abdominal pain

[Biciclista]

Once upon a time, my DH had to work in New Orleans after the Katrina hurricane/flood, and my stomach started bothering me.
my dr put me on some antiacid stuff and it magically went away; so when he came home, I quit taking stuff.
I had a very obvious stressor going on at the time, him being in that horrible situation, working VERY long hours, including driving late at night, every night; so it all made sense, I was worried about him.
Now here I am having some of the same symptoms again. I WILL go to the dr and i'm sure she'll prescribe some of the same stuff again, but this time, I don't have a major stressor; and I'd like to know if anyone out there knows of anything else to do besides taking drugs.
it's a dull ache when my stomach is not real full (i ate 90 minutes ago and it's back) it's on the left side at navel height.
It doesn't keep me awake at night and i don't feel it when i'm riding.

anyone have any thoughts, remedies?

[Tuckervill]

I don't know. I had to stop doing jumping jacks this morning at boot camp because I think my gallbladder attacked me. I tried to run, had to go home. Took a couple of hours for the sharp pain below my ribs on the right to stop hurting. Doesn't sound like what you have.

I had a lot of stress when I was getting divorced and had stomach pain and I lived on antacids. Similar kind of pain. I just figured it was indigestion from the stress. I don't have indigestion much anymore.

Hope you find and elementary and easily repaired cause.

Karen

[ny biker]

Well, caffeine, nicotine, certain foods, and alcohol can all cause heartburn problems, if that's what's going on.

But I think if it's navel height, I don't think that's heartburn.

[Biciclista]

i drink a cup of green tea in the morning, no nicotine, and no alcohol. Pain is on and off all day.
It doesn't seem to matter what I eat; although I stuck some gum in my mouth
and guess what, as long as I'm chewing my stomach doesn't hurt! :confused::confused::confused:

(of course, my jaw will get tired and the gum will get old...)

[Grog]

That doesn't sound like a burning stomach to me, but I ain't no doctor (just married to one).

I'd get things checked out.

[Bruno28]

I had similar symptoms from a stomach ulcer - although the pain was more at the bottom of my ribcage where it separates rather than navel height. There are good meds to eradicate the bacteria that cause ulcers now.

Best get it checked, obviously.

[Aggie_Ama]

My thought was my dad had similar issues before his gallbladder went totally haywire and had to be removed. It went on for several years thinking heartburn/indigestion until it got worse and he thought it was too serious to be such. But I am not a doctor, good luck tummy aches are the pits.

[Biciclista]

yeah, i made a Dr appointment, but i hate having to take medication and will fight it all the way. If there's something else i could do, I will do that.

ps. phew! gall bladder pain is on RIGHT side; mine is on left.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mimi, have you had your heart checked lately? Though it's not the likely cause, it's shown that sometimes women can have heart symptoms that feel like stomach pain under the ribcage, like an upset stomach or gas pain. Just keep it in mind.

[Biciclista]

My heart is great, was checked at last checkup, and I am sure the dr will
check that too; thanks for suggesting it.

I don't think chewing gum can make heart pain go away. :p

[Zen]

Spleen.
I'm just as good as House. Neither one of us is a real doctor. But the location you describe is where the spleen is :rolleyes:

[Biciclista]

you're just as good a house?

great, spleen. what next?

[Crankin]

I have had pain as you are describing for like 4 years. It's across the left side of my waist, spreading out from my navel. Not all of the time, but enough to have had every part of me checked out. They thought it was diverticulosis, but it's not. I've also had ulcer-like symptoms for years, since I was in my 20's. Can't tell you how many times I have been to the emergency room, thinking it was a heart attack. So, sometimes, I have to cut back on certain foods and/or caffeine. Exercise seems to bother it, sometimes, but, if I stop and eat, it goes away.
Let us know what happens.

[shootingstar]

Keep us posted, Mimi. Wierd as this may sound, you have had a number of exciting positive things happen for you which make you busy in different way at this time in life. Just observations, based on the postings to all of us at TE.

Can happiness cause stress????

[NbyNW]

Maybe just reading the news is stressful!

I had good results with Zantac, years ago when I had similar symptoms. I think it's even available over the counter now. No troublesome side effects that I remember, except that I felt better after taking it. It's different than an antacid -- I think a good Dr. should be able to explain in layman's terms the difference -- so that if you decide to take medicine that you're comfortable with it.

Good luck, hope you figure out what's going on!

[Aggie_Ama]

You are right, gallbladder is right side.

Spleen is upper quadrant, pretty close to the bottom of the rib cage but not super far fetched if you have a short torso. Had to know exactly where when mine was swollen with mono, it is huge rupture risk. Since it was 13 years ago I cannot remember if my stomach ached but I have the same pain you describe every couple years.

Is it possible you carry Epstein Barr like 95% of the world? That could trigger mono which triggers swollen lymph nodes, spleens. How are your glands feeling? I was not super fatigued with mono, oddly enough.

One weird thing my husband found before getting diagnosed with crohn's is you actually have lymph nodes in your stomach that can get inflammed with strep viruses. I don't know why but it sounded weird to me at the time. Do you eat probiotic (is that the term)? His gastroenterologist cannot sing the praises of yogurt and good cultures highly enough.

