Chronic lower right abdominal pain?

[flt4ever]

Here's a "tuffy". For over 2 years now I’ve had lower right abdominal pain. It comes and it goes, I have good days and I have ER days. So far I’ve had CT scans, MRIs, X-rays, gastrocsopies, one ultrasound, EKG, blood and urine tests. I’ve been at the ER crippled over 25 times and saw my family physician over 10 times…yes, that means I also tried a whole lot of prescriptions. I had no diagnosis for IBS but still my physician had me tried some antispasmodics, dicetel, etc…all did nothing to help. I’ve also been on gluten and lactose free diets. I tried acupuncture, chiropractics and physiotherapy. All those ruled out a lot of common things, I think anyway.

New symptoms came along since it all started but I keep being told I’m fine. Complete lack of energy, loss of appetite, weight loss, really bad weakness, irritability, heavy heartbeats. Generally I feel 80 years old but I’m just a 37 young man. The only consistent symptom since the beginning is lower right abdominal pain and sensitive tenderness in that area. I was also told the area is hard and guarded, whatever that means. So far, the only things I found slightly helpful are simple glutathione related supplements like SAMe and NAC along with sublingual B12 but their effects are slowly declining.

By now I thought I would have met an open minded physician that would have at least offered exploration surgery. I even met a surgeon but he denied and said the only thing in that area is the appendix and it cannot hurt for long periods. I’m just looking for opinions or suggestions on where to go from here? I feel like something is slowly killing me and it originates from the lower right quadrant. I just want my life back, please.

For those curious about chronic appendicitis…

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/41390833_Recurrent_Abdominal_Pain_and_Chronic_Appendicitis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19469267
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10832282
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumbling_appendicitis

 

[Wayne]

I’m just looking for opinions or suggestions on where to go from here? I feel like something is slowly killing me and it originates from the lower right quadrant.

Hi Fit4ever,

Welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about this chronic GI problem of yours.

This may seem like a bit of a far fetched idea, depending on your own health care orientation, but..... I have a book on the therapeutic benefits of Castor Oil Packs, and thought I'd mention one of the testimonials in the book. If you read about three paragraphs at this link starting with "Velma is a seventy-two...", it dramatically illustrates how one therapy alone successfully addressed a 23-year long history of intense intestinal discomfort --- within minutes.

I have no idea whether a castor oil pack might be helpful to you, but I don't see how it can hurt. Castor oil packs are well known to have a calming and harmonizing effect on the nervous system, so even if it didn't improved some of your GI distress, perhaps it can having a calming effect in other ways.

Just out of curiosity, did your symptoms start after a round of antibiotics in the previous few months or years? If so (and even if not), you may want to check out this thread on Resistant Starch. An inexpensive therapy and apparently very helpful for many people. --- Good luck in finding a solution for this; I think your odds are good that you will, but will probably take a lot of perseverence.

Wayne

 

[flt4ever]

My pain is limited to the lower right quadrant whereas Velma seemed to complain about her whole gut being twisted on itself. Having said that, I do pass a lot of gas, especially if I carefully rub my pain area…so I’ll look it up thanks.

No, it did not start with antibiotics. I thought about them not long ago though. I complained to my physician about acne just to get some and it worked, she gave me minocycline. You know, now that I think about it, that too helped at the time but I crashed back to sickness shortly after stopping it.

I’ll read up on starch, thanks for links and info Wayne. I don’t think I’ll get much help, I mean what else is there left right?

 

[Seven7]

@flt4ever Is funny I have a similar issue that comes and goes, mine is in the left side (or in the anus) and overall I do not have a lot of gas and BM issues (now). The pain was worse during intercourse but it felt outside the vaginal walls like inside somewhere.

All test coloscopy and all came clean. Since then I dicovered I have food allergies (I get imflamation) so I came acrross driking peppermint tea, I get like gassy but in small size, then as I releive the gas, the pain goes away.

I have it in my list of things to check for gut imflmation and comprehensive stool test.

 

[manna]

if the pain is near the appendix area (but not actually caused by the appendix) then my guess would be that your illeocecal valve is not closing properly. this, in case you don't know, is the valve that opens to allow food/chime to enter the colon from the small intestine. when this remains open, supposedly, the terminal ileum (the end of the small intestine) can become swollen, sore or "diseased". its common by degree, if its even that, in me/cfs and general bowel disorders.i believe they remove it in serious cases of crohns though this is now thought, by some, to be a bad idea as the terminal ileum is where bile salts are re-absorbed and b12 is absorbed. when bile is not re-absorbed it causes diarrhea/loose stools in the colon--which may happen anyway if the terminal ileum is inflammed.

donna eden, on youtube, has exercises that are designed to close this valve, but how helpfull that is if its chronic, i don't know. diet is key, if its that.

