Has anybody had sharp pain in the pit of your stomach? Tonight my pain is really bad and it mostly felt like it was my breastbone but now it feels more like in my upper stomach. I've had recent sharp stabbing pain in my upper abdomen and to my right side. A few people told me it sounds like gall bladder problems, a peptic ulcer or pancreatitis. I'm scared--I don't want to go to the doctor because 1) if it's nothing, it's a waste of my money, and 2) if it's something, I'm afraid of what it might be! I'm afraid of surgery, but at this point I think I need to have it checked out because the pain is horrible. I was hoping after I had it a couple weeks ago, it would never come back. I've had other sharp stomach pain when I took NSaids and Ibuprofen. I did take one Ibuprofen before bed about 6 hours ago for back pain, but my breastbone was already hurting before I took it.
I think I'll call my doctor in the morning. Ugh. It hurts.
It's clear you have decided that you need to get checked out & of course that's what you have to do. I hear what you say about the cost but, as you know already, PsA can lead to other stuff so there's always going to be that bit more checking out to do.
I'm not looking for reasons to keep you away from your doctor, just hoping to help you feel a little less afraid ..... there are a lot of things that can be sooo painful that are not serious. Like a 'stitch' for example, though I bet you call that something else in the States & you'll wonder what on earth I'm on about! Anyway, that's pretty harmless. And any kind of indigestion can feel pretty evil too. I certainly get quite a few sensations which temporarily convince me that I'm in jeopardy, but so far, so good! And here I go again .... using the 'S' word .... stress. It hurts. It can hurt physically, mentally & in all sorts of ways.
But you & I aren't qualified to differentiate between harmless and less harmless so I hope you get some good answers from your doc tomorrow.
Haha, Sybil--nope, I have no clue what a "stitch" is (other than something involving a needle and thread!).
I wrote that discussion at about 4:30 a.m. and by 6 a.m. the pain was almost entirely gone.
It is annoying having to take up time and money with a doctor visit, and last time it happened I said if it happens again I'll go to the doctor. I put off going for my PsA, too. I always hold out to see if things go away for good! My earache, which was most likely an ear infection, went away after about 3 weeks without going to the doctor. It seems like most things resolve themselves without a doctor's intervention. And if it is the big 'S', then I don't want to waste my time at the clinic and being told it's 'S'. Most of the time when the diagnosis is S, later on after the problem persists, they come up with the correct diagnosis--which is frustrating as hell because they don't check it out thoroughly enough in the first place! Although, I have to say, my internist is very quick to run tests.
My nurse daughter told me there are blood tests to check for gall bladder and pancreatitis attacks, but IDK if the attack has to be in progress or not. If it's gas or indigestion, I really don't want to take meds again for that--but I guess if it would prevent that horrible pain, it'd be worth it.
Excuse my ignorance, but do you actually have to pay out for a consultation with your primary doctor rather than it being covered by your insurance?
Grandma J said:
Haha, Sybil--nope, I have no clue what a "stitch" is (other than something involving a needle and thread!).
I wrote that discussion at about 4:30 a.m. and by 6 a.m. the pain was almost entirely gone.
It is annoying having to take up time and money with a doctor visit, and last time it happened I said if it happens again I'll go to the doctor. I put off going for my PsA, too. I always hold out to see if things go away for good! My earache, which was most likely an ear infection, went away after about 3 weeks without going to the doctor. It seems like most things resolve themselves without a doctor's intervention. And if it is the big 'S', then I don't want to waste my time at the clinic and being told it's 'S'. Most of the time when the diagnosis is S, later on after the problem persists, they come up with the correct diagnosis--which is frustrating as hell because they don't check it out thoroughly enough in the first place! Although, I have to say, my internist is very quick to run tests.
My nurse daughter told me there are blood tests to check for gall bladder and pancreatitis attacks, but IDK if the attack has to be in progress or not. If it's gas or indigestion, I really don't want to take meds again for that--but I guess if it would prevent that horrible pain, it'd be worth it.
In central MN we call what you call a stitch a sideache and it comes from exercising, running, etc. I haven't had one of those since I was a kid, but I remember getting them when I ran. Nope, this doesn't feel like that.
I talked with my doctor's nurse and she's going to bring it up to the doctor. I told her I'd rather wait and see if it keeps happening before I start having tests. She said it sounds like how people describe gall bladder attacks, and both days I got it I had eaten a lot of fatty foods.
