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huge discomfort blow left rib

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e64335
e64335

31/2 yrs ago I had a mild stroke. The morning after I felt a small discomfort on my left side just below my rib. The dr looked and felt but could see or feel nothing. Said it may just go away. Gradually the discomfort got worse and now is sometimes unbearable. It is always present and has indeed reduced my quality of life to a great degree.

I have had CT scan, virtual colonoscopy, endoscopy, chest xray and ultrasound. All negative. I have seen a neurologist and 2 x gut consultants, again nothing.

After all that NOBODY has the slightest idea what is wrong. (this is a time when everybody seems to give up on a patient!)

The discomfort is just like as if someone is pushing their first firmy into the area immediately beneath my left lower rib and I tend to be automatically holding my hand, with some pressure on it, all day for somekind of relief.

Is this a nerve or a gut problem, or anything else and perhaps npthing to do with my stroke after all?

I now have to 'get out of my pram' to get any further tests done. Doctors switch off. Have you tried to push treacle through dry sand?!

I am 67. Has anyone else suffered this problem please?

James

7 likes, 222 replies

222 Replies

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  • nicknames
    nicknames e64335

    Posted

    I entirely agree with you Loxie. Drs writing a prescription or a letter just to egg you out off the door is a disgrace. Why, they are not even doing the job they choose to train for. They are happy to take the salary.. That is the only reason they stick at it yet providing us with a one star care service. Health centres take on far more patients than they can safely handle. Unfortunately it is for the wrong reason. If only that they were dedicated to their work and forced themselves to think outside the box. Not doing this fails thousands of patients a year. They can be dangerous people.
  • ayeitssjessicaa
    ayeitssjessicaa e64335

    Posted

    Hello e64335 

    My name is Jessica. I'm 15 years old and I suffer from this nasty pain as well. I've had blood work, ultrasounds, and x-rays done but none seem to provide results. It comes and goes, which is nice, but it is very painful when it's there. The pain resides behind my left rib cage, towards the bottom. The pain feels like a knife being jabbed into me, & it worsens when I breathe in, and when I move from side to side. I have never had a stroke, so I don't believe this pain is caused from a stroke like a few people have suggested. I've been to the doctor multiple times, and they have chalked it up to a neuro case, and sent me to a pain management specialist and a therapist. They seem to think its stress related and now have me on anti-anxiety meds to calm me. They refuse to try anything more because they believe it's not physical, and they said if I would like to keep looking for a reason, they could set me up with some GI specialists. I would love to understand what is happening, because it is affecting my everyday life, from how much I sleep to how good I do in school. 

    Answers would be a miracle, but others who literally feel my pain is a nice reminder that I'm not alone. If you guys have any updates, feel free to reply back. In the mean time, I'll search on my own. 

    --Jessica

  • chris53626
    chris53626 e64335

    Posted

    ayeitssjessicaa. Sorry to hear these symptoms at an early age.  Personally I would want a proper evaluation as these pains in a person so young are not entirely normal without a underlying cause. Painmanagement is the usual copout by GP's in this country . The fact the pain is intermitenet , is something is a trigger for the pain. Gastro symptoms of this type are easily investigated with a small bowel capsule camera, and avoid a upper endoscopy until you have had this type of test, as an upper endoscopy can cause more damage to the GI trac. 

    A GP should not ask if you want to keep looking for the reason, as that is totally a reckless comment.  A CT scan of the thorax ( Chest) Abdomen and Pelvis is simple non invasive procedure , which also shows up the bone , lungs , and other organs..A CT scan can look at the outer stomach as well. 

    The spleen can cause these type of pians as well as adrenal malfuction, etc.  The fact it comes and goes could point towards costochondritis, which is inflamation of cartilages and ribs which also joint upto the sternum, another similar symptom is Tietzs syndrome.

    Best advice is always take a list of the symptoms to your GP, insist on going through them and have them attached to your medical records. With the greatest respect giving a 15 year old anti anxiety meds is wrong, and i would suggest you see a GP who as ears / eyes and knows what they are used for.  Unfortunately these days you get better care in A/E than a GP's surgery.  

