Pain Under Left Rib Cage (Page 1)

I have been experiencing the same pain! What is it???? Im calling my surgeon tomorrow.... If you know...Please enlighten me.

Thanks for the reply dagilboy but I don't know yet. Sometimes I think it is my stomach then I don't understand why it only hurts when I move. If you find out anything please let me know. Thanks

I have it too, sometimes it feels like there is something inside me that shouldn't be there. Did anybody find out what it is?

I've been experiencing the same pain now for a few months - and you're right it does sometimes feel like there's something inside that shouldn't be! I've been to the doctor a number of times and each time he tells me it's something else. However, reading the symptoms from other people and doing a bit of research on the internet I believe it may be gastritis. My doctor prescribed me ranitidine which helps a little (by reducing the acidity in the stomach) to reduce the pain but that prescription is now over and the pain has returned - this time worse. I'm going to go back to the doctor this week to get it investigated further. Would be interested to know whether you found out what your pain was!

Ranitidine is zantac. Over the counter.

Hello. I've been experiencing the same sort of pain for 2 months now and after going to 2 different doctors, both have diagnosed me as having a torn muscle just underneath my left rib cage. He was able to just feel around and felt a lump where the muscle had been torn, either from heavy lifting or stretching. For me the pain moves from one side to the other, and sometimes to my chest, and the doctor said that this is normal with a torn muscle. It can act funny sometimes. It takes about 6-8 weeks to completely heal and during that time, just make sure you don't do any heavy lifting, etc!

Hope this helps! :)

I too have these symptoms. About 3 days before the pain started, I notice my stool turned greenish color and when the pain hit my I immediately thought it was a pulled muscle in my abdomen area below my left ribcage. My bowel movements became very short and the pain was getting worse. When I sleep, if I lay on the spot of the pain it seems to relax and go away. I have lifted heavy items and it doesn't seem to affect or aggravate the area. I did notice if I sat still for a while and then move it gets worse. When I burp it hurts and when I take a deep breath it hurts. I haven't been to the doctor yet but will go if it doesn't get its cycle done and go away. I have recently gained a lot of weight lately and am hoping that is part of the cause, i know I can fix that. Any input is appreciated.

Hi all, experienced almost same symptoms as all. Still think that causes will differ and best to go see your GP. Mine was due to stress - after months and costly tests finding was spastic colon. It comes and goes. It can also be caused due to constipation and gases. However go see your GP.

What did they do for ur diagnosis, now that i think about my lower my lower left rib cage only hurts when im stressed

well said same thing happens to me ... when i am in stress this burning stretching sensation come and goes off when i am not in stress. this also make me constipated and indigestion. best home remedy is camomile tea before bed.

Hello, maybe gall stones? I know 2 people that have had pain in the same area under the rib cage and they had gall stones. My one friend said that it felt like her rib was cracked. Hope this helps.

The gallbladder is on the right side, just inferior to the rib cage.

my gallbladder has been removed but the pain was to the left. Bad pain

Same here....my gallbladder was removed in September 1998. I did not have any problem with pain on my left side until November of 2003. It came on in an instant and I have had it ever since. It seems to come and go but the VERY wierd thing is that it feels as if something is in there that is not supposed to be there.(like a BIG hard lump) It is very hard to explain because the doctors look at me as if I am crazy. I told them it feels like I have a foreign object under my left rib. When I move a certain way I can feel it even more and it feels gross. That is the best way to describe it. At times it is a dull throbbing pain. Sometimes it is very sharp...then dulls again but never really dissapears. What the heck is this???? Someone please help me...

I have the same thing. I've had CAT Scans, nothing. My Dr says she thinks it's arthritis on my rib, I think she's wrong. I believe it's caused by GMO's in our food. Watch the documentary "Genetic Roulette", it explains it. I think this is a new(ish) thing called "Leaky Gut" caused by bad food that literally breaks down the walls of your gut, causing particles to enter through. I went Wheat and GMO free (as much as possible) and have had great relief. Last week I went out for dinner, I've had terrible problems all week long. I'm betting it takes about a week, but I will flush it out of my system with some Organics.

