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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think something MUST be wrong with me?

37 replies

Sotuko · 27/10/2017 16:57

Now and again I get these crippling pains in my stomach - high up just below the rib cage. Feels like my insides are being twisted and ripped apart. The pain radiates into my chest and down my shoulder, so much so that I panic and think I'm having a heart attack.

The first time it happened I'd just eaten fish and chips. I was with my grandma and didn't want to panic her, it was about 20 minutes after we'd eaten. I tried to keep a poker face but the pain was deliberating and I had to stop and just sit in agony until it went away.

A few weeks ago I'd been to Pilates, came home and had a bacon sandwich. 20 minutes later I got funny pains in my upper abdomen so assumed it was my (rather tight) sports bra. I took it off and oh my god the pain ... I laid on the coach and it started radiating into my chest, down my arms, up the side of my face and into my back. I genuinely thought this WAS a heart attack and shouted of DH - as it went in it got worse and I ended up in tears. Just as DH was about to call an ambulance it went away but it had lasted a good 15 minutes.

Today, I did body combat, came home, felt fine, had an egg sandwich, 20 minutes later it hit me like a ton of bricks, lasted 15/20 minutes then disappeared again.

What on earth could it be??? I'm thinking celiac disease? But then why doesn't It happen everytime I eat?? I notice today I took 9 months pregnant too despite normally being quite thin and flat.

OP posts:

messyjessy17 · 27/10/2017 16:59

Sounds more like gallstones. Or possibly a hiatus hernia.

doodlejump1980 · 27/10/2017 17:00

Gallstones?

BobbinThreadbare123 · 27/10/2017 17:00

That's indigestion. Promise. Everything you list there is quite greasy. Happens to me, too.

Aquamarine1029 · 27/10/2017 17:00

Sounds exactly like a gallbladder attack and the exact symptoms I had. I got my gallbladder removed last year and I am completely back to normal.

MrsBungle · 27/10/2017 17:01

Gallstones.

Caulk · 27/10/2017 17:02

I’m assuming you’ve already spoken to a doctor? Sounds like indigestion. Try taking rennies and see if that helps.

BusterGonad · 27/10/2017 17:02

I'm with the gallstone brigade too.

gamerchick · 27/10/2017 17:02

Gallstones. Or your gallbladder is less than happy.

Stay away from fats and see how you go.

UninspiringUserName · 27/10/2017 17:02

This sounds just like gallstones or an infected gall bladder. The pain is unbearable and can be so intense, it does feel like you're dying. I've had three births without pain relief (still trying to understand why I mad that choice) and gall bladder pain was worse.

The pain is horribly intense and shoots up into your right shoulder. Go and see your GP and explain what's happening and they should arrange for you to have a scan. I had exactly this and ended up with paramedics taking me to hospital where they got to the bottom of it. I've since had my gallbladder out - a doddle - and I've been fit as a fiddle ever since.

Hope you get it sorted quickly Sotuko, it's horrible, I really feel for you

daisypond · 27/10/2017 17:03

Gallstones? I used to get it, just as you described.

UninspiringUserName · 27/10/2017 17:03

Bugger, I wrote such a long reply and thought I was so clever.

lackingimagination · 27/10/2017 17:05

You're going to think it's stupid people suggesting it's indigestion but it really could be, just a very intense bout of it - I've been there and you have my every sympathy!

I have also had gallstones and that also sounds very possible - that pain was worth than childbirth and went on for more like an hour each time. Of course everybody is different.

Aquamarine1029 · 27/10/2017 17:06

To add to what I said above, I did NOT have gallstones. I had an almost non-functioning gallbladder which can cause the exact symptoms of stones. The pain is horrible. I had chest pain to the point I thought I was having a heart attack, terrible upper back/shoulder pain, and pain under my right ribs. I threw up all the time and was so bloated I looked pregnant. My condition was not controllable with diet - I got sick no matter what I ate. You need to get to a doctor, ASAP.

EllenJanethickerknickers · 27/10/2017 17:06

Gallstones from me, too. My pain was central and just below my bra strap. Thought I was dying. No gall bladder now. After one particularly bad attack my eyes and urine went bright yellow, and my faeces (sp?) were very pale so my liver was being affected.

ProfessionalPirate · 27/10/2017 17:08

GORD (acid reflux)? Can be really painful. And its classic after fatty food or inversions such as pilates postures. Get some ranitidine (zantac) and try taking some next time to see if it helps?

FlipFlopFlappy · 27/10/2017 17:12

I think gallstones too. I used to get a panic attack with it too thinking I was going to die, the pain was that bad. Was treated for indigestion for years until a different dr sent me for a scan. It was gallstones. I lived on Cheerios until the op. Lost 2 stone. (Put it all back on now though). No trouble since having it out.

ChessieFL · 27/10/2017 17:14

Yes to gallstones - when I had mine I thought it was heart problems too!

ChessieFL · 27/10/2017 17:15

Meant to add that fatty food is known to trigger gallstone attacks.

2ducks2ducklings · 27/10/2017 17:17

Do you generally have a low fat diet? I ask because when I did slimming world a couple of years ago, I cut out nearly all fat from my diet. Then one night we were away for a long weekend and we had fish and chips. The pain I was in was unlike anything I'd ever felt. We were camping so I began to walk towards the toilets but never made it and passed out (smashing into someone's caravan) resulting in them calling an ambulance. The pain subsided after about 20 minutes and the paramedic said it was likely due to my stomach all of a sudden having to work hard to break down the fat I'd eaten after months of having a very low fat diet.

Cornettoninja · 27/10/2017 17:18

I'd chuck a fiver on it been gallstones too.

I reckon you need to see a gastronenterologist who'll figure it out.

Original poster

Sotuko · 27/10/2017 17:20

Not been to doctors yet as the attacks tend to be few and far between but yes, I tend to eat little fat normally (not consciously, I just prefer carby stuff) so I suppose the odd fatty meal would be a shock to the system. Saying that though I've eaten fat dripping takeaways before with no problem!

OP posts:

Myneighboursnorlax · 27/10/2017 17:21

Another one saying gallstones. My attacks were always after eating fatty foods like that.

PitilessYank · 27/10/2017 17:23

Esophageal spasm? It can be very painful.

AnnabellaH · 27/10/2017 17:26

Gallstones. Get referred for a scan asap. You dont want to get to the point where you need IV morphine from paramedics, I promise you.

I had mine out 2 months ago. After them starting at 8 months pregnant. They were worse than labour. And I was having an attack during labour! So that should say it all.

The waiting list for surgery is months so get them seen to ASAP!

HornyTortoise · 27/10/2017 17:28

I would echo others and say gallstones, as thats what my pain was apparently caused by. However 2 years on, gallbladder removed and I still have this pain and docs have given up even trying to find the course now and just written me off on a shitload of painkillers.

I hope you find out what it is and get 'cured'. Longlasting pain is fucking awful

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