# localized right side pain



## okiemom79 (Feb 14, 2015)

Hello everyone! I am new to the group and wanted to see if anyone else has my same issues. I have not had any tests done yet unfortunately but trust me I plan on it. I live in a very small town and have to travel a good ways to get to a specialist which is what my Dr. keeps wanting. I suffer from anxiety disorder which really makes it hard for me to drive especially in large cities. I typically have to have my husband drive me out of town. He works off so it's not easy getting out of town. Anyway here is what brings me here today. I have been suffering from this localized right side pain for at least 2 years. It feels like a burning, dull ache. I have a lot of problems with C and seem to keep gas all the time. I pass it but I also feel as though some is trapped because I can feel it just moving around in there at times and I can't pass it. It's not uncommon for me to not have a bm for a week. When I do its usually hard and pebbly. I have been scared thinking I could have an ulcer or gallbladder all of which my Dr. does not seem to find an urgency in or he would send me over to the er. He prescribed me Bentyl which I have not taken yet and nexium which I just started. I'm trying align as well and will incorporate more fiber into my diet though seriously it sometimes tends to make me feel worse for some reason. I'm not new to feeling like crap but Im new to the real possibility that this is IBS. So, does anyone else have the right side pain I described with their ibs? 
Thank for taking the time to read this and sorry if there are mistakes. I've been up since the wee hours and am typing on my phone.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Hi Okiemom and welcome group. i am sorry you are having so much pain and constipation problems.

i don't get pain specific to my right side any more since i had a right hemicolectomy due to a cecal volvulous about eighteen months ago. i do get a lot of pain due to gas and also backed up stool when i am constipated. for me, my problem area was always the upper left side of the colon, right at the bend, where the transverse colon bends and becomes the descending colon--the splenic flexure. i've discussed this with my gastro docs and was told that for a lot of people, these bends in the colon can be a problem. on the upper right side the area where the ascending colon bends and becomes the transverse colon is called the hepatic flexure.

it feels like i get spasms in that area which keep stool and gas from passing. plus i have adhesions now form the surgery which also gum things up. i have found that using a microwaveable heating pad (warm not hot) and gently massaging my colon through the heating pad helps with the pain and often releases the spam which helps move things along. other times i just do colon massage over the entire colon. there are some good U-Tube videos on this. you start at the lower right side and move along the colon, using not your finger tips so much as the flat part of your fingers just below the tip. use a circular motion and move up the right side, across the colon and down the left. sometimes i just put the heating pad on my tummy and that helps too.

bentyl is an antispasmodic and can help relax the colon and relax the spasms. like all antispasmodics, it can have constipation as a side effect especially if used a lot--because it relaxes everything--but everyone is different as to how they react to meds. so you may not have this problem.

if your bm's are infrequent, hard and pebbly, fiber --especially insoluble fiber--can make things worse. you might want to tweak your diet--slowly add some insoluble fiber maybe. there is a lot of good diet advice for constipation here on the board. many of us find that too much fiber makes us worse.

drinking lots of water always helps keep things moist. and exercise--especially walking--is great at moving things along.

some people find taking magnesium supplements helps keep stools softer. the amount and which type of mag supplement varies from individual to individual. you have to experiment to see what works for you. there are many different kinds: magnesium citrate, magnesium oxide, magnesium glycinate, chelated magnesium, liquid magnesium citrate (the supplement--not the stuff in the bottles you buy at the drug store) etc. Magnesium relaxes the muscles in the intestines which helps to establish a smoother rhythm and magnesium also helps soften the stool by attracting water to the colon which helps to make stools easier to pass. we've got a ton of magnesium threads on here too.

or you could try drinking miralax. it's an osmotic laxative. play around with the dosage to see what works best for you. usually a daily dose works best for people.

some people have found align constipating. but again, we're all so different in how we react to things. like they say, your mileage may vary.

there is a lot of advice and tips for dealing with constipation here on there board so you might want to take a look around if you haven't already done so.

and yes, it's definitely a good idea to go to a good, proactive gastro doc and get some tests done. that's what i did. i also live in a very small town, out in the country. no gastro docs here so my wonderful hubby drives me into the city--about 45 minutes away--to see my gastros. i'm complicated--i have two of them lol. one is at a university hospital. often docs at university hospitals are more up-to-date, knowledgeable and proactive about treating constipation.

hope you can find some relief. take care.


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## Blastocuntis (Jan 23, 2015)

Hey,

Yes, I get pain in my right side too. It's probably because this is where the small and large bowels meet. There is a one way valve in that area, and if your large bowel is already full, you will get pain in that area.

The first two things I would do is 1) have a three day parasitology stool analysis done and 2) get tested for SIBO. You may need to find a nutritionist, or forward thinking doctor who can arrange them for you.


