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pain in left side under rib cage
I have had so many problems in the last couple months that I really don't know where to start. My latest is a pain in my front upper left side right below my rib cage. It's not constant and it's not a bad pain but just enough to bother me and worry me. I am also having bad lower back pain that comes and goes. I have had changes in bowel movements going back and forth from constipation to loose stools. I recently starting having dizziness on and off throughout the day but the doctor thinks it's an inner ear infection. I woke up this morning with nausea but it's hard to tell if it's related or just nerves. I also lose weight in spurts, just recently another 7 pounds. In July the doctor noticed my thyroid was swollen but tests show nothing and that is not even an issue at the time. I also had an abnormal pap in July (ASCUS) but have recently had a repeat that was normal. I just turned 30 in July and it has been one thing after another ever since. Does anyone have any ideas on the pain in my left side? I will start a journal to see if there is a pattern but it doesn't seem to be.
Thanks!!!!!!!
Thanks!!!!!!!
I cryed realizing that there are more people out there that have the same problems that I have. I have had my Gall badder removed in 2001 and started having pain on my left side under my ribs in December of 2003. I went to the hospital and they said it was my spleen and then said it was IBS. and sent me to my doctor I then went to the doctor and he gave me meds for it and I can't take it cause it worse syomptoms.
My pain is off and on and it worsens if I move. I feel like I have a fever when I don't. and I feel nausua all the time I don't know what to do I KNOW SOMETHING is WRONG but my doctor just won't listen.
He put me on a High fiber and low fat diet and it doesn't help, I also have been drinking alot more water and it doesn't tonch the pain.
If anyone has any ideas of what tests I should ask for please E-mail me at ***@****
Thanks
My pain is off and on and it worsens if I move. I feel like I have a fever when I don't. and I feel nausua all the time I don't know what to do I KNOW SOMETHING is WRONG but my doctor just won't listen.
He put me on a High fiber and low fat diet and it doesn't help, I also have been drinking alot more water and it doesn't tonch the pain.
If anyone has any ideas of what tests I should ask for please E-mail me at ***@****
Thanks
I cryed realizing that there are more people out there that have the same problems that I have. I have had my Gall badder removed in 2001 and started having pain on my left side under my ribs in December of 2003. I went to the hospital and they said it was my spleen and then said it was IBS. and sent me to my doctor I then went to the doctor and he gave me meds for it and I can't take it cause it worse syomptoms.
My pain is off and on and it worsens if I move. I feel like I have a fever when I don't. and I feel nausua all the time I don't know what to do I KNOW SOMETHING is WRONG but my doctor just won't listen.
He put me on a High fiber and low fat diet and it doesn't help, I also have been drinking alot more water and it doesn't tonch the pain.
If anyone has any ideas of what tests I should ask for please E-mail me at ***@****
Thanks
My pain is off and on and it worsens if I move. I feel like I have a fever when I don't. and I feel nausua all the time I don't know what to do I KNOW SOMETHING is WRONG but my doctor just won't listen.
He put me on a High fiber and low fat diet and it doesn't help, I also have been drinking alot more water and it doesn't tonch the pain.
If anyone has any ideas of what tests I should ask for please E-mail me at ***@****
Thanks
I'm a 37yo female. Pain under left ribs for 3 years now, intermittent. It started off with severe pain that sent me to the ER, never that bad since. Palpable inflammation, tender to touch. No direct correlation to food intake -- sometimes it helps, sometimes it makes it worse. Life-long history of IBS, depression, and arthritis for past 7 yrs. Last week I had an edoscopy which indicated GERD and possible Barret's Esophagus (will get full results next week.) I wanted to let ya'll know a few things I have found out:
First, DONT take NSAIDs like Alleve, Motrin, etc -- VERY BAD for the stomach. I had been eating these like candy for a few years prior to rib pain thanks to yet another ignorant md -- a orthopedist who was very doomsaying about my arthritis. (Which nonetheless gets BETTER every year!) Then I found out they cause ulcers due to to severe acid production. Also, I just went off of antidepressants after a year on -- they seemed to make it worse.
One thing is for sure -- docs know a lot about a few things, and almost NOTHING about the whole, and all my life I've had to PUSH, PUSH to get them to do their job and not just throw pills at me and dismiss me. (Including this G-Entrologist.) So far, my intuition has beat out their initial diagnosis every time.
I have a hard time believing this under-rib pain is just my esophagus, as the GE expert says. Although I may have GERD, the GERD-like symptoms I've had are differnt from this pain. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more than one thing going on, as GI stress is certainly a SYSTEMIC issue. Here's something I just found that might interest you: http://www.emedicine.com/MED/topic1721.htm
History: For most patients with chronic pancreatitis, abdominal pain is the presenting symptom...
