Five months and still having upper left abdominal pain

Digestive health
1

My upper left abdominal pain started in June and I'm about at my wits end! I am on painkillers from my doctor but the constant pain is starting to make me very depressed, anxious, and irritable.

Symptoms:

- A constant sore ache in the upper left abdomen near the ribs that sometimes goes to my back and halfway down my left side.

- A sore ache in the upper right abdomen that comes and goes

- Rumbling, squishy/wet noises in my stomach from time to time, especially after eating a big meal

- Headaches (this could be from the painkillers though as they seem to occur when I take my meds)

- VERY sore when I first wake up around the left ribcage

Very little nausea. Very little heartburn. My bowel movements are healthy and normal. I am eating fine. I do not feel bloated or full after meals. I do not feel sick or weak.

I've had an ultrasound, bloodwork, and h pylori test. All fine.

I am waiting to see a gastro specialist. Does anybody have any idea what this could be? I am leaning towards hernia but not sure.

Before this started, I was drinking apple cider vinegar for many months as I heard it helps digestion. I fear I may have "burned" my stomach or digestive tract as I drank it straight (didn't mix it with anything). Anyone heard of this happening? I also used to be a very heavy beer drinker and wonder if my stomach is beat up from years of drinking.

Just at the end of my rope here. Tired of the constant pain. I am hoping the GI doc can give me some answers.

 

2

I have similar symptoms to yours and have just put my first post on this.  Have you had an endoscopy to find out what might be causing this.   Please read my post.  Thank you

3

Hey angela, I just read your post. You had mentioned your pain is in the middle of your abdomen between the breastbone. My pain isn't really in the same spot. It's in the upper left abdomen (more to the side) around the ribcage where the spleen/stomach would be located.

Also, to answer your question - no, I have not had an endoscopy yet. I am still waiting to see a GI specialist.

4

The area you describe does sound like a stomach condition and may need investigation with a gastroscope so the doctor can take a look to see what's going on.

Drinking acid cider vinegar is unlikely to have cause a problem unless you were drinking copious amounts of it. Although there are proponents of this as a digestion aid, and there are a couple of (conflicting) theories why it works, there is very little evidence it actually has any effect. It is a weak acid compared to stomach acid.

Beer. Excessive alcohol consumption could contribute to liver disease but that would be on the right upper abdomen.

Do you take acid suppressant medication and if so does it help?

Gaviscon may help.

5

You need a CT with contrast in probably an upper GI. Could be an ulcer or just gastritis with bloating causing your soreness

6

Hi again

I also have pain in the rib area on the left hand side, as well as the middle upper stomach.  I wish you luck in the future.  If you have an endoscopy, take the sedation that is offered and you won't know what is going on.  

7

Hi can you tell me where your post is as i was going to read it, having similar symptoms x

8

Hey Barrett I just looked at your profile you seem to be a good guy to talk to. Don't know why these girls don't seem to answer us on this site but I guess give him a chance sometimes I unfollow discussions because people just want to talk and compare symptoms all the time not get to the root of the problem or listen. How much do you know about dysbiosis and do you think it could be the root cause to a lot of IBS and stomach issues. If you wanted maybe you could respond to me in a message form and let these to talk on the round I'd appreciate your help and knowledge

9

Yes, in gut bowel and stomach forum, but this actually is the forum.  Let me know what symptoms you have, as you say you have similar symptoms.

10

Hey Barretts, thank you for your reply. Already had the liver checked during the ultrasound and also some blood tests. It was fine.

The pain is also on the right side that comes and goes. Constant pain on left, intermittent pain on right.

I took prilosec for a few months. Didn't do anything. I may try Nexium. I also take zantac 150mg every day, but not sure if the dose is high enough. I will check out that Gaviscon.

Being in pain all the time is surely no fun, and neither is waiting out to see a GI specialist. I'll try anything at this point.

11

Thanks for the reply. Doc thinks it may be ulcer as well. But the pain is both sides, which has us a bit confused. Maybe it's 2 ulcers.

How long does an ulcer take to heal on average? I can't seem to get a straight answer out of any doctors.

