Right Lower Abdominal or Hip Pain

Did they do an X-ray? MRI's and CT's are very expensive and if it's muscle issues nothing will show up.

Ask the doc for a muscle relaxant for a few days and see if it makes a difference. If it does then you know it's something strained. If it doesn't make a difference that doesn't automatically make it something bad either. It could be a hernia, a weaker muscle, anything.

I'd go through a lot of other options before spending thousands of bucks on tests that might not show anything significant.

What were you doing that brought this on?

Does it respond to NSAIDs?

My daughter suffered for almost a year with a nagging pain in her groin. We went from specialist to specialist to specialist. Many threw their hands up and claimed 'I don't know'. They performed test after test after test and still said, 'I don't know.' It was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life.

A doctor friend of mine told me that it was a micro abrasion to the tendon and would show on NO test. He likened it to a piece of stringed packing tape. If you cut one of the strings the tape is still in tact and shows as so on a test. No MRI in normal use today will show the fiber by fiber view we needed to actually see it.

So I am not sure if I would jump into an MRI/CT Scanner based on your situation.

I do know from experience that the area you refer to is a little bit of a no-mans land. It's not really the ob/gyn's or orthopedic's area. The doctor who finally got my daughter relief was the THIRD orthopedic doctor and it was all trial and error on his part. I'm just happy he did not throw his hands in the air and say 'I don't know' like all of the others.

Before you go in for all kinds of tests, have you considered looking at some natural anti-inflammatories? If you get rid of the inflammation and pain, then maybe it doesn't matter so much what the cause is. I work with people all the time who use cellular nutritional remedies for all kinds of pain (arthritis, muscular, neuromuscular, unknown origin/cause) and it's another whole way to go short of endless testing. You're obviously ruled out anything major like ovarian cysts, a tumor, or something like appendicitis, so what good does the endless testing do if you aren't going to do some sort of surgery or invasive remedy to deal with it?

I am in my 50's and was having chronic lower back pain, pain in my hips and my right big toe would go numb sometimes. I went to a chiropractor. He did X-rays and determined a couple of discs are compressed and I have several arthritic spurs. He said where they are it can cause pelvic pain, irregular periods, heavy bleeding, incontinence etc. After several weeks of adjustments, my back pain is less there is no numbing and my hip pain is gone. He also helped me with my neck which I didn't realize how much loss of motion I had until he started working on me.

If you can find a good chiropractor I would look into it. Do not allow a chiroporactor to do any adjustment without X-rays. That's the mark of a good chiro. Since you've had X-rays recently, the chiro might be able to use them.

I am sorry you're having this pain. Our bodies have a tendacy to accept chronic pain as a new normal. I didn't realize how badly I felt until I started feeling better.

Blessings!
L.

I would err on the side of caution, expensive though it is, and get the scan. Be certain that you have doctors agreeing on what type of scan is best in this case, though -- you don't want to have an MRI only to be told, when a doctor sees the results, "You really need a CT scan instead now." Get aggressive with the doctors, but get the scan.

If you don't get the scan and something is going on that could have been caught earlier -- then you will pay far, far more in the long run for treatment. If you get the scan and there's nothing there, you will have the peace of mind of knowing you took steps to rule out the most serious things. If you have a family, you of course are careful with money, but this is an investment in ensuring you are around for your family for a long time.

Some doctors' offices and MRI facilities have financial employees whose job it is to work with patients on the insurance and payment side; find out if you can do a payment plan so you are not having to pay one giant lump payment for any scan. You won't be the first patient to say, "I have to pay for this out of pocket and can't do that large an amount all at once." They have heard it before and will tell you how to proceed. If you can't get a payment plan at one place, another will probably do one -- see if your doctor's office can direct you to scan facilities that the doctor knows do payment plans for those who aren't covered.

It could be endometriosis. Or arthritis or a strained muscle. Did the doctors discuss possibilities and how to rule them out ? Are they looking for something specific?

I had ovarian cysts even tho I was menopausal. The influence of hormones continues for some time. Or has a test shown you are post menopausal?

I have endometriosis which could only be diagnosed for certain with surgery. Endometrium can grow on muscles and tendons thus causing muscle pain.

Unless the doctor thought an MRI was important for my health and had a good chance of helping with a diagnosis and I had to pay out of pocket I would probably not have it.

I have gotten similar pain before.. for me, it was two things.. one the beginning of fibroids.... and they were and still do pinch my sciatic nerve at times.. particularly when I walk a lot .... if you look online, check out the nerves in the leg and see IF where you are having pain is similar.. The sciatic nerve runs all the way down into the leg and foot... so... while your hip is what hurts, it could be your foot that is the origination of the pain in that if your foot wear is causing your feet (and nerves, including the sciatic) to become pinched, if for example the shoes are too tight, then that pain can radiate up to the hip... I have also experienced this and since changing shoes (to ones that allow my toes to splay naturally) I haven't had so much pain.... I never knew much about all this until I began to look for relief for fibroids and foot issues.. since then, I have learned that when one area of the body hurts, it's not always because of that specific part of the body.. in your case, they may not feel a mass.... BUT something is referring the pain to that area... and as mentioned, could be something as simple as a foot nerve being pinched that is now sending pain up to the hip..
A podiatrist that I follow online said that in many cases for example when a person has knee problems..... it isn't just because of the knee, it's because the foot is off balance and hence the knee pays the price for it..
it's all worth considering.. especially since it's your hip area that hurts..

oh and if it's a fibroid.. you can have a tiny one that is barely detectable by touch, but it only takes a small amount of pressure from it on the sciatic to cause BIG pain....

Oh there is a reason why often in some Asian cultures, they believe the foot to be the root of the problem.. cure the foot and often, you cure other ailments. sounds crazy.. but I have found it to be try.. start with the feet and work your way up to the hip...

good luck :)

Gosh it could be anything.
There's so much that could be going on in that area.
Appendicitis (it's not always acute, it could be chronic), fibroid s (they usually shrink after menopause but not always), cancer, maybe your pelvic floor is weak and uterus has fallen down onto your bladder, intestinal problems, ovary problems, back problems, joint problems, nerve problems, etc.
They can poke and feel around all day and still miss something because organs can feel in place but still be hiding something deep in the middle of you.
Find a way to get the MRI or CT scan so they can see what's what.
Health care is expensive (even with insurance) but how expensive is it going to be if it's something that could be fixable if you caught it early enough vs waiting till it's too late to do anything about it?
No one on any web site is going to be able to tell what is going on with you - we're not doctors.

I had a pain in that area that was sometimes sharp and sometimes a dull ache. When I had intercourse, the pressure was something fierce. Nobody could tell me why. (The pressure would make me gassy. Since those two systems are not connected, my then GI doctor just kept dismissing my claim.)

I found a GI doctor who helped me to figure out that it was inflammation in my lower intestine, brought on my my sensitivity to wheat products. (Intercourse at a certain angle applied pressure to that area.) A glass of aloe vera juice brought immediate relief when I was feeling the sharpness after consuming the wrong things. I changed my diet.