DS at uni - ongoing pain in right side - help!

[anywinewilldonow]

My DS, 19, has had an "ache" under his right ribs (through sometimes to his back) for more than 2 months but keeps saying it isn't bad enough to see the GP. He says it isn't related to eating (or drinking!), time of day or body position, doesn't feel like a muscle (he says it feels like it is "inside"), and is not tender when he presses, and not swollen as far as he can tell.

It has been worse some weeks than others. Sometimes he almost feels, he says, that he can ignore it, but it never completely goes away.

It doesn't wake him up at night and he doesn't think he has any other symptoms (nausea, bowels etc).

Any ideas? I am worried about him and the fact that he is not dealing with something which could be serious.

Your chest wall comes down quite far below the ribs so can still be muscular indeed.
It could very well be gallbladder as PP has mentioned, but to me sounds muscular as changing positions is changing the pain he feels.

An update-

The pain is still ongoing (under right ribs and going through to back). It waxes and wanes and we think clearly worse after, say, a weekend of heavier drinking. We're sure it isn't skeletal, and don't think it's food related.

But abdominal ultrasound was clear, and bloods (including liver and kidney function) all clear. A couple of urine tests have also been clear. He has tried a couple of weeks of Movicol in case its constipation (no difference) and a couple of weeks of OTC omeprazole (no difference).

GP has basically dismissed him, saying its clearly nothing serious and that "the Health Service can do nothing more" for him. But he is in constant discomfort (albeit sometimes not that bad) and has been since last summer.

I just don't know where to go with this. I don't think he should have to just accept it and try to live with it. There must be other things which can be done to actually try to diagnose it and therefore correctly treat.

Does anyone have any ideas? Getting desperate!

Could you afford to see a consultant privately?

If not, he can go to a different GP and say he is not happy as he is still in pain. Maybe go with him? It shouldn't make a difference but I think sometimes young people are taken more seriously if they have a parent with them.

Has he had the HIDA scan (aka hepatobiliary scintigraphy) that Einszwei mentioned?

Thanks for replies.

We have private health cover and he has told the uni GP that, but he won't refer.Hard for me to go with him as he is about 4 hours drive away. Only option might be to see GP at home at Easter, but that's quite a long wait.

He hasn't had the HIDA scan as GP won't do any more tests. But his pain seems totally unrelated to food, so could it still be gallbladder function?

OP the pain you describe sounds like the pain i have. Waxes and wanes goes right through to the back. Dismissed by Doctors and told to just use pain killers. Turns out it was a stomach ulcer, just not in the usual place they expect it to be and not accompanied by other ulcer type symptoms e.g vomiting, nausea, blood in stool etc. it also wan't in the place they expected it to be. For me it was more underneath the right rib all the way to round to the back that i was feeling discomfort and not just under the front rib. It took 3 yrs of pain to be diagnosed. At first it was low level so i didn't say anything and didn't think i needed to see the doctor, just a bit of discomfort, but over the last yr it became stabbing, gnawing, aching, burning type sensations. Finally the GP decided to do the H Pylori test and it came back positive.

Get your ds to push for an H-Pylori test?

Thanks ItsallGoinDown. Your pain sounds very similar. I do wonder whether the reason the alcohol makes it worse is because there is an ulcer or similar which it irritates.

I will get him to ask about an H Pylori test.

Sorry to come to this late. Does the pain ever make him vomit?
DP had a glaring stomach/chest pain all through uni and it turned out to be an oesophageal hernia. Lanzaprozole helps but the doctors were quality as resistant to testing him. Took 5 years for a diagnosis.

Flaring*

Has he been tested for Hpylori?

Sorry just seen you’re on to it.

OP, pls get him tested for H Pylori at least to eliminate that. As a non alcoholic drinker i can't really say what effect alcohol has on it (if it is an ulcer) but i do know the gnawing/aching is usually worse when you have an empty stomach.

Tell him to see a diffeent doctor in the practice. Someone might have other ideas, but the fact it's ongoing they'll know they need to give him more support.

“We have private health cover and he has told the uni GP that, but he won't refer”

^Totally ridiculous from the GP.

Ring your medical insurance and see what options they have for gastro consultants near your DS’ university.

Then your DS needs to phone the surgery and say he needs a letter sending for referral to the consultant due to ongoing pain. If this is still refused he should state that he needs this put in writing in his medical notes and book an appointment with another GP in the practice.

Alternatively he could book a private GP appointment and obtain a referral that way.

Hi OP did you ever get any clarity on this? My partner has the exact same symptoms and because he is 27 I think the GP is taking the same approach as yours!!

Hi. I'm afraid we never got any real answers. His H Pylori test was negative, and he had an endoscopy, colonoscopy and MRI, none of which found anything. The official diagnosis (private gastro consultant) was "functional pain". My theory is that he developed a sensitivity to the pain of wind building in the flexure of the colon on the right side under his ribs (I think he has a habit of swallowing air, and he burps a lot, particularly when stressed).

He says he stills feels the pain, but not as intensely perhaps. Maybe knowing that it is nothing serious has helped.

Good luck.

Oh well I’m glad it was nothing serious that must have been a relief for you both! Thanks for the reply, my partner has had bloods and a scan and all normal so next will be endoscopy too I suppose! Thanks anyway

Hi I know your post was over a year ago but wondered what the outcome was - I'm experiencing exactly the same symptoms - 7 weeks and still got this constant dull ache on my right side. look forward to hearing from you...

Hiya, everything turned out fine! He had H pylori diagnosed after colposcopy, had the treatment for it and no bother since

My son still gets the pain (ache?) in his right side, going through to his back. Most of the time he can ignore it as it is low level, but sometimes it bothers him more. It doesn't seem to be getting any worse though.

He hasn't had any more tests as he had every test imaginable and all came back normal. He has just learned to live with it, although he still hasn't slept on his left side (opposite to the pain) since this started over 3 years ago!

I sometimes try to encourage him to return to the GP, but he hasn't as yet. I just think that there must be an answer out there somewhere!