left side pain

I Have just been diagnosed with ibs.  I was wondering if anyone else out there has a localized left side pain.  Does anyone know if this is normal?  I also have a slight bulge in this area...  I am hoping that this is part of the ibs and not something else. 

Thanks for the advice. I had a colonoscopy, which has ruled out diverticulitis, colitis,.... now that they can definetly say it is ibs the left side pain is being ignored> To answer your question, I have alternating d and c, but predominently d. The pain is worse when I have c. Does this mean anything? I am not happy with my doctors at the present time. This has been going on too long, now that I actually go see someone they are quick to dismiss me. I have also had 2 miscarrages in the past year, and went into laybor early due to dehydration(3 years ago!) Does any of this sound familiar to anyone? Thanks for responding leigh.

Having the colonoscopy was not bad at all. I dont remember any of it. The worse part was the preperation. No food the day before, and constant trips to the bathroom after drinking the phospho soda( I call it liquid plummer!) How can they diagnose you with ibs if you havent had one? Dont they need to rule out other things that mimic ibs first? Like microscopic colitis? If you have not had one and you have ibs, you should ask your doctor. Do you have the left side pain or general all over pain? Was it worse when you have c? Do you think the miscarrages are related to the ibs? Thanks for responding

Thanks for the advice. I think hormonal changes can make ibs worse. It seems like that for me. Good luck on the surgeries. Wow, when it rains it pours!! Do you take anything for the ibs? My doctor said he has been reading about how lots of people are finding relief from anti depressents..ssri.. in particular. This is what i am trying now, but it is causing c. I think i will have to mess around and find the right dose. I dont think any of this should cause problems with pregnancy, but i was wondering if anyone has also had same situation. like i said, i usually have d, so i do get dehydrated allot. Mine has definetly been worse since having my first child, 6 years ago. I think i need to see him about the side pain, starting to think it is something else. It is'nt a hernia, but it does hurt more during c. oh well, thanks again for responding, and i hope all goes well for you.

Hi, my name's Kay and I've had ibs and diverticulitis for some years now. I don't get to this site often or I would have answered sooner. I get left side pain quite often when I have an ibs attack. I have a book that describes the bowel activity of ibs and it says that the muscles of the colon can spasm uncontrollaby during an attack, causing considerable pain. The colon has muscles that run lengthwise and also ring like muscles that help squeeze out the stool like an icing squeezer. In ibs sufferers the timing of the ring muscle contractions gets messed up and if one spasms shut it can be painful enough in itself but it can also cause a blockage, trapping gas and stool. I've heard peppermint oil is a helpful antispasmodic that can help releive the pain but I've never tried it myself - I do drink peppermint tea though and I find it helps relax the bowel a bit. My doctor suggested an antiflammatory that I can't remember the name of as I can't take antiinflammatories due to another disease I have. But it sounded like it was a common treatment for ibs so your doctor should know about it.

I've found the best relief for ibs symptoms is to discover and avoid your trigger foods, it seems not all of us have them but a lot of us do. I only get attacks now when I can't control my impulses to have a few beers or chocolate - which is getting rarer and rarer as I prove it to myself over and over again.

Good luck finding some relief,

Kay

Hi new here. I am just so glad to have found you. I've been looking all over for people with left side pain. I just posted in another spot about it. Its also a new experience to me. Had always had abdominal cramping then d before but now its this sharp, spasmy left side pain. Started out like a side ache you'd get from running then spread to my back at times followed by the d. Its much more painful than what cramps I used to have. Also alot of gas. Did have some blood work done and they found a few abnormalities and want me to have another in a month. They also want to do the colonoscopy and ultra sound on back to rule out kidney problems but I've only done blood work so far as I have no insurance. Plus I'm really scared of the scope. I hope you stay in touch. I'd really like to know what you find out. I'll do the same. Take care