Same here....my gallbladder was removed in September 1998. I did not have any problem with pain on my left side until November of 2003. It came on in an instant and I have had it ever since. It seems to come and go but the VERY wierd thing is that it feels as if something is in there that is not supposed to be there.(like a BIG hard lump) It is very hard to explain because the doctors look at me as if I am crazy. I told them it feels like I have a foreign object under my left rib. When I move a certain way I can feel it even more and it feels gross. That is the best way to describe it. At times it is a dull throbbing pain. Sometimes it is very sharp...then dulls again but never really dissapears. What the heck is this???? Someone please help me...

Same here....my gallbladder was removed in September 1998. I did not have any problem with pain on my left side until November of 2003. It came on in an instant and I have had it ever since. It seems to come and go but the VERY wierd thing is that it feels as if something is in there that is not supposed to be there.(like a BIG hard lump) It is very hard to explain because the doctors look at me as if I am crazy. I told them it feels like I have a foreign object under my left rib. When I move a certain way I can feel it even more and it feels gross. That is the best way to describe it. At times it is a dull throbbing pain. Sometimes it is very sharp...then dulls again but never really dissapears. What the heck is this???? Someone please help me...

Hey,
i've had the same pain since july 2004... It started when I was going to the gym everyday for about 3 hours, so I assumed I had just pulled a muscle. Then in october I found out I had mono, so I thought maybe the pain was my spleen, since the spleen is located in that area. Now, 9 months later it still hurts, to the point that I can't even run on the treadmill anymore. It seems to get worse after I drink alcohol or get stressed out/run down.... I've been to the doctor and they sent me for an ultrasound but I never heard the results so i'm assuming nothing showed up.
Any ideas?
Thanks for your time :)

Omg me too!!! I've had this for 6 yrs!! I've seen lots of doctors and had many tests and nothing...please let me know if you ever figure it out. Alcohol and stress make it so much worse.

Blessings

i went to the emergency room with similar pain, it radiates to the right side when its really bad, i was diagnosed with fatty liver disease- if you are not over weight don't rule it out, it can happen to anyone, your liver just stops breaking down fats like it should and it causes them to build up in it which causes inflammation and pain...ibuprofen helps.

Omg me too!!! I've had this for 6 yrs!! I've seen lots of doctora and had many tests and nothing...please let me know if you ever figure it out. Alcohol and stress make it so much worse.

Blessings

The same pain happens to me when I drink alcohol or eat until I'm more than full. Though it's just a disconfort, I don't want to wait until It hurts that much to go to the doctor.
Last 3 days, I have being having a little disconfort at it's not normal to last this long, it was always just for a couple of hours.

Did you get a diagnose?
Thanks!

I drunk some beers sunday night and came home and started doing sit ups and push ups. Today is tuesday and I could barley get out of bed this morning, and when I slightly poke my rib cage or any of my stomach it hurts.
Also I had greenish poop.
Is this symptom of ulcer?
Im an alchoholic and im getting help to stop.
Thanks
please help :(

I have the same issue; I am also an alcoholic and have green poop at times and pain under my left rib. I have not gone to the doctor; have you?

Sounds like the Pancreas....could become serious! Get is checked ASAP. Good luck!

sounds like kidney stones if your poop is greenish.

sounds like kidney stones if your poop is greenish.

I've had that same pain for almost 2 years now. I've been through ct scans, multiple upper gi's, x-rays and nothing. No one can tell me why i'm having this pain. It gets better for a while and then it gets extremely bad (like this weekend). It feels like someone is stabbing me. It last a few seconds and then it is over with no residual pain. It's very odd. I'm going to try to find a new doctor to see if someone else can figure this out for me. I'm wondering if it's an ulcer? I had gastric bypass 2 years ago and had a lot of acid issues post surgery (went through a hole in my stomach and burned through my incision...Most painful thing i've ever felt in my life and had it acid continuously pouring from my body for 3 + months). I think the 2 are connected but I have to find a doctor who has delt with something like this before. Very rare.

