Help?

[jstockley3408]

I dont know what is going on or what I should do.  Last night I put my son in bed and was laying on the couch on my laptop and all of a sudden I got the sharpest pain I have ever felt in the middle (more to left) side of my rib cage.  I tried to get up and I kinda jolted because of the pain.  It started to generate into my back.  I was up for 3 hours in a lot of pain, I could barely get up because it hurt so bad and when I tried to lay on my back, I couldn't.  It hurt so bad to even try.I woke up twice throughout the night because of the pain.  This morning I woke up and it wasn't as bad.  It's kind of coming and going.  My back is constant, but my rib cage is coming and going.  I do not if I should go to the hospital, I do not have insurance and do not want a bill if it is not necessary.  I have never had pain like this before...  Also I keep going to the bathroom.  My husband thought at first it could be constipation, but I have been constipated before and this is not what I felt like.  It is to high up I think for constipation.  My stool is very dark in color to.  (Not sure if that would have anything to do with any)  I'm not sure what to do at this point...

[Matthew007]

That s u c ks :S well if all tests fail i'd start doing a food elimination diet, usually after infections or antibiotics the body can respond by being intolerant to certain foods like corn..soy..fructose..dairy..wheat..celiac (good one to check..causes those symptoms..simple blood test..) so yeah keep at it :S hopefully we all get better

[mzkhrys]

same thing happened to me....escept for a few days beofre the pain hit..i had sharp pains every now and then on my let side...not lots just a few thena all of a sudden one day out of now where pain hit me started to get worse and worse ...went away now i feel sick..nausea everyday..pain has gone to my right said also...and i have had some dark stools....i have had all the tests suggested above...urine test and blood/breath test  and i would also suggest you get them done also !! all mine came back normal so now i have to go for a ultra sound to check out my pancreas and stomach and intestines....i hope this helps! check online about ulcers and pancretits see if your symptom match up...

[Matthew007]

forgot could be kidney stone getting stuck somewhere or just passing..so yeah mass water..but that wouldn't be super high up..normally..you'd see either cloudy urine or dark tinged urine with that..or possible blood but yeah.. if all fails go to the doctor a urine test and blood/breath test would eliminate so much.. good luck!

[Matthew007]

MMmmm... well few things it could be..on the left side there is the stomach, colon (like your husband said..could be trapped gas or constipation) or spleen, or the tail of the pancrease and some small intestine stuff...

So since you said your stool is dark that can suggest ulcer..and pain comes with an ulcer, so it is *possible* you have either really bad constipation (slower your system the darker..) or if the stool is really really dark that could be blood from your stomach.  Normally a doctor does a h. ploryi test (either via breath or blood test) to check for an ulcer..it's a virus that causes ulcers and won't get better without treatment.

On the spleen, it's protected by your left rib cage and it goes fairly up the left side but the bottom is near the bottom of the left rib cage..I know I know a girl who doesn't remember how she did it but it got swollen and had to be removed, they found it on a ct scan..now she's taking iron supplements and is super tired without it ...but normally that happens due to injury (car wreck) or picking up something heavy...or some kind of injury..

Pancrease tail would be a stone or back up problems or inflammed like from drinking alchohol or using pain medication like asprine..which also can cause ulcers too so if you're doing any of that i'd stop.

My guess is either constipation/trapped gas or ulcer..so what you could do is go to the store and get some gas-x..citrucel or some fiber supplement and start drinking water and *going* daily to see if that helps, or super short term take a ducolax..*cringe hate those*..if it comes back super strong like you said, then i'd get to a doctor and with dark stools he'll probably want to test for h. ploryi..and regardless of the results he or she will put you on acid reducers to see if that helps...

ok that's my opinion - not a doctor but good luck, it's probably something simple and dumb..gas-x and fiber/water..you could test the acid theory by eating something spicey/acidic..orange juice and see if the pain goes bezerk..that would suggest ulcer..I dunno just some ideas!