Question about pain

It's usually a good idea to go back to the doctor when your symptoms change. While your symptoms before may have been so vague as to have been classified as IBS, they can change so that your true problem is revealed (it was only after my gall bladder symptoms changed that I got diagnosed correctly). So, I'd suck it up and go back to the doctor, just in case. It could very well be that it's a new symptom of the same old thing, but if there's a chance it might be something else (something that could be fixed), then you should get it looked at.

Have you changed up your probiotics or tried taking a higher dose? Make sure when you do go to the doctor, you get the new breathalyzer test, because it is rather telling that this started right after taking antibiotics; you may now have a bad bacteria in there that's hard to get rid of. They're bad about giving you excess gas. Also, if you haven't already, try the usual gas-relief medicines to see if you can get rid of that pain. It does sound more like gas than anything, but if they can figure out why you have it all of a sudden, maybe it can be treated.

The breath test checks for bacterial overgrowth, but don't think it's a widely available test...not one of the "gold standards," anyway.  You ingest a sugar solution (lactulose); if there's bacterial overgrowth, the bacteria will ferment the sugar into hydrogen and methane.  You'll expel it through your lungs and they'll check to see if you are expelling excess hydrogen and methane.  If you just went through a round of antibiotics, however, the chances of this being the culprit are slimmer.

The upper abdominal pain could be caused by so many things.  How do you describe the pain?  Burny, achy, crampy?  How often do you experience it?  During the day or during the night? 

CathyA, I get a similar pain, if not the same. I would firstly suggest getting an ultra sound to check your gall bladder and check for gall stones. I also had to have blood taken to check my kidneys and liver were ok. All came back clear, but you feel better knowing that.

After lots of research i came to the clonclusion it is blockages in the colon. As you probably know, IBS used to be called Spastic Colon, coz in many of us the colon does not work exactly right. A normal person will have a smooth flowing colon ripple, and we can get very erratic spasms and cramps. During these spasms and cramps etc, contents of the colon can be shot forward or pushed back and fluid can be increased or decreased and you can get a blockage, just some contents get stuck and it can be very painful indeed. I get blockages in the bend at the top right on regular occasion. The bends in the colon are a common place for these blockages, but it can occur at any point within the colon. I also find that D can increase during these times. I deal with it by taking pain killers. It is the only thing i have found that works, but not all the time. High fat foods make it much worse, too, eggs especially, but that's just me.

I really hope this helps, but please get checked as i am not a doctor.

Indigo

My most annoying symptom of IBS (or is it IBD?) is an aching, sometimes cramping pain in my upper right abdomen, just below my ribs almost in line with my Rt breast (a little rt of that line). It's always there to some extent, but it really starts hurting me when I'm flaring. I had my first set of GI tests because of this pain and no one could discover the cause. One PA thought it was from a bubble trapped at the bend in my colon. Sometimes when I press on the area, I can feel something moving, but I don't know what a gas bubble in a colon would really feel like. This PA could feel it as well and she's the only one who took the time to do so. At the time, I was told most IBS ppl have left-sided pain.

Has anyone found relief from this sort of pain? Sometimes I lie on my right side, almost on my stomach so I'm pressing all my weight onto that spot. Maybe it's all in my mind, but it's the only thing I've found that helped. Bentyl sometimes helped. Or it just made me not care....

I think the worst pain I had was from the two barium studies. That was awful!

I hope you can get back to non-painful IBS, Cathy. It's better that way!

7Lil said...
Wendy,
Your right side pain could be gas, kidney stones, endometriosis (low pain), tubal pregnancy (low pain), appendicitis, your liver... it could be a lot of things.

Hi Lil,

I'm still not sure if I've got IBS or IBD. I don't think my Dr knows.

When I first started having these pains, I had multiple rounds of bloodwork, pelvic exam, ultrasound (regular and trans vag) and pap. A few years later, I had the barium swallow and then the enema, so they could see my appendex. More pelvic tests and bloodwork. Just last week I had an u/s of my gallbladder, spleen, liver and pancreas and the week before I had a colonoscopy that showed lots of inflammation. (mentioned in my IBS or IBD? thread) The week before that I had an EGD with some gastritis showing. These recent EGD and c-scope are the first time they have ever found any inflammation anywhere. I guess that's why the GI doc wants to say it's IBS.

This upper right side pain has been pretty constant since about '90.

Thanks Lil! I'm looking into the 3 other GI's in my area. I have nothing to recommend them at this time and it would be like picking from the phone book. Literally!

The pain that really freaked me out was 4 days before my c-scope. Not like the "usual" pain at all. That night was pretty awful. All the way across my abdomen and then centered just below my navel. Kind of like repeated stabbings. Then blood in the stool and more pains (not so intense) for the next 3 days. IBS has never treated me this badly before so I'm suspicious