Clinically, the patient experiences intermittent attacks of severe pain, often in the mid or left upper abdomen and occasionally radiating in a bandlike fashion or localized to the mid back. The pain may occur either after meals or independently of meals, but it is not fleeting or transient and tends to last at least several hours. Unfortunately, patients often are symptomatic for years before the diagnosis is established; the average time from the onset of symptoms until a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis was 62months,, add or subtract 4 months. The delay in diagnosis is even longer in people without alcoholism, in whom the average time is 81 months from onset of symptoms to diagnosis.
The natural history of pain in chronic pancreatitis is highly variable. Most patients experience intermittent attacks of pain at unpredictable intervals, while a minority of patients experience chronic pain. In most patients, pain severity either decreases or resolves over 5-25 years. Nevertheless, ignoring pain relief with the expectation that the disease eventually will resolve itself is inappropriate. In alcohol-induced disease, eventual cessation of alcohol intake may reduce the severity of pain. Variability in the pain pattern contributes to the delay in diagnosis and makes determining the effect of any therapeutic intervention difficult.
Other symptoms associated with chronic pancreatitis include diarrhea and weight loss. This may be due either to fear of eating (eg, postprandial exacerbation of pain) or due to pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and steatorrhea.
A small percentage of patients (7%) have painless chronic pancreatitis and present with signs or symptoms of pancreatic exocrine or endocrine insufficiency.
Physical:
In most instances, the standard physical examination does not help to establish a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis; however, a few points are noteworthy.
During an attack, patients may assume a characteristic position in an attempt to relieve their abdominal pain (eg, lying on the left side, flexing the spine and drawing the knees up toward the chest).
Funduscopic examination may reveal a milky white hue in the retinal blood vessels when hyperlipidemia is present.
Occasionally, a tender fullness or mass may be palpated in the epigastrium, suggesting the presence of a pseudocyst or an inflammatory mass in the abdomen. Patients with advanced disease (ie, patients with steatorrhea) exhibit decreased subcutaneous fat, temporal wasting, sunken supraclavicular fossa, and other physical signs of malnutrition.
First, DONT take NSAIDs like Alleve, Motrin, etc -- VERY BAD for the stomach. I had been eating these like candy for a few years prior to rib pain thanks to yet another ignorant md -- a orthopedist who was very doomsaying about my arthritis. (Which nonetheless gets BETTER every year!) Then I found out they cause ulcers due to to severe acid production. Also, I just went off of antidepressants after a year on -- they seemed to make it worse.
One thing is for sure -- docs know a lot about a few things, and almost NOTHING about the whole, and all my life I've had to PUSH, PUSH to get them to do their job and not just throw pills at me and dismiss me. (Including this G-Entrologist.) So far, my intuition has beat out their initial diagnosis every time.
I have a hard time believing this under-rib pain is just my esophagus, as the GE expert says. Although I may have GERD, the GERD-like symptoms I've had are differnt from this pain. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more than one thing going on, as GI stress is certainly a SYSTEMIC issue. Here's something I just found that might interest you: http://www.emedicine.com/MED/topic1721.htm
History: For most patients with chronic pancreatitis, abdominal pain is the presenting symptom...
Clinically, the patient experiences intermittent attacks of severe pain, often in the mid or left upper abdomen and occasionally radiating in a bandlike fashion or localized to the mid back. The pain may occur either after meals or independently of meals, but it is not fleeting or transient and tends to last at least several hours. Unfortunately, patients often are symptomatic for years before the diagnosis is established; the average time from the onset of symptoms until a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis was 62months,, add or subtract 4 months. The delay in diagnosis is even longer in people without alcoholism, in whom the average time is 81 months from onset of symptoms to diagnosis.
The natural history of pain in chronic pancreatitis is highly variable. Most patients experience intermittent attacks of pain at unpredictable intervals, while a minority of patients experience chronic pain. In most patients, pain severity either decreases or resolves over 5-25 years. Nevertheless, ignoring pain relief with the expectation that the disease eventually will resolve itself is inappropriate. In alcohol-induced disease, eventual cessation of alcohol intake may reduce the severity of pain. Variability in the pain pattern contributes to the delay in diagnosis and makes determining the effect of any therapeutic intervention difficult.
Other symptoms associated with chronic pancreatitis include diarrhea and weight loss. This may be due either to fear of eating (eg, postprandial exacerbation of pain) or due to pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and steatorrhea.
A small percentage of patients (7%) have painless chronic pancreatitis and present with signs or symptoms of pancreatic exocrine or endocrine insufficiency.
