Left sided abdominal pain

[Amanda Paige]

For almost 3 years I have suffered with excrutiating left sided abdominal pain. The pain is located between my belly button and my left ovary.  I have been diagnosed with everything from endometriosis to polycystic ovaries to irritable bowel.  Yet I still suffer in pain.  I have had abdominal & pelivc CT scans (all normal), transvaginal & traditional ultrasounds, a colonoscopy (which revealed mild inflammation and when biopsied revealed mild UC), a laparoscopy to remove endometriosis (which was no where near the painful area) and numerous blood tests.  Everytime I visit my GI doctor he tells me he doesn't know what could be causing it.  My primary care doctor says IBS.  My gynecologist says it isn't endo or PCOS related see your GI.  I am beyond frustrated.  The pain is feels as if someone is pulling on something in my abdomen.  It is a ripping, tearing type of pain.  I often tell my husband I'd like to to be opened up and have whatever is there removed.  According to my doctors there's nothing there.  I currently take Bentyl as needed, but it makes the pain worse.  I also have a pretty high fiber diet and take Beneful daily.  I have tried Colazal as well, with no results.  The pain can last anywhere from an hour to 3 days.  I am currently on my 2nd day & the pain isn't wavering. What should my next step be?  Any ideas on what is causing this pain?

[annieh]

Hi Amanda - I would highly suggest getting tested for Celiac Disease.  I had similar symptoms and did both the small bowel biopsy and the blood test.  Both were borderline conclusive, but eliminating gluten entirely seemed to help a lot!  I developed it after my 4th child was born and had never heard of it.  However, I had similar experiences to yours both before and after the birth.  Good luck!

[waitng for science]

I too have suffered for many years and get to feel like it is all in my head when I am trying to get answers, IBS is a term that used to be called spastic colon, which I was diagnosed with many years ago and now it is called IBS, IBS is actually a term given to something that science hasn't caught up with yet, they don't know what it is or what causes it, but they have to give it a name, personally I think the only thing that can't be seen on the scans etc is wind, not just normal wind but trapped and painful wind, however how can wind be found to be the problem? it is invisible, anyway I started using activated charcoal tabs when an episode comes on and it seems to ease the problem for a while, hope this helps

[Biskie2]

Think about softening up your diet for a few days - laying off the Beneful, etc.  I had your exact same problem and lowering the fiber for a few days did the trick. Good luck!

[Kevin Pho, MD]

You have had a pretty comprehensive evaluation including the CT scans and colonoscopy.  That would pretty much rule out many of the more common GI disorders that can lead to your symptoms.  

The transvaginal ultrasound would evaluate the ovary.  

I agree with the tentative diagnosis of IBS at this point.  You can consider more uncommon diseases like malabsorption, which can also lead to your symptoms.  A stool test for fat malabsorption and blood tests for celiac disease can be considered.

A surgical evaluation can be considered if the pain continues to consider possible surgical exploration for the cause of the pain.

These options can be discussed with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_b