What Is The Remedy For Sharp Abdominal And Chest Pain For A Person Having Polyps?

Posted on Tue, 17 Apr 2012

Question: My 19 yr old son has sudden sharp chest and/ or abdominal (diaphragm area) pain every evening just before dinner and during, for a year now! Sometimes the pain happens earlier in the day but this is when I notice it. The pain is so intense my son doubles over, sometimes cries or goes to the floor. After a few minutes he is fine again. He was treated for gerds at first but no improvement on meds, in fact the pains seem to be worse (more pain and more incidences ~ my son says the heat is bothering him too). An endoscopy revealed a stomach covered in polyps. A coloscopy revealed more polyps. The small intesting was clean, yay! However, the Dr thinks it's FAP which is bad news but still no cause for the pains. An ultrsound revealed no issues with other organs and a CAT scan showed no tumors or other abnormalities. The Dr (gastro) admits he is at a loss and doesn't know where to go or who to send my son to next. Please help me help my son. These pains have already ruined his HS grad night as EMT's removed him during the ceremony to sit in an abulance for observation ! (his BP was 139/98 at the time)

Answered by Dr. Radhika (2 hours later)

Hi,

Thanks for the query.

The sharp chest pain or diaphragm pain is due to the pain referred from the stomach due to the polyps. Could you please tell me the complete colonoscopy report, not the inference?

Stomach polyps form when the stomach lining becomes inflamed and forms small protrusions. These protrusions can eventually become ulcerous.

For some people, polyps will cause nausea and intermittent episodes of vomiting. For others, stomach polyps will cause an increase in stomach gases, prompting an increase in both bloating and belching.This might be the reason for his pain.

If you have gastritis caused by H. pylori bacteria in your stomach, your doctor will likely recommend killing the bacteria with antibiotics. A Urease test is done to check for H.Pylori in the stomach.

If the polyps develop into lesions or sores, the individual can begin to notice the presence of blood in the stool or vomit.

Small polyps that aren't adenomas may not require treatment. These polyps typically don't cause signs and symptoms and only rarely become cancerous.

But if the polyps are excess in number and causing lot of pain consider speaking about surgical options in consultation with Laparoscopic surgeon or Gastrointestinal Surgeon.

Till then he will have to continue with pain killers and do the H.Pylori test. The sad part is the Pain killers (NSAID's) cause much Gastritis than predicted and still the doctor prescribe Ibuprofen ( NSAID induced Gastritis is common with Ibuprofen). I would prefer you consider speaking to his doctor about opioid analgesics for the uncontrollable pain and less harsh on the gut.

Hope you are satisfied with my answer.I will be available for follow up.

Note: Revert back with your health reports to get further guidance on your gastric problems. Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar