I want to ask someone about a pain i have had in my left side but it is more in the front area like right under my boob area. Thought it was a rib out of place but am finding out it might be due to something else. I doesn't hurt all the time but hurts when i move and cough. Does anyone know anything about what it might be before i spend 100 dollars going to a doc that doesn't know anymore then me?
I went to doc finally and it is the muscle tissues in my stomach and rib cage that i have damaged or got pulled from a strain or something else will get better in time i hope. But thanks to all of you for the help it nice to know you have friends that are willing to help out there in this world. OK Hope you all have a safe and happy summer.
could be gallstone? I had a kidney stone lazered out and they said it was possible I might have a gallstone later and it was right where you described the pain to be. ( I asked what to look for to know what it was if it happened, which it has not!)
J.
Hi K.,
I work for a surgeon. Before I freak you out by this, keep in mind it is just one opinion!!!
I know you don't want to, but it sounds like you at least need a chest x-ray. If it is a broken rib, it will have to heal on it's own (there is a new steal plate out for broken ribs, but that is for the most severe cases, and it is REALLY new. I don't think the FDA approved it yet)
How long has it been hurting? If this is a relatively new pain, I would go to the doc. It could just be a strained muscle also (again, they wouldn't do anything for that but rest and maybe a sling for imobilization!)
Is it a sharp pain, dull pain, can you lift your arm over your head without it hurting? I know it hurts when you cough (which makes me lean more toward a strained muscle or rib), but does it hurt if you take a deep breath? (if so, that would make me think about the lungs).
Again, I know you don't want to, BUT... it might be necessary. It sucks not knowing if it is something to worry about, furthermore, knowing there is a great possiblility of the doc saying, "its a strained muscle. use a sling and rest!" But, then it could be your first indication of something more serious. Not to say that it is, but stranger things have happened.
First things first, call the doc!
I had the stomach flu in March. I couldn't eat anything for days. At first, I'd had a pain somewhat like you describe and was afraid I was having a heart attack. I went to the ER. They ultrasounded EVERYTHING! It wasn't my heart. They said, "Indigestion." So,when it went into the stomach thing, I knew what it was. Anyway, when I started feeling like eating again, whenever I ate anything it would hurt horribly, right where you described. I couldn't eat anything but liquids. A friend at church (who happened to also be the ultrasound technician) said that was my gall bladder, and that I had to go back to eating, very slowly, like people who fasted. So, I just drank a lot of gatorade and had liquid/soft things and slowly worked my way back. The pain lasted a couple of days, and then slowly went away. All this to say... maybe gallbladder pain?
K.,
I am no Doctor, but I had those same kind of pains when I had Gall Stones. You really should see a Doctor no matter what the cost is because it could be something serious.
If you do have Gall Stones that is a very quick and easy surgey that has a very quick recovery
S.
This sounds a lot like what I experienced when I was pregnant with my first baby. I was horribly sick with her and had very similar pains. It did not hurt all the time but coughing and especially sneezing were the worst. Also if I sat scrunched at a desk for a long time it would irritate it. I put off going to the doctor for a long time thinking it would get better. Well, it didn't and I eventually went it. Turned out that I had not just pulled a muscle but most like tour the cartilage that connected the muscle to the rib and the weight of the baby just made it worse. I ended up going to physical therapy for it but it never has really healed completely. Ribs usually don't from what I understand. The therapist gave me some exercises and some stretches to do at home that helped more then anything. I would recommend going to see just your regular doctor. They probably won't be able to do much other then the stretches and exercises but they can write you a perscription for pain meds that will help you a lot while you heal.
K.,
Definately talk to your Dr. about your gallblater. I have several family members who had problems w/ their gallblater and that was also their symptoms. Do you also have a pain in your back? Hope you feel better soon!
I believe safe than sorry, Have an xray to be sure. Dont wait until it becomes unbearable....
