Help with Burning, Discomfort... Please?

Hi guys!

I'm lactose intolerant and I have IBS.

I was on a good trek for about a month and things have started to go down hill.

I used to have a lower right hand side pain that was constant. Now, it's not there as often anymore, but it comes and goes. It's sharp and achy when the pain comes. I've had this symptom for about almost a year now.

Now, it's something different. I have this burning pain right below my ribcage, and it is bothersome after I eat. I take a Tums, and that helps, but not completely.

I've had every test imaginable for the right sided pain, and there was nothing to be found. But the burning is something new.

Can someone give me a little more information, and do you suggest I go see a doctor or not?

Thank you!

[Nole1970]

When I read your post I had a thought.  I've had a similar pain in my right rib cage area (liver area) and I've been undergoing numerous tests for 8 months now including a liver biopsy 3 weeks ago.  My doctors have been unable to diagnose what's wrong with me so I'm being referred to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville.  My liver enzymes have been consistently elevated for the 8 months.
  
One thing that my doctor did find accidently in the process of looking for the cause of the liver problem is that I have Celiac Disease which is an autoimmune response to gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and some other grains).  Some of the symptoms of Celiac can be lactose intolerance, IBS, mildly elevated liver enzymes, and a skin rash.  I don't have any of those symptoms and my liver enzymes are more severly elevated, but I have gone on a gluten-free diet just the same because Celiac causes intestinal damage which was shown in the intestinal biopsy that I had a month ago.  

Since some doctors think that 1 out of every 133 people have Celiac Disease, it could be that the problems that you're describing are because of it.  You can either get it checked out by a blood test followed up with a biopsy as I did or you can self-diagnose by removing foods with gluten and noting the results for a period of time then reintroducing them and noting the results.  I'm not sure if the pain in the right rib cage area ( the liver area) is related to Celiac or not.  That's a question that I plan to ask my doctor when I see her again on the 14th, but the pain that you describe certainly familiar.

Good Luck.