    The fact your symptoms are linkd to breathing means a GP should refer to cardiology/ respititory medicine  as routine. A echocardiogram is always useful

    Best wishes, and dont let any GP say anxiety related or functional, pain management is not the answer with these symptoms

    • loxie
      loxie chris53626

      Posted

      Good reply Chris - you're so right about too many GPs looking at functional pain management as the cure for every symptom.  I had this type of pain on and off for a long time, sometimes just minor and at other times totally unbearable.  A few tests later and my GP told me to take ibuprofen when it occurred.  Yes, I wanted the pain to stop but more importantl was to find and arrest the cause not just mask the symptom, surely pain is the body's safety alarm to tell us when something is wrong!  I actually found I got less pain when I stopped taking ibuprofen which hinted to me it may be digestive as I dont tolerate NSAIDs or OTC anti inflammatories very well.  I personally found relief quite by accident when I met my present partner who is vegetarian and cut meat products from my diet and also started medication for stress.  I'm sure this wouldnt be the cure for everyone but it does indicate that the bowel, spleen and adrenal gland can all get stressed and cause issues such as this.  Just wish doctors would listen to patients who have in turn listened to their own bodies.
  • kyle1234
    kyle1234 e64335

    Posted

    Hello, my name is Kyle and I am 24. I am suffering from what I believe to be the same pain you all are suffering from. This discomfort has even kept me up at night on occassion and I will be going to a neurologist next week. What I would like to do is list some of my symptoms and see if we can't as a group find some common ground. Now another factor is that I am from the U.S. I am also left handed but never suffered any serious trauma to that area.

    Symptoms:

    Sensitivity left side (right above and below rib cage)

    Tingling

    Numbness

    Occassional whole left side numbness

    Pressure

    Increased pressure after eating on occasion

    Minor arthritis in left arm and hand.

    Now that is some of the symptoms I have listed more specific to that area.

    Other Information:

    Non-Smoker since 3/4months ago

    Drink water and milk only

    Gluten-Free (About a week or two  ago)

    I have lost 16lbs since April

    Had a blood test done already (A month ago), no serious abnormalities.

  • cchick
    cchick e64335

    Posted

    Hey guys..

    i just refistered to tell you all this..

    please check out traditional chinese medicine..  the way they diagnose and treat

    are so different that western medicine..

    i have had all the tests and nothing showed either.. eventually i was led to TCM..

    they can tell you things you never realized before.. my initial consult was the most amazing 'personal reading' i have ever had..

    for an example.... if you look this up: TCM spleen  (or for that matter, whichever pain you are having, google tcm and then the condition)  you can find out what spleen does.. each organ 'governs' certain functions.

    one example i can tell you is that stomach and spleen do NOT like cold drinks.

    please check it out.  i had so many things wrong with no answers that i was in such despair.

    but my TCM Dr told me everything there was to know..

    if nothing else, find a TCM dr in your area and go for an initial consult.

    they have been doing this for thousands of years and they know what they

    are doing.

    western medicine simply does not work the same way, although they are great

    for tests and scans, things like that.

    Anyway..just google 'TCM Dr'. and then your area..  try a consult..

    i did not know about this whole concept for years.. i wish i had.. but now i can

    at least pass it along to others to try.

    you can google all about TCM and tcm diagnosis, and see what it is all about.

    there are so many aspects people are not aware of and it can give you

    answers.

    It really is fascinating.   I do not register at forums generally.. but I wanted to

    pass this along. It really can help.  smile

    ~cchick

     

  • thomas808
    thomas808 e64335

    Posted

    I am 16 and have the same problem, I was told by doctors it was a kidney problem and that it might help to drink more.....
  • MELEKIE
    MELEKIE e64335

    Posted

    Could be a heitus hernier I broke my rib sometimes. though Have they cdoes not show on exrays ask for a MRI. I have had pain like a bad toothache and on the right lower rib cage. I have a small Heitus hernier I assume also they checked your liver function which lyes behind your ribs? And also your bone density for bone disease ? .Don't give up and let them tell you your imagining it I have had allot trouble over a year with no one listening to me and now they have found out what I was telling them 're my pain that I was right all along and nothing to do with

    my stomach problem !!

  • Bigchucky2
    Bigchucky2 e64335

    Posted

    Hello, hope your pain has been fixed, mine just started 3 days ago while sitting at my computer sharp pain just below left ribs. Hurts more when I eat or bloated. This pain seemed strange so went on internet found this discussion and felt helpless now to resolve my pain. I hope anyone of you have had some results by now?
    • kimberly78959
      kimberly78959 Bigchucky2

      Posted

      Same thing happened to me about 3-4 months ago & the pain is more persisitent now that even laying down doesn't relieve it as quickly.  In fact I can only lay on my left side.  In other position hurts.  Sitting after a bit begins to hurt again every time.  I really haven't notice it being worse after I eat but then again I'm sitting when I eat & when sitting, I'm hurting.  Going to the MD Wednesday to figure this out.  Have you been to a MD?  Any results?
  • vibes12many
    vibes12many e64335

    Posted

    I had a similar issue. Mild discomfort in the left side just under the rib cage. The doctor here in the US was not able to find the issue and asked me to consult a Gastroentologist. The appointment for my Gastroentologist was not availble until Feb.

