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Question: Pain in lower left abdomen

theman61386 - Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:03 am

I am a 20 year old male and recently I noticed this pain in my lower left abdomen. This occurs when I eat, never fails when I eat McDonalds, which I no longer eat. It also has occurred with a few other foods. Anyway this sharp pain just suddenly attacks right in the middle of me eating, it is in the lower left abdomen and kinda spreads to my side a bit. This pain worsens everytime I breathe in, or when I walk around. I never noticed a Fever, and no Vomiting or anything else occurs, just that pain. This has me a bit worried, and any kind of help would be great. Thanks for any help you can provide.

theman61386 - Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:08 am

I forgot to mention that this pain will not last for more than about 30 minutes when it occurs, depending on the food. Just thought I should mention this too. Thanks again for any help you may be able to provide

Dr. Chan Lowe - Wed Feb 07, 2007 9:41 pm

There isn't too much in the left lower quadrant area of the abdomen. Pain in this area can be caused by a condition known as diverticulosis. This is when there are small out-pouchings in the colon wall that can become obstructed and inflamed causing pain (diverticulitis). This generally affects older people and would be a little less common in your age group. Other possible causes may be lactose intolerance or other food allergy. Irritable bowel syndrome may cause pain as well. I would suggest talking with your doctor and possibly seeing a GI specialist to help diagnose your condition. It may also be helpful to keep a log of when the pain occurs and what you had to eat in the last hour, activities you were doing, etc. This may help identify triggers more narrowly to help pinpoint the problem. Hope this helps. Keep us updated.

theman61386 - Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:31 am

Thank you for your previous posting. I figured I would post an update, and if you had time, see if you had any other ideas as to possibilities. I had seen a GI specialist, he immediately though gallbladder eventhough the pain was on the left side. He proceeded to order the following blood tests (CBC, CMP, Amalayse, TSH), he sent me for an abdominal ultrasound, as well as a fecal occult blood test. The abdominal ultrasound came back negative, although they could not see the pancreas due to bowel gas, all blood tests were negative. The fecal occult blood test came out positive in all 3 samples. My GI specialist proceeded to recommend I take prevacid to see if that would prove helpful. During this time I developed a lump under my left nipple. They sent me for a mammogram, which came back irregular. They then surgically removed a part of the lump. This came back as a case of gyneocomastia. No explanation of why this developed. Back to my GI specialist, just had to mention all symptoms. he proceeded to order an upper GI Endoscopy. He took 3 biopsies as well (small bowel, duodenum, esophagus). He found that my esophagus and my small bowel were inflamed. He came up with Acid reflux as well. Now here we sit up to this point. I have an appointment scheduled, for August, but now feel things are getting worse even after making some dietary changes. I now notice black spots in my stool, I am experiencing bloating and even fullness (as if I have overeaten, eventhough I haven't). I am experiencing hiccups very often. The lower left hand pain seems to be returning. I now get pressure pains on my right side, just under ribs, or in the center of my stomach under ribs as well, feels like someone taking their fist and pressing it into my stomach. I sometimes feel dizzy, and Headaches are common as well, which feels like it goes behind my eyes as well.. I also noticed that I seem to have to urinate more at night. There was even one time where my stool turned a grayish color. I also went through about a week period where I felt my bones ached, and I was constantly tired. I don't feel as much energy as I once had. I still have never checked for a Fever, and don't experience Vomiting. I just feel like something else may be wrong with me. I was thinking of asking for a HIDA scan, just to recheck my gallbladder. I figured I would recheck here to see if you had any suggestions. Thank you for the help you have provided me.

theman61386 - Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:48 am

I forgot to mention, regarding the pressure like pains, they appear at randome times, sometime after eating, and just when I am moving around. They last for 10 minutes or less. Another symptom that I forgot to post was I have a lot of gas, especially after eating fatty of greasy foods.

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