Could This Be Cancer??! - Pacific Palisades,CA

Okay... first and foremost you have got to STOP DOCTOR GOOGLING! ::slaps fingers off of the keyboard:

Did you read that? Did you listen? No?

::whaps nose with a newspaper:: NO! NO MORE GOOGLING SYMPTOMS!

Ahem. For real. What your sister needs to do instead of panicking is to call a local gastroenterologist and make an appointment. Someone reputable. That doctor will have all of the emergency room "stuff" sent over to look and will do his/her own examination and tests.

It could be anything right now, and I wouldn't panic. Panic means that no one has a clear head, right? Your sister needs to keep a clear head and so do you. Keeping a clear head means that you can think ahead to next steps. Until she can get in to see a gastro specialist, she should plan to take it easy on her digestive system. I'm sure the ER gave her a plan printout when she went home? If not, they should have.

If she's had vomiting, she can go on a low-residue diet or a clear liquid diet. That will help whatever is going on to rest her digestive system. She should also be measuring her pain in a journal. How often is she having bouts of pain, and when she does she needs to rate the bouts on a scale of 1-to-10 with 10 being "OMG I think I'm dying and need to be in the hospital 10 minutes ago." If she reaches an 8 on the pain scale, she needs to be at the ER. If she's vomiting and can't stop, ER. If pain is so bad she can't walk or move or breath or talk, ER.

If she has a smart phone have her install Manage My Pain Lite from Play Google. It's the free version and she can journal the pain and rate it and describe it. She can actually show it to the doctor/s and it has a great tool in it with graphs and everything. I use it for my Fibromyalgia flare ups and other symptoms.

I will be praying for your sister. I know how scary it is to not know what is wrong. I am praying for the diagnosis to be fine and for her to have a full recovery. One thing that helped me before I had cancer was to to think positively and to remember that unless I have all the details and information, it is not beneficial to worry or to stress. Find out all the facts, the treatment options etc. before worrying or trying to make a diagnosis. Good luck.

How about the gall bladder? I know several people who have had gallstones where it was a hard diagnosis. It took a while for them to figure it out.
SHe should see the gastro though for an endoscopy though so that she can be sure. Stomach cancer is pretty rare now though so chances are good its not that.

Once you start googling symptoms nothing good happens. It's hard but step away from the computer and have your sister pick up the phone and make an appointment. Most likely it's due to the medication she's been taking.

I tore up my stomach after spinal surgery (taking NSAIDS). Vicodin is really, really hard on the GI tract. I vomited for a long time but thought it was associated with the spinal issues. They ran a hemoglobin test in office and it was "go directly to the hospital for blood transfusions". Stomach cancer was a concern of my physicians but it turned out to be bleeding, horrible ulcers upon endoscopy.

I'm guessing she has had blood work? I say to go for the endoscopy procedure...I felt so much better after treatment.

Best of luck to your sister.

It's probably from the tramadol

She should most def follow up with her doctor for an endoscopy. It is not the function of any ER to diagnose cancer. They treat conditions that require immediate intervention. Yes, cancer needs swift treatment, but beginning treatment today vs tomorrow probably won't impact the long term prognosis.

My mother went to the ER with a specific set of symptoms. They managed them so she was comfortable to go home and follow up with her regular doc. When she followed up with her doctor she found she DID have cancer, but it wasn't the ER's responsibility to diagnose/treat it. It was my mother's responsibility to take control of her own health and get further testing as recommended.

The internet is really good at spitting out super scary information. I suggest you stop searching. Let the doctors lead you initially. You can search more specifically when you have enough information that you'll be able to filter what actually applies to your sister.

Everyone is afraid of cancer. It is a possibility, of course, but probably not very likely. Try not to make yourself crazy about it while you are waiting for answers. Even if it does end up being your worst case scenario, lots of cancers are treatable and people DO recover and continue living.

I could be wrong but my thought is that if the ER doctors had even a slight inkling that your sister had cancer they would not have let her leave the hospital without doing an endoscopy right then and there. "Follow up" with any specialist does not sound life threatening to me. She definitely needs to call Mon morning to make an appointment though.

Did she see a gastroenterologist? If she had a barium swallow, it was not an endoscopy. A gastro doctor would have told your sister the answers to all her questions an set up any treatment he felt necessary. It's sounds like a regular doctor ordered this and has provided little follow up support. Vomiting and pain could be associated with serious illness from ulcers to cancer. She needs to find the right doc ASAP.

It could be from the pain killers. They can really have negative effects on the digestive system.