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Unexplained chronic morning abdominal pain
30F, 5’4 140lbs, history of Sjogren’s, pleurisy and Lyme disease. I am awaiting an appointment with my rheumatologist to ask this same question, as I want to try to understand if the symptoms I’ve been having may be connected to an autoimmune process.
For nearly ten years, I’ve had frequent, but not daily, bouts of abdominal and/or back pain wake me up in the early mornings. It can range on the pain scale from a 1 to an 8. It always comes in flares, showing up for days to weeks at a time and then going away for days to weeks. It is between my belly button and ribcage, mostly felt along my ab lines. I never feel it in the center of my abdomen or all the way on the sides, but I do occasionally feel it cut through to my back as well. It feels a lot like a cramp from running, but worsens significantly with deep breaths. Movement/stretching does not make it worse or better. Almost feels like a tightness as if my abdomen is full of air. It doesn’t seem to be tied to any GI or urinary functions, or what or when I eat, and imaging hasn’t found anything. The only thing that makes it go away is getting out of bed and being upright for about 30 minutes. It never happens at other times of day, only after I’ve been sleeping for at least a few hours.
I’ve seen a GI, gynecologist, and neurologist, none of whom think it’s related to their specialties, and my PCP is out of ideas. Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? I feel that I’ve exhausted avenues to explore, as pelvic and abdominal ultrasound, CT, and MRI were all normal. Not ready to give up and accept that I’ll just have to continue to live with this without solutions, so bringing my questions here in hopes someone may have some helpful insights!
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I am having similar issues. Been having mostly left side lower quadrant pain at night and some times right side in the late afternoon. I have explored And discovered issues along the path to figure it out. Dealing with pelvic prolapse, cirrhosis with portal hypertension and gastric ulcers. I am inclined to think it is gastric, perhaps related to changes in the lining of my gi tract. Not sure but trying to pursue that avenue for some answers at present time. Let us know if you get any further insight. Thank you.
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1 Reaction@jb794
Did you have a HYDA scan of your liver/gallbladder/pancreas function? It detects problems causing abdominal symptoms that do not show up in bloodwork or ultrasound.
I had similar symptoms and had a HYDA scan that finally showed my gallbladder was only ejecting 7% bile when it should be a minimum of 35%-40%.
Also, have you seen a cardiologist or vascular specialist to see if you have some blockage causing pressure when you are lying down?
Have you had your spine MRId to see if there is a compressed nerve/nerve root impacting your torso when lying down?
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2 ReactionsHave you heard of the MS hug? I just read your post and that came to mind.
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2 ReactionsIt’s important to note that this pain isn’t unique to MS. You might also experience symptoms consistent with the MS hug if you have other inflammatory conditions, such as transverse myelitis, an inflammation of the spinal cord.
Costochondritis, the inflammation of the cartilage that connects your ribs, can also trigger an MS hug.
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1 ReactionIn your post you say you have Lyme disease as do I. I had the same symptoms as you do. My lime literate doctor says it's all due to Lyme disease. You should check to see if you have co infections with the Lyme disease Such as Babesia, Bartonella. You need to find the root cause and work on that.
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2 Reactionsi am having abdominal pain starting a couple of weeks ago. ready to go to er
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1 ReactionI have not had a HYDA scan. I will ask my hepatologist about that next time I see him. Spine MRI done. No cardiologist but have had heart checked for blockage and have very little buildup.
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1 ReactionGo to the ER asap. Better to address the pain than to wait it out. At least you will have an ER doctor and specialists to mitigate your symptoms.
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1 ReactionDid you ever figure out what was going on. I have something very similar occurring. Around 3-4am in the morning my lower abdomen and back will start to hurt and it feels like a lot of pressure inside. I suppose it could be GI cramping or muscular but not sure. It doesn't seem to matter which position I sleep in and it is almost like clockwork when it starts in the early AM hours. I get up around 7am and it lingers on until after I have breakfast and have been up for at least an hour or two. The rest of the day it goes away and I do not experience it. On days it is really bad it is very hard to get up and out of bed now. All my labs and imaging are normal.
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1 ReactionHello,
I have similar issues with pain at night and especially early morning driving me out of bed. I think it is IBS. I currently take a PPI due to previous ulcers and GERD. I have been trying to get relief for several years now so any suggestions are appreciated.
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