I know I am joining a little late, but I had gallstones and eventually had my gallbladder removed. My pain was not like you are describing. The pain I had was like HORRIBLE heartburn, and gallstone pain typically comes from the space right where your ribs join in a "V" in the front. It was not better or worse when I coughed or moved. It is typically made worse by eating fatty foods. However, it does hurt like no oher pain I had ever had, and I vomited and cried and finally sought help. The surgery was a fairly easy one to recover from, so do get to the doctor. BTW, if you do have your gallbladder removed, PLEASE don't suffer with the chronic diarrhea that plagues most people after the surgery--and for life. The gallbladder emulsifies fat by releasing enzymes (proteins) that you will probably need to replace by taking a simple pill with your food. It's not expensive. I suffered for three years because I tried to just "deal" with it. Don't suffer! E-mail me if you have more questions. Hope it goes well for you! S.
K.,
I am so sorry. I responded to the wrong person. As far as your pains are concerned, though, it's possible that you have reflux. If you don't want to go to an MD, try some over the counter Pepcid, Zantac, or Tagamet. If it doesn't get any better, though, you could have an ulcer that would need medical attention--I had the same symptoms and was found to have 2 ulcers!! Yuck!! Good luck to you. God bless.
J.
I am not a health care provider, but I have experienced what you have described. I pulled the muscles between the ribs (intercostal is the word I remember, it's been 30 years ago). I just stretched weird and pulled them. It feels terrible. Rest and pain killers if you want to use them. It may take awhile depending on how badly they were strained.
I would think you have pulled a muscle try ice and heat alternating back and forth every 15 minutes for a day or so if it gets worse see your dr or becomes less painful then i'd say it was a muscle.
have you recently been ill? I had a similar situation. I thought I cracked a rib and it hurt to cough or take a deep breath. It turned out to be pleurisy. It's an inflammation of the pleural cavity in the lungs, usually triggered from a viral or bacterial infection. Usually if you had bronchitis or a cold with really bad sputum you can develope this inflammation. Talk to your primary care physician about this. It is usually taken care of with antibiotics.
Your stomach is actually located on the left side of the abdomen right around the rib cage area. I had a similar pain about a year ago. It hurt like a cramp but it was constant pain and hurt much worse when I moved around or coughed. I thought I had cancer or something!!! Well, that wasnt the case. Apparently I was very "backed up" and needed a nice laxative (yuck). I thought it was odd that I was constipated because I was having a BM regularly and every day. It could be something as simple as that. Try a laxitive and see if it doesnt feel better. If the pain persists, then go see a doctor. You wont lose much but a few bucks for the laxative and maybe lose some time to do things due to running back and forth to the toilet, but hey, its better than a $100 doctor visit!
Good Luck!!
I ditto the reflux idea. That is exactly where I had acid reflux when I was a teenager. One clue that might tell you if that's it-- for me, it got worse when I laid down. It also could be constipation, as someone else said, so I'd try to resolve both of those things before you go to the doc.
Why are you coughing? Have you had a chest cold or bronchitis lately? Or is the coughing recent, with the random pain? If so, maybe you are having pleurisy.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006020901903
it sounds like it could be your gallbladder, which I had a problem with when I was pregnant. My doc said to lay off the milk products and fatty foods, which helped.
I had the gall bladder surgery last year and it is on the right side...now I have a pain on my left still and it almost feels like a foot in my ribs like when I was pregnant. It could be a hiatial hernia...I am going to my doctor soon for an overall check up, but of course I am no professional either.
wow it really sounds like gallbladder to me.
I tried to avoid surgery but just last Friday I was awoken in the middle of the night with terrible pains that reached from under my right breast to my pancreas area. It was so painful I was rolling around in pain no kidding... I knew I had gallstones the ultrasound showed multiple small ones but I had been trying to avoid surgery with diet & supplements to keep the bile moving that was advised by a nutritionist. So anyway I guess it was just meant for me to have surgery because the surgeon found 25 stones blocking my bile duct so that's why I was in such pain... I don't know how many stones were in my gallbladder itself but if that's what's going on with you it can be deadly. If your gallbladder bursts or you have a stone go to your pancreas you can die... so you really do need to get checked out. My Mom put off surgery for over 20 years for me I was just able to put it off for 3 months.... so you never know.
Good luck!
L.
