I spent the majority of the evening in the ER last night after developing an immobilizing pain in my upper right abdomen over the previous 24 hours. Just getting up or sitting down was taking me minutes to accomplish. Any movement is greeted with extremely sharp pain. So I go to the ER. They take blood and urine samples, and take an x ray. Results are negative, so they have me prep for a CT scan. The results show me having an inflamed liver. But they offer no potential causes. They prescribe 2 different anti-biotics and a pain med. This is a bit confusing, because the blood tests didn't show any signs of infection. I'm going to take the medicine; but I'm afraid that it won't be doing anything and my problem will remain. Or the problem could subside, and resurface later without ever knowing the cause or proper treatment. I'm taking this very serious because I only have one liver. The timing of this couldn't be worse, as I'm supposed to be flying to Africa next week for my sisters wedding. If any of you have had any similar experience, please let me know. This totally blindsided me, and I don't know what to think.
Hope you get better and they figure it out ASAP. I don't know anything medical, but I'd suggest maybe posting on medical forums if they have those, and checking out WebMD
Jesus Bro, wish I could help you out, the only thing I know about the liver is that it tastes nasty and mine is yellow. Good luck to you!
ah man. wishing you all the best. i know if you're not in the ER and can make your sister's wedding you'll go.. but don't let it stress you out too much if you can't.. which i know is probably damn near impossible. it's a health related issue and you're taking it as serious as you can. she'll understand.
Wow...hope you get better. Drink lots of purified water and take a couple tablespoons of cider vinegar a day to help your body flush toxins; the liver is the body's primary filter. I hope you get this figured out before you travel; Africa is not the place I'd want to be if my system was compromised in some way.
Sorry to hear that Gish. I hope you get better soon. Sounds like you were/are in a lot of pain. I'll be praying for a speedy recovery. ps. My liver is most likely close to shot, so you aren't alone. haha
Get well soon and keep asking questions until you get the right answers...something is up and they need to find out what it is/was.
I don't know man, you don't sound like an alcoholic, which results in an inflamed liver and abdominal pain. Hopefully it passes quickly and you feel better soon.
I'm not going to offer any medical advice. I'm not qualified for that. I will say this though. You're right for taking this serous. If you have any doubts what's so ever or if you even have any questions see your normal doctor and have him recommend a specialist. Doing this will either help put your mind at ease or help get you on the right path to recovery.
Bro prayers and thoughts that you get well soon. Follow up with your doctor before you go to see if he or she has any idea what is going on, or the doctor who saw you. Ask the Doc if it is advisable for you to travel to Africa. I know you sisters wedding is very important but so is your health.
Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and concerns. To make things clear, this is not an alcohol related issue. Also, following up with another doctor is a problem for me. I don't have health insurance, and can't afford this to be happening. This is pretty much the worst thing that could have happened right now. I was able to walk and move around more today without the crippling pain I had yesterday. It feels much like it did in it's initial stage on Saturday. I'm hoping that the pain will fully subside in the next few days, and I can just finish off the anti-biotics for a boost to my immune system. I'm also planning on taking a bunch of cold and flu medicine prior to boarding the long flight over the Atlantic. The idea of being trapped in a small space with a couple hundred people for 17 hours is not exactly sanitary.
Did they test for gallstones? And liver issues are not always alcohol-related; my best friend has liver problems and had to have her gall bladder removed, and she doesn't drink...or smoke, or do drugs. I'm no doctor, but what you're describing sounds like gallstones.
My wife is an RN in the ER and told me that an inflamed liver can be caused by the gall bladder. What you eat can bring on gall bladder attacks.
I went through kinda the same thing earlier this year. Mine turned out to be gallstones, which were found by simply doing an ultrasound. You might want to ask about that. My pain was exactly in the same area as yours. Upper right abdomen. I would get attacks after eating certain types of food. Posted via Mobile Device
I thought it was gallstones when I went in. I had looked it up online to find similar symptoms. But the pain was the only matching symptom. I had no fever or nausia. Also, for gallstones, the attack should only last for a few hours. My pain is constant. After doing the CT scan, they said the gallbladder looked ok. If I find out later that gallstones caused this, I'm suing the **** out of them.
Gish, please be careful and take care of yourself. I fully understand the insurance issue, I'm in the same boat, but I want to see you well. My prayers continue for you.
I was researching this for you as well and I discovered that having less than 700 rep can sometimes cause these pains.
