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intestinal problem?
I have stabbing pains in my intestine emanating from lower right abdomen. the pain is severe and makes me cry. I have no fever. the pain seems associated with peristaltic movement. When i take a ibuprofen along with an anti-spasmotic drug I have only discomfort. When the effects of medication wear off the stabbing pains return and have loose bowel movements and double over with pain it is so intense. the pain radiates down to my right knee area as well to left of my abdomen. I have been this way 2 weeks and have a tremendous fear of doctors therefore I have withstood all this. I don't think it is appendicitis I would already have died. Also after 5 years of not menustrating I again have a period. Bloating of my belly resembles a 7-8 mos pregnancy. I am not pregnant as I had a tubal ligation 25 years ago. I am vegetarian for 30 years and eat only some fish occassionaly. I eat veggies, tofu etc. I don't smoke, drink wine on special occasions, but none of that now. I can barely eat and have no appetite.
give me a head's up...i prefer not to go to hospital unless i pass out. I take no medications for any conditions. The ibuprofen + antispasmodic is over the counter. what can be wrong with me? i have no one to help me or to call.....am an only child, parents and any family are long dead.
give me a head's up...i prefer not to go to hospital unless i pass out. I take no medications for any conditions. The ibuprofen + antispasmodic is over the counter. what can be wrong with me? i have no one to help me or to call.....am an only child, parents and any family are long dead.
Glad I was able to pinpoint the problem and help you, but sorry you wound up in the ER. I'm glad you are taking steps to prevent wierd stuff happening again. Your family doc will know what to do about the appendix. Drink some Acidophilus milk from groc store with oat cereal in the mornings, the probiotics in them help restore normal flora to intestines that have been cleaned out by a bunch of antibiotics, might help settle things down in your guts a little more.
Thank you so very much for your reply. I ended up in the ER. It was intestinal bacteria. I spent 4 nights in the hospital receiving 2 different antibiotics intravenously round the clock. After being "released" I continued with antibiotics pills for an additional 6 days. My appendix was not removed. I still have some bloating and discomfort, but the blood test for leukocytes is now within the normal range. My C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is still abnormally high at 16mg/l, but that is a decline from 31.5mg/l. The gastroenterologist who was called into the ER to treat me did certainly save my life. I am, however, of looking for a second opinion from another gastroenterologist regarding my appendix. As I mentioned: I still feel some discomfort and still am a little bloated. I want to be sure my appendix does not need to be removed. Or considering that my intestinal bacterial infection was severe might it simply be that it will take more time to feel "good" again?
As you called it, my menstrual cycle starting back up again was related to all the bloating/pushing. It has since desisted.
All your suggestions about finding a "family doctor" I am doing. Thank you. I realize now I need a "plan" in case of a health emergency. I also realize now, that when a person is as ill as I was, that person does not think clearly. I was too emotional and not assessing accurately the real health situation I was in.
Thank you again, ggreg.
I hope someone can read this discussion and that it helps them, too.
As you called it, my menstrual cycle starting back up again was related to all the bloating/pushing. It has since desisted.
All your suggestions about finding a "family doctor" I am doing. Thank you. I realize now I need a "plan" in case of a health emergency. I also realize now, that when a person is as ill as I was, that person does not think clearly. I was too emotional and not assessing accurately the real health situation I was in.
Thank you again, ggreg.
I hope someone can read this discussion and that it helps them, too.
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So, what to do? I'll give you a few very easy ways to deal with the situation, taking into consideration your fear of doctors, especially since you don't have a regular one to go to. In the city I live in, we not only have a hospital ER, but we also have these satellite "Urgent Care" centers, which are like ERs, you are treated like an ER patient, but it's smaller and quicker. Being treated as an ER patient is MUCH less threatening than going into a doctor office and being seen. Another idea is to go to your county's health care department, the atmosphere is casual and less stressful, and you can usually be seen the same day by a physician. The third thing is to get in ASAP to see a female doctor at a woman's health center, request a female to lessen the stress of exams and such, and tell the female doc your gastro symptoms and add on the bit about your menstrual cycle. Those female docs are perfectly capable of recognizing a bowel problem, just like a female problem, and that doc can decide what's going on. Lastly, you could ask some people you are acquainted with who their doc is, and even ask them to come with you to them, to get seen that way.
Now, I know you don't want to go. But let's say you DO have one of the problems I am telling you. If it's simply a bacteria in your gut, you are going to CONTINUE to have all these digestive issues forever, unless you can get some medicine in you that kills the particular kind you may have. If it's a growth and it's so bad that it's causing your menstrual cycle to ramp up, obviously this is a very bad sign and MUST be diagnosed and fixed right away. And what I think you have, appendicitis, while you say you should be dead by now, you are not, but you COULD be in, say, another week's time! A burst appendix will put you in an ambulance and you'll have to go to the hospital anyway.
Please, do one of the choices I have suggested. Now, if fear is truly overwhelming, and if you drink alcohol, a couple shots will get you out the door and into an ER complex or some other doc. Or if you work, or know people in your church, OR you can just walk right into a church office and ask for help, then just having someone with you will make it ten times easier to go in and be seen somewhere. I might suggest for the future, that you begin to look for a general family doctor, perhaps a female, and internal medicine docs can function as family docs and they are just SO good at diagnosing things, or you can keep returning to a county health clinic after you've gone this time. That way, if something unusual comes up again like this, you will have a predictable place to go, making it MUCH easier to visit with a doc. You really need to have your history and records somewhere, and a doc who halfway knows you, plus in cases like this you gotta have somewhere to go besides just winging it.