Abdominal Pain

May 14, 2004 8:02 AM

Is there a doctor in the house?
abdominal pain: left side, half way down between my groin and navel. Its keeping me up at night. Any ideas what it could be?
posted by Tryptophan-5ht to health & fitness (22 comments total)

I am in no way shape or form a doctor, but sounds like a hernia perhaps. Is there anything...um...protruding from that area?
posted by trbrts at 8:08 AM on May 14, 2004

This seems to be the sort of situation for which one should visit an actual doctor rather than posting a message to an online forum.

Should you have a phobia about visiting a physician, or insurance issues that makes it cost prohibitive (which, unfortunately is the case for a lot of people here in the US) you'd probably have better luck going to medical advice sites like WebMD, etc.

I don't know the first thing about medicine, but I can't imagine a health professional being willing to offer advice based on a two line Ask MeFi post. Abdominal pain? That could be anything.

In any case, I hope you find out what's wrong and feel better soon.
posted by aladfar at 8:09 AM on May 14, 2004

Gonna have to give me more than that. Like aladfar said, it could be anything. How long has it been happening? What kind of pain? Anything make it better or worse? When does the pain happen? Is the area tender? When did it start? Does medicine help? Etc.

Better yet: Do you have health insurance? If so, do you have a primary care physician? If so, why not make an appointment?
posted by gramcracker at 8:11 AM on May 14, 2004

IANAD - but secretly want to be one. Appendicitis is usually lower right quadrant pain - but probably worth ruling out by a doctor. Its also in the right place for a hernia or any number of gastro-intestinal ailmments. Pain is usually the body's way of saying "ignore me no longer"... go get checked.
posted by Wolfie at 8:12 AM on May 14, 2004

its pretty tender, mostly a dull aching that gets sharp if i push on it. Started about two days ago as a minor annoyance, but has gotten steadily worse.
nothing makes it feel better really... There are times Ill forget about it, if i can find a comfortable position and stay in it.
I don't think its a hernia because theres no protrusion, and I haven't done anything recently to strain or tear my abdominal wall.
I took some tylenol this morning. No good.
I don't have health insurance. I could probably cover the doctor visit, but Id rather not pay if its something I can take care of myself.

If it persists, ill see a professional about it.
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 8:24 AM on May 14, 2004

It could be a kidney stone. Definitely something you should see a doctor about, since if it's a stone and you've had it that long it could be causing long term problems whether you pass it on your own or not.
posted by ursus_comiter at 8:26 AM on May 14, 2004

GO TO THE DOCTOR. Go. To. The. Doctor. gotothedoctor.
posted by Mo Nickels at 8:27 AM on May 14, 2004

I'm betting on stones.
(the pain is usually described as being on the right, but it can vary)

see a doctor, the pain will most likely get worse, and you will be somewhere inconvenient when it does.
(avoiding greasy foods may avoid aggrevating it, but it will get worse if not treated quickly, before it blocks something up)
posted by milovoo at 8:30 AM on May 14, 2004

Tryptophan-5ht -- you definitely should see a doctor, ASAP.

Also, get health insurance. I'm not trying to be flippant here. Seriously, it should be far and away the most important thing, even if it means you have to live in a cardboard box.

If you're tight for cash, the type of insurance you are looking for is "catastrophic health insurance" -- this type has an insanely high deductable (like $5,000), so it's of no use for regular doctors visits. Last time I checked, you can find catastrophic policies from blue cross for around $100/mo. Not cheap, but much cheaper than regular policies.

I bring this up because I watched an acquantance get sick with a serious but operable cancer, and because he had no insurance ended up bankrupting not just himself, but his entire family. It's not something anyone wants to think about, but its not a risk worth taking either.
posted by malphigian at 8:36 AM on May 14, 2004

If it persists, ill see a professional about it.

Jesus, fuck that, go NOW. I'm hoping it's something nothing-y, but that's worth zip; the pain is already persistent. It could be fucking anything, including something bad. Go.
posted by Skot at 8:42 AM on May 14, 2004

allright. Ill see a doctor.

I was just hoping to hear something like 'oh yeah! simple stuff, go drink tons of water' or 'get an enima' or something...
posted by Tryptophan-5ht at 9:01 AM on May 14, 2004

go drink tons of water on the way to the doctor : >
posted by amberglow at 10:14 AM on May 14, 2004

Boy this is a stupid question with an obvious answer.

HELP IM BLEEDIN WHAT SHOULD I DO
posted by xmutex at 10:23 AM on May 14, 2004

Boy this is a stupid question with an obvious answer.

I think playing amateur doctor is fun. Maybe it's costochondritis, maybe it's intussusception, maybe it's just gas.
No one is advocating against seeing a real doctor and it's often possible that someone here has had the same disease at some point and can offer insight. Why spoil other people's fun? huh?
posted by milovoo at 11:41 AM on May 14, 2004

I am not a doctor, but I just was recently treated for a bacterial infection that manifested itself with similiar symptoms as described. 5-7 days of Cipro was how I was treated. But I thought I had everything from a hernia to MS.

See a doctor ASAP.
posted by terrapin at 11:50 AM on May 14, 2004

I was just hoping to hear something like 'oh yeah! simple stuff, go drink tons of water' or 'get an enima' or something...

Get your hands on some of this. It will not only help the pain, but also numb the anger from living in a country that doesn't provide affordable insurance.
posted by headless at 11:54 AM on May 14, 2004

GO TO THE DOCTOR. Go. To. The. Doctor. gotothedoctor.
posted by Mo Nickels at 8:27 AM PST on May 14

awesome. i can almost hear my mother .
posted by rhapsodie at 12:26 PM on May 14, 2004

go here:

http://www.bchealthguide.org/kbase/topic/symptom/abdpn/overview.htm

and pretend(if you're not) that you're Canadian and type in a Canadian ZIP code. ex. V6T IZ4.

I've found this site pretty handy a few times. It's pretty extensive.
posted by deathofme at 12:30 PM on May 14, 2004

I bring this up because I watched an acquantance get sick with a serious but operable cancer, and because he had no insurance ended up bankrupting not just himself, but his entire family.

That's terrifying. I can't imagine living somewhere where medical treatment of that nature costs money.
posted by Jairus at 3:17 PM on May 14, 2004

We desperately need a viable health care solution in the good old USA. [Insert caustic remarks about military spending here.]

Um, deathofme, you got my curiosity up but your postal code didn't work. I'll go look for a valid postal code on Google.
posted by Jonasio at 5:03 PM on May 14, 2004

45% of personal bankruptcies are due to health costs in the US.

DXplain is a similar resource (great for us first year med students!), but can still scare the crap out of you. Go to a doctor.
posted by gramcracker at 5:43 PM on May 14, 2004

Get your hands on some of this. It will not only help the pain, but also numb the anger from living in a country that doesn't provide affordable insurance.

Reeeeaaaal helpful, that is. /sarcasm
posted by davidmsc at 6:54 PM on May 14, 2004