 

[flt4ever]

Inester7, I tried peppermint, dandelion and also chicory root. All of which gave me heartburn. The chicory made passing stool easier but did nothing for pain and other new symptoms and because of the heartburn, I stopped it. I also tried coated enzymes but another thing that failed. For inflammation, I now have celebrex and it helps a bit but it’s like using wind to calm a fire. It helps with general body aches but sometimes it makes it my gut worst. So I always use it as a last resort.

Wayne, I like what manna said too. So if I understand, the terminal ileum is where the B12 gets absorbed...so I'm guessing this explains why I get a little better when taking sub-lingual B12? Manna, diet wise I agree, though I cannot eat cleaner, it is already at its best from trial and error over time and there isn't much variety I get to choose from. I also think it's a major aspect that gets me going cause as soon as I deviate, even slightly, I end up in bed or at the ER with lower right abdominal pain.

What I can say with certainty is that prior to my first visit to the ER, I could eat or drink whatever pleased me at anytime and I never, in 34 years, had any issues, not a peep. Now, I'm scared of eating. In fact, I haven't eaten since yesterday morning, well I should say I tried but I vomited it back. I know this isn't ok but it's sadly the only sure way I noticed I don't have pain.

I'll get right on those exercises but first I must admit, I'm now a bit curious on how that terminal ilium thing gets diagnosed so I'll look that up first. Manna, thank you. I'll post back about the exercises in case it could help someone else reading all this.

One last thing, I get to see my gastro tonight. It's the second time and it's a really long wait to see him. Would anyone have suggestions on what I could ask or tell him at this point?

 

[manna]

no idea with the gastro...maybe mention about the terminal ileum as he will have experience there. id be interested in knowing what your diet is and whether its organic and what you drink. cruciferous vegetables are bad for such problems in my experience...stuff like that..little things that seem inconsequenntial.

the kidneys can lock up following toxic treatments and this can prevent the general, natural and downward flow of food and liquid through the organism. a kidney cleanse may help.

also what prompted the er visit and what treatment did they give? true about the anti-biotics and possibility of going chronically ill over-night. anti-biotics can remove some symptons by making you too toxic for microbial invasion...its why, i think, folks with crohns "improve" (actually not true..suffer less) if they smoke cigarettes. im sure, from reading about fecal implants (check that out, that folk can get life threatening c difficile from anti-biotic intervention- not suggesting you have that.

a couple of quick home remedies you could try if you feel inclined: take a metal tent peg, or something similar, and plant it in the soil/ground, as deep as it'll go , and attach a plastic coated wire to that (metal to metal) and then on the other end of the wire, a metal washer or similar..then lie down and hold this washer where the pain. the idea is that inflammation is, electrically speaking, an over abundance of positive charge that when giving the opportunity, will seek t5he ground. also coarse sea salt in a sock on your mouth, lying down, breathing through it...i know it sounds silly but..this will relax your lungs and they intimately associated with your colon (you could buy a salt inhaler online instead/as well.. affect is quick.and both are pretty harmless interventions that can have surprising results.

im not into earthing that much, using wires etc, but it can get you through some tough moments, as long as its not over-used. its used for healing injuries by cyclists in, for example, the tour de france. they sleep with over night on the tender spot. i think less is more with it...as soon as it feels manageable (if it works) maybe stop and sort the rest out with other means.

sounds like you're in trenches, all the best

 

[WillowJ]

I always wonder if some of my gut pain could be caused by enterovirus infection.

This article is about ME, but it describes viral persistence in the gut. The link seems to be broken to Part 1 of the interview.
http://phoenixrising.me/interviews-...ence-treatment-and-the-future-by-cort-johnson

 

[flt4ever]

Well, the appointment went so fast I didn’t have time to even ask him about my valve. I think my wife’s interrogation made him a bit nervous. Though I admit I love it when she lets her diplomatic side out like that, very direct but calm and polite. She’s a lawyer...and my hero

So this was my 2nd visit in 2 years. I quote him saying “there are a lot of small polyps with mild inflammation, these are not cancerous and it doesn’t explain the pain you’re having and there is no sign of crowns...so, how are you feeling?”. I’m not sure this is comforting since my 1st visit revealed mild inflammation only and now I have “a lot of small polyps”. In any case, he admitted not being prepared for “our” questions and said to meet him again at the hospital tomorrow. That would give him time to review my case and make another fasting blood test. He also suggests a steroid shot in my lower right abdominal area and asks to think about it until then.

