May 25, 2012
Topics A-Z Digestive Disorders Severe Abdominal Pain Requiring Further Investigation
Severe Abdominal Pain Requiring Further Investigation |
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Dear Ask The Doctor: I am a 16 year old girl. I call them my bad spells. I have had this since I was little. Sometimes it's once or twice a week I start to feel awful twinging in my stomach. I get really bloated and can barely move. It's a sharp intense pain that sometimes lasts for hours. I start to get chills, get shaky and weak and get a cold sweat. All I can do is just wait until it passes. I'm not really sure what this is, but I have done it for so long, I didn't really think anything of it. But when it does happen, it is so intense I just rock back and forth. Last year I got an ultrasound to check for gallstones and they didn't find any. Is this something to do with my gallbladder? Both my parents and my mom's parents have had theirs removed. Dear Jessica: There are many causes of abdominal pain, and the pain you describe can arise from the gastrointestinal tract, the liver or biliary tree, the pancreas, the kidneys or genitourinary system, the muscular wall and sometimes it can be referred pain from another source. From the pain you describe, severe, intermittent twice weekly, lasting several hours, associated with sweating and chills, I advise attending your family doctor for a detailed history of the pain and clinical examination. He can perform routine blood tests including: complete blood count, urea and electrolyte profile; liver function tests; kidney function and check inflammatory markers. He can also perform some bedside tests to check your blood sugar level and urine. Depending on the results of these investigations, he may refer you to a specialist in that particular field. |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 25 March 2010 ) |
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