I am so confused. I am a 27 year old female and On 01/13/04 I was rushed to the hospital because of severe lower right stomach pain so they decided i needed to have a appendectomy, which was fine however, A week or so later the pain came back but worse and higher on my right side. I went to the doctor again and he did a cat scan, ultra sound, chest x-ray and found nothing except for scar tissue around my right lower rib area, so he came to the conclusion it was my gall bladder, so... 3/19/04 they took out my gall bladder. Pain came back immediately after the second surgery!!! It feels like someone is stabbing you when your in certain positions or if your breathing slightly normal then usual. The pain is just under my rib area and it goes all the way to my back. Has anyone had anything similar??? Please help. I have to go in for a endoscopy and the other end to! I am sick of procedures and I want to know what's wrong.

oops.. sorry i am new

Two weeks after my GB was removed I had an attack, ten times worse than any gallbladder attack, It starts under my rib cage and moves to the middle of my back between the shoulder blades. It has been five years and still no diagnosis. The spasms started only after I had eaten, now they come at will weather I have food or not. I live in BC and five specialists have watched an attack happen with a camera down my throat and not one can figure out how to stop it. I really hope that where you live you have better Docs so maybe you can pass on some relief ideas to me. The only thing I can tell you is how I deal with it when it happens. I do take oxycodin for the pain (have also used Demerol and Dilaudid) but I had trouble with nausea and couldn't hold them down eventually. Anyway I sit on the floor in a crouch position, one leg down on the floor other one bent up against my chest, I also use a haeting pad (seems to help relax the muscles) I tell myself to take slow deep breaths (Do not let your breathing get to shallow even though it might hurt more to breathe deeply) Then try to sit that way as still as possible! and wait it out. I have had a little luck with Magnesia Phos )health food store, small pellets that you put under your tounge. I have started taking Magnesium 250mg three times a day, but it has only been four days and have yet to see any difference (but I am not giving up) I really hope that we have two different conditions, I would not wish this pain on anyone. I also hope that you have incredible Gastro Doctors there and you find one that has answers for you. If you do find anything to stop or at least help with your pain, please post it !....BC Mom

Longtimehurtin,
I am in BC as well.. and two weeks after my gb surgery I began having the same thing as you did. Yes.. 10 times worse than the gb pain. I thought I really shouldn't have had it out as I could deal with the gb pain but not this. It usually lasts 10 to 15 min and then goes away as fast as it came on. I actually have not had one in over two months now... had an endoscopy and found there was alot of bile in my stomach and the doctor figured I was having spasms in the gut due to the bile having a continuous flow now. The pain was so bad that I didn't want to move but I had to almost flop around and curl up to try and make it go away. It starts in the front and wraps around the side of my ribs and goes into my back. After it goes away it just aches.. especially in my back and I use a heating pad to relax the muscles. Hopefully they have gone for good. I can't believe you are still having them after 5 years and no one has been able to help you. I was given something to slow bile down but I did not get it filled as they have disappeared. I got my gb removed 6 months ago now and it is finally settling down. Hard to find a good gastroenterologist here isn't it?

Yikes! I am really discouraged now to find out that I am not the only one having the stomach issues after GB surgery. My surgery was a week ago and I really thought all my pains would be gone by now. Silly me. I have been having severe pain on the LEFT side under my rib cage to my back. It doesn't seem to matter if I eat or not. I have had a few crackers today and some sugar free jello. Last night I woke up with horrible right side pain to the middle of my chest. Luckily I have left over pain pills from the surgery to take. I don't see the surgeon until Thursday. If I find out anything I will post a reply.

tedy-Have you had any bad respiratory infections lately? Any chance you could have pleurisy? I understand that it causes sharp stabbing pain right below the ribs on the side of the affected lung. I would assume that would show up on ct scan, but not sure. I just mention it because your symptoms sounded similar to pleurisy. You might check it out on line and see if it fits your situation.....just an idea.

No luck with the surgeon . as expected. He referred me to a gastro doc! :eek: