Hi everyone,my name is Chris, I'm 22 years old and have FAP and got my j-pouch procedure done just over two years ago. I've been having excruciating but short lasting pains since I got my j-pouch procedure and I'm just getting tired of it. The pains occur just under my rib cage, internally, and feel as though theyre towards the back (kinda by my kidneys I'm thinking). Through everything I have been through they are the sharpest and most intense pains I have ever felt, and come on without warning but only last around 5 minutes. I've noticed lately that when they do occur my heart starts pumping like wild and I begin to sweat and get dizzy. I have had blood and urine tests to check for normal function and nothing unusual has come up. I found that if I drank a bunch of coffee (I know causes inflammation of the GI tract) can but not always make these symptoms come about, so I stopped drinking coffee. However, I am still getting these very random pains (sometimes waking me up in the middle of the night). I wanted to know if anyone else is experiencing the same symptoms, and or if anyone knows what this might be.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I get the same pain when I am dehydrated, but I don't sweat or have increased heart rate.
Hi there,
Your symptoms sound a lot like kidney stones, especially with the sharp, temporary pains--it sounds like you are passing stones. You don't mention if you've ever had an ultrasound to rule these out. Kidney stones are a relatively common side effect of dehydration, and with the pouch there is a chance you may be chronically dehydrated. I don't believe blood and urine tests alone can confirm or rule out kidney stones, so you might need some imaging studies to make a definite diagnosis.
Severe pain can also cause spikes in heart rate and blood pressure. However, dehydration (specifically low potassium) can also cause rapid or irregular heart rate.
In the meantime, evaluate how much you drink. You may need to up your fluids, and this would include electrolytes, not just water.
I hope you can get to the bottom of it!
Your symptoms sound a lot like kidney stones, especially with the sharp, temporary pains--it sounds like you are passing stones. You don't mention if you've ever had an ultrasound to rule these out. Kidney stones are a relatively common side effect of dehydration, and with the pouch there is a chance you may be chronically dehydrated. I don't believe blood and urine tests alone can confirm or rule out kidney stones, so you might need some imaging studies to make a definite diagnosis.
Severe pain can also cause spikes in heart rate and blood pressure. However, dehydration (specifically low potassium) can also cause rapid or irregular heart rate.
In the meantime, evaluate how much you drink. You may need to up your fluids, and this would include electrolytes, not just water.
I hope you can get to the bottom of it!
If you think the pain is coming from the kidney area then you may have a kidney stone. I have never had one but my husband has and the pain is awful. He had the same thing you are describing about his heart beating fast and he would sweat really bad and feel nauseous. The pain would come and go for him too then one morning he literally fell to his knees in pain and I had to take him to the ER. He had a monster kidney stone. I know they can be diagnosed thru urine samples (there will be trace amounts of blood in the urine) but sometimes it takes a CT scan. It's worth asking about. Drink tons of water and stay away from caffeine. His urologist said room temperature water is the best to drink if that's what it is.
First of all I want to say thank you for helping out with your replies, you guys are really kind. I have been thinking for the longest time they are kidney stones, but I've gotten two ultrasounds, and two urine analyses (as well as a few blood tests) which negate the kidney stone theory. I was coming to the conclusion that it might be an adhesion pain, but I have very little information to go off of. I'm just nervous that there may be something cancerous due to my predisposition with FAP. I'll continue to drink more water and watch what I'm eating to see if there's any correlation.
It sounds more like gallbladder.
Since this post I have stopped taking celebrex (200mg 2x day for the prevention of duodenal polyps) and haven't noticed any resurgence of these pains. Unfortunately I think if I want to prevent these pains I might have to discontinue use :/
Good call! If this is related to Celebrex use, the next symptom could be GI hemorrhage. Celebrex is touted as being safe for the gut, but it has the same cautions as other NSAIDs. It just is less likely to be the cause.
Jan
Jan