stabbing, burning pain in my upper abdomen

I'm going to tell you what you don't want to hear. You will need to see a doctor for this. It is getting worse and you are losing weight. It may be many things.

Some doctors will work out payment plans with you. A lot of clinics base their fees on what you can afford.

Good luck.

Yes, I was trying to find some place in my city today, but I simply can't afford it. I wasn't aware I could get a payment plan, so I guess I will see if I can find anyone who will be willing to do that. Thanks.

I went for a time without insurance and my doctor's office charge me significantly less for paying cash than they would have billed for insurance. Some office will do that with you.

Please, if you end up having to go to the emergency room at your local hospital, go in afterwards and talk to them about income reduced bills. Hospitals write off millions of dollars every year in hospital bills and if your income meets the guidelines they will write off a portion (sometimes a large portion) of your bill.

Good luck to you. Don't give up.

You do need to see a doctor. There may be some county funded clinics.
www.freemedicalcamps.com/ or you could check the local county health department. The problem with free clinics is the wait time. If you already have sought treatment the county might help pay for lower income families.

Some of the small clinics don't charge that much. The ones connected to hospitals charge twice as much. The more money or better coverage you have the more the more battery of tests they'll do to find out what's wrong with you. If you don't the doctors will have to work with your budget.

If you really in dire straits go to the Emergency Room of any hospital. By law they are required to service you. Wether you have money or not. Some people use these because they can get away with not paying. Not really - they bill you but won't persue as tough as other creditors. Unfortunately without insurance they may limit it to only essential tests/procedures.

You can try looking up prices for insurance online. You could have coverage within a week. Is $75 a month too much? I am paying $135 for near top of the line.

The pain you are having could be anything. you could have some inflamatory condition or another ulcer only a doctor can make a conclusive diagnosis. If it's not that bad you could try to manage it by trying things like food elimination(milk,wheat,refined food,cofee,junk food,fried food). Did you try Pepto Bismol

By the way I was Hospitalized recently for a partial bowel(small intestine) obstruction. I was at work when it started and roughed it out till the end of the shift. I wen't home thinking it would subside. It did not. I thought it might be appendicitis so I went to the hospital. When they did took the X-Rays they noticed a possible anomoly like my intestine might be twisted. They then did a full abdominal CT scan and found that the first part of the intestine wall was thicker and the barium drink didn't get past that point. A surgeon was called in to make a final decision. I almost left for home because I did't want surgery. They wouldn,t let me leave because if it was from twited intestine I could die. I stuck around to hear what the surgeon had to say though. When He came in it was downgraded to Chron's or some type of inflammatory condition which isn't helped by surgery. I stayed in the premium suites upstairs till evening so they could watch me. They put me on a clear liquid diet to rest my system. Well that's my story.

Take care
-Venk

Thanks for your help. At this point in time, I am a full-time student and I only work about 12 hours per week. So, my income is very limited. I will probably end up going to the ER if all else fails. I went to sleep a while ago and now I am up with pain again, so I am starting to worry. I remember my last ulcer feeling basically the same as this, but I don't think it was nearly as painful and this time my back is aching a lot. At least I have not been vomiting, though there are times I think it might make me feel better. I will try and make it through the night and figure out something in the morning if I can. Thanks again for all your help and insight, I really appreciate it.

Lynn