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Need answers- severe right side pain

I am a 29 yr old female.  I started experiencing right side pain that goes from my lower rip down to right above my hip and stretches around my back right side 4 days ago.  The pain was very severe... sharp and constant.  I went to the ER twice where they performed a CT and ultrasound.  They reported I have a kidney stone, but is not the cause of the problem.  I had my gullbladder removed 5 months ago and they said the stone hasn't shifted since the CT then.  They also found a cyst on my ovary, but they don't think that is the problem either.  The ultrasound didn't show anything they reported to me.  All my blood and urine tests came back "near perfect".  I left with no answers.  I returned to the ER the following day since the pain did not let up at all.  They gave me a "GI cocktail" that intially caused exruciating pain in my stomach and abdomin for several minutes.  When the pain calmed in my stomach, I had relief for a short 10 minutes from my original pain before it returned.  They told my I had an unknown GI problem, but they didn't know what it was.  Frustrated, I let them discharge me but was in tears from pain before reaching my car.  The following day I called the check up doctor from my last ER visit and went to see him that morning.  He ordered an xray of my right rib cage and prescribed me Meloxicam 15 mg.  The Meloxicam has helped some... meaning I am able to get up and walk around with constant dull to medium pain in the same place, and sharp pain returns regularly but not constantly.  The xray results showed up nothing abnormal.  I am a very active person and since 4 days ago can hardly get out of bed without terrible pain.  Does anyone have ideas of what could be going on?
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Avatar universal
Its not as simple as just the rib being dislocated.  Its called floating rib syndrome or tietzes syndrome.  My lower right ribs are not being held in place due to ligaments weakening (most likely because of the gullbladder surgery and my active lifestyle).  Even even the adjust the rib back it will not hold in place.  Ive started PT to repair the ligaments.
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Avatar universal
Thank goodness they found out what was going on. I would think a Chiropractor would be able to put your rib back in place. My Mom had this very same thing happen.  She saw her primary first and was diagnosed with a dislocated rib so she headed straight to her Chiropractor as soon as she left her Drs office. This is about the only way that I know of to get it back in to place. You should use ice and heat before and after because it's going to be sore for a little while, even after you get an adjustment.
Keep us up to date on how you're doing. Ask your Dr to refer you to a good Chiropractor.
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Avatar universal
Last friday, they finally figured out the cause of the pain... Tietzes syndrome.  My right right rib is dislocated which is putting pressure on nerves and causing inflamation around the ribs and spine.  No real relief from pain yet.  The pain medication is making it tolerable and my first appointment with the physical therapist gave me some comfort and hope
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Avatar universal
The doctors did not think the ovarian cyst was the cause of the pain and haven't even suggested removing it.  They prescribed me Meloxicam and told me to take extra strength tylenol with it... it has helped some but still in extreme amounts of pain.  Sitting and laying down do not give me relief... if I can keep adjusting and find a position the pain will to go down then I can stay in the same position for 5 to 10 minutes and tolerate the pain.  Heat and cold have no effects.  I tried a heating pad the first night it started and had no relief at all.  They also gave me muscle relaxant in the hospital but didn't help at all.  They do not want me to take anything but tylenol over the counter because they don't want to rritate my GI if that turns out to be the reason for the pain.  I am waiting to get into a GI specialist next week.  Thank you for helping me with this.
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1 Comments
Charmane0613,

I'm so very sorry to hear about your situation and the pain you are experiencing. Doesn't sound like a kidney stone problem but rather something else going on. Please follow up with your GI doctor and let us know.  This seems to be out of the realm of my experience.
Avatar universal
The ovarian cyst could be causing your pain. Has your Dr talked about removing it?
Is there anything that gives you relief, like sitting, laying down, heat, cold? I'm asking because it could be a muscle strain. At this point you can't rule anything out.
Has your GI Dr talked about doing a scope? If they can find nothing else it might be a good idea to have one done. You may have to have several tests before they find out what's going on.
In the mean time, there's no reason for you to be in this much pain. Have you tried any over the counter pain meds, and if so do they help? If not it might be a good idea to talk to your Dr about a low dose prescription med to take when the pain is unbearable and until they can find out what's going on.
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