[Guest]

I'm 30 yr old Male.Can you please tell me where you have pains.Most of my pain is in the lower left front abdomen which sometimes go to the back and up the side to just below the rib cage.I also have pains in the front right abdomen and also suffer from a severely bloated stomach which can be excruciating at times!I know from reading this board that everybody suffers in a slightly different way, but, I would like the reassurance that others unfortunately suffer the same as I do.The pains can also wake me during the night, is this usual? Thanking you all in advance.

 

[Guest]

sufferininuk; just want to let you know that misery has company and that unfortunatley would be ME! I also expireience a dull aching pain chronically in my lower rightand left side of my abdomen and also in my lower back. I am always bloated and you just get so darn tired of it! the doctor put me on bentyl hasn't made any impact yet its been about a week I really think living with this chronic pain is so difficult but really try to focus on locating some medication that may help may ask for librax next because bentyl seems tohelp those who have D and cramps more hope it helps to know I'm sufferininus tooo.

 

[Guest]

My pain from IBS is in the same place, lower left abdomen and it can go to my back and up to the upper part of my stomach. I have gas alot of the time and am often bloated. I take Phazyme(simethicone)OTC for gas and it seems to help alittle. Sometimes I am miserable even sitting and have to lie down and am most comfortable lying on my side(actually going back and forth between left and right). I try and stay regular by taking 2 fibercon (OTC)daily and I have an RX for librax for really bad times. I think the pain (lower abdomen-sigmoid area)is from spasms and that lower left is a common place for it to occur. Check out patient education-IBS at this site www.gicare.com and check out Erics website-the address is on this board. You are not alone and it is actually comforting to me that you too have this pain and have IBS for I know I'm not all by myself. Please e-mail me any time if you'd like. The pain can and does wake me up but fortunately not to often.------------------Nancy[This message has been edited by GoesAlot (edited 08-20-1999).]

 

[Guest]

If misery loves company this should make you feel much better! I have had predominately lower right side pain for about the last 10 years. The pain began as a dull ache in this area and increased in intensity over the years. If it gets really bad my whole abdomen hurts and is very tender and *knotty* feeling. The pain radiates down my leg to my inner thigh and into my lower back in the sacroiellic (sp?)area. This lower back pain produces a tenderness in this area that is actually sore to the touch--kind of where the dimple is in your bottom( is this specific enough for you?) I also have fatigue,don't rest well and have fibromyalgia pain that I believe is triggered by my IBS even though my GI doc says it isn't. I have developed intolerances to foods (especially red meat and wheat), medicines, and supplements that I have taken or injested in the past without problems. I know something is *off* with my body (and mind--I can add brain fog to the list of symptoms, too). I have questioned my GI doc several times to ask if IBS usually caused this much pain and he said *yes*. I know how you feel about wanting reassurance that your illness is indeed IBS and not something more life threatening because I frequently say to myself that surely something as innoculus as IBS can not produce this awful pain. Apparently, it does. I take Librax daily for the pain and it does a farily good job most days of controlling (but not eliminating) the pain. It has also helped with the bloating that I had. I take Citrucel daily for constipation and it seems to help some. Hope this reassures you somewhat--but if you're like me, most of the time you'll convince yourself that it's *only* IBS, but that little nagging doubt that it's something more serious is always waiting trying to sneak up on you. You just have to control the factors you can--get regular tests and exams to rule out obvious problems and try to let go of the worry that it's something more serious (Easy for me to say, huh??).Blessings--South

 

[Juliet]

I too get pain or maybe some would call it discomfort in both the right and left side of the abdomen, especially right below the ribs, and it some times radiates to my mid back area. I am usually ibs-c, but have flare ups of ibs-d under stress and anxiety. I also have GERD and have had duodenal ulcers in the past. That stuff is generally under control by taking Prilosec for the past two years. Sometime I take Gaviscon for the GERD. I don't really take any thing for the general ibs symtoms described, other than maybe immodium during a flare up. I try to watch what I eat and eat small amounts several times a day, but do suffer from gas and bloating daily. Sometimes I feel like my stomach and intestines are pushing through my abdominal wall, beyond my ribs, very uncomfortable. I rarely wake up from this, but have occassionally. When the bloating is worse I feel best in a reclining position, but that is not always possible of course.I have not seen anything definitive on this board that addresses the gas and bloating situation, unless I missed it or did not recognize it, so I am open to suggestions on that. For me some days are better than others. It certainly is a relief to have found this BB and others who are suffering from the same symtoms. It helps to know I am not alone, and also decreases my anxiety about my symtoms.Juliet

 

[Guest]

I forgot one thing (I told you I had brain fog!!!). You mentioned pain in the rib area. Recently, I have had pain that has begun radiating upward in the area of my gall bladder and sometimes higher. Tests reveal a gall bladder full of stones even though I don't have the obvious symptoms of gall bladder disease--nausea, pain after eating fatty foods, etc. and I refuse at this point to have it removed. Along with this pain in the rib area, I have actual tenderness and nodules along my ribs. The doc has no idea what causes this except to say that it may be a part of the fibromyalgia syndrome. BTW--I work full time teaching a room full of boisterous first graders even though some days it is very difficult to get through the day. South

 

[Guest]

Wow...pain tenderness and nodules in the ribs? Get that from time to time. My doc said it might be muscles getting pinched in your rib cage for whatever reason. Drives me nuts though and gives my anxiety a good thing to get worked up about!I also get a (what I think) severe gas pain on my side and a little into my back which usually signals a 'd' run. I did start to notice though that this may be caused by a lactose intolerance, which I am trying to figure out now with eliminations.I noticed the less milk I have, the more normal a BM and the less pain. Food for thought, literally...

