Pain/discomfort under right rib cage.
Posted , 412 users are following.
I have been experiencing this for the last few months, I have been searching the web looking for answers. I am a 45 year old female, in good health, I take no medications, thin, active, I eat healthy, so I am at a loss. I have this feeling like there is something under my right rib cage as if something is stuck underneath or enlarged. At first I thought I had strained a muscle b/c I had been working out in the yard the day before it started. It doesn't hurt, it just feels like there is something there that shouldn't be but when I touch the area there is no swelling or bulge. After about 3-4 weeks when it wasn't going away I went to see my doctor. They did blood work, urine labs and sent me for an ultrasound of gallbladder, all came back normal. I have no other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, etc. just this feeling like something is there. It seemed to go away on it's own and then came back and has come and gone since sometimes lasting a few days, sometimes a few weeks. When it is back wearing a bra is uncomfortable. Sometimes there is a warmth or burning sensation in the area. The only other symptoms I have had that I think are related are these: A few months before this started I experienced a fluttering sensation, almost like when I was pregnant and the baby moved, in the same location, a couple of times. Since this has started, on 3 or 4 different occasions, I have experienced a charlie horse like spasm in the same area, below the right rib, when bending over from a sitting position. Does anyone have any answers as to what this might be? Does it sound like IBS? Peptic Ulcer? Hiatal Hernia?
30 likes, 688 replies
valerie1951 kit4410
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louise57001 valerie1951
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Thanks for this Valerie, I know I have a hiatus hernia, my GP said this was unlikely to cause this high pain under my rib so I’m going to speak to my Chiropractor 😊
scruffster valerie1951
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Mosesna kit4410
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Casie1564 kit4410
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elly87734 kit4410
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Did you ever find out what it was? I've been dealing with the same thing under my right breast since April after I had surgery. Please let me know. Thanks
VS8100 kit4410
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Hi Kit,
Did you find an answer to your symptoms? For the last several years I have pain under my right rib cage. I also feel like something is stuck there and have right back and shoulder pain. The reason I found this thread though is that I was searching for the charlie horse symptom. I get charlie horse (severe cramping) to the right of my stomach under my rib cage when I bend over. It stops me in my tracks and I have to do the quick breathing like I'm in labor and wait for it to go away. It has happened when tying my shoes or relaxing in the bathtub when I sit up to turn the water on or off. I have had an ultra sound and a CT scan of my gall bladder and Dr says all is normal looking. The only thing they found was a very small kidney cyst. If anyone has solved this frustrating issue please let me know. This morning it woke me up at 2:00 am and I'm just about to get online and request to see my GP. I'm going to ask to be referred to some kind of internal medicine specialist or something. I feel like he doesn't know what's causing it so he's letting the ball drop....but I'm getting pretty tired of it. I don't like the pain or the worry.
louise57001 VS8100
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I had the Charlie cramping several years ago , exactly as you describe & had to do the whole breathing thing too! My GP put this down to a hernia!
kim25665 kit4410
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VS8100 kit4410
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Do you vape? I made a comment asking for the same help or updates on this forum somewhere but I can't find it now to update. I actually went to urgent care with this pain recently. Once again they couldn't find anything wrong with my gall bladder, liver, appendix. On this trip though they told me that I had calcium spots on my pancreas. After a lot of reading I came across articles on how nicotine (not cigarettes) can cause the pancreas to have too much calcium. The pancreas can cause pain. I don't know if links are allowed but here goes.....https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12094008 ; If I think about it.... the pain started shortly after I started vaping about a year and a half ago. So then I noticed that there are tons of people on vaping forums that have these symptoms. Even their doctors are telling them that vaping shouldn't have anything to do with it but I'm not so sure. It's pretty close to Christmas so I won't see my own Dr. until after. So I'm going to try to stop vaping and see if the pain goes away. I love vaping so this isn't going to be fun. Wishing you all well.
marisa51781 kit4410
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pat87351 marisa51781
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Hi Marisa, I posted a few months ago, and have the same symptoms as kit4410 too. I had an ultrasound, CT scan, blood work--all showed perfect health, no problems, but the symptoms persist. Family doctor referred me to Gastro doctor, who did exam, looked at all test results, and said something similar. His opinion was that my problem (mine only, and not that of anyone else on this thread--not trying to diagnose anyone else) is probably a skeletal-muscular (spelling?) issue, and not related to liver, pancreas, intestines, etc. For me he recommended applying heat pads, and taking ibuprofen. I've been too busy to do any of this over the holidays, and am not sure I will. It's just an annoyance at this point, and may just try to live with it.
marisa51781 pat87351
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louise57001 marisa51781
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chriszmbe89 kit4410
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Hi I've also been experiencing pressure under my right rib. Mine started put very light and only when I leaned forward in a chair while playing a game. I had lots of heart burn for close to a year then started apple cidar vinegar. The heartburn is completely gone bit the pressure has seemed to move slightly down more along the rib cage and is now also feeling pressure along my left rib cage edge. Also radiates a preasure sensation to my back as well. After 2 years and 2 months I'm finally fixing to head to my doctor. I'll keep you guys updated. Hoping it isn't cancer that has spread from one lung to another.
louise57001 chriszmbe89
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jennifer31636 chriszmbe89
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I too experienced these symptoms for about 3 full months - pressure on my right side, under my rib cage, along with smelly, irregular stools at times. I'm 53 and incredibly lucky to have never, in my entire life, experienced these symptoms. If I've had irregularity, it never lasted more than a day or two and I never had the pressure on my side before. These symptoms came on suddenly, and I kept hoping they'd just go away on their own. Before going to the doctor, I decided to try a few things on my own. I'm going to share what I did here, in case it contributed to my getting over this thing. The biggest thing that i did was (and I know this sounds totally crazy) was to eat massive amounts of celery. I started eating an entire bag of celery a day; around 5 pieces with every meal and several pieces throughout the day. I don't know what made me think to do this - I just had a feeling that it would help, and I think it did. I think it not only cleaned me out, but it might have dislodged something - I just don't know. I also started drinking kefir and taking probiotics, but I did that for about 2 months prior to starting the celery regiment, and that alone did not make my symptoms go away. I also got a ton of sleep and didn't drink a drop of alcohol for the entire four months this was going on. After about three weeks of eating celery, my symptoms went away completely. As a disclaimer, I have no background in the medical field but I don't think one can overdose on eating celery so maybe give it a try.
angie43080 jennifer31636
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I'm glad that has helped you. I take a probiotic every day. Also, I have noticed that there are a couple foods thats do make mine worse. 3 that I know of. Corn, pork, and celery. I don't know why. Maybe they are just harder to digest and I don't have a gall bladder.