I have had the same pain for years now but yesterday it was too unbearable! This time it started about 3 in the afternoon when I was just eating my lunch. I didn't do anything strenuous or anything to cause it. My pain is just below my left breast under my rib cage. It is extremely painful to move even the slightest bit. Intensive cramping and stabbing feeling. I had xray and ct scan yesterday when they were looking for stones but found nothing. Any other suggestions what it may be?

Laura

Laura,
You might want to ask your doc for an ultrasound. My husband had symptoms like that for years and they didn't find out he had gallstones until some got lodged in his liver and he became jaundiced. He had all the tests you listed and they missed it until they did the ultrasound.
Beth

They didn't see any gallstons in mine either. They finally did a test where they injected me with a dye and some other medicine and found out my gallbladder just wasn't working. Took it out and it was full of stones. Also hurt on left and sometimes center.

Hi everyone,

the mind is a very powerful thing, and believe it or not, it is the reason behind most of our physical pain. The mind likes to repress emotions it does not want us to experience. Repression of such emotions can eventually cause us physical pain. The brain controls how much oxygen each cell receives along with many other things. For some reason, repressed emotions of anger, anxiety, etc. Causes certain muscles to be deprived of oxygen in small amounts. This does not damage the muscle, but can cause severe pain. Please read the book, healing back pain, by Dr. Sarno. It helped me tremendously.

An avid golfer who use to suffer from back pain and pain in my left side

So sorry Zbarrier, but that's about the stupidest excuse for a medical diagnosis I have ever heard! Speak for yourself.
Perhaps YOU imagine that you are in pain when you really aren't, but last time I checked, YOU are not the berometer of the human experience.

Geeze!

wrong..wen your angry..it affects u physically..mind and body are connected ..u scowl don't u when your angry?.. clench fists?..when your happy..do u smile.?..or are you some stiff body abnormal non reactions?.your body is responding to every thought and every emotion every second.!..get with the program..imagine how your cells are..read and seek the knowledge and get out if your 3 d thinking

I suffered from severe back pain and someone also referred me to this book by Dr. Sarno. It turned out I have Ankylosing Spondylitis and the pain was not in my head. The mind-body connection is valid argument but MRIs (and science) don't lie.

I suffered from severe back pain and someone also referred me to this book by Dr. Sarno. It turned out I have Ankylosing Spondylitis and the pain was not in my head. The mind-body connection is valid argument but MRIs (and science) don't lie.

Hi, i'm new here.

About the pain on the left side.. Isn't that where the duodenum is?

I feel it to

I dont know what the pain is caused by. I dont get my pains as often .
I still get my pains, when I drink a few beers or when working out or running alot.

My pain on my left side is lower left abdominal. It bothers me more when I eat. But the pain is still there slightly at times. My regular primary care doctor thinks it is just muscle pain -- but it has been bothering me for months.

When I have gas it bothers me as well -- I am a bit worried. Going to my gastric surgeon for an appointment soon -- hopefully it is nothing major and I don't have to have a colonoscopy or something awful like that.


Wish me luck!!

I am going to surgeon today, my pain is due to enlarged spleen. Maybe this post will help others...

Hey,
I too, have had a pain in my left side (just appeared) for about 6 weeks now. Just had a sonogram this morning and it showed I had an 'air pocket'. I am being scheduled for upper GI series and colonoscopy to determine cause. I lost my brother and sister this past year within months of each other, and they said stress can do funny things. Looking for ulcers, and stones....hopefully not major......oh, air pocket gets worse with eating and drinking.....hope this helps, the air pocket info........Sabie

I have been having this uncomfortable pain for about a year now, its sometimes on and under my left fib cage right under my breast....It sometimes swells up and feels like a knot, thats when it really hurts. Just recently it has started burning and the pain has been nonstop...Unsure of what it could be. Also noticed that the pain seems to be more persistent when I am upset....Has anyone actually been to a doc and got a clear response?

