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firefistace
03-03-24, 21:06
For about the past month or so, I've occasionally noticed this pain in my left side, around the ribs or a bit under. Sometimes it's more in front, sometimes it's concentrated in the back, but it's always on my far left. I kind of feel like it might be gas related, since I've noticed that passing gas seems to alleviate it a little bit. It also almost always happens in the evening, which kind of makes trying to sleep a bit hard.

My husband suggested that it sounded kind of like a stool burden, so I took a laxative a couple of weeks ago, and that helped get rid of the pain entirely for a bit, but in the past few days, I've noticed that it's back, albeit perhaps not quite as bad as before. Against my better judgement, I started googling it, and found out that it could be a sign of colon cancer. So today I tried two of the laxative pills, in the hopes that will help. If it doesn't, I'm going to message my doctor, but in the mean time, I'm pretty freaked out and could use some reassurance.

I should probably add that I'm only 33, so it's not like I've ever had a colonoscopy. And I know it's rare for colon cancer to appear in people my age, but it's not unheard of either (I actually had an aunt who died of it around age 40, although being a second degree relative, that doesn't qualify me for early screening).

jojo2316
04-03-24, 14:28
I used to have a pain in this area too. I think there is a corresponding sharp bend in the colon there, where gas can cause discomfort….

BlueIris
04-03-24, 14:36
I get this sometimes, too. Jojo, I'm pretty sure you're right about the bend and the gas.

jojo2316
04-03-24, 15:09
It’s even got a name - i looked it up. Splenic flexure syndrome

BlueIris
04-03-24, 15:18
That's it! It's nippy, isn't it?