Right side abdominal ache under rib area

Hi all. Haven’t been here in a while. I’ve been doing really well since I went on Stelara every 4 weeks in the fall of 2023. I’ve also been taking 6 mg of budesonide every morning. Best I have felt in a long long time.

Born in 1962. Male. I have pancolitis. Since the spring of 2016. Which is, the entire bowel is affected not just the usual lower left side of UC, From what I understand. I think I read online that 20% of people with UC have it this way.
I also have PSC of the liver. (Bile ducts have narrowed). Last MRI, I was told that has been stable since 2016, not getting worse, but they are keeping and eye on it with blood work every three months and an annual MRI.

Anyway, had a colonoscopy Tuesday morning. Afterwards GI said everything looked good. No polyps. He said “I’d give it a B.”

Well, I ate bland low fiber, very bland, all day Tuesday and Wednesday …
and yesterday, (Thursday), I thought I’d try going back to normal diet.

I’m thinking that wasn’t a good idea. For dinner last night I had a cold cut chicken sandwich on a white bread hamburger roll and a side of shredded style Cole slaw. It had almonds in it and other chunky green stuff. Maybe raw broccoli in there.

I guess my gut did not like that. Before bed last night I had an ache that was pretty rough in my upper right abdominal area. Kind of under my right lower rib. I’d say an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
It subsided after an hour or so.

Went to bed.

I woke up a couple of times in the night, finding that I rolled over and was sleeping on that right side, (I’m typically a left side sleeper), to a pain level of 3. Rolled over went back to sleep.

This morning, pain level there is a 1. No trace of blood in urine or in good looking stool movement this morning.

Your thoughts? Just go back on the bland diet for a few days and see if things settle down?
Or should I be more concerned?

Thanks in advance.
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Post Edited (Rusty Barr) : 6/7/2024 6:40:01 AM (GMT-8)

I agree with Quincy, that sounds like gas to me. If it doesn't go away or it gets worse call your GI, but I wouldn't worry too much about it right now.

Raw broccoli is the number one thing that I have NEVER been able to eat. Intense, agonizing pain.

Sounds like the cold cut sandwich plus cole slaw mixture gave your ascending colon trouble. Not surprising! Read labels as much as you can for processed/prepared foods. I do much better avoiding most cold cuts and slaw. If you see Applegate brand (no nitrites, etc.) cold cuts where you shop you could try a non-smoked chicken or turkey to see if that's tolerated, if so take some time then try their ham, too, if the flavor appeals to you. Otherwise, stick to hard-boiled egg and cooked poultry or fish, or non-chunky nut butters for your sandwich fillings. My feeling is that we can reach a "new normal" diet with UC, where we tolerate a variety of foods but still need to avoid certain things like whole nuts and seeds plus heavy spicing. I would not attempt to eat raw broccoli, but do well on steamed, baked, or sauteed florets, same with cauliflower. Avoid the stalks or puree them for soup. I can tolerate a small serving of cole slaw if it's made with a thinly-cut cabbage mixture + non-peppery mayo, but also w/o raw carrot or any other raw veggie added. It took me a long while to progress to any raw veggie, but now I do well on the organics spring mix and baby spinach varieties. Better to err on the side of caution-- which does rule out a lot of fast-foods in case of UC. / Old Hat (40+ yrs with left-sided UC; in remission taking Colazal)

Post Edited (Old Hat) : 6/8/2024 1:26:30 AM (GMT-8)

Rusty,

How are you doing? Hopefully everything is going well.

Broccoli is one of those foods that's a handle with caution. Same with cauliflower. I would Give it a few months before you try it again...

Clo