Pain in One Rib?!?

Depending on what side it is on, it could be gallbladder? Since it is so specific, I would definitely go to the doctor. Good luck.

You may have a problem with your kidneys. Drink plenty of fluids and have your doctor check you. You could have also pulled a muscle or strained it somehow. A soak in a hot bath may relieve it. But either way, it has been a long time and you need to get it checked especially if the pain is getting worse or has not improved.

Dear F.,

Please go to the doctor and have it checked out. I agree it could be gall bladder related (I had a similar experience about 20 years ago), or it could be an entrapped nerve. I have one of those and sometimes it feels like I'm having a heart attack, except that I can move my arms over my head and I'm fine in every other aspect. But I haven't been bothered with it in a long time, either.

Hi F.,

This is certainly not medical advice, however when I read your symptoms they sounded very familiar. Soon after I had my first child, I developed gall stones. I had an "attack" one night and the pain was in the exact place you described, only very, very severe. It had hurt in that same place before, but when the attack came, it was obvious something was very wrong. I felt like I couldn't breathe and the pain was right under my rib cage. I remember taking off my nursing bra, thinking that it was too tight. Anyway, I was taken to the ER and they did an ultrasound which revelaed a few large gall stones. I had to have my gall bladder removed via laser surgery. It wasn't bad at all, and I've been just fine ever since. Apparently it is fairly normal for women to develop either "fatty" gall bladders or gall stones after pregnancy (especially first pregnancies) which can cause a lot of discomfort at the least and major pain at the worst. Might be worth a visit to the Dr. to see if that could be the problem, I'd hate for you to suffer one of those attacks if you can be proactive about it. Trust me, you'll be thankful to have found out ahead of time.

Good luck!

E.

F.,
I've had a similar problem with the exception on pain in my rib. The other area is pain in my back where my shoulder blade is. What I've come to understand with the help of a friend is that it's the way I've been sitting that's causing the pain in my lower back. Also, the way I drive and sit at work that causes the pain in back of my shoulder.

Think about how you are positioning yourself at work, home, or just sitting period? Are you leaning toward the computer, or workstation while you're doing experiments providing you are working in a research lab?

When you pick up your son, how are you doing so? Do you bend at the knee, or waist? What about your posture while sitting, standing, walking. All these affect our back. I've noticed that most people walk sligthly bent forward. Walk straight up and down, with shoulders back. You will breathe better and your back will feel much better. Do some exercises to stengthen your back. Balance out your weight.

Speaking of weight, have you gained or lose any in this time frame? If so, you may want to think about that when considering your posture and balancing. your body is use to carrying your weight a specific way. If you'd gained or lose you now have to retrain your body to carry this weight differently than before.

I've gained weight on a small frame and it has caused me to sleep differently at night. I no longer can sleep on my stomach because it hurts my back. My buttuck is a little bigger than before, so I have to adjust and sleep on my back.

How much water are you drinking? You should be drinking at least half the size of your weight in water a day. You can obtain that through food as well. Fruits, vegetables and meat. You know that steak is made up of 75% of water, not to mention a good source of iron.

I would also, suggest you speaking with your internal medicine doctor.

Hi, I know what your speaking of. Im not sure if your pregnant because your message did not say, but if so the baby is pressing his or her foot or hand on your rib. I was about seven months pregnant. It was the same kind of pain your speaking of. I went to the hospital and they did test and you could see the baby foot pressed right up against my rib. Eventually she moved and I was fine. Hope I was helpful.

Are you experience heartburn as well? When I had that symptom it was my Gall Bladder. Gallstones can be very painful at times. Hope you're better soon!

If it is on the right side it may be your gallbladder -- pain radiates to back and often to shoulder, but is concentrated in upper right area.

I had an identical pain to this, spreading from my back to under my ribs and hurting in a central spot. When I lay down the pain seemed to get more intense. I went to the ER and it was gastric reflux; I was a little embarrassed when I realized that was all it was and also surprised at how extremely painful gastric reflux can be. I am certainly no doctor, but your symptoms sound similar to mine and keeping some Mylanta by my side was all I needed, give it a shot. =)

It's probably muscular in origin, although I guess it could be a kidney stone? But what I really waht to say is that if you have a persistent pain that's bothering you both physically and mentally, just go get it checked out so you know it's nothing to worry about! And be careful about overdoing the OTC pain meds. I had hip pain for a while and took advil everyday. By the time I got my hip evaluated, I had ulcers, too! Good luck!

How bad does it hurt? I had a HORRIBLE pain in my rib that kept getting worse to the point I could barely move and couldn't pick up my son or anything without excruciating (sp?) pain. I ended up in the ER one night and they ruled out all of the major stuff and then I followed up with my Dr. She said I had costochondritis. It is the inflamation of the ligament in between your ribs that happens for no apparent reason and hurts horribly. I was still nursing so I couldn't take the pain meds or steriods to help the pain and heal faster so it lasted several weeks. I really hope you don't have that!

Your pain sounds just like when I had my gall bladder act up. I went to the dr. and they did an ultrasound and bloodwork. I had it removed and have been great since. It was a very simple surgery. I actually enjoyed the time off from the kids. They told me I could do it in one day but I asked if I could spend the night so I could relax a little. He put in orders for me to be observed.

Do you notice it acting up if you have had something greasy or high in fat? That can cause it to act up. My dr. said to take it out while I was feeling good and not to wait til it hit again because it could just get worse.

I hope you find out what it is. For me it was like a mini vaction getting it out. LOL With a 14 yr old with cerebral palsy and a 1 1/2 year old I took full advantage of my time off. LOL Take care.

F.,

I think you should go to a doctor immediately to rule out serious illness.

Do you think it could be gallbladder related? Do you have attacks or is it achey all the time? I had to have my gallbladder removed and when I had my attacks, it felt horrible in my back and under my ribs/upper stomach area.

I would consult a dr. I had pain in my back and ribs after eating (a couple years ago) and it turned out I had gall stones and had my gall bladder removed. Now that I am pregnant, I had similar symptoms before Thanksgiving and ended up spending a night in the hospital because of a kidney infection.

It could be nothing, but it could be something. Its better to consult a doctor just to be safe.