what is wrong with me? - Liver & Pancreas Disorders Message Board

nicknamefij · 01-17-2006, 08:47 PM

To start, i am a 21 year old MAle. 170 and 5'10 so im not overweight, overall rather healthy. I'm waiting for a Ultra Sound to come back, but I am going crazy trying to figure out what is wrong. About 3 months ago I started getting piercing (like someone pinching or pull hair) spots in my outer chest for about 2 weeks. after there, I started to notice stomach pain in the middle of my stomach, pretty much right below the bone that connects the lungs together. (make sense?) anyways, the pain shifts from not really a pain, but more of a discomfort, almost like sore muslces or tighten muslces, from the middle of my uppder abdomenal, to the edge of my ribcage, changing from left, to right, always random. Doesnt seem to be affected when I eat, and I've tried chagning my diet and saw no results. I went to the doctor twice, the first time he told me it was stress, and the second time he told me it was stress but to take a blood test. So i took the blood test and was told i had a large stomach enzyme count (never got to ask which enzyme). So I was sent to an ultrasound, where i noticed the paper said to check the liver and gallbladder. it also said LFT - (something scribble that started with a C I'm pretty sure ). so now I have started to get random headaches, that sometimes last all day, and sometimes last 10 minutes. the headaches range from temple, to the very front of my forehead, kinda like a burning sensation. on top of that, i've noticed i CANNOT STOP BURPING. non stop all day. I've even noticed that sometimes when i burp, i burp up food. in fact most of the time thats the case. i've noticed an increase in pulse sometimes, and a tightness in the chest. nothing extremely painful tho, just discomorftable. also noticed that i always feel like my throat is blocked. i function fine, and it doesnt hurt me enough to not do things. I find when i keep my mind busy it obviosuly doesnt occur as much, but i can still feel the discomfort. I've also began to empty my stool very often now. not diareha, but 3 times a days, sometimes 4. its solid but organgey in color. (thats always fun to describe)

here are some of my habits:

smoker (3 years - 1 pack/3-4days)
8-12 hour sitting periods for work
drinking ( 3/7 days of the week, never exceeding more than 9 drinks. im a cheap drunk, so i dont drink a lot)
i do smoke marijana 3/week, not much
i eat fairly well, lots of chicken, a decent amount of vegies , beef. order out maybe 3-5 meals of the week.

if i missed anything please let me know. i should have my results by thursday, and i will let u all know. i also would like to say that i can't physically feel any lumps or bumps. it does however feel good sometimes to rub near the middle of the stomach. after some rubbing, u can hear the stomach making adigestive nosies, and definitley reliefs the belching.

i found this in another form and it explains the pain very well

Quote:

"Hello ,
I can see that sometimes it is difficult to express the condition / sensation clearly . I saw the following from another thread :"the pain feels like a strange sort of pressure from the inside - like something is trying to push its way out of my abdomen because there is not enough space for everything to fit " , OR "not in any particular pain, it's more of a troubling -pressure on the inside- sensation" from another member 's reply , AND another "basically internal 'crowding ' pressure sensation 3-4 ribs up from the lowest rib. Maybe an inch below the heart, and on both sides. Almost want to believe that it's due to bad posture but I dunno ....."

nicknamefij · 01-17-2006, 08:54 PM

i would like to add that sometimes when the stomach pains occure i almost have a panic attack. i get a weird feeling in my stomach that makes me pain, but feel no real pain.

nicknamefij · 01-17-2006, 09:12 PM

one more thing i'd like to add is the fact that maybe 3-5 times in the past 3 months i've had the chills when i get the panic attack or anxiety from the weird feeling in my stomach. i get so cold and no matter how warm i try to get i cant get rid of the cold feeling. after some time it will stop (say 30-45 minutes)

happyelf · 01-18-2006, 10:17 AM

Hi Nicknamefij--it almost sounds like this is gastrointestinal. It's good the U/S is checking the gallbladder--it sounds to me like that's involved. It's usually standard for them to run LFT (liver function) on blood work and also the liver itself when doing an U/S--I think they're covering all the bases. I thought I was having a heartattack...it was a gallbladder packed with stones. I must have had symptoms for abt 3 yrs ahead of time but didn't put it all together. By that time I felt like I literally had a bag of rocks in my side that moved every time I ate anything!! Gallstones will elevate your liver enzymes as will any meds, alcohol (and weed) you take. Do you take any meds on a reg basis/daily? Do you take any meds when you get the headaches? I know this is scary-but hopefully you'll have some answers tomorrow. Hang in there and let us know how you're doing!! H/elf

nicknamefij · 01-18-2006, 10:51 AM

thanks for the information! it's greatly appriciated. since the first intial pains, and speaking to a doctor, the anxiety for this has decreased immensly, i guess my brain was just over working the different possibilities. i too thought i was having heart problems. the pain is never severe, most of the soreness being the edge of the ribcage, just feeling very tender.

I would imagine that if i had a bad case of gallstones it would hurt a lot more, correct? because im not in a lot of pain it makes me a little more confident that i can clear the problem through liver/gallbladder cleansing. have you ever tried this? did you get your gallbladder removed?

I have noticed that when i do physical activity such as jogging or walking, the discomfort is lessened. I am also concerned that it may have to do with sitting all day and putting pressure on my inner workings. the pain started around the same time i started the office job, go figure. i don't eat poorly, but could eat better, but as i said, food doesnt seem to effect it.

what would explain all the burping, and sometimes regurgitating some food. im never vomitting or feel like vomitting ( unless im grossed out by the food and the taste that is regurgitated, which i would imagine is normal. horrible taste when food comes back out). I will post tomorrow when they give me results. I will also ask which enzyme was increased.

any tips from anyone experiencing this discomfort would be great.

on another note, i take no other medications, have no allergies that i know of, and if a headache arises i usually tough it out and avoid taking any pain killers. like i said, its not enough pain to make me in agony, its just very annoying. i have noticed that i can feel my pulse in the area, but then again its an area that is realtivley close to the heart. it's been so hard to find people with what i am experiencing. when i first got this discomfort i looked up my symptoms and all i kept reading was "you have cancer! your going to die" which is why i probably started getting the anxiety attacks.

thank u so much