Upper left abdominal issue

[AKdawn]

I have been feeling bloating, fullness, and mild pain just below my left ribcage, sometimes around to my shoulder. I am a smoker, no drugs, no alcohol, mainly wild game diet (salmon, halibut, caribou, moose) 5ft1inch 140lbs. It started about a month ago, with just the feeling of pressure, like gas. It progessed to being mildly painful, and constant. I then started palpatating, and found a sensitive swollen area, about the length of my little finger, just below my ribs, which I could move to the outside of my ribs, by taking a deep breath, and stretching my abdomen.  It peaks, and then wanes, with no obvious causes, but doesnt go away. I have done massive amounts of reasearch, and my symptoms are found in a lot of diseases, but I never have them all. Its just the fullness, and occasional mild pain. No bowel problems, yellowing of the eyes or skin, nausea, vomiting, fever, dizzyness, weakness, etc. I do get mild gas, and it can be quite audible when passing through my intestines. My husband recently had strep, and so had Penicillin on hand. I have been taking that for three days, and my symptoms are almost gone, including the little swollen spot. I still have occasional twinges of pain, and a little pressure, but for the most part, it is gone.  The doctors in my area are complete wack jobs, so I avoid going to them until I have too. To me, it sounded like diverticulitis, and the cure was antibiotics. Since penicillin seems to be working, I will assume I am right. What are the preventative measures for this kind of problem?


This discussion is related to Upper Abdominal Pain.

[Jumong]

The best preventative measure against big trouble is never to assume that you know better that the doctor.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a detailed clinical evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of your symptoms. Possibilities that may need to be considered include chest wall inflammation, pleuritis, GI infections, inflammations, causes related to the respiratory tract etc. This does not typically sound like diverticulitis and it is not advisable to take antibiotics without medical advice and prescription. This could have been a cause of viral pleuritis which has settled over a few days without the antibiotic playing a role. It is best advised to consult a primary care physician for a detailed evaluation and depending on the cause diagnosed/ suspected, it can be managed accordingly or specialist care may be sought.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!