Is there a doctor among us jellies?..I need help!
My friend is experiencing really bad pain under his left ribcage, kinda around the spleen area. And at the top of his left shoulder. He doesn’t fee disorientated or has a high fever. We don’t think his spleen has ruptured because the area isn’t swollen or bruised..just hurts when you touch it. And it also hurts more after eating a large meal. He doesn’t have insurance, nor the money to pay for anything expensive. He’s worried that he wont have a way to pay it so he’s trying to bare the pain and hope it goes away. It’s been about 3 days since he started having this problem and I’ve been trying to convince him to go get it checked, but right now its just bad place and bad timing, His job might be at risk. So please if anybody has any clue to what this could be or if anybody knows a way he can get a least some of this covered somehow please….Let me know ASAP.
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35 Answers
Don’t mess around with a potential health issue like this. See a Dr or hospital.
I wouldnt even want to field a guess as it can be so varied.
Do your friend a favor and help him get professional medical help.
Has he had a bad fall or car accident that you would think of spleen rupture?
no…he hasnt even lifted anything heavy….we’re most likely going to go to a hospital tonight, Im really trying to convince him.
Three days is long enough to indicate that the problem could be serious. Have your friend visit the emergency room of a local hospital and get checked out. Most hospitals have provisions for those with no insurance.
This could be a number of things. If he’s had any blunt force trauma to that area it could cause those symptoms, but there would also be extensive bruising. It could be a gallbladder attack, but if your friend has had no previous indications, that diagnosis is less likely. In either case, he needs to see a physician as soon as possible. Either drive him there NOW, or call 911.
I’m not a doctor. However, I do want to echo @blueiiznh‘s point. Get it checked out. You’ll probably have to go to the emergency room unless he has a personal doctor. If so, go see them early in the morning. They will tell you where to go next, and they aren’t nearly as expensive as a hospital.
If you have to go to a hospital, you go through the emergency room, and then they have to take you whether you can pay or not. Worry about the money later. There are things he can do. And bankruptcy isn’t the worst thing. Dying is.
I don’t know what kind of work trouble he has, but if he’s seriously sick, you have to get care, and worry about the job later. Losing your job won’t matter if you lose your ability to work.
Get it checked out. Unless it stops, you have no other choice.
I could make a lot of guesses, but I’m just a layman. A real doctor needs to check this out.
Whether you have insurance or not, hospitals are required to give you proper care. They will bill you later, however, and you will need to make payment arrangements.
Ask for the charity-care department. To apply for charity care, you must be under a certain income level. This is determined by how many household members you have. You will need to provide proof of income, proof of identity and proof of residency. You also have to fill out an application. You will be assigned a case worker who can help you with each step. This program covers the hospital expenses, but usually not the fees for the doctors who evaluated you
Not a doctor here, either. BUT, my wife the nurse states the symptoms sounds just like a spastic colon. He needs to see a doctor for medication that will help in this situation. My wife has also had a spastic colon and from her own personal experience, believes this may be the problem.
The ER will take care of your friend and this situation. Please remember, none of us are doctors are Fluther and mostly we are just guessing. Stop asking your friend. Load him into a vehicle and take him. Three days is too many days for this problem to exist.
Do you have Urgent Cares? Instead of an ER, I find an UC is cheaper, quicker, and just as good.
Sound intestinal. Is he constipated? Feels relief after having a bowel movement? Is he bleeding when he goes to the bathroom? How bad is the pain on a scale of 1 to 10? Is the pain constant or intermittent?
I’ll send the question to some doctors.
he’s not constipated and he’s been having regular bowel movements. There’s no bleeding and the pain is around 7–8…I’m thinking it could be gallstones..
Go to an urgent care center first. The cost should be $175 for the visit plus x-rays. An ER trip can bill out at $1500 or more.
Arnt those more located to your back?..My first guess is that it has something to with his spleen…
I think issues with the spleen are kind of rare, aren’t they? (doctors??)
I went to an Urgent Care the other day and it cost $129. way better than a $500 ER bill!
anybody have exclusive care insurance? does exclusive care cover kaiser urgent care visits? we just found out he has exclusive care insurance. Thank god.
@xjustxxclaudiax Spleen is on the left, but I have never heard of bad spleen pain without some sort of injury. I guess anything is possible. Kidney pain can be back, side, abdominal. I think usually it eventually is accompanied by blood in the urine and maybe some nausea? Possibly fever? Not sure. I am not very familiar with kidney stones. Someone I knew had lots of kidney stones and he always pressed his hand on his lower side when he was in discomfort. He didn’t have fever or nausea, but when they finally did an ultrasound they saw stones if I remember correctly. Eventually he had surgery of some sort, but he had tons of stones. Meanwhile, he had been coming to work every day, so I guess the pain was not very severe. His case was unusual I think.
sounds like something like sympathetic pain. If I’m thinking about the same thing there. It’s when pain is felt in one area but is caused somewhere else in the body; not good.
Yo. Doctor here. Impossible to diagnose over the internet. He needs to be seen.
Listen to @Rarebear.
Let us know the diagnosis and how he is doing.
@xjustxxclaudiax call Kaiser Urgent Care 951–353-2001 or call 800–962-1133 option 1 after 8 a.m. and ask the insurance provider.
Their urgent care is closed now. We’re gonna call tomorrow morning and figure out a plan from there. Thanks everybody.
“Did you mention that I’m extremely overweight?...their responds would be something like: ‘maybe he’s having a heart attack, lol…lmao’ ”
…..Even in pain he still manages to put some humor in it…That’s what my friend just said right now. I’ll let you all know what happens tomorrow.
It has been my experience that hospitals are insanely reasonable about billing.
Try some antacid for overnight. Maybe he’s got an ulcer? But bowel problems, like if it’s twisted or pouched or tucked in on itself can cause serious problems if left too long. Part of the bowel could die. You might try the antacid and if that doesn’t do any good, go to emerg. Heart trouble can present as pain in other areas, you don’t want to risk that.
Someone sent me this thread. I am an Md, and while I know you’re looking for a quick answer and an easy solution, the truth is there is no way to diagnose a problem via fluther. There are too many factors involved and too many subjective and objective findings in a physical exam that no responsible physician would venture a diagnosis based on a patient’s perception of a problem.
Go to a UC. Go now.
@Dr_C as you can see, we didnt even need a Dr to say the same thing :D
@blueiiznh that’s nice. Still, someone took the time to send me the question, the least I could do is take the time to respond.
Jumping on the bandwagon late, here. What happened?
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