Soreness in upper left rib cage

Question

I've had a generally sore upper left rib cage for some time.  At certain times the pain and discomfort radiates through to my back.  I've had general ultra sound and (1) have three or four small gallstones (2) fatty liver was mentioned (i'm about 30 pounds overweight) and (3) was asked if I had ever had surgery on my right kidney or (4) ever had kidney stones.  Do any of these things correlate to the soreness and pain I'm experiencing?

kheaton · Answer

A related discussion, ledt upper quadrant pain with acid reflex was started.

Tomasello_MD · Answer

An endoscopy "may" be helpful. It seems to me that the focus here, however should be finding the source of your pain, which it appears we have done. The doctor wants to do an endoscope to see if there is evidence of peptic ulcer disease and/or acid reflux. These conditions could also contribute to the symptoms you are experiencing. If you haven't had a blood test to check your liver function and pancreas (pancreas is checked by looking at "lipase" and "amylase" in the blood test), this needs to be done as well.

JLw · Answer

Thanks very much for your observations.  I hardly ever drink alcohol so maybe the pancreas is being affected by the gallstones.  I'm scheduled for and endoscope procedure on Dec 3rd, would you think that would be advisable in your opinion?

Tomasello_MD · Answer

It is possible that the symptoms you are experiencing could be related to the gallstones. While gallbladder pain is typically in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen (i.e. under the RIGHT lower ribs), I have seen cases where the pain was more on the left side. Also, when I hear of pain "radiating through to the back" this makes me think of gallbladder and/or pancreas inflammation. The pancreas can become inflamed due to alcohol consumption and/or gallstones.

Soreness in upper left rib cage

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