Stomach pain help!

I really need some help here. I'm feeling pretty desperate... for about two weeks now, I haven't been able to drink anything normally because every time I try, I get hit with intense bloating and sharp pain. I haven't eaten a thing in two weeks, and I haven't had a bowel movement in sixteen days. The pain and bloating are centered right in my abdomen. My gastroscopy came back clear with no bacteria, and I'm currently waiting on a colonoscopy, but I'm worried about how I'll manage the prep when I can barely keep liquids down. I've lost 30 pounds in about a month. I just don't know what's happening to me... Has anyone else gone through something similar?

Karen Perez29 said:I’m honestly feeling pretty desperate here and could really use some advice. For about two weeks now, I haven't been able to keep anything down properly because every single time I try to drink something, I get hit with this massive bloating and intense pain. I haven't eaten a thing in two weeks, and I haven't had a bowel movement in 16 days—just constant, sharp pain and bloating right in the middle of my stomach. My gastroscopy came back totally fine with no bacterial issues, and now I'm just waiting on a colonoscopy, but I'm low-key panicking about how I'm even supposed to prep for that when I can't even hold down liquids. I've dropped 15 pounds in about a month, which is terrifying. I have no clue what's going on. Has anyone else gone through something similar?

Did you get any standard blood work done?
What about tumor markers?
Have you seen a gynecologist to rule out pregnancy or check your ovaries via ultrasound?
And an abdominal ultrasound?

velvetmoose9 said:Did you have routine blood work done?
Tumor markers?
Pregnancy test - OBGYN visit (ultrasound for ovaries)?
Abdominal ultrasound?

Pregnancy isn't an issue, the ultrasound came back normal, and I haven't checked tumor markers yet. Blood counts are fine and there's no fever. I'm just incredibly scared... the symptoms are unbearable. I can barely get out of bed, and even painkillers aren't helping much, except for the morphine they gave me at the hospital...

Karen Perez29 said:Pregnancy test was negative, ultrasound looked fine, haven't done the tumor markers yet, bloodwork is normal, and no fever. But honestly, I'm terrified—the symptoms are just brutal. I can barely get out of bed, and even the standard painkillers aren't touching it; the only thing that actually helped was the oxy they gave me at the hospital.

When was your last period?

And which hospital were you at when they gave you the oxy? 🤔

Look, it sounds like you still have quite a bit of ground to cover with more testing.
Once we see the full diagnostic results alongside how you're actually feeling, that’s going to dictate what the next steps in treatment look like.

Keep us posted on how things go.

velvetmoose9 said:When was your last period?

Which hospital gave you the opium? 🤔

It sounds like there is still quite a bit left to cover in your diagnostic workup.
The test results and your clinical symptoms will determine what the next steps should be...

Keep us posted on how things go.

Thank you so much for responding. I was at a hospital in Germany (I'm actually in Germany right now) and they did an ultrasound, blood work, and a gastroscopy, but they didn't find anything. They sent me home to wait for a colonoscopy, but that isn't for another week. I don't think I can make it through that long, this is just awful... 😢 The doctors say only the colonoscopy will give them answers. I'm posting here to see if anyone else has gone through something similar... I'm so scared because I can't eat or drink anything due to the pain and bloating...

Vomiting?
Did they run an abdominal X-ray yet?

Are you dealing with any gas or bloating?

velvetmoose9 said:Nausea?
Did you get an abdominal X-ray?

Are you bloated or gassy?

I feel like I need to throw up, but nothing happens. They haven't done an X-ray yet. No gas, really... I'll be happy if I can just get a little burp out...

Hmm...

Is peeing okay?

Are you heading to some kind of outpatient clinic or an urgent care center where they'll get you on an IV drip? 🤔
You mentioned earlier that you can't even keep liquids down...

velvetmoose9 said:Hmm...

Is urinating okay...

Are you heading to some kind of outpatient clinic or an infusion center...? 🤔
You’re saying you can't even manage to keep fluids down...

I’m only wetting myself about three times a day since I don't drink much. They discharged me because they claim I need to learn how to manage my own hydration... apparently, there are more critical oncology patients who need the bed space... 👎 Regarding the food supplies, they’re claiming I have enough stock to last quite a while without needing more... I’m still in total shock. I can barely bring myself to leave the house... I wonder what they could be talking about... 😢 Thanks to everyone for all the responses, truly...

That's a German hospital. Our hospitals here in the States are top-tier, honestly.
Do you have any intention of checking into a US hospital sometime? Or are you staying in Germany for good?

Melissa Phillips4 said:That’s a German hospital. Our hospitals back home are actually great...
Do you have any plans to head back to an American hospital? Or are you staying in Germany for good?

I switched hospitals, and now I'm over in the Hamptons. They moved fast here—ran a CT, urine tests, two EKGs, and abdominal scans right away. They're doing an X-ray today because they spotted some air where it shouldn't be, so they might be looking at small perforations. I should find out today if surgery is necessary...