Alright, I think I have a solution to most of your problems. They all sound similar to exactly what I have been repeatedly diagnosed with. I had the same exact rib cage pain, but continued to workout/ run through the pain. It became excruciating with stabbing burning pains. These pains could be localized or all over my upper body. I have stomach pain on both sides and occasionally throughout the stomach. Anyway, I have been diagnosed with costochondritis. This is the inflamation of the cartilidge which connects the ribs to the sternum. Basically, an injury is causing the ribs to pull away from the sternum. It's very important that you get sufficient rest and take an anti inflammatory. As far as the rest of the symptoms, I have been told that emotional stress has manifested itself physically. I was given an anti anxiety medication to be used daily for about two weeks. So far this has been working for me. Its horrible to use these pills because they really ruin your day as far as activity goes, but they are well worth it. My symptoms have been improving at an astonishing rate. It should be noted that I have been to the hospital for thoughts of heart attacks. This is what the pain simulated. This is not uncommon for this condition. Your anxiety will also increase with costochondritis. Its important to be able to control stress with this condition, as many people on the internet as well as the doctor have stated that this condition can become chronic. Ive seen cases lasting up to ten years with flare ups. Good luck everybody.

Okay so I have the same weird annoying ache under my left ribcage as if there's something there. The doctor said there's nothing there. I've had indigestion for months. Especially first thing in the morning. B.M before eating most of the time. Low back ache that comes and goes.Sometimes I even think i'm having menstrual cramps. (i'm 54 and yes, I still get my random periods so menopause is an issue). I
i get so scared that there's something really wrong with me. I'm afraid to eat anything because my stomach reacts badly. Colonoscopy was 4 1/2 yrs ago..Clear and no polyps. Upper gi last yr showed lots of acid and hiatal (sp) hernia . I've been taking aciphex for several months for acid. And just started some herbs by an acupuncturist for gastro stuff. It helps some. I know it's something intestinal but what of the rib thing? It comes and goes. Am I crazy? Is it menopausal? Am I ignoring something scary. Oh..I did the ghastly stool speciman and there were no parasites or blood. Blood workup is fine. Any suggestions? Our family has plans to travel this summer. Don't want to spoil any plans. Hope someone can read this and make me feel better.

I am 52 and have been experiencing the same symptoms as you.....have no idea what it is and also am afraid I will miss something and it will be a bad thing....let me know if you find out....

Could be costochondritis

Finally! Others who have been having this same symptom! Mine started about 2 weeks ago, it was kind of a dull throbbing pain, that then went to a burning piercing pain, and this morning it's swollen. Mine never started and then stopped, it's been a constant 24/7 pain that hurts when I move or breath, i've only noticed that it's swollen this morning. Somebody please tell me what it is! It's not from excerise or doing anything out of the norm. It just literally started from out of no where and it's never gone away. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

After months I found the answer to all my problems. I had had so many tests and one afternoon got chills and my temperature went up to 102. I was so frightened. My doctor got me in for more blood workups. My white count was up. They did a ctscan with contrast (injected iodine) and saw that all organs were normal. He diagnosed bacterial overgrowth. Look it up. Study it. I was given antibiotics for 10 days and within 2 days I felt better..Within a week I was eurphoric at how great I felt. I realized i'd been feeling 'off' and symptomatic for months. I adjusted how I ate. Smaller meals and trying to stay away from acidic things. No drinking as wine is the worst for that. Remarkable how this changed my body chemistry. I take 15mgs of prevacid a day. Missing it is not good as I feel the difference right away. This all started with symptoms you all describe. It won't show up on most bloodtests or stool specimans or scans. The bloodworkup didn't show anything until the day my bacteria was so high that it registered on my white count. The gastroenterologist mentioned this 6 months ago as a possibility but never bothered to follow through. It was my g.P who finally took notice. Keep your heads on and read without getting caught up with one particular doctor. Good luck all.