Splenic flexure pain

i have been suffering with all the same symptoms and im so paranoid im dying! i dont get constipation or anything but very bloated gassy fullness under my left rib.

doctor said its ibs but ibs tablets dont even help. if i press on the area its like a burning griping sensation and some days i can be walking and feel the pain with each step . reading alot of you have the same is putting my mind at ease a bit. but does anyone know how to reduce the pain? i heard 2-3 days of a clear liquid diest helps ? also i have no temperature and no weight loss (yet) so i dint think its an infection

Has anyone experienced extreme back pain as well? I have all of the same symptoms as everyone with the exception of back pain in the same spot.

Sometimes to pain is unbearable other times if feels tingly.

Hello, and greetings, the pain that you are referring to, is probably splenic flexure syndrome, which can create a lot of symptoms, that seem unrelated, but are, including pushing on, or pinching the vagus nerve, look up vagus nerve symptoms, etc. I have had this for about 18 months, and just barely figured it out, by accident, a palpable lump, under the breast bones, left side, all kinds of, well a miserable time, I am finally getting a handle on what it is, and how to manage it, from my reading it's a side order of IBS, maybe part of, maybe separate, possibly caused or contributed to, by a nissen fundo laprascopy last year, maybe adhesions, and stress, well from elder abuse stuff back home, before I left. From my reading, it's a chronic condition, i.e. for life, and that diet, stress reduction, excercise, hydrate, maybe pro-biotics, etc. The person that got relief from antibiotics for dental? interesting, cause what I read points that antibiobics wipe out the good gut bugs, and thinking back, I was on an antibiotic when all this started, and that could be a third factor. There isn't much on the web about SFS, which is a shame, the best bet is the stuff on fodmap for IBS, stress relief/management, and a few medications. My heart goes out to anyone that has this, it's almost ruined my life, thank god I figured it out, on my own, basically, three endoscopes, three CTs, two barium swallow/esophograms, one ultrasound, one gastric empty, and everything and everyone said "nothing wrong".! Anyhow, a colonscopy of barium enema, but my new medical team is going for a middle small bowel with contract/barium type, plus follow through of the large bowel to look at what's going on. I kept telling all those doctors, ED, the prior surgeon, that the blockage/kinkage obstruction, was/is "further down the pike" it's not at the stomach or esophagus dudes, get a clue and look downstream!

late to the discussion but omg ive been having this for 6 months and have been terrified im dying of pancreatic cancer!

mine started at the same time as a bout of vertigo, so i assumed the vertigo was just amping up my ibs.

I've had morning diahrea almost the whole 6 months, its always yellowy or orangish, had been normal (firm & brown about 4 times).

Bulking with fibre & taking antispasmodics does nothing.

My pain is exactly where yours is, sometimes it will radiate further towards the middle & around the back but usually that only happens after eating.

I can rarely pass wind during the day, some days not at all but lately ive been passing a lot at night.

I had a scan a few days ago on my gallbladder, fasted for 22.5hr and still nothing was visable through my bowel, she asked if i had bowel issues and i said yes and thats when she said my bowel was blocking the view. I had diahrea 4 times that morning so shouldnt have been full of anything.

The whole thing has me scared to leave the house, because the day it started i was stuck in a public toilet with 2 of my children for 3hrs. I've had weeks ive felt better (1 morning poop and not much pain/discomfort) and more confident to walk around or go shopping & then back comes the unpredictable morning pooping, spending an hour on the loo with lots of side pain. My intestines are constantly gurgling, too!

First off, I want to thank everyone here for sharing insights into this condition. After living with it myself for a number of months, I know how painful it could be, and had to share my own observations. Note that this post is not medical advice, and is only meant for educational purposes.

My own pain is centered around the upper abdomen/stomach/descending-colon areas, and sometimes between my shoulder blades.

I observed that the immediate cause is due to trapped gas in the pockets of the gut, especially the splenic flexure area. This responded to things like manual manipulation of the area, e.g. massage, to release the trapped gas, but this was obviously not a long-term solution, since gas would again build up quickly after being released. Simethicone didn't help much in my experience - it doesn't "reduce of prevent the formation of gas" (wikipedia).

I then had to ask: What was causing the trapped gas?

1. One factor was obviously the foods I was eating, things that weren't fully digestable in the gut. Many grains, vegetables & fruits would irritate my gut and cause my gut to produce excess gas, which leads to more pain. Things like fasting, going low carb/FODMAPS, reducing/eliminating insoluble fibers helped some. I also observed some positive results taking probiotics and enzymes to help improve food digestion & decrease gas production.

2. Another factor I observed was that the pain seemed to be related to a dysfunction of my nerves in my gut area. I realized I was unconsciously "stomach gripping" - holding tension in my upper abdominal area. Basically, I was constantly tensing up the muscles in the area all day long, which I believe led to overactivation & overuse of the nerves in that area, which also meant that the malfunctioning nerves were also overactive in that vincinity including the gut/splenic flexure area. As a result, I believe that my colon was/is also in a constant state of tension & clenched, which traps gas.

This led me to research into why I was "stomach gripping" and how I could fix the dysfunctional nerves. (I discovered around this time that I also had pre-diabetes, & I learned that diabetes can cause nerve issues in the body.) I ended up transitioning to a keto diet: a. because it helped to lower my blood glucose levels/address the pre-diabetes, and b. because ketones are known to help repair nerves.

I came across Dr. Derrick Lonsdale, M.D.'s books & works (I strongly recommend them as required reading!) around this time and his research and observations into dysautonomia, and started myself on a thiamine & magnesium regimen (both helped me immensely with glucose metabolization & nerve repair, and gut motility). Besides that, what also helped was making sure I was covered with a multivitamin, extra potassium, extra sodium, vitamin C, gelatin, and getting my lower & mid back adjusted. I think C helped because I feel that it helps with my nerve repair process. Gelatin seemed to help because it soothes my GI tract & helps repair any irritated spots. And having my lower & mid back adjusted helped me because many of the nerves that touch the colon comes from that area.

Finally, getting enough/deep sleep, as well as regularly & consciously relaxing my gut (so I'm not "stomach gripping"), as well as de-stressing and meditation seems to be targeting the actual core issue (releasing the stress which led to everything above).

Right now I would say I'm at 90%!