Has Anyone Else Had Upper Abdominal Pain with No Known Cause?

hello A. i have been having pain problem for the longest i found a doctor at hup and she is great i had scar tissue from a c-section a cpl years ago.she removed that with a laposcopy.then this year it came back they ran a Ct scan and now they found i have gallstones.so i have to go on the 12th of this month to get that taken care of.so press the issue on gallbladder.i was in so much pain this week i cant wait to they take this out.good luck!

I've had pain under my ribs which seems to get worse when I breathe or move but not sure what it is. I've taken ibuprohen which seems to help (I'm on 600 mg, for something else). Try going to another doctor if you can, until you are satisfied with an answer.

When they did the ultrasound of your galbladder, all they could check for was stones. Tell your dr - or go to a gastroenterologist - that you want an endoscope done so that they can test the bial in your galbladder. Sounds very similar to what I used to experience before having my galbladder out (when I was only 21). Certain foods would cause me to be in excrutiating pain so unbearable that I could not function. They did the "usual" testing for gal stones, but found nothing, so based on my family history of galbladder disease & gal stones, the dr I was seeing decided to do an endoscope to test the bial. Sure enough, the bial was crytalizing - which eventually leads to stones - so he scheduled my surgery for that same week! Since then I have had no problems - certain foods cause some indegestion, but no pain.
I would recommend seeing a gastroenterologist and ask them about possibly checking the bial in your gal bladder, may be that you have the early stages of gal bladder disease, of course it could be something else totally, but from what your describing of your pain, it sounds just like what I went through!
Good luck, and hang in there, they'll figure it out eventually! Sometimes you just have to be pushy for them to do the tests that they need to do, especially now with the way the insurance companies "control" what they docs can and can't do! Be assertive, this is your health you're dealing with after all!!!

On three occasions, a couple of years in between each, I had severe pain in my not in my upper abdomen, but lower. I don't know how high up yours was. So severe that I was nauseated, could hardly move and made me cry. Each time this happened, which usually lasted about two days, the pain became more severe until it reached the most painful point and then slowyly went away until it was gone. The first time I went to the ER, they found nothing even after a CAT scan. I was in the hospital for two nights because of it. They thought it might have been my appendix. They found nothing. I never received any explanation. A couple of years later it happened again. Apparently, what they found was a cyst that had ruptured on my ovary. They have a hard time finding it unless they catch it prior to the rupture, once ruptured it is hard to diagnose. There were no lasting side effects and I have had a child since without any problems. Perhaps this is what it was for you as well. Eventhough the pain was caused from my ovary that is down lower, the pain seemed to be in my entire abdomen region. This is incredibly painful. I had always said this was the most painful thing I had ever gone through, until of course my 22 hour childbirth. I know how scary it is and how frustrating it is when they tell you nothing is wrong, when you know something is. Hope this helps. Take care. T.

i haven'te had that problem before, but i am learning that you need to be your own medical advocate and be very proactive with your own health care. Go visit another doctor for a second opinion, let them know that you have been in a lot of pain and you don't feel that your regular doctor is listening to you. let them know you would like testing done, maybe an ultraound??

When I had gallstones it felt like I was having a heart attack and the pain was terriable! When Ihad kidney stones the pain was in my back. I say you be the pain in their side until they find whats wrong with you. Having pain like that is not normal and the hospital should have admitted you until they found something. Good luck and I hope you feel better!

along with the others, i would definately push the gallbladder testing before its too late. i was 20, preg wit 1st son when i started having problems. didnt know what it was, gave me some mylanta and sent me home. 1 1/2 months after he was born, back in er. dr said it was indigestion and that my breasts were too large (dd cup). gave me pepcid, and sent me on way. and they would not give me 2nd opinion. (during thsi time i had horrible pains in my chest and back that felt like gas) 5 montha later, back in er, dr did testing and everything came up negative, he told me to go to pcp and have ultrasound done on gallbladder. ok fine i left.. 3 weeks later, fiance rushing me to er, i had pains and could not stop vomiting.. make long story short.. i was in ICU for 2 days cause gall stones blocked my pancreas, giving me pancreatitis (why i was in ICU), then week later they took my gall bladder out.. i was in hospital for 11 days.. i do not want anyone to go thru what i went thru.. so PLEASE GET 2nd or 3rd OPINION ASAP!!!!! GOOD LUCK (only good thing is that i lost weight being in hosp and fit into my wedding gown better, my wedding was 3 weeks after i got out of hospital)

I had pain on the right side upper abdomin also. The ER doctor's first guess was gall bladder followed by if not that then maybe kidney or liver. The blood work in the ER came back normal, so they gave me an IV and sent me home. They didn't have anyone on call who could do an ultrasound (again -- I HATE the drs here), so they scheduled it for ASAP -- translated that meant three WEEKS later. My reg. dr. has u/s in his office and was able to get me in a week and a half earlier, so I went there. Scans were clear, but they are still keeping an eye on it because not all gallbladder disease shows up on ultra sound. The pain though is pretty much gone.
H.

A.-
Press them about the gallbladder issue. If you're not happy with what one doctor is doing- FIND ANOTHER! Clearly, there is SOMETHING wrong with you if you have enough pain to go to the ER- that's not a place people pick to hang out for fun. Don't let them 'bully' you into thinking you're not in pain and there's nothing wrong with you.
Take care and good luck!
C.

Having had a problem with my gallbladder and having it removed, the pain sounds familiar. I would definitely press the issue because if you know that what you're feeling is not right for your body, then something can definitely be wrong. I agree with the other post that if your doctor isn't willing to do further testing, you need to find another who is. Don't settle for an opinion or "diagnosis" if you don't think it's right. But as for the pain that you had on Friday, I would definitely have your gallbladder checked again...at least to make sure that you don't have gallstones and that there is no blockage of the bile duct. Good luck and I hope you feel better!

Have u had your appendicts removed? I rememeber when I was younger I had the same type of pain and the Dr. couldnt figure out what was wrong. Soon it will manifest itself in the bloodwork your blood count will be higher than normal. The pain will become constant. When i went to the docter it was months before an emergency appendectomy occured. Either that or you had severe gas. Flatulence will feel like you are dying. Try to pay attention to what you eat. Make a chart of when the pain comes. Gall bladder, I dont think that is it.

Hi A., my name is E. and I am an acupuncturist. Rest assured you could have such pain without there being any specific western diagnosis. Chinese medicine can be very successful in such cases. Please see my website for further info at www.ellengvincent.com.