I'm beginning to wonder if I'm having a problem with my appendix.
This is the second night in a week that I haven't been able to sleep because of pain in my abdomen. I've read about spastic appendices that cause pain and discomfort on a discontinuous basis, and now I'm wondering if it's happening to me.
I don't have a fever that I know of. I do have a headache that I've had for days. The pain is in about the right place. It's lasted for a few hours thus far. It's kind of like a burning pain.
It's not gallbladder - that was removed four years ago. Plus I have a fairly high fibre diet.
What else can it be? Ovulation?
Posted by Allegra (Member # 6773) on :
It could still be a gallstone. Gallstones can form even after the gallbladder is gone.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Is an ovarian cyst a possibility here?
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
As a general rule, appendicitis is a slow gradual progression to unbearable, never getting better. (There are exceptions, but that is the general rule.)
Ovulation is a possibility, as is constipation -- even with a high fiber diet, and especially if you've been at all dehydrated. Early "stomach flu." Gas. Small intestine ulcer. Abdominal migraine. (Any history of migraines in you or your family?) [And ovarian cyst, as well as intermittant ovarian torsion.]
First of all, try jumping up and down to jiggle the peritoneum and check for peritonitis. If you end up doubled on the floor, it'd be a good idea to see someone right away.
[ December 29, 2004, 03:52 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
quid, could it be stress? You are in a high stress environment at the moment. Stress has done far stranger things to digestive systems. Did the first pain occur before or after the tsunami?
*hugs*
AJ
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
I have the history of all histories of migraines. So yes, that would be a yes. I started getting them when I was four or five. I now get them only a couple of times a year. But how is it possible to have an abdominal migraine?
Ovarian cyst would be possible, as would ovulation - it's the right time for that. Um, assuming I have a right time for that - I don't ovulate regularly and I have irregular hormone levels.
Jumping up and down did nothing except . . . well, I was about to make a bad joke concerning large breasts. Let's leave it at that.
Dehydration is possible. I haven't been drinking as much lately. I tend to do that when I'm feeling stressed. I'll make sure to drink much more water.
As for exceptions - well, I tend to be the exception in a lot of cases, so that wouldn't be a surprise for me. My body is not normal, never has been.
Thanks, Sara. It's not that bad - certainly not at pain killer stage. I'll keep an eye on things.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Good.
Migraine has a lot of variants. All the identified neurotransmitters in your brain are also found in the GI tract, but in larger quantities. I think that's why so many psych meds have gastrointestinal side effects (nausea, constipation, diarrhea).
If anything is really inflamed, it should inflame the surrounding peritoneum, and the jumping up and down -- which simulates a heel tap -- ought to become unbearable in that case. Of course, pain that concerns you for any significant length of time, especially if it is unremitting for more than 15 minutes, is worth considering seeing a professional about.
Start with increasing your fluids (for constipation). Try lying on your right side with your knees drawn up to your chest, preferably with a warm item on your belly (for gas). Try milk or other dairy products next (for ulcer). You can also try ibuprofen (for Mittelschmerz) if you can tolerate it.
Check in every now and then until you're better, okay?
And read something interesting or do something else to keep your mind off it.
[ December 29, 2004, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I think mackillian knows quite a bit about abdominal migraines. She's done research on it. Basically (from what I remember, everyone else correct me if I screw up) there are *lots* of seretonin receptors in the abdomen. You wouldn't necessarily expect it but they are there. And lack of that can mess things up and cause abdominal pain.
AJ
(yeah Sara said it better of course!)
[ December 29, 2004, 04:11 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
AJ is absolutely correct -- mack is our resident expert on abdominal migraines.
She's totally down with the gut as "the second brain."
(AJ )
[ December 29, 2004, 04:13 PM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
This is . . . bizzarly interesting. It explains why my migraines caused so many problems with nausea and vomiting.
And now I've got a whole lot of other questions going on inside my brain.
Seretonin receptors in the abdomen? So is this also related to depression?
