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Having Pain In Rib Area. Prescribed Hydrocodone. MRI Showed Cyst In Kidney. Blood In His Urinalysis. Could This Be Muscular?

Posted on Wed, 9 Oct 2013

Question: My husband has pain on his left side in his rib area. It hurts mainly when he sits up with his back straight in a chair. When he stands the pain lessens. Depending on the way he lays when he sleeps,he might wake up with the pain. Sometimes it is stabbing pain and the pain is usually controlled well with hydrocodone that the doctor prescribed for him. He has had an MRI, cat scan and 2 ultrasounds (one of the kidney and one of the liver). Kidney stones have been ruled out. A cyst was found on his kidney at the cat scan, but the other tests ruled that out as the culprit as well. He has had the pain almost three weeks now and it seems to be subsiding then it comes back depending on the way he twists or turns. He fell 3 days before the pain started. (He was sitting on a picnic table bench,the bench tilted and he rolled on to the ground on his right side. The only abnormal lab was a little blood in his urinalysis noted on his initial visit. Could this be muscular? What should be done now?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (11 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Likely to be a muscular sprain.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The pain that you have described is likely to be due to a muscular injury or a spasm or strain. The other possible causes have been ruled out after ultrasound scan and CT scan.
Any muscle strain will require time to heal and till then he can take any antiinflammatory analgesic containing acetaminophen and ibuprofen for pain relief. Physiotherapy and hot fomentation may provide early relief.
If the pain persists or he develops any new symptom like fever, restriction of movement etc. then seek prompt medical consultation. Otherwise just take adequate rest, a healthy diet and plenty of fluids for better healing.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.

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

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (26 minutes later)

Should he stop taking the hydrocodone and start taking the analgesic containing the acetaminophen then take the ibuprofen 4 hours later?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (8 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Yes. He can take these instead of hydrocodone.

Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
Taking an analgesic and ibuprofen is likely to help him better than hydrocodone in controlling the symptoms. In case the pain persists, then do get some muscle relaxants prescribed.
Hope my answer is helpful.
If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer. Wish you good health.
Regards

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

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (45 hours later)

How long can he continue to take the analgesic and ibuprofen?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
He can take these for 3-4 weeks.

Detailed Answer:
Hello.
He can take these for 3-4 weeks till he gets a complete relief from the pain. Be careful to take these after meals so that there is minimal gastric irritation.
Wishing your husband an early trouble free recovery. Do accept the answer if there are no further queries.
Regards.

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

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