Too much stomach pain

[NorthStarHope]

:emoticon-bang-head:

 

Can anyone help, my sister is in hospital, not doing so well, severe stomach pain, doctors are giving pain medication, but its not helping. They cannot locate the cause of pain. They have done catscan, but nothing shows up. The nurse is mean! Not kind at all! My sis cannot hold down any food, for two days now! just wondered if anyone might know what would cause this unbearable pain. I welcome any answers. :temper-tantrum:

 

Sincerely,

 

northstarhope

[Margaret]

Hi Northstarhope ,

 

My first impression was severe esophageal spasms. Have they tried nitro tablets under the tongue? Gareth had them when his sclero first hit and he would complain of severe pain/heart attack. Has the stomach hardened....I don't even know if that is possible!!! I hate hearing that she is in so much pain and they don't know what the cause it. Where is the *Dr House* for that hospital?!?!? How about pancreatic/bile duct constrictions?

 

Take care, Everyone.

Margaret

[Shelley Ensz]

Hi NorthStarHope,

 

I'm sorry your sister is in the hospital and having severe stomach pain. We can only speculate, of course, not being doctors or anything. Sometimes it takes them awhile to rule things out, but they generally work very hard on ruling out the most life-threatening causes first. So odds are that has already been done, and that this will turn out to be something identifiable and manageable.

 

Some or even many pain medications can make stomach issues worse, often by causing constipation or irritating acid reflux. Stress can and does make any pain worse, in some cases it can even be the cause of the pain. Scleroderma can raise stomach havoc but typically for things that are quite treatable.

 

I had a hospital roommate once who was roiling in pain, gasping and moaning and crying out, and having every test under the sun. She was in much more pain that I was, and I had just had major surgery, so this was no small thing!

 

They have to carefully rule out every possible cause, one by one, not just leap to conclusions. So they did that. And in the end, after all sorts of fears about everything from bowel cancer to who knows what, her final diagnosis was (you're probably not going to believe this, but it's true): flatulence (gas)!

 

And if you think about it, sometimes gas can cause severe pain, but most of the time we suffer from it only briefly. Apparently the stress of hospitalization, the different food, the testing, the additional stress of all the possible causes, etc. only served to make hers worse and worse and worse.

 

The doctors all felt a bit abashed, and so did she, but at least they finally found the cause, and were able to treat it.

 

I say this to mean that you should take your sister's pain seriously, understand that it is very real (no matter what the source of it is) but not get too terribly bent out of shape over possible causes of it, because most of the causes can be relatively harmless and readily treatable.

 

It just might take her medical team a few days to get to the bottom of it, even if they are doing everything right, and even if Dr. House isn't at home taking a nap. So hang in there, and comfort her, okay? Keep us posted and give her all our best wishes for a hopefully more speedy resolution.

[debonair susie]

Hi NorthStarHope,

 

To be sitting in the seat you are has got to be the toughest of all...the feeling of helplessness is the WORST.

 

Even harder to accept, our bodies are so complex and the answers, when we feel we need them the most...never come easy, unfortunately.

 

To Margaret's point..esophageal spasms can cause horrific pain and are very deceptive, causing one to believe it could easily be a heart attack. I know because my husband called an ambulance on my behalf because I was unable to get on top of the pain. As a matter of fact, if I were to have that same level of pain (9.7 on a 10. scale) I would think more seriously than esophageal spasm.

 

I am hoping that the source (of the pain) is found soon, not only for your sister's sake, but for yours...neither of you need the stress of the situation.

 

Continuing to hold you close in thought and heart, NSH.

An endless supply of {{{{Soft Hugs}}}} for you. Thank you for keeping us posted, as we are following closely.

[Sheryl]

Northstarhope, I was once in the emergency room thinking I was having a heart attack.

 

Chest pain and stomach pain was unbelievable. I sat up all night into the wee hours taking everything from antacid tablets to aspirin and nothing was working. Finally the pain was so bad I woke my husband and he took me in. I had esophageal problems, acid reflux, and an ulcer. So, stomach pain can be caused by many things. Mine went from stomach to ribs to chest to throat and settled in my chest. I am happy your sis is at least in a good place to get proper treatment. Please, let us know what conclusion is made and what treatment she is receiving.

[NorthStarHope]

Well some good news for a change, all of you were basically rightl The pain seemed to be caused by constipation and a build up of gases in stomach. Someone in family mentioned gallstones, but I don't think so. I talked to my sister today and she has a more positive note than she did yesterday! Im hoping that she will be able to eat and hold down her food now.

 

Take Care, Everyone!!

 

Sincerely NorthStarHope

 

:emoticon-hug:

[Shelley Ensz]

Hi NorthStarHope,

 

Whew, what a relief! Thanks for letting us know. I'm very relieved for your sister, and for your family. Hopefully she will be on a better road to recovery, now.

[debonair susie]

What a relief, NorthStarHope! I am sure you finally took a breath as your received the news your sis was doing better!

 

That is one of the problems when one takes medications (which can sometimes cause the constipation problem,, as my hubby has found out with Prednizone. So, he takes stool softeners, which help greatly!

 

Thank you SO MUCH for letting us know....We really appreciate it! May she get home and be able to unpack her suitcase and put it away :rolleyes:

[Margaret]

NorthStarHope ,

 

Thank you for the happy news tonight!!! So glad your sis is feeling better. I will continue to keep you both in my thoughts.

 

Take care, Everyone.

Margaret :emoticons-yes:

[NorthStarHope]

Dear Margaret,

 

Thank you , all the kind words and wishes mean so much. My hopes are that everyone else is doing fine too.

 

Many thanks to everyone!!

 

Sincerely,

 

NorthStarHope

[Margaret]

Hi NorthStarHope ,

 

You haven't posted lately. How's your sister doing? Is she still in the hospital or home recovering? How are you holding up?

 

Take care, Everyone.

Margaret

[Patty Arche-Hueck]

Northstarhope, thanks for keeping us informed about your sister. And I am glad she is better now. It is so hard to do this alone, that knowing of people like you make me feel great.

 

Big hugs,

 

Patty