Worsening Constipation and Strange Tightness in Lower Left Rib

[Gerie]

I have been suffering from worsening constipation and a strange sensation like a twig or boiled sweet is stuck in my lower left ribcage since June. It is more apparent when lying flat on my back. I have been to the doc five times and they think it is gas in splenic flexure area but I can't tell if the sensation is gas even though I am full of bloating and flatulence. I was diagnosed with IBS four years ago after developing occasional D having always been constipated. I had a clear colonoscopy then but am now worried what might be going on in my colon after four years. I recently had a clear ultrasound but of course part of the pancreas is hidden behind my stomach on the scan. I have been trying prunes, quinoa, figs, salad, Oatibix and drinking lots of hot water but this just makes me do odds and ends here and there. I can only take stool softeners and not stimulants as I get vaso vagal syncope with the strong bowel contractions, so when I have senna or bisacodyl I faint, as I do when I have enemas. I passed out on the floor of a London train station at rush hour after taking one senna dose and had all the commuters stepping over me. I have tried some days of Lactulose then some of Laxido and some of Dulcolax softener: they have all made me go a bit but I know that there is still a huge backlog in there. I can take four sachets of Laxido for three days and just do a few hard tiny pieces. The doc wants me to take eight sachets in a day but I am worried about salt imbalances and imagine that I would need several days of this high dose. Buscopan didn't help the sensation - it just made me more constipated than ever. I have been taking probiotics from H&B for a few days but don't know if they will help. Glycerol suppositories can make me go a bit if I can even remove them from their packaging in the first place. Peppermint oil hasn't got rid of the sensation. Has anyone else had this twig lodged in lower left rib sensation or any experience with salt imbalances after a lot of osmotic laxatives or know how to improve constipation without the stimulant laxatives. Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks very much.

[Kilgh]

I've got a heavy tension thing going on there. Just below my left ribcage. It feels like gas to me. Comes and goes. Am seeing a specialist next week because this is a new symptom for me. Thinking either a food intolerance or maybe an ulcer.

[Gerie in reply to Kilgh]

Mine feels worse in the last few days in that it has spread out like a tight band all the way round the lower part of my ribcage which is an awful feeling of pressure.

[Kilgh in reply to Gerie]

Mine lasts for a couple of days, goes for several days and comes back. And always top left.

[Gerie in reply to Kilgh]

Mine is back in its usual spot today. Always more noticeable when lying on my back.

[Kilgh in reply to Gerie]

I'm having a symptom free day! Enjoying it while it lasts. Mine is worst when standing up and walking. Lying flat I can still feel it but it isn't as uncomfortable.

[Gerie in reply to Kilgh]

I need to go back to the doctor - for the 6th time with mine!

[Kilgh in reply to Gerie]

Bummer. Went to my specialist. He is pretty sure my gastrocolic reflex has gone haywire again. So I am about to go on a 3-4 week gut boot camp to reset it. Basically taking some leave and getting up the same time, eating 3 meals at the same time, sleeping at the same time. He thinks this should work. I start tomorrow.

[Gerie in reply to Kilgh]

I could do with getting a routine too, as my hours are all over the place. Getting more belching and reflux these last few days than flatulence problems. Getting worried it's a stomach issue and not a bowel issue.

[Kilgh in reply to Gerie]

My specialist said his practice is full of shift workers. Especially airline employees. I don't usually eat regularly with my job. Most shifts don't even have meal breaks rostered. Even toilet breaks have to be negotiated. Anyway, Day 1 has gone alright. Eaten 2 real meals so far. More than I have eaten in months. Will see any effect in the morning I guess.

[Kilgh in reply to Kilgh]

Also, if your gastrocolic reflex is too slow that could trap gas in your stomach. I also learned today that a whole bunch of fibres will make you more constipated! And also not drinking enough water with the useful fibres can also cause constipation. Nothing is ever simple, huh?

[BA777]

Yes I have same question that no one seems able to answer fully ; How do you improve this type of difficult constipation that doesn’t respond well to diet changes, osmotic laxatives & magnesium without using stimulant laxatives that just give you more gas, more cramp & diarrhoea?

I wonder why this is one of the reason’s this dreadful IBS-C has no permanent cure and sometimes very difficult to manage, with many GI Dr’s dismissing us to either “bury our heads in the sand” or “ take heart and get along with it “?