12

left sided pain near ribs, had pain in center of upper stomach and right under rib pain, suffer back ache too and what i think is silent reflux, gurggling stomach. was thinking hernia or gallbladder 

13

My upper right side of stomch is swelling for last 5-6 months and I felt discomfortable and sometimes feel pain too. From April I was feeling pain in my stomch but I did not take it serious but in June it was quite severe and I felt water in my stomch. The doctor suggested mt omeprazol. Within 3 weeks I was ok but my upper right side of stomch was swelling. I did endoscopy and ultrasound. Both are fine. The swelling problem is still there. Any suggesstion?. Please note that I arrived in Brazil in Febuary and the problem started with me from April. 

14

I have the same from 2 months back but with decreased appetite and weight loss.

15

Hello, Kalten.  Maybe you've discovered the problem by now.  I sure hope so, and that you're feeling better!  I just wanted to relate my case because it had doctors puzzled, too.  After over a dozen years of increasing abdominal pain, and every lower GI test for men and women, it was finally diagnosed as a fistula that grew from my colon to my bladder, fuzing the two organs together with a salad-plate-sized piece of tissue.  Five hours of surgery, two surgeons, and two hunks of disasterous material was taken from my colon and bladder.  I just wanted to relate this hard-to-diagnose condition, and tell you to hang in there!

16

Hi Kalten,

My symptoms are also very similar to yours, and I think we may have the same thing, whatever it is. I have been having a pain in my stomach area for over 6 months now, although it's not constant pain, more like a dull ache under my left ribs when I take a deep breath, sometimes restricting my breathing, and sometimes radiates to my back on the left. The pain used to be worse when I got out of bed in the morning, and went away minutes after. Now it's always there.

My gut makes a lot of noise hours after I've eaten. I did have some bouts of diarrhoea at one point, with random belly aches, but these aren't so frequent.

I remember I started eating an apple (granny smith, green sour ones) every day at breakfast. I then stopped when I started having symptoms and it seemed to clear up slightly. Like you, I also drink beer regularly. Maybe these are linked?

A month in, my Doctor thought it was an acid problem and told me to try gaviscon. This seemed to help slightly, but the pain kept coming back- to a point where the gaviscon had no effect.

After seeing my doctor after month 6, I was prescribed Lanzoparole for gastric acid. I've been taking these for a week, but the pain is still there.

The doctor also sent me for an X-ray, which showed I had Pleural Effusion, which is a build up of fluid around the lungs. Luckily a CT scan showed no heart or lung abnormalities. My doctor thinks the two symptoms (abdominal pain and pleural effusion) are unrelated. He reckons I had a lung infection which is just clearing up- hopefully he's right.

I'm currently waiting for a chest specialist to contact me to confirm whether it has cleared up.

I have had several blood tests. All have come back clear.

I've been thinking it could be related somehow to wheat/gluten intolerance and am currently on a wheat-free diet. After a week, still no difference.

Have you figured out what the problem is?

17

Hey there. No, it was never diagnosed. And I still suffer from it. I had the doctor suggest it could be IBS since it always feels like my stomach and bowels are achy/crampy. I quit drinking for over 9 months and no improvement at all, so don't think it's alcohol related. Keep me posted and let me know if you get a diagnosis.

18

you should have upper endoscopy to rule out any problems with stomach.  

 

19

Hello Kalten,

I have had the same problem for 7 months now. Actually the pain comes in the morning and goes at night. I had an endoscopy and the doctor told me my stomach was okay. But now it feels more painful. Sometimes I have suffered constipation and when I go to the bowl, the stool somehow floats before I flash. Am starting to feel back pain also. Any one had similar symptoms?

20

Sounds to me your pancreas is over working. Do you have a bacterial infection? Have your blood work done. It'll tell you if your sugar level is high and your blood count. Recently had a tooth extracted that had some abscess. It wasn't hurting nor it was a big infection. What I noticed is that my stomach would bother me. My left upper obdomen underneath my rib cage. When I was on antibiotics, the pain disappear but now it has returned. I'm having endoscopy performed soon.