# AWFUL pains in my sides right around my waistline - am I the only one?



## meowmeow

About 4 years ago I noticed a dull pain in my sides around my waistline. It wasn't unbearable, but it was there and it let me know that something was wrong.I went to my family doctor and he told me that I had been constipated for so long that my bowels had swollen up to a strangely large size and they were, hence, causing me pain.He had me go home, drink a bottle of magnesium citrate to clear myself out, and told me to eat more fiber so that this didn't happen.I continued that, and since I was so young, I didn't realize the harmful effects of laxatives or how many common dietary mistakes I was making (white bread, cheese, too much red meat, etc), so over time, my fiber intake wasn't helping much.Over the years, the pain came back several times, no more than every five months at first, and each time, my doctor (stupidly) told me to take more laxatives - what a way to screw myself up.Now, ever since July, I've been in excruciating pain in my sides and almost nothing has helped. I get about 40G of fiber a day, I let myself have about 1 serving of cheese every 2 weeks, I can't remember the last time I had red meat, I do cardio and yoga and several strength exercises that are supposed to help constipation, I drink about seven water bottles a day, still no help. Magnesium citrate has almost NO effect on me anymore (anyone who's taken it should know how odd that is), all-natural, herbal colon cleaners that used to help have no effect now, taken gratuitous amounts of vitamin C every day used to work wonders and now it's 100% futile, and my constipation keeps getting worse and worse, and my sides are in so much pain so often, and I've often had to miss school/leave work early because of it.It's a dull (but now strong) pain on either side, right at my waist line, that feels like someone is pressing into my bowels with his knuckle. Often it gets so bad that it's like a pair of pliers is twisting my bowels up. They're huge (so weird sounding) from being constipated for so long, and it's awful.Whenever I start to have pains, I get really, really bloated. They're always related.Pains happen if I let myself cheat on my diet, like going to Taco Bell with my boyfriend and eating too much cheese and sauce. Pains happen if I go straight from school to work and go way too long without eating. Pains happen if I'm slouched over a lot for way too long. And sometimes, they just happen.Advice is nice, but I mostly, REALLY want to know who else has had this pain - is it more common than I realized? Have sufferers found a some sort of remedy that my family doctor is too dumb to tell me?(I've seen a GI once, but the colonoscopy is very, very expensive and I haven't been able to get it yet; IBS is just a guess made by both doctors and my own research.)


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## leeniepie

this may be something different, but when i get pain up in my waistline, its almost always trapped wind, which causes bloating too. i find taking antacids helps a little, and antispazmodics. and sometimes just a good old hot water bottle on the stomach if you've taken high doses of laxatives over a long period of time your body will now be immune to them. try stool softeners or osmotic laxatives, which are safe in the long run.40g of fibre is probably causing your constipation, as far as i know 25g is more normal. try reducing your fibre intake and having more soluble fibre like oats


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## em_t

Hi *meowmeow* (love the name BTW)I get that right sided pain that you talk about and I believe it is due to swelling at the point where your small intestine joins with the large intestine. When you've been constipated for so long, like I have the rest of your digestive system starts to slow down and you can begin to get pain in other places. I agree with* leeniepie *(another great name) that excess fibre can sometimes make constipation worse. Think about it, if fibre bulks up the stool but your digestive system is moving slowly it is only going to make the problem worse, so if I'm badly constipated I actually eat less fibre and concentrate on drinking lots of fluids. Some people find that fibre from fruits and vegetables (especially cooked vegetables) are more tolerable than eating large amounts of cereal fibre such as wholewheat pasta or brown rice. So that might be something you would like to try. I agree with* leeniepie* about the laxatives too. You are much better using something like Miralax for your constipation as it simply draws water into the bowel making it easier to go to the toilet, as opposed to using harsh stimulant laxatives such as Senna or Dulcolax. The great thing about Miralax is you can change the dosage up and down depending on your symptoms and tailor it to your needs. Save the stimulant laxatives for really severe constipation. Hope that helps!


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