this sounds like apossibility ...
my mum had diverticula and my grandfather .... well that was the diagnosis.
I reckon it comes from irregular eating over long time, for example I have times where i can hardly eat and others where I just can't seem to eat enough and overfill my stomach and overstretch my digestive system...I also think eating when stressed and anxious doesn't help. seems like I get into a pattern of unrelaxed eating....
One common thing I also share with my mum and G'father is that I am an incessant worrier ...I am sure this must affect the way I digest food.
thanks for the post.
paddie

My pain has pretty much gone away. The only thing I have done differently is completely cut cigarettes out of my social habits. I'll slip up and have one or two on the weekends, but much better than what I used to do. I used to go out on the weekends and smoke a whole pack. But I never smoked during the week... only socially. But since I've quit for the most part... the pain hasn't returned that I can remember. Beyond that, I can't think of anything else that I've changed. I do think, however, that this is somewhat stress-related. Although that's just a guess. My pain was on my left side... at about the same level as my chest. It would come and go, and seemed more noticible when lying on my back. I could just be having a run of good luck, but hopefully it won't come back. Good luck to yall... I'll be checking back from time to time.

GUYS DRINK SOME HOT TEA, HOT AIR RISES, THEN LAY ON STOMACH & INDUCE BELCHES FOR A WHILE.

I get the pain alot at night when I lay on my left side. I also have had all the test nothing showing up . I went to ER once because pain was so severe. They gave me a nitro for heart . For some reason it worked, I asked the heart DR why it helped, he said it was because it was a muscle relaxer & he thought it had to do with the muscle. Had all the heart test all came back normal fine stress test.

Go to a chiropractor, have your back and ribs x-rayed.

I have this lower left pain on my rib cage that has been on and off between months for the last past 3 years i have had to even go to the emergency room 3 times from the pain(i feelt as though i couldnt breath at time when the pain was heavy)just today this happened ive have been diagnosed with Gallstones With Biliary colic
i have big doubts on that diagnose with regarding the pain is on my left side never on the right.i have also been told i had gastritis mayby it has something to do with trapped gas or something similar!
if anyone out there has any idea of what this might be please be open to share i am new to this web site and mayby i can find some kind of answer threw this Forum!
Thanx.

"Try stress relieving techniques.....Once I started taking a sleeping pill at night and doing regular exercise in the morning....."

Sleeping pills are not the answer to a chronic sleep problem. Any sleep aid degrades your sleep over time, preventing you from obtaining deep sleep. This wears on the body over time causing the individual to become more unhealthy.

Sleep problems can be fixed but it takes time (weeks, sometimes months). You can't fix your sleep problems overnight. Research the web or go buy a book on insomnia therapies.

Thank you all for Posting! I have been suffering with this re-occuring knot for almost 4 years now! IT is all the symptoms u have described
1) comes after a period of prolonged stress, anger, unhappiness, or depression.
2) feels like it is swollen ( I tend to push on it because it feels like a bubble)
3) feels better if I walk or take a mental break for like an entire day.
It all started for me one day 4 years ago after i was stressed about a particular situation for about a week. At work I all of a sudden felt this dull pain in the left side right under the ribs. After that it would come and go during stressful times in my life.
I was worried it was something with the liver until i found out the liver was on the OTHER side of the body and i ran into this blog. it is such a relief that i am not the only one with this problem and that the solution is in my ability to cure myself. i am going to take control of this pain, exersise more and eat less fatty food. i have seen this work before in the last 4 years, but now i am convinced that this is really the way to treat this problem.
THank GOD it is not a more serious issue!

Thank you all for Posting! I have been suffering with this re-occuring knot for almost 4 years now! IT is all the symptoms u have described
1) comes after a period of prolonged stress, anger, unhappiness, or depression.
2) feels like it is swollen ( I tend to push on it because it feels like a bubble)
3) feels better if I walk or take a mental break for like an entire day.
It all started for me one day 4 years ago after i was stressed about a particular situation for about a week. At work I all of a sudden felt this dull pain in the left side right under the ribs. After that it would come and go during stressful times in my life.
I was worried it was something with the liver until i found out the liver was on the OTHER side of the body and i ran into this blog. it is such a relief that i am not the only one with this problem and that the solution is in my ability to cure myself. i am going to take control of this pain, exersise more and eat less fatty food. i have seen this work before in the last 4 years, but now i am convinced that this is really the way to treat this problem.
THank GOD it is not a more serious issue!

do not believe in what you read in this forum, and if you are troubled with your spleen, consult a doctor, each individual may be unique from the rest, necessary test and proceedures needs to be performed to determine the accurate cause of pain as well as fine a proper solution to resolve the spleen pain.

All i see in this forum is airing of the same complaint, be part of a solution to a problem and don't be part of the problem. STOP GUESSING

i DID not guess because i was diagnosed with having deverticulosis but just because my pain is associated with that doesn't mean thats what everyone has...
so i'm simply telling people what i have and what my pain was due to this...

Such a relief that I do not own this pain alone!! I've had this muscle pain for at least 3 years but since early this year, I felt a swelling at my left, middle ribcage. I have been given methocarbamol (muscle relaxant) and naprene (I think it is also the equivalent of Aleve for anti inflammation). When I take these medicines i feel good. But after a couple of months, it goes back. The pain is such that you feel like you're having a heart attack as the whole of your left side feels so heavy. When you lie on your left side, you can hear your heart beating on the swollen part.

