Why is my belly waking me up with soreness?

August 12, 2007 8:31 PM

HealthFilter: Why do I wake up with a dull ache in my abdomen (diaphragm area)?

When I sleep for longer than 5-6 hours, I'm often woken up by a kind of dull ache in my abdomen. I usually end up feeling the need to pee as well, but the sensation does not immediately go away after peeing. It is not a sharp pain - more of a soreness, like if I'd been working out.

I thought that it might be my muscles aching after holding in pee for a while, but the pain is more around my diaphragm and the part of my abs just below the ribcage. Also, it's not like I'm voiding out whole rivers of pee when I get up.

I also thought that it might be my belly feeling pressure from the waistband of my panties, but wearing lower-cut panties doesn't seem to help that much.

Does anyone else experience this, and do you have any advice about what might be causing it? I've put up with it for a while, but now I'm coming to realize that it makes me really uncomfortable when I wake up after trying to sleep in on weekends.

posted by cadge to Health & Fitness (13 answers total)

You might have a kidney stone, or some internal malady that is putting pressure on your kidneys or bladder. Might want to see a doctor.
posted by tehloki at 8:33 PM on August 12, 2007

Whenever I have pain like that, it's always from having a very full bladder upon awakening. You said that the feeling doesn't go away after peeing, but that's because the bladder is recovering and getting back to normal size. But, just to be sure, you need to see you doctor (or at least call and speak to him, or his nurse).
posted by amyms at 8:38 PM on August 12, 2007

and by "him," I of course meant "him OR her" [NOT SEXIST]
posted by amyms at 8:39 PM on August 12, 2007

Diaphragm area? I had pain like that, only upon waking, for a while. Turned out to be an ulcer.
posted by gaspode at 8:41 PM on August 12, 2007

Are we talking above or below the ribs? I just realized, there's one of two completely different sets of organs involved here.
posted by tehloki at 8:42 PM on August 12, 2007

Sounds like an ulcer, or IBS (specifically the constipated kind).
posted by loiseau at 8:47 PM on August 12, 2007

if you're not in agony, take a week to chart your symptoms and see your doctor. note anything that could be relevant--what you ate, your bowel habits, heartburn, gas, shortness of breath, or anything else that seems to affect it.
posted by thinkingwoman at 8:54 PM on August 12, 2007

Possibly gastroesophageal reflux. Try an OTC drug for reflux. (Prilosec, Zantac, etc.). See a doctor if not better.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:11 PM on August 12, 2007

You might have a kidney stone

You don't have a kidney stone. Kidney stones hurt like hell, and the pain is in your back, not in your abdomen.
posted by cerebus19 at 9:31 PM on August 12, 2007

I often had something similar when sleeping on a waterbed. I decided that it had to do with the poor support it offered. Have you changed mattresses or sleeping positions lately?
posted by thebrokedown at 5:15 AM on August 13, 2007

I'm with Slarty.
I like Zantac for that, YMMV. And don't eat within 3 or 4 hours of bedtime.
Or call the doctor's office and turn yourself in; they'll tell you if they think you should come in, or if they want to send you something for a few days to try first.
posted by unrepentanthippie at 5:51 AM on August 13, 2007

Response by poster: (These are some awesome responses. Thanks, everyone!)

Damn, I *have* been diagnosed with acid reflux in the past. The harsher symptoms have gone away, so I thought it might have pretty much disappeared. I didn't realize that this might be related.

I'm not in any life-affecting pain - it is just a morning discomfort that's been going on for quite a while. I will try cutting out nighttime food and tracking the behavior (and then bringing it to my doctor if it's still going on, especially if it looks like it might be a bladder thing and not a gastrointestinal thing).

@gaspode - I think it might not be an ulcer; I had H. Pylori tests and an endoscopic examination last year for the reflux, and they turned up nothing. But I will definitely keep that in mind as a possibility in case things have changed.
posted by cadge at 6:12 AM on August 13, 2007

Could also be a hiatal hernia

mayoclinic.com/health/hiatal-hernia

I've got it/one, and I always feel sick after waking up. Usually passes after an hour or so.
posted by ducktape at 7:53 AM on August 13, 2007