Sharp, Stabbing pain below the belly button
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi, I've had IBS for about 10 years (Alternating between diarrhea and constipation). It has gotten a lot worse over the past year and a couple days ago, I developed this horrible stabbing pain that kept coming on every 5-10 minutes, lasting about 5-10 seconds each time. When I push on my stomach to try to figure out where the pain is coming from, it hurts the most right below my belly button. However, I am feeling the pain in the center of my stomach, above my belly button as well. So I feel like it is radiating to different parts of my stomach. It hurts even more when I stand and even walk, like a heavy feeling that I can feel with each step I take. I have been having diarrhea with this pain, and I can't seem to eat anything without having to run to the bathroom. However, when I push to go to the bathroom, I feel pain in my lower abdomen. Has anyone ever experienced this before or have any idea what it could be? I will say it started the first day of my period and has been going on for 3 days now, without any relief. So I'm worried it might be endometriosis? This has never happened before during any of my other periods, so this is new. I'm not even sure if it is related. I have been trying to do a lot of research on the topic. Any help would be appreciated, PLEASE!!
0 likes, 6 replies
frazzled nat6288
Posted
Hi nat: Sorry to know that you are going thru so much pain. It's interesting to me that you wrote you've had IBS for 10 years but apparently what you are feeling now is new -- has never happened in the past? You mentioned endometriosis -- have you been diagnosed with that in the past? Since the symptoms you mention are new, I suggest you see a gynecologist to rule out endo.... or other nasties that may be lurking. The answer could be as simple as trapped gas (I've had that and thot I was having a heart attack). Have you been under more stress than usual? You might want to try placing a heating pad on the abd to see if that give you any relief. I do suggest that you see a doc.
nat6288 frazzled
Posted
Yes, it's crazy to me that I've had it for a while and all the sudden new symptoms are occurring. I've never been diagnosed with endometriosis but will bring it up with my gynecologist next time I see her. I just had a pelvic ultrasound and that came back clear. I've just never experienced such horrible pains before this last year. Stress has been the same as usual, and thank you! I will definitely try the heating pad for some relief next time!
frazzled nat6288
Posted
Do you still have your gall bladder? I was experiencing mini attacks in my abd because it went into spasms. Upon ultrasound, they found stones and suggested I have it removed. I did and the pain from that is gone. The IBS below the navel still gives me grief (terrible burning sensation) but I can live with that since I'm not doubled over in pain. Good luck.
nat6288 frazzled
Posted
Yes, I've had tests for my gallbladder and it ended up being normal. 88% ejection fraction which I thought was high, but doctors told me it was fine. I've also had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, blood work, abdominal ultrasounds, CT scan, H.Pylor testing and still nothing. It can get extremely frustrating! I'm glad the removal of your gallbladder helped with the pain!! Thank you for your reply! Good luck to you as well!
jennifer81644 nat6288
Posted
Hi,
Have you found the cause of this yet? I wanted to let you know I was in a similar situation just this past month. I had IBS for 10 years with nothing out of the ordinary happening for a very long time. Then suddenly about 4 weeks ago I woke up with terrible pain in my abdomen and could barely walk. I tried treating it at home thinking it was an IBS flare up, albeit a bad one, I didn't get it checked because I don't have health insurance and I thought I could take care of it at home by changing my diet, taking Milk of Magnesia and just trying to relax. The following week at work, I still had the pain although not as debilitating, but I started to get cold chills and just not feeling right so finally decided I needed to go to the ER - at that point, I actually thought maybe I had appendicitis and got very frightened that it may burst. Well, they did a CT scan and found I had diverticulitis and it was extensive. I'd also possibly developed a fistula which may require surgery, so they admitted me to the hospital right away to begin antibiotics intravenously. I want to add that with all the Google searching I did for my symptoms, diverticulitis never came up once, so it was completely off my radar as a possible cause. I was on a liquid diet for 2 days and constant monitoring. It was a shock to me since as I said, I hadn't had any symptoms like this before. These things, I'm learning, can onset very quickly and wreak havoc on your system in no time at all. My takeaway is that I'll never ignore any pain or discomfort in my stomach/colon/intestinal area again. It could have ended with peritonitis or I could have become septic, so it was a great lesson for me. I'm still on antibiotics and have lost nearly 15 lbs in the 2 weeks since leaving the hospital because I had to drastically change my diet. There still isn't any guarantee that I won't need surgery, but I'm doing all I can to try and prevent that. I hope you got everything taken care of and that now you're well and happy and feeling good. All the best
nat6288 jennifer81644
Posted
Thanks so much for the response!! I'm glad you figured out what was causing your pain! Diverticulitis runs in my family, but I've had a lot of tests a few years ago and the results were relatively normal. So I went to a nutritionist back in October and we did a detox plan. My diet was gluten, dairy, and refined sugar free and I was also on many supplements and probiotics. I'm happy to say since then I havent experienced that horrible stabbing pain! My other symptoms have not cleared up completely but they have gotten a little better and definitely more manageable. I just have to try to stick to my new diet plan!
Thanks again for the response! I appreciate it!