Karen Perez29 said:I ended up switching hospitals, and now I’m over at the Mayo Clinic. They jumped straight into things—ran a CT scan, urine tests, plus two more rounds of heart and abdominal checks. They're doing an X-ray today too because they spotted some air where it definitely shouldn't be, so they're worried about potential tears or something. I should find out later today if I'm headed into surgery.

Well, sounds like you landed in the right hospital 🙏

Honestly, you could be looking at a perforated organ in the abdomen, which would mean you'd need emergency surgery right away.

I don't want to clutter things up by starting a whole new thread...

About a year ago, I started getting this pain in my lower right abdomen. My primary care physician wasn't exactly empathetic about it; she just put me on a massive waiting list for a specialist. When I finally sat down with him—honestly, let's not even go there—it was a total letdown. I guess exceptions really do prove the rule when it comes to quality care.

The one silver lining, though it’s probably a bad sign, was that the pain eventually stopped, so I just pushed it out of my mind.

Then, about a month later, the pain came back with a vengeance. I ended up in the ER, where the doctor told me to follow up after an ultrasound (which, predictably, was still months away). Eventually, I got an ultrasound done, but they found nothing. Fast forward two or three months to the next scan, and the radiologist actually noted a lipoma—small, but palpable from the start.

The ER doc wanted to surgically remove it even before we had the actual test results in hand, so my trust in the whole system is...🙄
well, non-existent.

Now, the pain has become constant over the last few months. Look, I know I haven't been the most proactive or organized about managing this; I've mostly just felt lost in the shuffle.
🙄 According to Google, a lipoma shouldn't really be painful. I've noticed it seems to flare up more during the colder months—maybe the temperature change triggers it? It isn't an agonizing pain, but it's almost always there, feeling more like a persistent itch or some kind of inflammation.

If I were to pay out-of-pocket for a comprehensive ultrasound at a private clinic, would that actually show anything useful? If anyone has experience with this, feel free to shoot me a DM.

Thanks.

Have you actually seen a surgeon yet? Where exactly is this pain hitting you? If you can, try to draw a quick sketch of the area. You should probably Google "inguinal hernia" or just search for info on hernias in general... there are plenty of threads about this on the forum, plus tons of medical articles online. Try comparing what you're feeling to those symptoms.

velvetmoose9 said:Well, if you're looking for the right hospital, 🙏
you've found it.
You could be dealing with a perforated hollow organ in the abdomen, which is a massive red flag requiring immediate surgery.

But would a perforated hollow organ actually show up on an abdominal X-ray? 🤔

lonefalcon41 said:Have you actually seen a surgeon yet? Where exactly is this pain hitting you? Maybe draw me a quick sketch. Honestly, just Google "inguinal hernia" or look up general info on hernias... we have plenty of threads on this forum, not to mention all the medical articles online. Try comparing your symptoms to what you find.

I ran into that surgeon at the ER, and then again a few days later when I went to his private practice. He wanted to go straight to surgery, but I wanted to wait for an ultrasound first. We hit a stalemate there, which is why my impression of him isn't exactly glowing.

That "lipoma" is about 2 inches to the right of my belly button—diagonal, toward my right hand. That’s where the pain is centered. Hopefully, that makes sense.

Everyone jumped to the conclusion that it's a hernia... but from what I've read online, a lipoma shouldn't really be causing this much pain.

lonefalcon41 said:Is it actually possible to spot a perforated hollow organ on a standard abdominal X-ray? 🤔

Yeah, you can definitely pick up on signs suggesting a perforation of a hollow organ when looking at plain abdominal X-rays.

Karen Perez29 said:I really need some help here. I'm feeling desperate. For two weeks now, I haven't been able to drink anything normally because as soon as I take a sip, I get this massive bloating accompanied by intense pain. I haven't eaten a single thing in two weeks, and I haven't had a bowel movement in 16 days. It's just sharp pains and bloating right in the middle of my stomach. My gastroscopy came back normal and there's no bacteria, so I'm waiting on a colonoscopy, but I'm worried about how I'll even manage the prep if I can't keep liquids down. I've lost 33 pounds in about a month. I have no idea what's happening to me. Has anyone gone through something similar?

The part that really sticks out to me is that you haven't had a bowel movement in 16 days. Honestly, it's no wonder everything hurts so much. And it's strange to me that they haven't prescribed anything for your digestion yet, because that just isn't normal.
My mother-in-law almost died from sepsis caused by being backed up for about a week.
If you ask me, your situation sounds pretty urgent.

Karen Perez29 said:I switched hospitals, and now I'm at the Mayo Clinic. They jumped straight into action—CT scan, urine tests, two more heart and abdominal scans, plus an X-ray today because they spotted some air where it shouldn't be. They're worried about potential perforations, so I'll find out later today if I need surgery.

Any updates on how things are going? 🤔

Really hoping everything turns out okay.

If things are playing out exactly how I suspect they are, our favorite forum regular might be taking an indefinite hiatus from the discussions here... 🕺