As far as our copays, every insurance provider is different. I pay $182.00 a month for my health insurance (through my paycheck) and I have a deductible on mine and a copay. My last doctor bill (I went in for the lightheadedness) was $178.00 and I have to pay $165.00 of it. I think my deductible is around $500.00. My out-of-pocket maximum is probably $2,000 or $3,000. After my deductible is met, I'll only have to pay 20% of most of my medical charges, up to the out-of-pocket maximum. I have a very small income (I work half-time) and my husband retired last year and receives a pension and social security, which is considerably less than what he was making when he worked. So, we are tightening up our belts because we can't afford to go in debt in our old age!
Oh my, I sounded so nosey! It's just one of those things that foxes us brits so I thought I should get up to speed! I'm in the same boat when it comes to going to the dentist, the bill hurts a lot more than the procedures. Thanks for explaining Grandma J.
I mentioned stitch / sideache 'cos these days I manage to get one without athletic endeavour & it is related to feeling extremely tense for me anyway. Something to do with shallow breathing I reckon & it can come & go for hours. Well, that's what I think it is! Sometimes it seems to me that I follow you around in terms of symptoms & PsA wobbles .... you post & I think "I've got that!" As it happens I'm booked in for an ultrasound on my pelvis due to persistent pain in that area too. The pain's gone now & I blame S but I'm going anyway seeing as ovarian problems can be difficult to pick up. I'm gearing up for a big cringe when they tell me it's all clear though that will obviously be good to hear.
So glad to hear you've had some advice from the nurse. Hope the pain does just go but it's good you've started checking it out.
Grandma J said:
In central MN we call what you call a stitch a sideache and it comes from exercising, running, etc. I haven't had one of those since I was a kid, but I remember getting them when I ran. Nope, this doesn't feel like that.
I talked with my doctor's nurse and she's going to bring it up to the doctor. I told her I'd rather wait and see if it keeps happening before I start having tests. She said it sounds like how people describe gall bladder attacks, and both days I got it I had eaten a lot of fatty foods.
As far as our copays, every insurance provider is different. I pay $182.00 a month for my health insurance (through my paycheck) and I have a deductible on mine and a copay. My last doctor bill (I went in for the lightheadedness) was $178.00 and I have to pay $165.00 of it. I think my deductible is around $500.00. My out-of-pocket maximum is probably $2,000 or $3,000. After my deductible is met, I'll only have to pay 20% of most of my medical charges, up to the out-of-pocket maximum. I have a very small income (I work half-time) and my husband retired last year and receives a pension and social security, which is considerably less than what he was making when he worked. So, we are tightening up our belts because we can't afford to go in debt in our old age!
I guess you hate appointments as much as I do! I even hate hair appointments--that's why I cut and color mine myself!
There are so many ailments we all get that come and go, I think! People who don't have autoimmune disease, or any disease for that matter, have no idea. They're so lucky! But, oh well...most of mine are minor.
Sorry about your pelvic pain. I hope it turns out negative, or whatever it is isn't serious. Anything down there can be unnerving because the worry about cancer always looms. I get some really bad pain in my bladder sometimes, but it goes away and I haven't had any bleeding so I don't worry about that. I used to have a lot of rectal bleeding, but was too embarrassed to tell my doctor. I haven't had any of that for years. I had a colonoscopy at 53 and I'm due for one next year, but it's NOT gonna happen. My mom's 91 and has never had one, and so far no cancer. I don't get mammograms, either.
Anywho, about the insurance--you weren't nosey--I'm an open book. I thought you'd like knowing how it works for some of us here in America, although there are so many different insurance options. I don't think many of them are so great anymore. The insurance companies, drug companies and hospitals need to make their profits, you know! So guess who pays!
I forgot to mention, I ended up going to the doctor for the stomach pain. I had an ultrasound of my gall bladder, liver, pancreas, stomach and right kidney. I have no gall stones or masses anywhere, except I have several kidney stones. The radiologist or whoever read the report didn't mention exactly how many or how big they were. I had passed a 3mm kidney stone several years ago. I guess you can't pass them through the ureter if they're over 4mm. That bugger scratched and tore something because there was a lot of blood and quite a bit of pain. One year after that I had a follow-up ultrasound and it showed 11 small kidney stones in my right kidney. The second year, those kidney stones had all disappeared. I must have passed them without knowing. Now I have them again! I just hope they don't get big and try to pass because that is very uncomfortable.
I was relieved there were no gall stones or tumors. Oh yeah, he did say I had some fatty deposits in my liver. But, there again, no details....I read that it's not uncommon to have a small amount of fat in the liver (5 - 10%) but I wish he would've been specific about how much fat there was!
I haven't had any severe stomach pain in over 7 weeks, so hopefully whatever that was is not gonna happen too often!