 

[Nan]

I don't get it very often, but if I'm going to get discomfort, it will be on the left under the ribcage.[This message has been edited by Nan (edited 08-22-1999).]

 

[Guest]

Thank you all very much for your replies, although unfortunate - it is reassuring to know that I am not alone.I am still learning about my condition and all your co-operation and support has been a wonderful help....THANKS

 

[bkitts]

All I can say is "IT'S GREAT TO FIND PEOPLE LIKE THIS AND NOT HAVE TO FEEL LIKE I'M ALONE!!! I have this constant pressure and can't really pinpoint where it is but it just feels like my intestines is ONE BIG TIGHT BALL!!! I feel the pain on both sides, in the middle, and the bloating just makes it worse!!! I've tried everything, I must confess that the only medicine that works for all of this has been Klonopin! This of course tells me mine is more of stress and tension, my sister used to tell me that plainly all my tension/depression/anxiety just hits the gut! I get tired of taking benzo's for this almost everyday but its the only relief! I go to the gym at night and put in about 2 hours, run till there's no more anxiety left and yet, after about 30 minutes, its back again!!! I'd love to know if anyone has the same problems here with the exercise not helping and even making it worse, and if you have to take something as strong as valuim/ativan/xanax/klonopin/ etc......Please write me at Bkitts###worldnet.att.netthanks,,Breck

 

[Rose]

I'm a "C" type and suffer from lower left sided abdominal pain, which on bad days has occasionally traveled down my left leg (inner thigh area). The pain is present on most days, although not everyday. However, I have bloating and gas everyday.------------------"Today is the first day of the rest of your life"Rose

 

[Guest]

Most of you are complaining of pain in the lower or side of the abdomen. My pain is dead center and up high, just where the rib cage comes together. Anybody else experience pain there?Also, it sometimes seems like there is a raised "bump" over this area. Is this what people are referring to when they say bloated stomache?

 

[eric]

Linda, people are talking about being bloated from gas,the other bumps and things could be muscle's tightening as they spasm,or maybe something else that would need to be look at by a doctor. I havee read (most people with IBS)have pain in the left side,but after reading this bb it seems it affects everyone and I am begining to wonder about the left side thing,although that is where mine is,however sometimes it seems to travel to other parts of my body. The digestive tract nerves are highly intergated,so a pain might start one place and the signal might even seem to come from somewhere else entirely,I think this is why people say there is a pain in the lower back,or their leg,sometimes mine even travels up to the left under my arm. The muscle nerve connection is highy complex![This message has been edited by eric (edited 08-24-1999).]

 

[Guest]

I ALSO HAVE THE PAINS ON MY LEFT SIDE. I HAVE STARTED DRINKING MOSTLY WATER, TAKING CALTRATE AND THE GOOD BACTERIA AND I FEEL BETTER THIS WEEK. I TRY TO EAT RIGHT AND I NO LONGER "STUFF" MYSELF WHEN EATING. I HOPE SOME OF THIS WILL HELP. I CAN ONLY SAY THAT I FEEL BETTER NOW THAN I HAVE IN QUITE SOME TIME.

 

[Guest]

Linda: I experience similar pains to what you describe � it feels like the stomach is going to burst! This is normally after eating food that has a high yeast content and/or white bread. To get rid of this I normally lie down for 5-10 minutes, a few burps and the majority of the discomfort disappears.If you have not already seen a doctor/physician I would recommend you do so. It is best that you are diagnosed by a professional.I have only been diagnosed with IBS for less than a week so I am still learning how to deal with the discomfort caused by it. I am mainly a �C� type with numerous areas of discomfort, although it is predominantly on the lower left hand side. I am not yet on any medication as my doctor wants me to try a high fibre diet first � which I am doing slowly and a lot of the discomfort seems to be reduced. I also eat a lot slower than I did before which seems to help a great deal....particularly the bloated stomach.I find that stress can make the symptoms a lot worse than what they really are....when I was undergoing investigation into different possibilities of what was causing the �pain� I was stressed beyond belief! I really thought that I had a terminal illness (I am not normally like that!) � obviously the stress that I needlessly put myself through did not help the condition one bit � I am normally a calm �laid back� person but the worry �freaked me out�.The only reason that I can attribute to the start of IBS is a change in working habits � I am normally physically active, but for the past four months I have been in non-active job where I am sat down in front of a multitude of computers and telephones (in a control room). Soon I will be back to normal (everyone has to take their turn) and out of the control room.........hopefully this will alleviate the symptoms!