Physical:
In most instances, the standard physical examination does not help to establish a diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis; however, a few points are noteworthy.
During an attack, patients may assume a characteristic position in an attempt to relieve their abdominal pain (eg, lying on the left side, flexing the spine and drawing the knees up toward the chest).
Funduscopic examination may reveal a milky white hue in the retinal blood vessels when hyperlipidemia is present.
Occasionally, a tender fullness or mass may be palpated in the epigastrium, suggesting the presence of a pseudocyst or an inflammatory mass in the abdomen. Patients with advanced disease (ie, patients with steatorrhea) exhibit decreased subcutaneous fat, temporal wasting, sunken supraclavicular fossa, and other physical signs of malnutrition.
WOW, I am so glad to have people who are also befuddled about the same condition. Mine has started as left upper back pain, but occasionally radiaites around the bottom of my rib cage to under the ribs. I also have tenderness under the sternum.
Under the rib cage feels "full". I have had lung and bone scans as I had cancer in the right breast a few years ago and they were worried it had metastized. I also had an enlarged thyroid, which they biopsied and it was fine as well as the t4-t3 stuff. The condition is a chronic one, but occasionally becomes a very acute type overbearing pain.
Pain killers and muscle relaxers put me to sleep, but don't take care of the pain
I think about my pancreas, and that's the next step, but no jaundice or digestive troubles. Hope we can all find our answer.
Under the rib cage feels "full". I have had lung and bone scans as I had cancer in the right breast a few years ago and they were worried it had metastized. I also had an enlarged thyroid, which they biopsied and it was fine as well as the t4-t3 stuff. The condition is a chronic one, but occasionally becomes a very acute type overbearing pain.
Pain killers and muscle relaxers put me to sleep, but don't take care of the pain
I think about my pancreas, and that's the next step, but no jaundice or digestive troubles. Hope we can all find our answer.
Hello, I'm a patient from Canada and I've been reading alot of posts. I require some feedback regarding the seemingly similar symptoms that are listing in this forum.
I've had (2) episodes of pancreaitus. Since then I've been diagnosed with "Pancreatic Divisum". The way this has been explained is the slow drainage of enzymes from the pancreaus which causes pressure and pain around the left under rib as described in this post. In my case, I've been diagnosed after having an MRCP done. The physician seems to be an expert in this field and suggests that divisum is often overlooked. I'd like some feed back from anyone in a similar situation. I'm thinking of having an ERCP done to cannulate the minor duct. If anyone needs some additional information on "Pancreatic Divisum", simply google it. There's tons to read.....but I am actually looking for first hand experiences as I am about to have this done and would love to get a feeling of how many others out there have similar diagnosis done.
Thanks
I've had (2) episodes of pancreaitus. Since then I've been diagnosed with "Pancreatic Divisum". The way this has been explained is the slow drainage of enzymes from the pancreaus which causes pressure and pain around the left under rib as described in this post. In my case, I've been diagnosed after having an MRCP done. The physician seems to be an expert in this field and suggests that divisum is often overlooked. I'd like some feed back from anyone in a similar situation. I'm thinking of having an ERCP done to cannulate the minor duct. If anyone needs some additional information on "Pancreatic Divisum", simply google it. There's tons to read.....but I am actually looking for first hand experiences as I am about to have this done and would love to get a feeling of how many others out there have similar diagnosis done.
Thanks
oh wot a relief it is 2 finally find some where that people are experincing the same problem as me.. i have since may been experincing pain across my chest into my left brest and down into my left side under my ribs ....i have bouts of constipation or diahoria with exessive wind ..my doctor as me on acid tablets which don't help at all ....i have had a endescope which showed i had the h pyloi virus and a small stomache ulcer which iw as treated for with antibotics ....i feel like i am in constant pain ..i have periods where the pain is so bad i could cry the pain is like a constant dull aching that never lets up i am at a loss wot 2 do with myself if i try 2 talk 2 my doctor he simply says acid reflux and cope best i can ....but how do we cope when we feel like we are always in pain ..i am beging to think i could have ibs as my symptoms are very close 2 that .... wot really scares me is i have eposides where i will be come really hot and sweaty and dizzy where i feel i will pass out then i get a urgent need 2 empty my bowels and the pain in my side becomes unbearable i dont know wot 2 do anymore i have 2 kids who are now suffering as i feel so ill all the time i dont sem 2 ever have time 2 spend real quality time with them ....if any one as any ideas as 2 wot would help me plese let me know it dosent matter how trival they are i am at a stage now where i am willing 2 try anyhting 2 end this misery i feel in
thanx wendy xx
thanx wendy xx
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