About three years ago Gish I had my gallbladder removed and I had constant pain with mine, it didn't stop. It hurt right in the center of my chest in the area basically at the top of the abdomen to right below where the heart is. Everyone I knew that had gallbladder problems had temporary pain but mine was indeed constant. Now the difference I had from you is that to me the pain was not crippling but instead a constant pain like a terrible case of gas that would not go away. After a while however that pain because it was constant felt crippling. I was on my knees vomiting, shaking, and crying from the pain. Also by the time I got to the hospital I could not stand straight and had to stay bent over. I don't know if this is how its been for you but the pain is the worst pain I've ever had. Also the doctor's when I went to the hospital didn't have a clue what it was much like you. They thought I had acid reflux and they even did a gallbladder scan which came back good. Finally they scoped me for acid reflux and found nothing. After that the doctor decided to take out my gallbladder in hope that it was my problem. When he opened me up he found a severely infected gallbladder packed with gallstones that was blocking my bile duct. This Gish is very dangerous because my gallbladder was gangrenous and had it busted I would have died from infection spreading throughout my body. I was in the hospital for a week for treatment for infection and his two chief concerns besides my infection was for a bile duct blockage and that my liver could be enlarged or damaged. That is why this is important to you Gish. I was in a very similar situation with constant pain, they couldn't find what was wrong even said it was not the gallbladder from my symptoms, and this can affect the liver. I also have never had alcohol or drug abuse so that wasn't the problem. I hate to hear you can't get help because of no health care because that is terrible and no one should have to deal with that but you really need to keep checking on this and pay what you can on hospital bills if they admit you. Don't worry yourself sick over this but don't disregard it and see a doctor as soon as you can. Also you can contact me anytime to see if I can offer more advice about my situation and if yours is the same.
i could be wrong but i think anything that has acetaminophen in cold medicines is bad for your liver if i were you, i would do 3 things: 1) do a little research on the internet on foods that may be bad for your condition and foods that contain things that can help you. i think beets are great for the liver. 2) make a trip to the best produce store and buy some of those foods and just eat them for the next few days 3) go to a couple of health food stores ask questions and see if there is anything you can buy that may help (maybe a gallbladder or liver cleanse) also, if someone you know has a vegetable juicer, ask if you could borrow it take it from a guy who had a lot of digestive problems. i had to have part of my intestines removed after a crazy bout of appendicitis i had to alter my diet and did the vegetable juicing thing for little while and now i have very little problems not saying it will work...if you need surgery, you need surgery. but dont underestimate what you put in your body.
thanks sking and maynard. i did get some fruits and vegatables yesterday to boost my diet. i'm gonna see what happens with these anti-biotics. if it doesnt improve by friday, i'll probably go back to the ER. the nurse said i can always go back there if i need to. aside from Sunday, the pain has been bearable. On Sunday, the pain was much like sking described, but without nausea, and it wasnt near my heart. its directly under my bottom right ribs. i never realized how hard it was to move without using your stomach muscles. its pretty much impossible to do anything but stand or sit still with inflamed organs. im very thankful that the pain hasn't stayed that strong over the past 2 days.
My aunt said this is how her's did and they did surgery immediately. Her gall bladder was a mess. She couldn't stand or sit. A friend of mine thought she was having a heart attack it hurt so bad and it was the gall bladder. So, keep it checked please, don't let it get to bad.
try to stay positive man and load up on good foods and i would strongly consider a gall bladder cleanse even if it feels like a last ditch effort
Well see mine was in the middle of my chest but when I went to the hospital do you know where they asked me if I was hurting over and over?...the right side of the stomach chest area. I remember having to tell them over and over it was in the middle of my chest more towards the stomach (anyone who has had gas pains or a stomach ache knows where I am talking about). The reason is that the right side of the chest/stomach is where they normally associate a gallbladder problem like stones. So once again your story sounds like it could be gallbladder related. Also nausea isn't very common I guess its how your body reacts to pain. Also what brought this on? For me it was eating certain foods. Although once it hits like you have it doesn't matter I'm just asking. Gish this seriously sounds like a gallbladder problem from my experience. I could very well be wrong but that is what it really sounds like. Also dude if this is your gallbladder its in such bad shape that a cleanse probably won't work. The only hope you'll have is surgery. I know that sounds like a downer but I assure you that if your gallbladder is the problem and its in this bad of shape waiting around is not a good idea. Its your decision and you know way more about this than me but it sounds like the gallbladder. What Debby said goes right along with what I had and what you sound like you have. Also the theme of what has been said so far from me and Debby is that when it gets to this bad stage the gallbladder is a mess. Get yourself checked out man if the pain keeps up or comes back as soon as possible but get checked either way. If your gallbladder is infected or gangrenous it could be very serious. Once again Gish I'm not trying to sound scary but I'm just telling you if it is the gallbladder it can get quite bad. I wish you the best and everything will work out fine just be as proactive as possible.
My grandfather on my moms side is the most knowledgeable medical source in the family. He was a veterinary surgeon, and taught vet school at Auburn University. My mom talked to him, and he recommended that I don't fly to Africa for the wedding next week. If I have a problem while I'm there which requires immediate treatment or surgery, I may not get proper medical attention or any at all. My dad's ex has an internal specialist in the family. We're getting in contact with her tonight for advice and maybe schedule a meeting with her before everyone shuts down for christmas. Im eating lots of pickles, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots. Drinking a lot of water (always do). I'm not afraid of dying. I just don't want to die right now. Hopefully everything will end up ok soon.