Thought it was me going daft

[mikeydt1]

many will have had their tummies examined but i thought i was going daft when i had some doctors deeply press then some others only lightly.

just checked and found out that doctors should do light touch first followed by deep touch palpations. to me if a doctor only does it lightly then surely they are missing things or just not the bothered attitude.

Last Sunday i fell ill had an examination of the tummy and then when i went to see a specialist only to find that my liver had enlarged, what was clearly missed by one of these nurse practitioners was luckily picked up by another doctor, the only downside is that it is now Xmas holidays and the specialist is wanting other tests doing, one worry is that they now want to see if the liver has hardened

just out of curiosity has anyone else experienced the light touch and then gone out wondering how the heck they are supposed to find out what is wrong? for me i have not only experienced this by some of my own doctors but in hospital as well and of course the latter went on to discharge even though i was in agony.

by the way had a spot on Glucose reading of 5.7

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear you aren’t feeling well @mikeydt1

can’t help with the question I’m afraid as I can’t remember the last time my abdomen was examined.

Hope you recover swiftly.

 

[SueEK]

I have mine examined fairly regularly, usually a lightish touch followed by a deeper examination. To be honest I suppose it depends on what they are looking for as to what pressure they use. Maybe a chat with your gp when you next see them would be the best way to answer your question.
Sorry to hear you have been poorly and hope your tests are done quickly and your mind put at rest. Sue

 

[Drummer]

I was never examined by anyone else, but I knew that my liver was both enlarged and hard because I know my anatomy and I could not bend down to pick up things from the floor without my ribs being pushed out - a very painful experience.
I am lucky that eating low carb with fats sorted it out, and my gallbladder too.

 

[mikeydt1]

mine stemmed from when i lost my gall bladder many moons ago now and odd blood tests showed fats depositing in the liver. at that stage i was really skinny doing long walks and running. just seems that the situation of fat dumping continued over the years for reasons unknown.

at this stage it is unclear why the liver has enlarged and there are just too many conditions which can cause it.

here is hoping they now find the cause with been under the right team, just the timing of it.

well at least santa was good enough to give me a good glucose reading, keeping this down can really help not only with the liver but B.P and other parts.

wishing everyone well over the Xmas period.

 

[mikeyB]

The answer to the question about light and firm touch is this- if someone is complaining of abdomen pain, use a light touch first. That can tell you whether there is muscle tension, indicating possible peritonitis. If there is no pain, you can set about probing for what you are looking for, and a light touch isn’t really necessary.

This applies to looking for the liver edge, found by asking the patient to take in a breath while you press into the abdomen below the rib edge.