Thanks Wendy. Well I had D yesterday afternoon and then passed a lot of lower gas. Ate some rice and felt ok the rest of the evening. Woke up this morning and boy in the moring it's like I can almost feel my insides waking up. 2 trips to the bathroom, but not D though. My tummy just feels upset all over with gas in my tummy which leads to burping, no lower gas. My mother is a severe IBS sufferer. In the past my tummy has been driven by my nerves. For example if I was anxious or excited about something I knew the next morning to get up early because I would be in the bathroom at least 3 times before leaving the house. I've been through a lot this past year, marital problems that really upset me, and I lost my job after 14 years. I think it's all just taken a toll on my system. I've read about IBS symptoms and I have most of them, including the low pain on the right side. I haven't seen many people mention that, I've seen more left side pain mentioned, why is that? My mother also has some low left side pain. Also, does IBS effect the lower back and buttock area with pain?

Hi
I am a new member to this site. I want some body to help me to know what is going wrong with me. I am going to have a CT scan on wednesday and I am scared to death . I have had a mild left side pain in my lower abdominal part which goes down to my leg and my left lower back where the kidneys supposed to be. this pain comes and goes but I have it every day and to be honest with you I still don't know where the source of the pain is . is it my lower back or my lower abdominal in my left side of the body. I have always been constipated and it got worse when I had my first child because I got hemmorroid and the doctor recommended fiber for me every day to cure it . now without fiber I can't go. 3 years ago I had the same pain in same location , first I thought it is my left ovary and I was so scared because we have a history of ovarian cancer in our family , I did a transvaginal ultrasound they just found a small 2 cm fibroid in my uterus my doctor recommended barium enema but by the time the uthorization approved ( because I had kaiser at that time ) and I got app the pain was gone completely but I wanted to do the test any way but I found out that I was pregnant with my second child so I couldn't do the barium enema and because the pain was gone completely I never followed it up. now after 3 years the same pain came back. as I said on my left side and it has been going on for a month. again I did a pelvic ultrasound but transabdominal one because transvaginal needs uthorization and we have a HMO. result showed nothing wrong with ovaries and still 2 cm fibroid. and mentioned a probable cyst in mid right parapelvic but it is not certain. better to do a kidney ultrasound. but all my pain is in my left side I don't think this cyst (if it exists) has nothing to do with my pain. my doctor is sendign me for CT scan this wednesday and I am scard to death if it is something like colon cancer. I took some tylenol codein for pain which makes me sleepy and drowsy and for the past two days I had some nausea especially in the morning which remindes me the time that I was pregnant so I am not taking tylenol any more and the pain is not that bad but I've had several anxiety attacks for the past two days for the result that I don't know and doctor gave me Ativan but it makes me worse and I don't take this one either any more. sorry it gets too long.... I want some body to help me and give me some information . has any body experienced the same symptoms that I have? could it be IBS or some thing serious?just to let you know that we don't have a colon cancer in our family , I am 32 years old femal, I had done complete blood test and urine test about two months ago for check up which every thing was normal, I have not had a huge weight loss but I have noticed some weight loss for the past two days which might be becasue of the anxiety, my appetite is normal. please help. I am so worry.
thanks

My mother has diverticulosis and was experiencing pain in her left side under her ribs yesterday afternoon into the night. She said it hurt to walk and lie in certain positions. We took her to the ER before sunrise this morning as the pain was not subsiding. We are, unfortunately, out of state on vacation (what timing!) so seeing her doctor was out of the question. After completing an x-ray and cat scan they determined that she has diverticulitis, an infected pocket on her colon. We are still waiting to hear whether or not she will need immediate surgery depending on whether or not her colon has been perforated.

Hi All, I just Googled "left side ache" b/c I have it off and on for years and then found this site.  I haven't had it as much lately and, after reading your comments, I think I know why.  Almost 3 years ago, I had the ELISA blood test done because I was ALWAYS sick - either starting to get a sinus infection, bronchitis or pneumonia or just getting over one.  The purpose of the test is to check for delayed immune response allergies.  Basically, that means that it affects you further down the pipe; not usually immediately after you eat or touch what your body is intolerant to. 

