Constant Left Upper Quandrant Pain for 3 days

[Soumaya]

I am a 31 year old female with no remarkable medical history.I am 20 pounds over weight.I have had some ulcer like pain in my stomach that was relieved by Prevacid and Sulcrafate. Upper GI's never showed any ulcers. Sometimes I suffer from lower abdominal pain and abnormal bowel movements for a few days which is usually relieved by taking citracel tabs.  For the last 3 days I have had constant left upper quadrant pain. I feel the pain when I walk and when I stand up. It hurts when I press on it. And it hurts when I suck in my stomach.It is right under my left rib cage. I am scared my spleen is enlarged or something. Could it just be gas ? I have taken 360mg of Simethecone daily for the last three days with no relief. My bowel movements are pretty normal ..maybe a bit soft but that could be due to the citracel tablets that I took. I am also trying to drink a lot of water.  Can gas get trapped somewhere in the left upper quadrant to cause this pain?  How long should I wait before I go to see a doctor ?  I would appreciate any suggestions you might have on this matter.  I am normally very healthy with no health problems at all except for the occasional stomach ulcer like discomfort.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

Hello - thanks for asking your question.

Causes for left upper quadrant pain include splenic infarct, splenic abscess, gastritis, gastric ulcer, or pancreatitis.  

Trapping of gas at the colonic flexures may result in distension, spasm, and subsequent pain, the so-called hepatic and splenic flexure syndromes.

People with irritable bowel has a heightened sensitivity to gaseous distension or an exaggerated motor response to normal amounts of gas which can cause discomfort.

A reasonable approach would be an upper endoscopy (a more thorough evaluation than upper GIs) and/or CT scan to evaluate for gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, or splenic/pancreatic pathology.  You may want to consider liver function tests, amylase and lipase for further evaluation.

If all diagnostic tests come back negative, a diagnosis of irritable bowel may then be considered.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[surgeon]

the pain you describe suggests significant inflammation, and it really ought to be evaluated. Also on the list are diverticulitis or other inflammatory conditions of the colon, even kidney problems.

[Rake5]

I am having the same pain you are! I have a colonoscopy on Friday, and I'm hoping they will see what's going on.  My pain starts every time I eat, no matter what it is. In my ultrasound my spleen was fine, but my liver was enlarged. Strange since I haven't taken any new medications (and I don't drink).

Good luck to you!  I hope you find relief soon.

Rachael

[Soumaya]

Thank you to everyone who commented  :)  I appreciate all the feed back I received. I am going to see my doctor next Tuesday. Rachael I hope that you find out what is causing your pain and I hope it isn't serious.  Good luck ! :)

[roxnsox]

Rachael,
    Have you had a blood test done recently?  Are your liver enzymes elevated?  

[Rake5]

All of my blood tests were normal. They have been done twice since I reported the pain February 5th. If the doctor finds anything in the colonoscopy tomorrow I will definitely be back to post that.