[Gerie in reply to BA777]

Yes I know what you mean. I have gone back to being constipated today but my sensations don't really improve with going to the toilet - it just seems to leave more room for all that gas to sit in!

[Kilgh in reply to BA777]

Did you get your thyroid levels checked? That can cause chronic constipation.

[Gerie in reply to Kilgh]

They did do blood tests but I don't know if that included the thyroid. I try to eat oat cereal because that is soluble fibre besides all the insoluble stuff. It was much better when I went camping in the summer - perhaps because I had the same eating and sleeping routine every day for 17 days. I am seeing a doctor later but just out of hours service at a different practice to my own. Not sure if they can arrange any tests or referrals with them not being my own doctors. My own surgery is always fully booked unless you book a month in advance.

[Kilgh in reply to Gerie]

Or your work is too stressful? Taking a break from mine is so far helping I think. Not worried about being sick and doing my work is a relief.

[Gerie in reply to Kilgh]

I have a child who has been really ill twice in a row in the last month and then finance worries, so don't really get a break from stress even when in the house...

[BA777 in reply to Kilgh]

My Thyroid levels checked and it is fine! All my tests including colonoscopy were normal.

Other problem is that constipation varies from one person to another, for example

BM’s every 2-3 days has always been normal for me, I still have my BM’s within this period but instead I hear a lot of gurgling & get cramp bloating a lot of gas & small lumpy stools - this is constipation.

Fybogel seems to improve the quality of my BM but no effect on gas & pain.

Is there anyone that still gets endless cramps despite using probiotics, peppermint oil, simethicone & Mebeverine & Buscopan? If so what have they tried?

I look forward to my next GI consultant appointment in few weeks!

[Kilgh in reply to BA777]

Every 2-3 days is normal for me too. Try not to use drugs if can stand it. They can sometimes prevent you getting back to normal.

[Gerie in reply to Kilgh]

I panic that I am going to get a fatal fecal impaction. My bowel has slowed down so much: snooping round an interesting shop or missing sleep or even the occasional hangover would set me off and make me go but none of those things work at all anymore.

[Kilgh in reply to Gerie]

I'm the opposite right now. I'm distracting with high intensity exercise bursts to switch the bowel off after a bowel movement.

[Gerie in reply to Kilgh]

Do you still have the twig stuck in the lower left rib sensation that I have?

[Gerie in reply to BA777]

Have you ever had the twig or boiled sweet stuck in lower left rib and tight vice-like feeling around your front upper abdomen below chest?

[Kilgh in reply to Gerie]

I never had the twig feeling. Just pressure/tension there. It is on and off. Don't have it right now but had it in the morning.

[Gerie in reply to Kilgh]

I am going to have a different blood test on Sunday...

[Hidden in reply to BA777]

From Maxbella1007, In the evening I eat five prunes and drink something hot. Give this two days to work!

[nomoreibsc]

So sorry to hear what you have been going through. Like you, I have IBS C and Vasa Vogel. A lovely doctor at Guys recommend magnesium citrate 600mg, Q10 and CBD oil. Not tried the oil but the magnesium and Q10 seem to really help me move my bowel. Laxido made me worse so I stopped taking it. Movical works but after a few days of feeling bloated and in pain. Gp switched me to the cheaper brand cosmocol and funnily enough this works the best for me together with resolor. Helps control the acid reflux too so I have come off omerprazolue. Seems like it's trial and error to find what works for you. I have found the Vasa Vogel and acid reflux imoroved after a big bowel clear out. Hope you find the right combination for you soon.

[Mustardmat1]

I have had this for years and it has caused me lots of anxiety as it feels to me like someone has wedged a tennis ball under my left rib cage. It feels like a mass which for a long time worried me. It comes and goes but I believe I have slow motility and gas that likes to hang out at my splenic flexure. I believe it sometimes causes severe fatigue also which has caused me a lot of anxiety as well. I wish I knew what brings it on so as to control it. I am in an episode of this at the moment which has lasted 9 days or so and counting. It also causes reflux because I believe it is swollen at the splenic flexure which pushes up on my stom when I sit down. I think it can be worse during stressful times but as I have been keeping a diary I believe that it also comes independently of any stress and anxiety.

[Hidden]

Hi. I have experienced this pain in my lower left rib cage too. Did anyone identify what causes it and what can be done to reduce/stop it?