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## okiemom79 (Feb 14, 2015)

Thank you both for your reply. I am going to have my Dr. schedule an u/s asap. It's the quickest thing I can get to possibly get some answers. I've been trying to look up more info on hepatic flexure syndrom but unfortunately can't find much info. I will be trying a heating bad and massage as well as adding insoluble fiber to my diet to see if any of this works. 
Thanks again.


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## okiemom79 (Feb 14, 2015)

I wanted to update since it has been awhile. Not sure how many people are actually following this post but here goes.

I finally got an abdominal ultrasound because this right side 'pain' under my right rib cage was staying so persistent. It felt as though it was burning,gnawing, and sometimes achy. It would radiate to the right side of my upper back to my shoulder and a bit below my rib cage area. It really started to worry me. 2 days after the u/s I went to the er because I was just at my wits end with the pain! I had a urinalysis and several other blood tests ran including a cbc. All test came back normal and the er dr. had me confused he said my u/s was normal but then he mentioned gallbladder enlarged and sludge. I THOUGHT he was talking about me I mean he even did that whole Murphy sign test where they have you take a deep breath while pressing into the area where your gallbladder is. It hurt! He said it was pretty obvious to him it was my GB. Hm. Anyway he refers me to a surgeon who explains to me that my u/s was negative! He wanted me to go get a HIDA scan because he himself even thought it sounded like my GB. I've been dealing with this uncomfortable pain every single day since I wrote the very first post here btw. Got my results on the HIDA yesterday and they told me it was normal. I was so upset because I thought for sure I finally had an answer to my pain and could get treatment soon. Now I have to go get a scope done and I am becoming depressed. I wake up everyday hoping this pain will just be gone but it isn't. It's interfering with my day to day life and I have 3 kids ages 8,6, and 4 so it is not easy feeling like poo all the time. I am fatigued and sometimes feel as though I am coming down with something, even run a 99.4-99.6 temp.

So after all this does anyone still think it could be IBS?

I don't know. I mean I am so scared it's something like an ulcer or something else. I would think that IBS would ease up at some point wouldn't it? It wouldn't just stay in one spot like this burning and aching and 'sometimes' a sharp pain?

Sorry so long everyone I am just in a mood and venting.


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## Alexander.C (Mar 26, 2015)

Well, okiemom, i have the same chronic right sided pain too. It's right around the appendix area, and it's quite dull, nothing sharp or stabbing, also kinda gassy sometimes. As in sometimes i can feel gas, or bowel contents moving around in there. Sometimes i can feel my right colon with my hands, and it's at times hard as a sausage shaped lump, other times rather softer and makes gurgling sounds when i push on it. I'm also a bit on the constipated side of things, as in, before my pain started (about 3 months ago) i used to have really erratic bowel movements for years. Sometimes i would not go several days at a time (mostly out of negligence, i think, more than anything else). Now, since i started some medication, i have reached somewhat daily bowel movements, but they still look like constipation. Most of the time being really dry stool that breaks apart into pieces on exit. The pain is still there, though. It's not ALL the time, but about 80% of the time, it is.

Had the same tests as you done, and they found nothing. Still haven't been scoped yet, as nobody thought it's something serious, and i'm 29. I have been diagnosed with IBS by one doctor, but i'm still scared it could be some other thing. So i wouldn't want you to take this as a positive confirmation that what you have is IBS, but rather that there are other people with the same kind of symptoms as you, and it still could be nothing really serious.

If you find out more about your condition, please share, and i will do the same.

Cheers!


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## sleek (Mar 16, 2015)

I never knew right side pain was a thing for IBS. I predominantly get left side pain, but every few days I might get a sharp pain in my right side for a few minutes and then it subsides. I guess I never thought much of it.


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## Chris Heider (Apr 3, 2015)

I have the same problem. I lost about 50lbs two years ago and i started having pains under my right rib cage and have been told its hepatic flexure syndrome. I have had colonoscopy, ultrasound, blood work, CT Scan, HIDAscan. barium swallow test(problem i was having with my neck). The HIDA scan came back borderline slow, but with the clear ultra sound they said its most likely not my gallbladder. I have found minor relief with miralax, but when my symptoms come back they stay for months.

I have thought about having my Gallbladder remove just to take it out of the equation.

I feel your frustrations, i feel like the doctors have given up on me and don't care or think I'm crazy. Its hard having a feeling like there is a lump under your ribs for 2 years and not go crazy.


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## devsangel (Apr 9, 2015)

My right side hurts too!! However, I have had my gallbladder removed years ago, as it was cyptic syptic(don't know how to spell that right now...hope you get what i mean) and it was out before I could say boo. However, since then....off and on my right side hurts too. More so when I haven't gone to the bathroom...I will bloat up, and look like I am six months pregnant, and my side will hurt to the touch. I also have pain that radiates in my back. My doctor thought all my pain was female...so, had the ultrasound done, and it wasn't that. Now I am going to go see my GI docotr, to see what can be done. I hate to hear you are hurting, and at the same time, it is a relief to see someone else with the same pains. My regular md thought I was nuts!! Hang in there!!


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