Left Abdominal Pain

Updated on July 28, 2009
J.W. asks from Houston, TX
12 answers

Hi Ladies, I was wondering if any of you have ever felt this sort of pain or have an idea as to what it is. I have had a pain behind my left rib and immedietly below my breast; a few yrs ago it was annoying and it has progressingly hurt a little more and is constant whether I am eating, not eating, or just waking up in the morning. Every once and a while it is sharp (which scares me) About 2 yrs ago, I had an ultrasound done and there wasn't anything abnormal. I have seen a cardiologist and they ruled out my heart. Does anyone know if you have spleen or liver damage or other surrounding organs that you could physically feel this? I used to think the pain was caused by me holding my babies on the left side and it pulling my muscle or nerve. I am at loss as to what it is and am afraid to have any tests as it is expensive w/ our insurance. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

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M.D.

answers from Austin on

I had a similar type of pain on and off for over 10 years and it turned out to be my gallbladder. Apparently it was tricky to diagnose since I was in my 20s, not overweight and the pain was on my left side. I was told it was a pulled muscle or a nervous stomach over and over. I finally had an ultrasound of the gallbladder (I'd had all kinds of other tests and thought they'd already checked it) and they found stones. I had it removed and haven't had any pain since then. Definitely have them check it. If it's your gallbladder, the removal is a pretty simple operation (usually you don't have to stay overnight at the hospital) and it doesn't take long to feel much better!

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N.S.

answers from Houston on

Have you seen your general doctor or even your obgyn and explained your symptoms to either of them? What specialist to they recommend you see?

I understand about the expense but ask yourself how expensive will it be if you are seriously ill and you've chosen to ignore them because of the insurance issue.

P.M.

answers from San Antonio on

Hi Jill,

You said the pain is under your left breast, but it could depend on which side: toward the middle of your chest or more toward your arm? I've had pain under my left rib toward the middle of my chest since about a couple years after my son was born. I did my own research and when I presented to my doctor that I thought it might be a HIATAL HERNIA, she sent me to do a Barium Swallow (the test used to diagnose it) and I was correct. There are hundreds of thousands of people who have some form of a hiatal hernia and never know that's what it is. Some doctors will chalk it up to indigestion or heartburn however, mine never felt like that. It was just a sudden pain that would come and go. I still have it as surgery is generally not done unless it is very severe. Just a thought for you.

Also, I just looked at a diagram of the internal organs of the body and the gall bladder is located on the right side of the body under the liver. The only organ on the actual left side is the spleen and the left kidney, which is much lower down the trunk.

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E.S.

answers from Houston on

Hi Jill,

I had this pain when my daughter was 4 months old. At first I thought it had something to do with my breastfeeding but it felt like my chest was heavy and felt alot of pressure. I went to the doc and they did an u/s and it was my gall bladder. I had to have it removed. It did feel like a sharp pain. Good luck and I hope you can find out what is going on.

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S.H.

answers from Houston on

I hate to get personal, but have you been "regular"? You know, your colon runs all the way around your mid-section in a big rounded square. If you have constipation issues, the pain could be coming from your colon.

Also, if the ultrasounds and cardiologist found nothing, I would ask if seeing a gastroenterologist (sp?) would be a good idea. (Don't remember if you said how old you are, but EVERYONE should have a baseline colonoscopy done around age 35 or 40. I have several friends who didn't pay attention to this procedure, and one just died last fall from colon cancer.)

Don't mean to scare you. I just advise everyone to get checked out. Colon cancers start as polyps that can be easily removed before they become cancerous.)

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B.L.

answers from Longview on

I started having these pains 12 years before gallstones were found in my gallbladder. In the old days, they used to use a machine that looked at your insides (not s/g). My doctor told me then that he would bet that i was having gall bladder problems. Finally, they were able to see the stones. Simple operation--all is well. Remember your gall bladder could be functioning improperly with no stones. It takes a specific test to find this. If left untreated, a non functioning gall bladder can become infected. This is MAJOR. Go to the Dr.

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S.O.

answers from San Antonio on

good idea ruling out heart issues. my best guess is gall bladder. you don't say how old you are, but most of my friends who have have gall bladder issues have had them beginning late 30's - early 40's.
probably not liver---liver has less nervous supply and often times never felt. gall bladder area has more nerves surrounding it...that's how we know there could be something up.

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A.K.

answers from Houston on

Hi Jill, It could probably be a number of things but I will give you my experience of upper left abdominal pain. I had almost constant pain that wasn't severe buy annoying. After about six months I went to the doc and had an ultrasound done with nothing showing. It ended up being muscle spasms in the arch of the colon, which is in the exact spot you are describing. I took muscle relaxers for a while and ate very bland and non irritating food. It finally went away but every once in a while I feel it for a few days. Hope this helps and you figure out the cause of pain soon.

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M.D.

answers from Victoria on

I don't what it could be, but I wanted to tell ya you're not alone:) I too have sharp pains every now and then on my left side under my left breast or right below it. I don't know what it is and I just brush it off. It's not real often and nothing seems to happen after so I figure it's ok. Let me know if you find anything out. :)

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T.V.

answers from Houston on

I would go to a chiropractor for an adjustment. My husband recently had similar pain, felt like chest pain, and it was simply a rib out of line along his breast bone.

Here's praying it's that simple!

J.B.

answers from Houston on

Does it cause a sharp pain when you take in a deep breath? If it comes and goes and gives sporadic sharp pains, it could be a rib out of place. You might do some activity that causes this that you are unaware of and I think it is something that a medical dr could miss. I had it happen after I got rear ended and was getting some chiropractic therapy. I had this terrible sharp pain sometimes on one side and when I would take a deep breath it would really zing me. I asked the chiropractor about it and he said it was probably a rib. He fixed it in like two minutes, I can't tell you how relieved I was! I had a friend with pain like you are describing and I told her about my rib, she went to the chiropractor and sure enough they fixed her right up and the pain was gone. I know it sounds too simple, but it might be worth a try, a bad rib is sooooooooo painful. Best wishes, hope you get it sorted out asap:)

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D.R.

answers from Houston on

Take a product called Fiberwise before every time you eat and I mean any thing. As for muscle problems do not take prescription muscle relaxers which can cause a big list of side affect take Malic Acid, natural muscle relaxer. Feel free to contact me for more info. ###-###-####

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