This is a pain in the gut --- Chapter 3

If any of you have been reading this (except my family), you know that I've had an unexplained pain in the rib area directly under my right breast for about 3 months. I've had an ultrasound of my gall bladder (doc's first diagnosis), an x-ray (doc's second diagnosis), a preliminary dose of prednisone (doc's third diagnosis - pinched nerve something or other). All of the tests have been negative, and I am still experiencing the pain on a regular basis - both day and night. Last night was pretty typical. I had pain around dinnertime, went to bed early, and was awakened around 2 a.m. with pain that kept me awake for several hours.

I'm trying to track this thing. Some days, I can get through the morning pretty well without much discomfort. Once the pain sets in, it is pretty intense until I take an ibuprofen and wait a half hour or so for the medicine to kick in. As the doc said, serious problems are not solved by ibuprofen! That's the good news. The bad news is that we can't figure out what is going on. I'm leaning towards the nerve damage that should have been helped by the prednisone.

Anyway, tomorrow I go for a CAT scan of my abdomen and chest. If that comes up negative (which I really expect to happen), my plan of attack is to meet with the doc (with Doug in tow) and have all my points mapped out. Do I tough it out for another couple of months? Do I go with the nerve damage theory? If so, what is the treatment? I'm nixing the idea of a psychosomatic illness. Not my type of thing.

It sure does impact one's day. I get into a project or an activity and then WHAM - I'm in so much discomfort that I can hardly stand up. Makes me sympathetic to those who know they are going to deal with pain on a daily basis.