Diagnosing Abdominal Pain...Intestinal Infection or Muscular Posted: 03-06-06 21:10pm
I have been experiencing pain in the right
area of my rib cage towards the center.
About 2 months ago, I went to see the
doctor when it was not as bad. I was given
an ultrasound but the doctor couldn't find
anything wrong. But by listening to my
abdominal area with a stethescope, he said
that it sounded 'hyper' and was probably
an intestinal infection. I was given 2
days of antibiotics and left it at that.
Recently, this pain has been getting
worse. If I press that area of my ribs, it
feels like they're badly bruised or
something. Stretching or excessive
movement seems to aggravate the pain or
bring it on. Possibly the pain is coming
from below my ribs but i'm not sure.
Breathing isn't a problem and my stomach
is fine. I also don't drink alcohol or
smoke or play sports so I don't have any
injuries. I don't think it would be due to
my lactose intolerance either because I
always take Extra Strength Lactaid before
eating any dairy products. The only thing
I can think of is that I use the computer
about 2-3 hours a day (more on weekends)
on the bed, kind of hunched over it. I
sometimes tend to lean more onto my right
side because i'm right handed with the
mouse. Could this be related? But if so,
why has it worsened even though I haven't
used the computer in the past week?
I'd appreciate any help or advice that
anyone can give me. I've had to leave the
country that I have medical insurance in
due to a family emergency... So i'm in a
country with no medical insurance for
another 2.5 weeks. I'm really concerned
about this problem because i'm constantly
aware of it and will be on a plane for
about 18 hours on my return trip.
It seems that the pain you are
experiencing originates from the
abdominal/thoracic muscles. Muscle pain in
this region can be caused by your specific
style of working. You can try taking some
aspirin and can apply a non-steroid
anti-inflammatory balsam to the local area
(ketoprofen or diklofenac).
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