Hello every one,
I am hoping for some answers or at least suggestions
I am a 27 year old,
I have had side pains for a while now. I have had 3 c-sections,last one was almost 4 years ago, and my tubes tied ( 4 years ago another surgery)
I just had Laparoscopic Exploratory Surgery on sept 27,they were looking for Endometriosis but only found that I have adhesions from my uterus to my bladder,they didn't remove the adhesions. I ended up in the hospital on Oct 18 due to the pains in my right side & diarrhea, they said I was dehydrated and had a infection in my stomach. The DR said he was going to send me for a ultrasound and x-rays to check my kidney,liver,pancreas, and gull bladder.
Now waiting a month, I called them to find out that there was no order put in for me to have that done.I see my specialist GYNO DR who did my surgery on Nov 27th.
I have had this pain in my right side now for months,its always there, but sometimes it gets worse, like a stabbing pain. The past day I have had the same pain but now it is up by my right shoulder blade,sometimes it hurts to touch and sometimes it doesn't.

I should add that no matter what I eat,drink, standing, walking, sitting does not effect the pain,nothing helps it or makes it worse.

Does any one have any suggestions on what is wrong? This pain is making me grumpy,its effecting my life, I can't even drive.Pain meds don't touch the pain. Please help

It sounds a lot like the pain I go through when I have a gall bladder attack. I don't have health insurance to get the surgery done to have mine out, but I've had the problem for about a year now. At first I'd just wake up in the middle of the night with gall bladder attacks but now it's gotten to the point where I have a nearly constant uncomfortably dull ache on my right side. If I ever try and sleep on that side, I wake up in the middle of the night with a gall bladder attack, which is basically just what it's called when the pain spreads the way you've described. It seems to be different over time for me. At first the pains felt like a stitch in my ribs, and spread from my right ribcage to my left one, then to my back. Now, the stitch is in my back and the pain spreads up into my shoulder blades (but not up onto the shoulders) when I have an attack. Apparently your gall bladder tugs on the muscles in your torso and back, causing this pain. Many people describe it as feeling like they're having a heart attack but with pain on the wrong side, and I have had the pain get so bad that I've been curled up crying for 3 hours or so waiting for the pain to stop.

The ONLY thing medicine-wise that ever helps me is ibuprofen. This was recommended to me by a doctor. I have to take it in large quantities to get it to even touch the pain. Two little pills ain't going to do crap =P. I start with 3 ibuprofens when I feel the pain begin to flare. Even if I feel nauseated because of the pain, I Always eat something with the first 3 pills, usually a fruit & nut granola bar. The doctor said that helps it get into the bloodstream much more quickly, which I've found to be very true -- it could take hours for the ibuprofen to kick in prior to him telling me that trick. Typically only takes one at the very most now, usually 30 minutes. If after an hour I'm not feeling completely fine, or if the pain starts spreading rapidly after 30 minutes, I take another ibuprofen. During this, it helps if I prop myself up and lay back a bit. Sitting up results in the tendency to slouch, making the pain worse, and lying down makes it infinitely worse. I generally lie down on the couch and put a few pillows behind my back so that I'm in "sitting up in bed" position.

Greasy and fatty foods set off gall bladder attacks in most people. Many of those waiting for gall bladder removal say that they never eat anything greasy or fatty. Foods high in fiber also have the tendency to cause attacks. I've seen a lot of people suggest a special concoction (usually including some sort of oil -- olive oil, canola oil, sesame oil, etc.) Here's an example of one:

Regimen:

*For the first five days, take four glasses of apple juice every day. Or eat four or five apples, whichever you prefer. Apple juice softens the gallstones. During the five days, eat normally.

*On the sixth day, take no dinner. At 6 pm, take a teaspoon of Epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) with a glass of warm water.

* At 8 pm, repeat the same. Magnesium sulphate opens the gallbladder ducts.

* At 10 pm, take half-cup olive oil (or sesame oil) with half cup fresh lemon juice. Mix it well and drink it. The oil lubricates the stones to ease their passage.

The next morning, you will find green stones in your stools. Usually these float, You might want to count them. I have had people who pass 40, 50 or up to 100 stones. That s a lot.. "Even if you don't have any symptoms of gallstones, you still might have some. It's always good to give your gall bladder a clean up now and then.

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I've actually never tried any of this because fatty foods don't set my attacks off unless I eat a LOT of fatty foods. But most people describe that doing something like this works and that when they finally do pass the gallstones out naturally, they feel much better and are less prone to attacks.

Of course, it may not be your gall bladder at all that's the problem ;). Good luck getting it diagnosed by a doctor. Just remember that there aren't very many tests that can correctly diagnose a gall bladder problem; generally they fix everything else first and if it's still troubling you, you get your gall bladder removed. I recommend laparoscopic removal, which is an outpatient procedure in most places that will have you back to a desk job within 3 days. Don't do the traditional method where they slice open your whole side =/. Laparoscopic only requires two or three inch-long-ish incisions, one on your side and one above your belly button. Much quicker healing.

Oh and also -- I have had to switch from sleeping curled up on my sides to sleeping on my back, or slightly slouched to one side but mostly still on my back. It has helped immensely in stopping attacks during the night.