Hi all,
Maybe someone can relate to an experience I'm having. I'm not quite sure if this is because of IBS or not but I have chronic constipation and for the past 2-3 weeks I have had pain in my lower abdomen (left side) It was bad a few days ago, I went to the ER and they diagnosed me with Gastritis.
That made me stop worrying for a little bit but the pain intensified after I had been constipated for a week and a half. I started taking miralax, stool softeners, eating bran. I finally went to the bathroom but it wasn't bulky, just very small and watery.
I went back to the ER because the pain in my lower abdomen was STABBING, it woke me up in the middle of the night and caused anxiety attacks for me because I was so scared of an infection or something blocking my intestine.
They took urine, blood, CT scan. They saw that I had an ovarian cyst on my right side, and the ER doctor ruled the stabbing abdominal pain as just IBS.
Is there any way this could be an infection or something serious and it was overlooked because I have IBS? Let me know if anyone else has experienced this.
I have an appointment with a gastrologist in 6 days but I can't help but let my mind wander.
The pain gets worse when I try to go to the bathroom (straining to poop)
Gastritis is inflammation of the stomach lining which is an upper digestive tract problem. It causes symptoms such as burping and pain IBS is an irritable bowel which affects the lower digestive tract (bowel) which causes bowel habit change, anxiety/health anxiety, and lower abdominal pain particularly on your left side but it tends to move about. Your cyst may be causing part of your pain but you would normally feel pain on the side where your cyst is, in your case your right side, whereas your pain is on your left side. However, it is also possible that your leftsided pain is referred pain from the cyst on your right side. You can get a stabbing pain from cysts.
I would concentrate only on what you have been told thus far: gastritis, IBS and an identified cyst. An infection would have shown up in your urine and blood tests and you would have been told about it and given antibiotics for it if you had one. If it wasn't mentioned, you are unlikely to have one.
Tell all your worries to your gatroenterologist and wait and see what any further tests show. IBS doesn't show on any scan or test, it is diagnosed when everything else has been ruled out. I have IBS and have had shifting, generalised stomach pain, constipation snd sometimes loose stools or diarrhoea and nausea if the pain is bad. I have come and go symptoms but they are now in remission. Inititally, my symptoms were constant.
Thank you so much for your response. I have had IBS for years and have never experienced this pain and I can't help but assume the worst. You're right, if there was an infection it would've shown up in my blood and urine.
Can gastroenterologist rule out more serious things like diverticulitis? Or would that show up on a CT scan?
Diverticulitis would show on a CT and a colonoscopy. I would have thought though that when they did the CT, they would have looked at your bowel since you have IBS. If they did this and found diverticulitis, you would have been told. However, you can always ask if they did check for diverticulitis when you see your gastroenterologist.