[deek19580]

Hi,over the last two years i have been getting a pain just above the belly button, this pain started as sharp pain which occured every few months and the last two times it has been severe pain which causes me to sweat, i can't walk due to pain and i feel so much pain in the same area, the pain will completely disappear after an hour, then again in a few months it will occur.when the pain occurs its always just above the belly button...maybe an inch and my stomach goes very hard, i have spoken to doctors and they say is stomach acid which i don't believe as my eating habits are the same everyday.any idea's what this can be or any advise would be much appciated as noone knows what is wrong.thanks

 

[Jillywindy]

It not advisable for any of us to make a diagnosis with so little info but, I will say, that the location and nature of the pain don't indicate stomach acid issues. Many years ago I used to get a similar problem - severe pain that would only last an hour or so and would only occur less than once/week. From what I know now, I think that the pains were spasms in the transverse colon and were related to excessive insoluble fiber - they always seemed to happen after eating salad but not every time. Now I know that I have to balance insoluble with soluble fiber. I have had similar issues more recently with my IBS too but the pain has been more regular. That is only my own experience but the location and nature of the pain I would say was quite similar. Maybe it can help you but it could be something completely different. At least get the doctor to think more about pain from lower down.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Eating habit doesn't always make a difference for either functional problems or for things like gastritis.There are other triggers other than food for all GI distress, so it could be how well you slept, does your body like the weather today, are you under any mental stress, etc. Lots of triggers, not just food and only food.Sorry it is hard to tell which, if any, of the functional GI problems (or other painful things like abdominal migraines that are rarer in adults than kids but can happen) from the location or severity of pain. All of them can be extremely painful in some people and locations overlap so much you can't really tell.You might try to see if heat relaxes it (heating pad or hot bath) or if peppermint makes it better (if it makes it worse it probably is heartburn just showing up a bit low). You might see if the doctors will give you a prescription for an antispasmodic to see if that relaxes the pain, or try an antacid during the attack to see if acid is the problem.