Oh, I can't drink milk - allergic. I don't have a history of ulcers, but then, they're viral, aren't they?
The pain itself is gone. Now it's more like a warm feeling. It was a little hot, but it cooled down to merely warm.
Thanks, all. Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
Well, sounds good.
quote: I don't have a history of ulcers, but then, they're viral, aren't they?
Nope. Most are secondary to a bacterial infection, Heliobacter pylori. There is probably some natural propensity that plays a role, too, because many asymptomatic people will test positive for colonization.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Bacterial. Ooops. Well, I was sorta close.
I have a cousin - PhD in, uh, oh, sheesh, something to do with all that. She researched the Heliobacter pylori. And all this is just making me sounds stupider than a bag o' hammers. I think I'll stop now. Anyway, I've never had an ulcer before, so I kinda doubt I'll get one now. And I have a HUGE history of stress, but it's become gradually less stressful over time. For the most part.
Now I'm just rambling. I think I'll go do something else now.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Quidscribis, I think you should go to a doctor. And that got me scared. CAN you go? What is the medical situation for you there?
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
I'd also worry more if the pain was waking you from sleep as opposed to preventing you from sleeping. Believe it or not, there is a prognostic difference.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Oh, sorry. It didn't wake me. I was already having insomnia, as I frequently do. If I was asleep, I probably wouldn't have noticed it - it's too slight.
It's the middle of the night, and there's no way I'm going out in the middle of the night here for something that's already better. Pain gone, heat gone. All calmed down.
If it did hurt like a bugger, I'd go. Assuming I could find transportation - that's the real problem. Um, but I have no idea what it's like for medical care right now.
There are government hospitals and clinics - free, understaffed, underequipped, and avoided if at all possible. And there are private. I would only do private. And from what I can tell, I would go to the hospital for anything requiring an MD. It's called a hospital, but it seems to be also standard medical offices with appointments to see regular doctors or specialists or that sort of thing. But I have no idea if they're pulled into helping in the crisis, which I certainly hope they are. So unless it's an emergency, I doubt I'll do anything about anything for a while.
Speaking of which, I need to go in for my pap smear soon. I'm already overdue by a half year. Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
95% of your serotonin receptors are in your intestines. It controls all sorts of fun stuff including pain and bowel movements. Abdominal migraines occur with a decrease in serotonin and are generally treated using serotonin increasing medications. Lower doses of the medications can be used for abdominal migraine treatment because of the high concentration of receptors in the gut.
I also have abdominal migraines. I take 10mg of celexa (an SSRI) a day and have no problems.
A week off the SSRI though, and I end up in a lot of debilitating pain. They didn't figure out this solution until they tested me for just about every abdominal malady that exists...and those tests ARE NOT PLEASANT. What's weird is that the pain types could occur so that it would mask as some other type of illness--bladder infection, ulcer, gallbladder, even appendicitis. At one point, the ER doc called a surgical consult because they thought I had appendicitis, except the blood tests said my white count was fine.
A look at my medication record, realizing I wasn't on an SSRI again, restarting an SSRI and after a week, I'm fine.
So the relation between psych meds to GI side effects is fairly correlational. It's stuff I can't wait to research. Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Thanks for the info, Mack, I'll read up on it.
Question. The medications used to treat this - are we talking the standard Prozac/Paxil/Zoloft type of thing? Or something altogether different?
The things I learn at Hatrack . . . Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
There's the standard SSRI (I'm a huge fan of Lexapro because of its low dosage and low side effect profile). There's also Lotronex and Zelnorm, more targeted serotonin receptor blocking medications intended for use with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
The reason I take an SSRI over an IBS medication is that the only symptom of IBS that I have is pain, which leads to a diagnosis of abdominal migraine, rather than IBS.
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Anyway, I've never had an ulcer before, so I kinda doubt I'll get one now. And I have a HUGE history of stress, but it's become gradually less stressful over time. For the most part.![[Frown]](frown.gif)