Abdominal/Liver Pain

[Pdt321 3]

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been dealing with upper abdominal tenderness for a long while.  I’ve put myself through the ringer with what if’s and I’m at a point where I’m lost.  I’ve recently gone through some testing with my PCP.  Originally he thought it could be my gallbladder and my liver was tender when pressed during examination.  All of my blood tests were normal, including bilirubin, ALT, AST.  I had an ultrasound of my gallbladder, liver, and other structures.  This all came back clear so the doctor wanted to further investigate with a CT scan of my abdomen.  
 

The doctor told me that my CT scan looked good and there was no issue with any of my organs.  A hernia was found around my belly button but there’s no pain and not causing my current issues.  He did mention that the scan showed my liver is borderline close to Being “large” but it’s still within normal limits in terms of size.  So I suppose this would be considered the high end of normal.

I’m not sure the next course of action.  I assume the bloods, ultrasound, or CT would have picked up something regarding fatty liver, fibrosis, cirrhosis, or liver tumor/cancer if any were present?  I’ve recently started wondering about some sort of hepatitis.  The fact that my liver is borderline “large” makes me believe I have some sort of inflammation there coupled with the tenderness.  I’m kind of lost here because I don’t think your liver should be tender but maybe I’m wrong and you can have a tender liver?
 

I also have dark skin under my armpits, belly button, and groin.  A dermatologist diagnosed this as Acanthosis Nigricans (AN).  Of course, I googled this (I know but this was a while back) and it’s rarely a signed of cancer of an internal organ (stomach, liver, etc.).  The derm didn’t think too much of it.  So I’ve married my two issues together (liver pain and AN) and have been filled with sinister thoughts and worries.  
 

I’ve also recently developed issues with my tongue.  It’s felt like it’s burned at times, things aren’t tasting right, and I often have a bitter/sour taste in my mouth especially when I drink water.  Different sources of water tastes chemically to me.  I’m worried about this new symptom too because it popped up about 3 weeks ago and hasn’t subsided.  I’m working on not googling so I haven’t looked up this new symptom.  I am worried it’s connected but also know I’ve been in such a heightened state of anxiety that it may be that too.  
 

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any and all comments.

[MARC 429]

If your tests were normal, then you should be in good shape. Maybe the tenderness is muscular or nerve related. I have had a hernia in my belly button for years and they just watch it and if it became painful or very large, then I would need surgery. I try not to think about it. 

[Pdt321 3]

Thanks, Marc.  I’m not too worried about the hernia as that is much lower than the area of pain.  I will keep an eye on it like you are with yours.  Im just worried about my liver as the pain is deep, directly under my rib. My doctor checked all of my muscles around the rib and sternum by pressing.  He agrees I am describing organ pain.  We just can’t seem to find the cause?

[Bobnnat 496]

Pdt....do you know whether you’re diabetic or pre-diabetic? AN can be caused by that. Regarding the liver, are you a drinker of alcohol? If so, cutting back or eliminating that should help with tenderness or size

[Pdt321 3]

On 6/28/2021 at 11:18 AM, Bobnnat said:

Pdt....do you know whether you’re diabetic or pre-diabetic? AN can be caused by that. Regarding the liver, are you a drinker of alcohol? If so, cutting back or eliminating that should help with tenderness or size

Thanks for the reply.  Sorry for the delayed reply, I was on a trip with my family and stayed away from the site.  
 

I know I’m not diabetic.  Just had an A1C of 5.3.  I’m not sure about pre-diabetic.  I’ve been overweight most of my life, not severely, but still and carry my fat around my lower belly.  I’ve read about people with insulin resistance.  This may be the stage before pre-diabetes but from what I understand you can have a normal fasting glucose and a1c with this.  There’s a fasting insulin test that detects insulin resistance but my doctor didn’t really say much about it when I brought it up to him.  I don’t really feel like chasing down a blood test of my own for this.  There’s a forum I saw that has a lot of people with insulin resistance and AN.  Diet and exercise can reverse this.  I’m in the process of eating lower carbs and exercising to try to reduce my stomach fat/get healthier.  

