Anyone else feel like this?
I had my gallbladder removed in September 2003 and have had nothing but pain ever since. I was readmitted to hospital within a couple of months of the operation because of the pain. I was told after the second surgery that I had arthritis in my lower right rib. It sounds crazy now.
Over the years I have been back and forth to various doctors, etc. I've had blood work, the most recent being last November, ultrasounds, a CT scan in 2016, and two weeks ago the h pylori test, yet nothing ever shows, which is good, yet doesn't explain the pain.
The pains I have are upper right quadrant mostly, very tender to touch. It sometimes feels like someone digging about just under my ribs. It sometimes radiates around my ribs to the back. A newish pain has started which feels like a pulled muscle that comes on suddenly on the right upper quadrant while just sitting, lasts a few minutes and is tender to touch, then goes. I also get pain in the centre and more recently, on the left side, mirroring the pain from the right, like it goes right across under my ribs. On the left the pain sometimes feels a bit like a 'pinching' and ribs feel tender to touch, but when pain subsides my ribs stop hurting, but not so the right side. Sometimes if feels like something is just under the ribs, particularly on the left. I also get 'windy' pains in my chest and burp alot and a occasionally a pain a little like cramp in my left breast, which I guess may be due to the gastritis.
My doctor has recently put me on ppi, which help a little with acid reflux, but the pains are just the same. I occasionally take paracetamol too. She said she thinks that as well as IBS, which I've had for years, that I have gastritis. Another doctor that I spoke to just on Wednesday, said it could possibly be a bit of nerve damage from the original operation. Back in November I suggested that perhaps it could be pcs, but he completely dismissed the idea, saying that my operation was too long ago for it to be that.
Has anyone else had similar symptoms? I'm going to take a look at the FODMAP diet as I believe this may help. Please tell me I'm not going crazy.
I am 58 years old and live in the UK. Gallbladder removed when I was 41.
Many thanks for reading my post and sorry it's so long.