[Biciclista]

Aggie, i don't know about Epstein-barr; i'm 100% southern Italian, never heard of that in my family; however, I did have mono; and about 10 years ago when I was being tested for something completely diff; I was told that i still have mono in me and always will!
I didn't know we had lymph nodes in the stomach either.

addendum; i guess Epstein-barr IS mononucleosis. I already had it; from what i read, it only makes you sick once.

[Aggie_Ama]

Yeah, they are the same thing which makes me laugh when all the cyclists have "epstein-barr" I guess they don't want to say they have mono. Anyway, I seem to remember it effecting my throat more but my spleen was really swollen and tender. I don't remember the stomach aching or not. I thought you could relapse, good to know because I don't want it again.

Again only food DH eats and was recommended by his gastroenterologist and a nutritionist is the probiotic yogurt. The active cultures or whatever. That might help get you back on level? I am not sure.

[sgtiger]

For some people Epstein-barr can have lasting health effects though it's very rare. BIAK's friend who races occasionally has a flare-up due to it that kept her from racing. She mentions it occasionally in her blog. It's managed better now so the flare-ups are few and they don't last as long as they used to. But for a while there she was miserable, and trying every possible concoction.

[Wahine]

You've already said you're going to the Doc which is obviously the first step.

As a PT, I have to know a bit about this stuff but organ function is definitely not my field. Having said that, from additional training I've taken I would guess that you may have an ulcer or you may simply have muscular tension/adhesion in the abdomenal wall. It's muscle too and suffers from all kinds of muscular aches and pains just like skeletal muscle. Usually it's secondary to old scar tissue that is adhesing muscle fibres together and impairing the muscular motions of the stomach. That could explain the chewing thing, as you chew, the muscle activity in the stomach changes in anticipation of receiving food. It would be like loosening up muscles in your legs with a light bike ride.

So, go see the doc but I'd also look into finding a massage therapist or physical therapist that does visceral manipulation. I just took a course in this and it can be amazingly effective for abdomenal pain. It would also not be contraindicated even if you have an ulcer or some other process going on. They are very gentle and safe techniques.

[Biciclista]

thanks, Wahine,
I wish you were closer.


You've already said you're going to the Doc which is obviously the first step.

As a PT, I have to know a bit about this stuff but organ function is definitely not my field. Having said that, from additional training I've taken I would guess that you may have an ulcer or you may simply have muscular tension/adhesion in the abdomenal wall. It's muscle too and suffers from all kinds of muscular aches and pains just like skeletal muscle. Usually it's secondary to old scar tissue that is adhesing muscle fibres together and impairing the muscular motions of the stomach. That could explain the chewing thing, as you chew, the muscle activity in the stomach changes in anticipation of receiving food. It would be like loosening up muscles in your legs with a light bike ride.

So, go see the doc but I'd also look into finding a massage therapist or physical therapist that does visceral manipulation. I just took a course in this and it can be amazingly effective for abdomenal pain. It would also not be contraindicated even if you have an ulcer or some other process going on. They are very gentle and safe techniques.

[Crankin]

Epstein-Barr is not mono. They are related, though. I had mono when I was 23 and tested positive for it for years afterwards. Epstein-Barr is chronic fatigue syndrome. Stress and all this other stuff is related to it, too.

[Possegal]

Epstein-Barr is not mono. They are related, though. I had mono when I was 23 and tested positive for it for years afterwards. Epstein-Barr is chronic fatigue syndrome. Stress and all this other stuff is related to it, too.

Mono is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. It also can cause chronic fatigue syndrome. Two illnesses, one virus.

The CDC explains it better: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/ebv.htm
It is important to note that symptoms related to infectious mononucleosis caused by EBV infection seldom last for more than 4 months. When such an illness lasts more than 6 months, it is frequently called chronic EBV infection. However, valid laboratory evidence for continued active EBV infection is seldom found in these patients. The illness should be investigated further to determine if it meets the criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS. This process includes ruling out other causes of chronic illness or fatigue

[Biciclista]

thanks Possegirl.
I'm being treated for dyspepsia, too much stomach acid; possibly exacerbated by taking Aleve for headache!
1 month of acid blockers is my sentence.

fyi
and thanks for all the interesting and educational responses here.

[Possegal]

I'm on 6 weeks of double dosing of proton pump inhibitors for laryngopharyngeal reflux. Basically I feel like I have someone putting their fist into my throat right around the clavicle. Such fun. :) I'm hoping this isn't a longterm pharmaceutical plan. But I also don't want this feeling to stick around.

So although I don't feel YOUR pain, I do feel your pain, so to speak. :) Hope you are feeling better very soon!

[NbyNW]

Mimi, I hope the acid blockers do the job for you.

It's a good reminder that some of our most common painkillers/anti-inflammatories can be irritating / damaging to stomach tissues -- my parents always remind me of this when I'm taking ibu for an injury, and of course I just brush it off . . .

Feel better soon!

[Tuckervill]

Ooooh, I didn't know you were taking Aleve! I would have put two-and-two together right away! Some of the NSAIDs REALLY hurt me. Some don't.

Karen

[Biciclista]

yeah, duh, I should have known better!

[Aggie_Ama]

Yeah, double duh! In addition to his gallbladder my dad basically had a self-induced ulcer from his 8 at a time advil habit. No joke, he is a commercial printer with a bad back and carpal tunnel he had surgery on once so he eats the stuff. I just figured something was swollen or inflamed. That is why I am not a doctor or play one on tv! :rolleyes: Get better Mimi.