said, now that I can rule out Hep C (and most likely Hep A and Hep B at that) I feel a lot better. But I think a lot of it is like you said psychosomatic, because I've been under a lot of stress from some stuff in my life lately and it might be manifesting itself physically in my guts.
It probably isn't Hepatitis because that does require some sort of sexual activity or an exchange or blood (if it's Hepatitis C). Going to the doctor is the right move because only they can diagnose you, not WebMD, yourself, or any of us. If it's stress related then you still need to treat it like a physical illness because anxiety and stress obviously are having a toll on your body. Stress can do a lot of things that we wouldn't think about. If you think it's stress related, have you considered talking to a counselor or a psychiatrist as well? Or have you tried stress-relieving techniques like meditation or exercise? Ultimately going to the doctor whether an internal medicine doctor or a psychiatrist isn't a bad move at all. I had a friend who was having intense chest pain and her heart would beat super fast. It ended up being panic attacks but she was given anxiety medication that did help her a bit.
Well, I was recently tested for Hep C, which turned out negative so I can rule that iteration of hepatitis out. If it's A or B, I'm not sure how I came in contact with that, but I'm starting to doubt it's either of those because I'm not exhibiting the symptoms of those (yellowing of the eyes, jaundice, being the most damning symptom). I do talk to a counselor and am on a number of psychiatric medications, I don't exercise, though I really should. Either way, I'll find out around Monday when the results of the tests I get done tomorrow should be in by. Like I said, if it is stress, which is likely, I have been under an unusual amount, lately due to some factors in my life I could really do without. But I definitely appreciate everyone's support!
Well, I went in for an ultrasound after my blood work on Thursday and yesterday I called my doctor's office to see if they got the results. The blood work all came back great, I'm healthy there, my liver's fine, all that's fine. The ultrasound they said showed a few tiny gallstones but nothing serious enough to warrant removing my gallbladder-- apparently everyone has a few tiny gallstones. So I'm relieved on two counts, there. But I really need to learn to relax, I've been making myself sick with anxiety, lately and this just goes to show how far anxiety can really push me. I've struggled with it my entire life and it rarely attacked me physically, but now it's manifesting itself in a form that makes me think I've got deadly illnesses due to actual physical symptoms. I guess that's just something I'll have to keep trying to work out in therapy.
I'm glad to hear you are ok, Benway. It seems they found your achilles heel, that spot that will give you aggro later, when stress and anxiety become too much for the mind, and then jump right downstairs, like a good neighbour, and all the fun begins... Mine is the heart, they found it 3 years ago. Many people do have this kind of heart condition, it's quite mild , said the doctor. Reality... The condition is degenerative, non reversible, and I'll need surgery... If my heart doesn't give up first, of course. The advice my doctor gave me? To take it easy... And there he was absolutely right : The sickness came from the mind, from some shock I had back then, and the mind refused to deal with such huge amount of crap, so the hurt went downstairs... Try Mindfulness. Seriously : Try it.