Do I drink alcohol?  Yes, but rarely now.  I drank a good amount in college and moderately in my 20’s but have slowed down.  I’m in my mid 30’s now.  When I do drink I can feel the pain more easily which is good reason just to quit all together.  Maybe I have some inflammation from the moderate drinking and poor diet over the years that will take time to heal?  The good news is that I’ve had recent blood work, an ultrasound, and a CT scan that all show no significant problems.  I’m sure something would have been detected on these tests if I have some sort of damage or tumor/cancer.  My doctor told me my liver looked normal on the scan.

My problem is that I came across some nasty articles/websites a few months back that tied AN and abdominal pain to cancer.  I’ve also seen that AN caused by cancer has a bleak outlook which causes my worry.  

In short, I plan to continue to work on losing weight, losing fat, gaining some muscle, and not drink as I don’t enjoy it anymore.  Hopefully that will help my issues.  

[Bobnnat 496]

I worried about AN recently. I thought I had that darkening skin but my doctor looked at it and said what are you seeing that I’m not? Turns out it was my health anxiety making me think normal skin color was sinister.  My A1C is also 5.3 perfectly normal as is yours.  I also read about that cancer AN but it’s super rare. 
 

Looks like you’re doing all the right things, just keep it up.

[Holls 1505]

On 6/20/2021 at 7:41 PM, Pdt321 said:

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been dealing with upper abdominal tenderness for a long while.  I’ve put myself through the ringer with what if’s and I’m at a point where I’m lost.  I’ve recently gone through some testing with my PCP.  Originally he thought it could be my gallbladder and my liver was tender when pressed during examination.  All of my blood tests were normal, including bilirubin, ALT, AST.  I had an ultrasound of my gallbladder, liver, and other structures.  This all came back clear so the doctor wanted to further investigate with a CT scan of my abdomen.  
 

The doctor told me that my CT scan looked good and there was no issue with any of my organs.  A hernia was found around my belly button but there’s no pain and not causing my current issues.  He did mention that the scan showed my liver is borderline close to Being “large” but it’s still within normal limits in terms of size.  So I suppose this would be considered the high end of normal.

I’m not sure the next course of action.  I assume the bloods, ultrasound, or CT would have picked up something regarding fatty liver, fibrosis, cirrhosis, or liver tumor/cancer if any were present?  I’ve recently started wondering about some sort of hepatitis.  The fact that my liver is borderline “large” makes me believe I have some sort of inflammation there coupled with the tenderness.  I’m kind of lost here because I don’t think your liver should be tender but maybe I’m wrong and you can have a tender liver?
 

I also have dark skin under my armpits, belly button, and groin.  A dermatologist diagnosed this as Acanthosis Nigricans (AN).  Of course, I googled this (I know but this was a while back) and it’s rarely a signed of cancer of an internal organ (stomach, liver, etc.).  The derm didn’t think too much of it.  So I’ve married my two issues together (liver pain and AN) and have been filled with sinister thoughts and worries.  
 

I’ve also recently developed issues with my tongue.  It’s felt like it’s burned at times, things aren’t tasting right, and I often have a bitter/sour taste in my mouth especially when I drink water.  Different sources of water tastes chemically to me.  I’m worried about this new symptom too because it popped up about 3 weeks ago and hasn’t subsided.  I’m working on not googling so I haven’t looked up this new symptom.  I am worried it’s connected but also know I’ve been in such a heightened state of anxiety that it may be that too.  
 

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any and all comments.

I think you need to trust your Dr. Once I went to my Dr with a long list of concerns and she let me finish and even answered them all but then she said.. she is looking and listening to me from the moment I walk in the room, she is diagnosing me the entire time. She said she would not et me leave the room thinking I was fine when she was concerned. Your Dr would have sent you for testing, asked for a follow up etc.. told you his concerns.. they didn't did they? No.. because they know you are fine. You just have to believe it now. You got the test, you brought up your concerns, the Dr looked it over and he let you leave.. our minds run the show.. time to run it and say nope.. I'm healthy. Hugs. Anxiety is hell on wheels but you're in the driver seat.