Pain below ribs...

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-05-2004
Pain below ribs...
3
Mon, 01-31-2005 - 6:56pm
I feel like one of those cyber hypercondriacs posting this but it is getting unbearable. About 4 times now Ive woken at about 2 at night to this intense ACHE right in the middle of my belly, just below my ribs. Its not a burning or twitching sensation, just an ache that kills and it hurts to move or press on it. It feels as though something is squeezing my stomach really tight. It happens routinely every 2 weeks, lasts a couple of hours then fades. It doesnt seem to be connected to anything Ive eaten as I eat what ive always eaten. I get up and take indigestion and heartburn medication but they dont seem to produce any results for an hour or more so I guess its not that, and its holidays so I dont exactly have stress. Any ideas? Thanks!
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
In reply to: gemolo
Mon, 01-31-2005 - 7:55pm

Hi and welcome to ivillage

thflowers-hahd23222.gif picture by Wren53B

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: gemolo
Mon, 01-31-2005 - 9:14pm

Hi gemolo - I don't know what it could be - but if the pain is so bad that it's waking you up at 2 a.m. then I would suggest visiting the doctor. Make sure that you tell your doctor that information - I've found that they do listen more carefully when they hear that you are being woken up due to pain.

I was diagnosed with gallbladder disease 2 yrs ago - for at least 7 yrs prior to that I'd have these odd episodes that would wake me up in the middle of the night with pain. Different than what you discribed - but pain from a sound sleep. I couldn't trace them back to any food, stress or activities and they only happened a few times a year. I had more than one doctor tell me to 'just keep an eye on it'. I guess had I pushed the issues for testing I could have discovered the GB wasn't working proplerly and taken measures to modify my diet and avoid surgery.

Good ideas from Wren about the food jouranl. There is a free one at www.fitday.com - it will give you a good idea of what percentage of your diet is from fat - sometimes that can be a trigger (and often we don't know how much we are eating till we see it on paper!).

Best of luck & please post again to let us know how things are going,

Jo

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-20-2004
In reply to: gemolo
Tue, 02-01-2005 - 1:36pm

Gemolo,

You're not a cyber hypercondriac! :o)

Your pain sounds familiar but, you really need to get to that Doctor to find out for sure. I was waking up in the middle of the night and just ignoring it. Then I recently had a barium swallow and my problem showed up on there. There was a simple treatment for it. I never had to go through all that pain. So, I guess I'm saying, like everyone else did, try a doctors appt.

The food diary is a good idea. I've never had to use one myself because I just cut out or alter foods as I find ones that dosen't agree with me. For instance I can't eat raw vegitables and fruit so I still eat them they are just cooked. I can see where a food diary would be helpful for those foods that I don't react so severly too so I could start maybe seeing a pattern of small reactions. Good thought! Thanks for your post. I guess I learned something too.

Love,

Jamie

Love,