30 months of abdominal pain

by Robert
(USA)

I am in my fifties, 5 feet 8 inches tall and weigh 180 pounds. My weight has not fluctuated more than 5 pounds my entire adult life.

I am in good physical health. I have experienced pain in my abdomen for the last 30+ months. It is located just below my rib cage on my right side. It comes on at various times and is never predictable.

Eating/not eating seem to make no difference. I eat very little fried/fatty foods.

The pain will last from 15 minutes to many hours. The pain can rates from a 1 to as high as 8 in severity (1 = very little pain to 10 = extreme pain)

I have had numerous tests - ultrasound, CT scan, 2 HYDA scans, 2 colonoscopies, and an endoscopy. I had my gallbladder removed on April 11, 2012.

The pain seemed to be less frequent and not as severe until the last few days. Yesterday, 6-1-12 and today, I experienced spasmodic level 8 pain. Each time lasted about 4 hours.

To give me some relief I have to resort to taking oxycodone or hydrocodone. Taking peppermint oil capsules gives me heartburn.

My gastroenterologist has suggested it could be "kink" in my descending section of my colon. I had always believed it was my gallbladder. So, when it was removed and the pain returned it has left me feeling pretty helpless and frustrated.

In the last month I started counseling to deal with this chronic pain.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Rob in Colorado