Very worried about upper left sided pain

[MrsNonSmoker]

Hi Darwin, I've had this sort of pain for nearly 3 months - had an endoscopy, nothing showed up, now am awaiting an ultrasound. My pain is left upper, under ribs, sometimes in the armpit, around the side into my back and lower back and then sometimes round to the groin. My stomach is tender and if I push on it I can feel something move from one side of the abdomen to the other. I've lost about a stone, yet my waist has increased by an inch - all this started on 29th July and the pain has been constant from that day to this. Pain is not terrible but still wakes me up every hour or so at night. GP was initially very dismissive, consultant was even worse! If you google pain in left side etc you get loads of forums discussing just that, people who have had this for years without answers. So does that mean we should say phew, its nothing to worry about, or make a fuss on the grounds that it could be a cancerous tumour waiting to grow?! Anyway do let us know if you have any more news, good luck,

[MrHen]

Hey I have just joined.

I am a 29 year old male with apparent anxiety, stress and mild depression suffering from IBS (a mouthful i know). The IBS is 3 year old now and started after a bad bout of diarrhea on return from holiday to Bulgaria. Symptoms included bloating, diarrhea and constipation.

I have something very similar - i started experiencing pain in my upper abdomen coinciding with an ache in my middle left back. I felt very worried about this and it got to the point that i was going to bed before 8pm in the hope of falling asleep to forget about everything.

My appetite went completely (I am a big guy and this has never happened before) and i was spending most of the day nauseous with vomiting and diarrhea (sorry it's disgusting). The worrying thing for me is that i slept - o mean i was sleeping 18 odd hours a day. After meals i had to go back to bed for feeling sick.

At this point i should point out that i had a barium meal 2 years ago and a colonoscopy (Cancer at young age in family prompted the consultant to rule out). Both came back clear as a whistle. I got on with my life until now.

It's been nearly 3 weeks and there is no change, my bloods all came back normal - i went through them with the doc and although a few were slightly outside the range, she was satisfied that i didn't have pancreatic cancer (i have to admit she was sympathetic to my hypochondria).

She prescribed omeprazole - a drug that inhibits stomach acid formation. I found this strange as i do not have acid reflux (one of the few blessings since IBS).

Today i decided i am not longer taking it, my symptoms are not getting any worse or better and i can't see her logic. She has ordered an endoscopy and abdomen ultrasound to put my mind at ease but said she couldn't put them through as urgent as i dont appear to be dying.

The strangest thing i have noticed throughout all this is:

After about 6pm i feel about 90% fine, my nuasea disappears and my appetite somewhat returns. I had a terrible sweet tooth since i was a child but this has completely disappeared. I am struggling to comprehend that this has all been caused by my head (anxiety), even with the anxiousness of IBS i was always happy to eat quite alot. I have lost over half a stone in 2 weeks as a result.

Thanks for listening to me have a moan! I hope you feel better!

[Darwin73]

Hi MrsNonSmoker, I have read some of your recent posts when typing in my own symptoms and I can really relate to some of your current concerns, particularly the pancreas ones. My pain is very similar to yours -constant- but stays in the upper left quadrant. It does migrate round to my back, my side and different parts of my left ribs too. if I push certain areas of my ribs (front and at the side, below armpit) it is very tender and painful. It is making me tired and irritable having this pain all the time and wondering what's causing it and whether it's going to kill me. I haven't lost or gained weight though (not that I've weighed myself recently). I've also found those forums where people have been having pain for years, but I just don't believe there isn't a reason for this. Good luck to you too, and keep me informed.

MrHen, welcome! As an anxiety sufferer, you have definately come to the right place! I can totally relate to the going to bed early in the hope of falling asleep to forget things. I don't know much about omeprazole, but believe it can be prescribed for symptoms other than acid reflux (such as nausea), so maybe that was your GP's reasoning.

It is hard to attribute some of our symtoms to anxiety, but I can see (kind of) how worrying and focusing on something makes it seem worse (at least that is what I'm telling myself!). Hope you feel better soon too!