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GF has abdom. pain, ideas as to cause and/or resolution?

K

KingGheedora

Diamond Member
First off, she has been to several doctors already, and nothing has been found. GI doc found nothing, no infections, endoscopy showed no ulcerations or anything in the stomach.

For the past few weeks she's been having pain in her abdomen. It looks like the area on her left side, beneath her ribcage. After the endoscopy the GI told her to try probiotics, and also gas-x.

She also has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and put on medication for that. No one has mentioned that the two might be related but just listing that here FYI.

So, any ideas what might be causing this? I'm curious as to why they haven't checked her small or large intestines. She has a family history of Chron's/UC type diseases.
 
Is the pain getting worst? Did they do a pregnancy check (or did she miss her period)? Does she get the pain right after she eats a meal or later? Any type of food that makes the pain worst? Is pain relieved by sitting up or lying down?
 
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A colitis flare-up would be associated with blood in the stool, along with gastrointestinal distress. People typically don't tolerate food. To rule out colitis, I am guessing GI did a "guiac" stool test - which tests for abnormally high concentrations of blood in the stool.

Does your girlfriend aware of a family history of celiac disease/sprue? That's typically genetic - a blood test can be done to rule it out, although a biopsy is the only definitive way to diagnose it.
 
Kipper said:
A colitis flare-up would be associated with blood in the stool, along with gastrointestinal distress. People typically don't tolerate food. To rule out colitis, I am guessing GI did a "guiac" stool test - which tests for abnormally high concentrations of blood in the stool.

Does your girlfriend aware of a family history of celiac disease/sprue? That's typically genetic - a blood test can be done to rule it out, although a biopsy is the only definitive way to diagnose it.
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If it's celiac's, my guess is that it would get worse when she eats gluten, yeah? Are there any particular types of foods that tend to make her abdominal pain worse/better...or anything at all, for that matter, that seems to affect the pain?
 
clemsyn said:
Is the pain getting worst? Did they do a pregnancy check (or did she miss her period)? Does she get the pain right after she eats a meal or later? Any type of food that makes the pain worst? Is pain relieved by sitting up or lying down?
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Don't think she has blood in stool, the pain comes and goes, and with inconsistency such that we haven't been able to orrelate it with particular foods. We theorized it might be alcohol though she barely drinks and has had the pain most of the time when not drinking. Hunger might be it though so far it's not obvious if it is.

I'll ask if sitting/lying/standing changes it, and if its been getting worse. We know its not pregnancy.
 
I am trying to convince her to try a gluten free diet for a week or two, she hasn't tried it yet but just agreed it might be worth a try.
 
KingGheedora said:
Don't think she has blood in stool, the pain comes and goes, and with inconsistency such that we haven't been able to orrelate it with particular foods. We theorized it might be alcohol though she barely drinks and has had the pain most of the time when not drinking. Hunger might be it though so far it's not obvious if it is.

I'll ask if sitting/lying/standing changes it, and if its been getting worse. We know its not pregnancy.
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Keep a food diary. Most people can't remember everything they ate the previous day, let alone for several days in a row...and it is only after a few days that trends emerge.
 
My brother just went to the hospital with stomach pain. His appendix is getting removed in the morning. Could the doctors have been incompetent enough to not check that?

His stomach has been hurting on and off for about a month. Today it became unbearable and he went to the ER and it had finally burst.
 
VulgarDisplay said:
My brother just went to the hospital with stomach pain. His appendix is getting removed in the morning. Could the doctors have been incompetent enough to not check that?

His stomach has been hurting on and off for about a month. Today it became unbearable and he went to the ER and it had finally burst.
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Left side = wrong side for appendicitis 🙂
 
clemsyn said:
Appendicitis can have referred pain on the other side.
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Even if the pain is referred, the individual feels it on both sides and is especially sensitive to pressure at McBurney's point between the belly button and the protruding hip bone on the right side. The doctors would have approached that as one of the first options or tests.
 
SociallyChallenged said:
Even if the pain is referred, the individual feels it on both sides and is especially sensitive to pressure at McBurney's point between the belly button and the protruding hip bone on the right side. The doctors would have approached that as one of the first options or tests.
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Not all the time. My brother had appendicitis and his pain was on the Left side not right. Only on deep palpation did he experience pain on the right. In his case, it was detected early and was reffered pain so to point that appendicitis pain is always on the right is inaccurate. His right side was totally painless and it was his left side bothering him.

