Hi everyone, I have an appointment with my GP today and I’m freaking out.
For the last couple of months I’ve had slowly increasing symptoms. Started with a muscular strain type feeling around my upper abdomen as if I had been doing lots of core work (but hadn’t). Just put it down to a muscle strain from something unknown.
That progressed in the last few weeks to clear pain in upper right quadrant, sometimes left too, sometimes middle - around stomach, gallbladder area. It can be stabbing or gnawing, or even just aching. I get indigestion symptoms of burping, inappropriate hunger and also inappropriate fullness at times. No reflux or acid though.
The pain is pretty constant but not the to the degree of a gallbladder attack - I have seen how painful that can be in a person. It’s probably a 5/10 max. It also radiates to my back, bra line and between shoulder blades. That pain can be a killer, maybe 7/10 and is only helped a little with hot water bottles. Some days are worse than others but it hasn’t gone and seems to be getting steadily worse. Doesn’t seem to matter what I eat.
Accompanying this, I’m having loose stools, yellow, much lighter than usual, fluffy with undigested food and generally extremely smelly (I’m really sorry for the tmi). Not white or grey, just lighter and looser.
I’ve lost about half a stone which I can’t afford as already slim, appetite gone but forcing myself to eat as much as possible as am scared by the weight loss. I’m also having some night sweats, but that could be my age, 46. However it is a new thing.
No jaundice or itching which is a positive I guess. Energy not awful, still managing to get up and about, although the pain is preventing me doing too much.
I had something similar, but to a very much milder degree last year which was finally diagnosed as H Pylori. That was treated and symptoms eventually went away after a few months. When I was having this problem I had a private CT and Ultrasound in Jan 2022, as well as endoscopy and colonoscopy. The CT and Ultrasound found nothing worrying, not even a gallstone, just gastritis and HP.
The thing is that I’ve absolutely convinced myself this is something awful like pancreatic cancer, and my anxiety is through the roof. I keep trying to say to myself that the CT scan and Ultrasound would have picked up anything pancreatic then, wouldn’t they?
But then I read that it’s very hard to diagnose and I spiral and wonder if this has been my silently increasing problem all along and I’ve been misdiagnosed and now I might be terminal. I’m just beside myself now, I have a husband and son who need me, aging parents who rely on me.
I don’t mean to be fear mongering or catastrophic thinking, but my pain and symptoms are really very real and I’m scared. Does anyone have any advice? Anyone gone through similar and it’s turned out to be something minor? What should I ask my doctor for? Any advice would be so gratefully received.