This is a pain in the gut --- Chapter 4

I've spent most of the last 6 weeks or so since I last posted in daily pain. There is still no answer to why I have continued abdominal pain. A few weeks ago I had an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (yup - that's what they call it!). Fortunately, you are sedated during this procedure and don't realize that they are shoving a tube and camera down your throat to look at most of your digestive system ....

The results were basically normal. Good news, of course, except that I am still left with the pain and no diagnosis. Last week, Doug and I headed off to my primary physician because over-the-counter meds (ibuprofen) were no longer getting the pain to a manageable level. She prescribed voltaren. Some days it works, some days it doesn't work.

If I manage my activities (i.e., no long drives, periodic breaks during the day to sit and relax, going bra-less), I can get through the day. Late afternoon and evenings are the worst. I'm usually in a great deal of pain from 1 to 2 hours every night before bedtime. This is certainly a mystery!

On Monday, I am scheduled for an HIDA scan with CCK. This is a second go-around on the theory that the gall bladder is the culprit. Apparently, there are diseases and/or malfunctions of the gall bladder that do not show up on an ultrasound. So off to the imaging center we go once again. They'll insert various substances into my veins, take multiple images, and see what they can see. I've got my fingers crossed that this test shows something! At least if it is the gall bladder, they can just yank that sucker out!

If test shows no abnormalities, then the assumption is that it is musculoskeletal. In that case, I get a referral to a pain management clinic. I have reservations about treating something without a true diagnosis, but the pain is really having a negative effect on our lives. Reminds me of what my mother-in-law said when she was in pain: I want my life back! Do I sound like I am whining? You betcha ....