    So i travelled to India and met one of the best Gastroentologist there, and he immediately diagnosed it as Intercoastal Neuralgia. Which was a relief since i had no positive answer in the net.

    And this is a condition which has a treatment to get a shot iin the region of pain. But i chose not to take it as it was not too bad for me and it was coming and going.

    Hope this helps.

  • marcus69791
    marcus69791 e64335

    Posted

    Wow I don't know how I stumbled upon this forum, but I had been having the exact same discomfort that you all have described to a T. I am finally getting better and don't really notice it much anymore, within the last week or two really. Before I had the pain since the start of December. That dull, almost like if you were to squeeze under your right rib cage and not let go feeling. At times a stabbing pain occurred and at times when I was trying to sleep it just felt like something swollen was sitting right under my left rib cage.

    My pain all started after a bad recurring infection from clostridium difficile. I am wondering if that could lead to diverticulosis now.

    • marcus69791
      marcus69791

      Posted

      I guess I'll go in to more detail here with myself in case it helps some readers who are having similar pain. First, however, I would like to say that you should take very readers comments with a grain of salt. I have seen many comments on here telling people that modern medicine is a joke and traditional Chinese medicine and other natural healers should be the first visit for sufferers. That is dangerous and misleading. If you have problems, go to a real doctor. I understand the frustration that comes when one can not find answers, but doctors aren't out to make you more sick and the pills and medicine they throw at you are tested and do work for the vast majority of patients (who don't post here because they got help and aren't looking for answers like us). Specialist doctors have spent years and years to get where they are, they know what they are doing.
    • marcus69791
      marcus69791

      Posted

      Okay, sorry for the side track. Now on to me. I have been tested for parasites, mono, tb, aids, had white blood cell counts, infalmitory responses checked, had my thyroid checked, and probably many other tests I am forgetting. A CT a month and a half ago reviled I had an enlarged spleen and liver. I do not know if that caused the pain, however. When the pain was at its worst I also was feeling extremely fatigued (like a walk outside made me lose my balance and feel life I was going to pass out and fall over) and I lost about 12 pounds. The pain in my sode, however was scary. It was a constant painful reminder that something is going wrong down there. For me too it started mid day and got worse and worse into the evening and then usually the next morning it was gone. I found stretching or bending over gave me a stabbing pain and exercise, forget about it. Terrible. So far no one has been able to say exactly what caused the pain. I am still doing testing with an infectious disease doctor to see if maybe I had a viral infection. For me the pain all came on fast and hard. On the last day of a 22 day course of 1.5 grams daily metronidazole I was taking for a bacterial gut infection I felt dizzy, extremely faint, and had a terrible feeling of something bloated in my side. Then it never went away for months. I constantly worried at my side, grabbbing it, holding it, trying to keep my clothes from rubbing the skin in that tender area. I still have slight pain here and there, but it is much better. I wish I could tell you guys what I had exactly and what fixed it. Maybe it was an ulcer because I did start taking acid blockers and a week later I began feeling better. I also did just get sick of being so sick and I just started eating and working out even with the pain and maybe that helped, or maybe whatever I had just ran it's course. I guess of you all take nothing else from me just know that sometimes even long periods of pain can still be a temporary thing, still get checked out by a gi or go to your primary (if you see a primary, demand them to refer you to a specialist however, primary care will not know much on a very specific topic like this.) My heart really goes out to everyone on here. I feel for all of you and hope you all find the answers you need. That was all I wanted when I felt the pain, just some damn answers for once and for all
    • holly11388
      holly11388 marcus69791

      Posted

      So I have been having the discomfort under my ribs for about 2 years with no luck of figuring out what it is. Also feels at times like there is something pushing up underneath my ribs. Although Drs still don't know.. I have seen and internal medicine dr who ran extensive blood work. She found I have rhumetoid arthritis as well as costocondritis. Although RA wouldn't affect my ribs, costocondritis will. Costocondritis is inflammation in the connecting cartlidge in your ribs. Which can range to your breast bone (cause sharp shooting pains) down to your lower ribs. She has put me on steroids which have helped ALOT. So maybe you guys could possibly have an inflammatory problem. Hope this helps!!
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