What do I have?

I am not sure what forum I should be posting.  I have a pain that my doctors, so far, have not been able to identify.  For about two years I have had a recurring 'knife like pain" in my left flank.  It is there almost all the time, but is at it's worst in the middle of the night (3AM).  It is in the area of my left kidney, but the pain is often front and back just below or behind the rib cage.  It is often accompanied by a light cramping or spasm in the front near what might be the colon.

I have long term GIRD which has been succesfully treated with a proton pump inhibitor (Prilosec, Omeprasole).  My physician and urologist have run ultrasound and CT scans which they say eliminate the kidney has the source of the pain. There are no stones, but a small cyst that the urologist said was insignificant.

I do have diverticulosis that was identified as not serious during my last colonoscopy.  That was two years ago and I am due for another colonoscopy this year.  I also have severe back pain due to spinal problems, but this left flank pain is very different and "in my opinion" not part of my back problems. I have asked the doctor to look at the possibility of diverticulitis.

  So my question is...Do you think I should enter that triathalon on my 70th birthday? lol   ..  my wife already said no. 

 My question really is ... who has had similar pain and what was it??

By the way, as you can see by my profile, I am a refugee from the prostate cancer forum.  So please, if some other forum can better answer my question let me know.

If you are not having diarrhea or bleeding then 9 times out of 10, it isn't Uc. Of course there always exception to this rule. It could be your diverticulosis but only a scope can tell you for sure. I also have it and even though I am in remission from my Uc, I still get pain from the diver on both my right and left side (that is where the pockets are). The blood test that Beachgirl mentioned is not entirely reliable because it can report many false negatives/positives.

Do you watch what you eat? As in the no-no list for Diverticulosis? I find that the pain usually hits me worse if I eat something that I shouldn't have. But I don't have the constant pain like you described.