You’re right about the diet, over time I noticed the same thing. In fact I can’t eat much of vegetables, especially uncooked or I’ll burp it for days. I have to rely on vitamins (Adam) and on dried prunes, avocados and Ezekiel bread for fiber. I’ll eat marinated meats only, red meat will give me consequences. I drink nothing but water bottles, lactose free milk 2% and orange juice. Sometimes, I’ll drink coconut water. I have methyl B-complex w/metafolin from Douglas laboratories on the way, I would like to try.

I’m not sure how a kidney can be cleansed. I was told certain things are healthy for it but it wasn’t as easily cleansed as a liver. I’m curious now, I’ll look it up. Thank you.

Manna, nothing ever sounds silly to me besides, at this point, I’ll try anything if it even means 1% chance of having my life back. That metal earth thing, I will try as soon as the snow melts and ground becomes dry. So, silly or not, I’m grateful.

One last thing I forgot to mention, each time I don’t eat for a day or two, I will be pain free for a week or two even if I deviate from my diet. That’s why I like fasting once in a while. Can this suggest something?

Willow, I’ll read up. Thank you.

 

[Wayne]

Manna, nothing ever sounds silly to me besides, at this point, I’ll try anything if it even means 1% chance of having my life back. That metal earth thing, I will try as soon as the snow melts and ground becomes dry. So, silly or not, I’m grateful. ......... One last thing I forgot to mention, each time I don’t eat for a day or two, I will be pain free for a week or two even if I deviate from my diet. That’s why I like fasting once in a while. Can this suggest something?

OK Fit4ever, I'm going to take you up on your assertion that nothing sounds silly to you. Hopefully you won’t regret saying this after reading my post... (To refresh your memory, I'm the poster who previously mentioned castor oil packs.) I've had a variety of GI pains for many years, and have found that castor oil packs usually help quite a bit.

But I’ve discovered other things also help, especially things that improve blood circulation and energy flows. In case you're not aware, the castor oil packs use hot water bottles (or electric heating pads) to warm the castor oil. — I often use hot water bottles on my GI tract (when not doing a castor oil pack), and find it to be quite relaxing. I most often do it after I eat (mostly on the stomach and liver area), as I think it helps improve blood circulation, which in turn helps with my digestion.

If you didn’t want to go through the hassle of doing a castor oil pack, you could substitute that with an easier to handle essential oil. Not sure which would be best oil for GI distress, but a quick google might give you some ideas. Just apply it over the area, put on a t-shirt, and then put a hot water bottle on top of it.

Another possibility might be to consider an abdominal poultice (again, try a google search). If your condition is being caused by some kind of infection, including perhaps micro-parasites, a poultice might have the ability to pull it out and improve things. I’ve not done this myself, but have read some pretty amazing stories of what poultices can accomplish. Any research on parasitic infections should include a search on diatamaceous earth.
---
Massaging and/or vibrating. Reflexology is based on the belief that when stimulating nerve endings in the feet and/or hand, it sends more nerve energy to other parts of the body that are needing extra energy. What's generally not fully recognized is that massaging the “other part of the body” when possible works even better. So gentle self-massage over an affected area several times a day might reduce some of the pain and discomfort. A relatively inexpensive electrical massager, which can usually be bought at WalMart, could also work really well to improve both blood and nerve circulation.

It’s also good to remember that nerve energy to all parts of our body can be disrupted if nerves are impinged within the spinal column. I once read about a man who had heart problems all his life. Upon getting his first chiropractic adjustment, all his heart problems went away. Do you have any kind of back or spinal discomfort in your lumbar region?

What might be considered a particularly outlandish possibility, is whether there might be a connection between your GI discomfort and something going on in one of your teeth. Oriental health philosophy says that meridians run through the teeth to all other parts of the body, so if the meridian is impacted by dental work (especially IMO root canals), then it could affect distant parts of the body. Dentists who remove old and infected root canals often report seemingly totally separate bodily ills go away almost immediately. When I had my only root-canaled tooth removed (which my dentist said was totally healthy), my increasingly difficult swallowing problems of many years were 75% better the next day, and gone within a week).
---
One product that’s reputed to be excellent for all kinds of GI distress is aloe vera juice. WalMart sells gallons for only about $8-9 or so. (I’m not an owner or shareholder of WM lol). Another possible treatment I would suggest considering is controversial, so I won't say too much about it. But if you do a google search on GI distress (or something like Chron’s, etc.) and MMS, you will likely run across some success stories. Curezone might be a good place to start.

