Abdominal Pain

[Stucoo]

Hi,

For the past 3 months I have been experiencing pain/aches mainly in the RUQ, under my right rib but also in the RLQ and sometimes LLQ. Occasionally I also get pain in my right lower back. I have had blood tests, ultrasound, colonoscopy and have just received a clear MRI. The consultant has been unable to help any further and has only offered a review in 3 months. I have no diagnosis and I do suffer pain every day that can be eased by having a bowl movement.

My bowel movements are normal

I'm 51, does this sound like IBS?

Has anyone got any suggestions

Thanks,

Stuart

[Amethyst91]

When I first was going f through my constipation issues I had similar pains but idk if mine were due to straining or not. I have only been diagnosed with IBS C and Gilbert’s syndrome. I have had indigestion and stomach problems for 6 years now. I guess the best you can do is try diet changes and re do some tests in 6 months. I hate not knowing what’s up too but that’s the boat I keep getting put in :/

[Stucoo in reply to Amethyst91]

Thanks for the reply. Any tips on how to do an elimination diet?

[Amethyst91 in reply to Stucoo]

The one they keep bringing up to me is try gluten free. I will admit I hate reading ingredients so I haven’t done it very well. This year when I did cut back on breads and stuff it helped a bit but I don’t think I five far enough into the whole ingredients thing to make the full difference. I usually try eating a lot of vegetables and fruits as my main diet. Things were pretty good until I got hired and started eating normal food again, then I started developing more stomach issues.

[b1b1b1 in reply to Stucoo]

Look up the FODMAP diet online. There are also some good books about this diet. It is usually recommended for IBS patients. Obviously check with your MD first.

[Hidden]

Ibs

[xjrs]

You may be suffering from visceral hypersensitivity (functional abdominal pain) - there is info about it here:

iffgd.org/lower-gi-disorder...

It is where the brain interprets the normal activity of the bowel as pain - this is due to a wearing down of neurons in pain control centres of the brain which can be caused by PTSD, neglect or abuse in childhood, extreme stressful events etc. The first line treatment is nerve pain agents such as low dose amitriptyline. There is a theory that being on something like amitriptyline for 6-12 months can help the pain control centre neurons to regenerate. Note that amitriptyline can cause constipation, but this can be helpful in people who are diarrhea dominant. Unfortunately I couldn't tolerate these. Linaclotide (for IBS-C only) & Alflorex probiotic have helped me greatly with this intestinal pain.

Sometimes the pain can be caused by a gut bacterial imbalance, which is why something like Alflorex which has been scientifically studied for IBS can be useful, since it helps to crowd out the bad bugs. My pain reduced to zero after taking this.

You may also find assistance with enteric coated peppermint.

[Stucoo in reply to xjrs]

Thanks for the information