Personal medical issue - silly question?

[vettech]

Heya Folks,

I have a silly question regarding a personal medical issue. I'm debating if this is something I should go see a physician for or not. The reason I'm so hesitant is that my med insurance is lousy, they cover very little plus I pay a $30 office visit and $1000 deductible.

For several weeks now I've had a mild but constant feeling of pressure in my lower right quadrant of my abdomen. Periodically it will become painful (sharp), usually no worse than the typcial "stitch" you get from exercising but quite variable in level. This will last from a few hours to a day or so then it ends.

The only dietary connection I've made is that I am more likely to feel pain when I've been eating a lot of nuts (I snack on peanuts and/or pistachios pretty regularly - especially when studying).

I'm asymptomatic aside from what I have mentioned. My white count is about 8,000 with a normal diff. (I ran it myself.)

The only possibly relevant history here is that I had inguinal hernia Sx in the same area when I was 4 years old. I'm a 34yr old healthy male, eat properly (high protein, mid carb, low fat), gym 3x week.

At this point, my worst case scenario has me having Sx for Appendicitis or Crohn's Disease. If my med insurance had better coverage, I'd have gone in already but with a $1000 deductible you can see why I'd rather not go in unless its serious.

[panda_181]

I can understand why you wouldn't want to go, but even just a visit wouldn't do any harm. It could be something very little or it could be something more serious....I hear about people waiting to go to the doctor and when the finally do it's a big thing...not that yours is, but wouldn't you rest easier knowing you did what you could?

Maybe if you stopped eating the nuts and see what that did...if it didn't subside then go.

Amanda :)

[Brownms46]

Even with though you seem to fall outside of the normally seen scope of those with gallstones, I would still think I would look at this as a possible cause of the pain you feel. And yes I did note you stated the pain was LRQ, and not upper, or shoulder. But I also note the absent of any other sxs that might lead one to think it was Crohn's disease, and the fact that it has gone on for several weeks, "tends" to r/o appendicitis as the cause of the pain.

Also you have mentioned no increase of sxs, and noted your normal WBC's. And no mention of abd tenderness, weight loss or loss of appetite, no emesis, constipation or diarrhea as being a problem, so it tends to r/o both appendicitis and Crohn's disease.

Far from being ANY kind of an expert, just my guess here:)

My suggestion is to bite the bullet, and go see what the problem is. I believe this has gone on long enough to let you know something isn't right, and having it checked out would probably be the best thing. I sure hope it's nothing serious..

[Agnus]

Sounds like you want us to tell you what to do or to dx. I would do neither. I would not even tell you what I personally would do if it were me because I only know my hx not yours.

I hate to use a pun here but follow your intuition.

[glascow]

have you done any research on diverticulitis?

[Agnus]

My goodness how expensive IS an MD visit these days? Surely it can't be that much.

[Karina212]

My thoughts are diverticulitis. My mom and my aunt both have it. My aunt is in her late 30's and a very healthy eater. I would get to the doctor - why take the chances!

[sunnyside]

Yes, you do sound like a very healthy person...eating right, working out, etc. So, my question to you is, why are you hesitating on taking yourself to the doc? Continue to take care of yourself and make an office visit. It will be cheaper than letting something that may be potentially serious go undiagnosed.

[neneRN, BSN, RN]

Worse with nuts makes me think diverticulitis.

[Brownms46]

I tend to doubt that it's diverticulitis, d/t normal WBC's and no constipation/diarrhea or fever. Plus not eating nuts is an old recommendation, and one no longer subsribed to by GI specialists today. It's believed that stool is what gets into the diverticuli, and causes the infection.

I work in a GI specialty center, and I have listened to the GI docs telling pts to increase fiber, fiber, fiber ...because of the American diet being almost so lacking in it. We see a lot of diverticulitis dxs. And snce Vettech eats a lof of nuts, this is a good thing...d/t the fiber.

I also thought about the Inquinal Hernia being a problem again d/t the freq work outs, but this would probably have caused vettech to c/o pain while working out. Also no c/o of bulge or tenderness.

Anyway hopefully vettech will go to a MD and find out what the problem really is.

[boggle, ASN, RN]

Sometimes appendicitis symptoms can flare up then quiet down a few times before "the big one". (mine did). One danger of ignoring it, waiting for it to go away, is that an encapsulated abscess can form. When that decides to leak, you have big problems. Trust me, you'll meet that $1000 deductable instantly if that happens, and be out of work a long time too.

How about going to the doc, and leveling with him or her that you can't afford treatment even with your insurance. With that in mind, perhaps your doc can be more specific in ordering the minimum of tests to achieve the diagnosis.

[Agnus]

So go already.:kiss

Between you and me my gut feeling on this one is that it is nothing to worry about. But that is My feeling. Go.