As you can see, I have an alternative bent to my own health philosophy (I feel I was forced to after seeing so many doctors who just don’t know how to treat many chronic conditions). I’ve had much better success with slow and methodical natural therapies than with most other things conventional medicine has to offer. But I take help wherever I can find it.

I found your comments about how much fasting helps to be quite promising. You might want to consider trying different kinds of partial fasting to see if it might get you the same results. Vegetable juice fasting, perhaps in combination with some raw goat milk, aloe vera juice, etc. could turn out to be very helpful. Adding supplemental colostrum might also be good.

As I mentioned in my first post, I think the odds of you finding a solution to this are good, but will likely take a lot of creativity, experimentation and persistence to get success. What I try to do for myself is list all the things that might be a good thing to do, consider the expense and invasiveness, then start with what seems to be the least traumatic, and proceed from there. In this regard, I would hesitate to get a steroid shot as you mentioned earlier. Sounds pretty invasive and possibly disruptive. I would probably at a minimum do a lot of research before agreeing to this kind of intervention.

All the Best!

Wayne

P.S. Far Infrared (FIR) lamps (approx. $100 or so) are also very good at producing a penetrating, healing warmth deep into the body (I've heard as much as 3-4 inches), and kills microbes in the process.

 

[Dufresne]

Sorry if this has already been mentioned, as I haven't read through the thread, but I believe I recall KDM talking about pain two inches south and west of the navel upon applying pressure. If I'm not mistaken he said this is due to dysbiosis causing inflammation of the cecum.

 

[WillowJ]

@flt4ever glad that you have a great advocate

If you have inflammation in the gut, doesn't that suggest some kind of IBD?

 

[flt4ever]

wow, I'm new here and already I'm falling in love with this place. You guys are all amazing!

Thanks Wayne. I will try one methodical natural therapy at a time as long as I don't find any cause/solution. I did try aloe for weeks without success. I had the same opinion about the steroid injection. I don't like the idea either and I'm afraid for other consequences.

Dufresne, I looked up dysbiosis and it talks about SIBO as well. I'll read up some more and look for what can be done. Thank you.

Willow, I asked my gastro the same question and he said, and I quote "some mild inflammation is normal during the procedure, besides it doesn't explain your pain".

** Edited. I saw him at the hospital and got confirmation of polyps removed...Few! After he revised my case he said, regarding my type of situation, a lot of things wasn't checked yet and that was unacceptable to him. So he made me fill 13 vials worth of blood test. I'll see him again in a month for the results. The first time I exit the hospital with a smile, almost in tears of joy **

 

[kangaSue]

It doesn't sound typical but check out "abdominal migraine" or Mesenteric Ischemia. It also comes in a form hard to detect, non-occlusive Mesenteric ischemia which I was unlucky enough to get and it took 7 years to find the source of the pain.

 

[South]

Another vote here for castor oil packs for little pains in the liver area.
This remedy makes no sense why on earth it would help...but it did. I didn't want it to help, because I want science-sense! But it works for me - my little twinges in the liver area are gone in 20 minutes, and stay gone for weeks after doing this.

A couple squares of old T shirt fabric, soak them in castor oil, put on abdomen where your liver is, lay back and read a book for 20 minutes or so. Then go shower off.

I cannot fathom why this helps, and didn't want to think it would, but it did.

 

[Oredogg]

I am assuming you have been evaluated for Crohn's disease? The sort of fits of pain you describe reminded me of two things: Crohn's enteritis and appendicitis. I have Crohns and had a near ruptured appendicitis. The pain from both is similar, excruciating, and located in a very similar area, right lower abdominal quadrant. Given the number of evaluations you have had, I suspect this has been thoroughly evaluated. You may have mentioned it too and I just missed it, sorry if that is the case.

 

[BBQGirl]

@fit4ever
I'm new here, been reading without joining for quite a while, so please forgive me if this sounds stupid. We have noticed the same problems with hubby and trying to figure out what it was he may have eaten, consumed etc. He has this problem in winter more so. In reading here at PR it seems that at least some folks don't tolerate eating a lot of high folate foods and after a few days notice signs of folate deficiency. (If my understanding is correct?) How this could cause the pain you describe (or my hubbys)I don't understand. But it is coincidental that at the times he's had this we had been eating a lot of greens then had severe pain a few days later. Hope you found some relief.