Lower Right Abdominal Discomfort

I am a 35yr-old male who has generally never had any health issues other than being overweight with slightly elevated blood pressure.

On October 1st, while in vacation in Colorado, I began noticing an ache/discomfortable feeling in my lower right abdomen.  It wasn't constant or even painful...just "there."  When it didn't subside for 3 days, we went home early with the thought that it might be related to spending time in high elevations (9000 ft on vacation; only 1200 ft at home).  I stopped eating anything but the blandest of foods and it did improve somewhat, but I finally went to see my GP in mid-October.  He ran a urinalysis, stool cultures (blood and bacteria) and tested 2 vials of blood.  Nothing abnormal at all, not even a slight elevation in white blood cell count.  Poked a prodded my abdomen with no pressure or rebound pain.

He then sent me to a GI doctor, who did a fairly thorough examination of my abdomen (poked around each quadrant and did some sort of a "thump" test to find and check my liver).  He couldn't really come up with anything just on history, test results and the office exam.  Scheduled me for an abdominal and pelvic CT scan in early November.  Drank the contract, hooked up to the IV for additional contrast, had the scan...came back completely normal; no swollen lymph nodes or anything.  Next, scheduled for an upper GI barium scan (drank white chalky drink, then a fizzy liquid, followed by x-rays of stomach, small intestine and beginning of large colon)...again, completely normal.

I was still having the discomfort, so we agreed to do a colonoscopy in early December.  I managed to have the procedure done without any drugs/sedation and was able to talk to the doctor and ask questions throughout.  Again...everything, including the appendix area and lower section of small intestine all looked normal.  Nothing that he felt required further investigation..."you're the sickest healthy guy I've ever met!"  He left me with the idea that it's likely something musculoskeletal, but that it's definitely not GI-related.  Hmmm...

Well, it's now past the midpoint of January and, while I don't have this every day, the past few days have been quite bad.  It's almost like I have a tight or pulled muscle that stretches between my mid-right abdomen and my right hip bone.  Sometimes, I can feel some discomfort while sitting down or laying in bed, but also seems to be especially noticeable when I move or stretch a certain way, and then I feel it both in my abdomen and in my lower back.  Coincidently or not, it Does seem like diet affects this a little.  If I'm not careful and go for an extended time eating greasy or dairy foods, it gets worse.

Any ideas?  Where should I take this next?  I'm going back to the GP for a follow up, but I'm wondering what exactly to ask him at this point?  He has a very good bedside manner is seems very concerned that I'm not comfortable, so I think he'll be open to ideas.  Initially, he wondered if I had contracted a bug, but wanted to test blood/stool/urine before just prescribing an antibiotic.  Now, I'm wondering if that's worth a shot.  :(

[hipocket]

i also have this problem. it's been going on for a few years. i've had an ultra sound of my gallbladder, and certain organs. negative results. haven't thought much about it lately. until now. there's a slight pain that radiate near my naval. now i'm thinking hernia. who knows.  i guest we have to research to diagnose our own problem . i still have the pulling and thumps along with the naval thing. you are not alone!!!!!!!

[Gordo54]

did you ever get an answer to this

[TwinkieFan]

It's been awhile, so here's a quick update:

I had my gallbladder removed in July of 2009 and it seemed to help the severity and frequency of the pain (or perhaps there was some chronic gallbladder pain mixed in with the LRQ weirdness?) for several months.

Lately, I've had it come back for a few hours to few weeks at a time.  I can usually tie it to a period where I've eaten "differently" than normal, whether that be a bit more fat, caffeine, sugar, fiber...I don't know what foods specifically trigger it (I haven't gone quite that detailed yet), but it does seem to be food-related and it's not isolated to just lower-right quadrant, but definitely right-side abdominal with a tendency to be in the lower to pelvic region!

Today, it "flared up" again, meaning I have a noticeable amount of discomfort in my lower back and right-side pelvic & lower abdomen (not pain, not painkiller-worthy...just a present sensation, if that makes any sense?  I wonder if it's due to all of the holiday foods and starting up a new running routine outside in the snow (elliptical broke down and I can't bring myself to go stationary bike).  I'll track it for a few days and see how things progress or if I notice any special triggers.

BTW, weight doesn't seem to be a factor for me.  I first noticed this when I weighed 315lbs and I'm down to 214.5lbs now (slightly overweight for my height) and eating way better & exercising 6 days per week.  Frequency is much lower, but not sure if it's lifestyle changes or gallbladder removal or something else that's having the effect...