The same year when i first felt the pain, i had a battery of tests to check my heart cuz my left side (arms to legs) really felt heavy. 24 hour heart monitoring and stress tests indicated nothing. I also had a brain scan to check whether I had some clot in my brain...nothing.

I sometimes get paranoid....I am going to the doctor again (a different one) I just want to get another opinion besides the 3 doctors that already diagnosed me who all gave me muscle relaxants. Can this be arthritis as I am in my ealy 50's?

Nobody is guessing. There are a lot of people in this thread that have had lots of tests performed to figure out what's going on. I see nothing wrong with people reporting these thing... it's pretty much the whole point of this message board. Also, many people in this thread have sought help with no relief... so what else can you do? My own father is a doctor and is baffled by this. My pain went away, but most on here are not as lucky. Nothing wrong with sharing ideas... especially if you've already seen a doctor about this.

I am glad I found this web site, because I have been worried. I believe alot of us are having the same problem and that calcium and magnesium vitamins would fix us all.After reading alot of post , I think magnesium and calcium vitamins are important. I had not even told my doctor about this yet, and he had already told me to get magnesium and calcium supplements. So now I can not tell him about this friday , because i have not been taking the supplements. I am getting them today.

I'm suddenly having terrible pain on my left side going under my ribcage as well. I was on may way to the chiropractor anyway so I described my symptoms. He had my lie down, arms straight up in the air and he moved my arms straight, towards my head. He instantly knew what the problem was: something called the Soas muscle in my abdomen. I had massage therapists in the past work on my soas muscle and it's extremely painful. The problem was that the soas was all tensed and constricted, pulling on the muscles near my ribcage. He worked out most of the pain trying to "release" the soas. It hurt as badly as the original pain, but when he was done, most of the discomfort was gone. I still have a little residual pain but he said it would have gotten much worse if I had waited a day or two. Just a thought for those of you suffering for years.

It happened on sunday where I felt very sick. The pain was so bad that I started to scream. Over the days, I randomly broke out in hives. My whole body felt like I was being paralyzed. I would wake up in the mornings and just feel sick to my stomach. I've been waking up around 3:00 everymorning and feeling extremely tired. I have no clue what is wrong with me. I NEED HELP!!!! I need answers A.S.A.P.

PlayerCubby, Sounds like you may have diverticulitis. Mine is on the lower left side, too. It's a weakening in the intestinal tract that has a lodged object trying to penetrate the lining. You must go to a doc to get on antibiotics, because it'll put all that bad stuff from your intestines to your bloodstream if the diverticulum breaks through.
You have to watch what you eat from now on. Anything with seeds or hard pieces are a no-no: strawberries, coarsly ground pepper, pepper flakes (caused my first onset), sesame seed buns, popcorn, etc. You'll gradually introduce foods back into your diet that do not seem to affect you until you find those few that do. When the doc gives you the antibiotics, you'll live on jello and clear liquids until you feel better, usually 3-4 days. Good luck.

I am 18 years old and I have had this very sharp pain on my left rib cage for the past three years. (about third rib from the bottom...and more on the left side than the center of the body) It is always in the same spot...never moves.

It is unpredictable...I can have it while sleeping, resting, working out, in the middle of class, when I am stressed, and when I am laughing.

It is very sharp and I have a very hard time breathing. I also cannot move when it happens. Whatever position I am in, I freeze, otherwise the pain intensifies. I take an albuterol inhaler for exercise induced asthma and I usually take it after these spasms to even out my breathing. My heart rate increases and it feels like it is about to pound out of my chest.

I have gone to a cardiologist twice and all tests are negative...he suggests taking an anti-acid....but i KNOW it is not acid reflux.

I also bruise very easily...I have bruises on my legs that are over a year old. Bruises everywhere else go away except knee down. When compared to the pains, this is a new thing. I am not sure if they are connected. I have had many blood test come back negative for blood disorders although every time I went to the pediatrician she would tell me I was anemic (later blood tests confirmed I was not).

Any answers or advice?

I have read most of the complaints about pain under the left rib cage that radiates around to the back, and can't believe what I'm reading. each one describes my condition exactly. I am so tired of this. i have gone through a huge amount of stress the past three years and this pain has gradually built up. when i am occupied with something of interest the pain seems to go away, leading me to believe it IS stress. Right now I am taking Prevacid, the Dr. said it might be an Ulcer and I'm also taking Xanax 0.25 mg. every 8 hours for stress, but that feels like a placibo doesn't seem to do much. I have thought it might be Kidney disease because I am also a type 2 diabetic, but I don't have any other symptoms other than the pain radiating from the front to the back and round and round it goes, sometimes one place sometimes another place,. but always on the left side, I also experience a lot of gurgling too and burping. any more suggestions please.

I am 32 years old and I am having the same symptoms as most of you. My left side sometimes burns, sharp pain from my lower left side around to the center of my left shoulder blade. I have been to the doctor, but not for this particular thing, but to have my heart checked because I was suffering from dizziness, slurred speach, and also a CT scan for why my head hurt. Everything was fine, but this hurts, not all the time just when it decides to, and I grab my side and try to squeeze the pain away. I have been put on Zanax .25, but I do not like taking pills, like right now just a little lower than my rib cage, my side is on fire like I am using Icy Hot or something and I am not.

Any words of advise? It scares me often, but I am a chicken when it comes to doctors!