Here is a link and scroll down to the appendix:
http://www.healthhype.com/causes-of-the-left-abdominal-pain.html

You will find this


APPENDIX
◦Appendicitis usually causes right lower but sometimes left lower abdominal pain.

Although I agree that the symptoms described by OP is far from appendicitis coz he described the pain as beneath the ribs 🙂 Just hope it's not pancreatitis.
 
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clemsyn said:
Not all the time. My brother had appendicitis and his pain was on the Left side not right. Only on deep palpation did he experience pain on the right. In his case, it was detected early and was reffered pain so to point that appendicitis pain is always on the right is inaccurate. His right side was totally painless and it was his left side bothering him.

Here is a link and scroll down to the appendix:
http://www.healthhype.com/causes-of-the-left-abdominal-pain.html

You will find this


APPENDIX
◦Appendicitis usually causes right lower but sometimes left lower abdominal pain.
Click to expand...

Utilizing McBurney's point requires deep palpation of the right side. Even if there is referred pain, you can induce same-side pain that is very intense, thus providing evidence that the patient has appendicitis. If a doctor knows what he/she is doing, putting pressure on McBurney's point would be one of the first things to do.
 
SociallyChallenged said:
Utilizing McBurney's point requires deep palpation of the right side. Even if there is referred pain, you can induce same-side pain that is very intense, thus providing evidence that the patient has appendicitis. If a doctor knows what he/she is doing, putting pressure on McBurney's point would be one of the first things to do.
Click to expand...

Agreed but without deep palpation, appendicitis can also show pain in just the left side (even if the appendix is on the right side).
 
post a body diagram and indicate the area where she feels the pain.

describe the pain.

describe when it happens.

has she talked with her gyno about it?

sidenote: hypothyroidism is common in girls, but it's not always necessary to treat with medication... there are easier ways to treat it with simple diet modification.
 
clemsyn said:
Not all the time. My brother had appendicitis and his pain was on the Left side not right. Only on deep palpation did he experience pain on the right. In his case, it was detected early and was reffered pain so to point that appendicitis pain is always on the right is inaccurate. His right side was totally painless and it was his left side bothering him.

Here is a link and scroll down to the appendix:
http://www.healthhype.com/causes-of-the-left-abdominal-pain.html

You will find this


APPENDIX
◦Appendicitis usually causes right lower but sometimes left lower abdominal pain.

Although I agree that the symptoms described by OP is far from appendicitis coz he described the pain as beneath the ribs 🙂 Just hope it's not pancreatitis.
Click to expand...

Below the rib meaning if she is standing up, touch the bottom of her ribcage and then move your finger ~4 inches towards the ground. So it's more in the stomach area.
 
eits said:
post a body diagram and indicate the area where she feels the pain.

describe the pain.

describe when it happens.

has she talked with her gyno about it?

sidenote: hypothyroidism is common in girls, but it's not always necessary to treat with medication... there are easier ways to treat it with simple diet modification.
Click to expand...

That's good to know, and I'll mention it to her. She is vegetarian and the dietary restrictions of the medications are making it hard to figure out what to eat, especially for breakfast since she can't have too much calcium, iron, or dietary fiber for a few hours after taking the hypothyroid medication.
 
eits said:
post a body diagram and indicate the area where she feels the pain.

describe the pain.

describe when it happens.

has she talked with her gyno about it?

sidenote: hypothyroidism is common in girls, but it's not always necessary to treat with medication... there are easier ways to treat it with simple diet modification.
Click to expand...

This is the first I've ever heard of dietary modifications to treat an underactive thyroid. If you mean a reduction of calorie intake to compensate for the lowered metabolic rate, certainly, but there are no foods that are going to elevate your thyroid levels.
 
Kipper said:
This is the first I've ever heard of dietary modifications to treat an underactive thyroid. If you mean a reduction of calorie intake to compensate for the lowered metabolic rate, certainly, but there are no foods that are going to elevate your thyroid levels.
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no, there's that, but there's also foods and drinks to avoid at all costs that would further decrease thyroid function. some people can get away with living a normal life without medications from it... some need the medications (autoimmune versus symptoms of dietary challenges). it's really an individual issue that can be figured out by trial and error, really.

the difficulty in the medical community is to be able to know when it is and isn't an autoimmune issue without running too many tests, etc. it's just easier to prescribe medication and treat it that way regardless of the cause. not saying that's a bad thing... i'm just saying that it's just an efficient way of dealing with a problem.
 
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