The ELISA test results told me that I was allergic to eggs and bananas (which I was eating everyday), pineapple, asparagus and a few other minor ones.  I immediately started avoiding all the high reaction foods and within a couple of weeks was feeling amazingly improved and the cycle of repiratory illnesses subsided and then stopped.  I didn't know exactly how all the different foods affected me, but over the years as I've accidently eaten some of them I've found most of them out.  For me, I experience IBS symptoms when I eat oats.  For a while I was eating Cheerios almost everyday because I had been told to avoid eggs at all costs (oats was a "minor" allergy for me so I had overlooked it).  Once I got the major ones out of my diet I realized I was still feeling the IBS symptoms (which my naturopath has associated with a lot of food allergies), so we went through my list again and looked at the remaining ones.  I switched from multi-grain breads to only whole wheat and threw out the Cheerios.  Every once in a while, though, I get a major craving for them (don't know why but I do).  I had some soy milk I had bought when I couldn't have dairy b/c of a bout of colitis some anti-biotics had given me and decided to finish it off by getting a box of the multi-grain Cheerios, thinking that would be better than all oats.  I ate them 4 days in a row and for the last 2 days I have been having left side pain again along with gas and bloating.  After doing this a few times now, I know it's the oats!

All that to say that if you have IBS symptoms (or any inflammatory condition that won't go away) I would HIGHLY recommend that you ask your naturopath about the ELISA blood test.  The AMA is still behind the game on the concept and is frankly too proud to embrace something that the naturopaths discovered.  I am living, breathing proof that it works and I've had other friends who have had similar results.  It costs a couple hundred bucks (most insurance companies are too cheap and ignorant to cover it) but it's well worth the money.  I've saved many times that in copays for doctor appts and prescriptions over the last 3 years.  Here is a link to my naturopath's website... http://www.centerforfoodallergies.com/.  Best of luck in your search for good health!

I get left side pain, right side pain, stomach pain, dizziness, light-headedness. cramps, loose stool, hard stool. I'm basically a mess. Been to my GI 3 times in the last month. Dark stools w/mucous, these symptoms really have me down in the dumps for most of this year.

I take nexium, an anti spasmodic, zoloft (for my depression) welbutrin (to fight the side effects I get from the zoloft) I been to counseling, several Dr's, no avail...................I still feel terrible and I'm pretty much a shut-in because of it!

I'm so SAD!

Hello All,
I am new here. I googled "Left Pain in Side" and that's how I arrived here. I have had IBS for 10+ years, I eat gluten-free. I have developed a pain in my left side in the past 10 months. I ignored it for quite a while, but it is playing havoc in my life. I've been ruled out for inflamatory bowel disease and diverticulisis. Had colonoscopy and CT Scan. So the conclusion by doctors is that I am having colon spasms. Whatever it is I have, I'm not happy about it.
I was fasting on the weeked following the Master fast (water, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1tsp maple syrup), and it did seem to help. However, I'm the type that can't go long without eating and by the end of the day I would end up having some soup and yesterday I had a meal.
I can still feel the pain when I'm at my desk. Sometimes it pulses and other times it's just a dull pain. Sometimes it hurts when I walk, other times not.
My doctor has suggested I go back onto antipressants. I worked so hard to get off of them, I 'm not sure if I want to go back onto them. There was a period of time my digestive system was stabilized when I was on both Luvox and Rispirodol. I hate to go that route, but I have not been able to stabilize since Nov. 07. It's been loose stools or diarhea for most of the time. So I am considering going back onto the antidressant. I know some studies have shown that antidepressants have helped some with IBS.

Bye for now, Janet

Hi I just found this forum and post by Googling "Left side pain" Hope ya'll don't mind me jumping in here too. lo.l I'm shelly. I've had IBS with D since 1993! Ever since I had my Gallbladder removed. It's just been in the last year that i've been see-sawing back and forth between D and Constipation! Not fun! I've been going back and forth between pain in my left side too. I especially notice it when i'm Constipated.
I was wondering if anyone else notices it going into their back too? I've not had any tests yet, Dr just tells me to make sure and take lots of fiber and eat fiber rich foods. I also had Fibromylgia, Cronic fatigue, Hypothryoid and GERD with ulcer. Anyone else have back pains with their side pain?