Please tell me you can have abdominal pain without it being something awful?

[Dreamwhisper]

I'm sorry, I am posting here for traffic.

I have anxiety and while I don't consider myself to have specific health anxiety when I am feeling vulnerable it can really spiral and I need talking down.

For the last day or so I've been experiencing an intermittent sharpish pain in the right side of my mid section, around waist height. Had been doing a lot of heavy lifting in the days before so assumed it was due to that. However I'm now extremely worried and I've been googling it, which is flagging up things like appendicitis and gallstones.

I am intensely fearful of gallstones because I hear it can make you feel breathless which is a huge anxiety trigger for me (I mean I'm sure it is for everyone but I have had anxiousness around not being able to breath quite intensely since childhood).

Please give me a hand hold and tell me it will be alright. I have no other symptoms of illness really.

Gallstones never made me feel breathless, OP, even during a bad attack. Gallstones pain is proper agony and often comes as a prolonged attack, rather than intermittent pains. It's probably nothing serious, but go to the doctor if you're worried, so that you can put your mind at ease. I used to have health anxiety, so I get it!

If you've been doing some heavy lifting then maybe you've just pulled something. I recently had pain under my rib then in back below my shoulder, turned out be to trapped wind.

Anxiety is awful though so just try and stay calm. Do you have any other symptoms? Xx

I know how it feels to have health anxiety.

if it helps, I went to the doctor with something very similar and he listened, did not say a word and silently gave me a prescription for Buscopan. IBS, he reckoned.

Here’s something less fear-inducing to google for you: the link between anxiety and gastrointestinal upset. Brought on or exacerbated by worry, 99% of the time

If you are really worried call 111 and that might put your mind at ease, or make a GP appointment in the morning. I know it’s scary. I had a minor infection the other day and started on antibiotics and after googling was terrified I had cellulitis and that I wouldn’t wake up. Irrational totally in the aftermath but at the time you can’t see it and I know it’s a worry. As your rational thoughts are telling you, you will have pulled a muscle. You can actually link this pain to some exercise you’ve done. Never google, that’s the worst thing you can do!

PS. everything always feels worse at night / when it’s dark. You will be less worried about this in the morning.

hugs

Thank you it feels good to talk to people about it

I am getting teary and worked up. My anxiety centres around being out of control so the idea of being very poorly and facing the unknown is intensely scary.

Can't tell if the pain is getting worse because I am thinking about it more now?

I don't have any symptoms such as fever or chills though my BM was looser than normal today, so sorry for the TMI.

I had the same severe sharp right sided pain for a week. It was absolutely awful and I’ve had 3 babies so know what constitutes severe ab pain. My anxiety was sky high. It went away though and scans revealed nothing. It’s very worrying isn’t it.

When I'm in that kind of way and it's most likely a muscle I tense and move in all kinds of positions and usually find the culprit. Also I've had gallstones and it caused agony but no breathlessness.

Probably a bit of a sore bowel or trapped gas. Gas is surprisingly painful. Anxiety itself can cause changes to BM and pain around the bowel area as well as nausea.

@Dreamwhisper it will be getting worse because you’re worrying about it, 100%. Easier said than done but can you take your mind off it? Watch a series you like, listen to a song, read through all the threads on here. Everything you describe sounds like your stomach is reacting to your worries, BM like that incredibly common when worrying / in a tizz. I know how it feels and it’s really horrid so you have my sympathies.

Things to watch are concrete things like your temperature, if you physically be sick, get any rashes etc. Don’t fixate on that though if you can help it!! If you get sick in the night you will wake up, bodies are good at that. In your shoes I’d have some ibuprofen for the muscle and get some rest.

You could try a Pilates video - it is very good for trapped gas which can be surprisingly painful - and might help release some.of your tension too.

OP my anxiety is also triggered by losing control, and worries about health. Health anxiety is debilitating. Are you on any medication for your anxiety? Citalopram worked wonders for me.

Nobody can tell you the cause of abdominal pain, but the chances are it's nothing! But like others have said, if you're worried then get it checked out. It could be trapped wind, it can be very painful x

Omg thank you this makes sense.

If you have strong abdominal pain you should really seek a medical review- either GP tomorrow if pain continues but you don't otherwise feel unwell or A and E if strong pain / worsening and/ or feeling unwell overnight.

Could it be constipation/ slow digestive tract?
I had regular pain in left side of abdomen, was worried about it, got doc to examine, take bloods etc. I do have slow digestion.
What 100% cured it, almost overnight, was taking psyllium husk! It's a supplement I bought on Amazon, recommended by a holistic practitioner. You drink a spoonful in water, add to food. I now take it about once a week- after taking every day for a fortnight or so. I can't tell you how much it has helped.
It's random and might not help you, but it was such a simple solution I thought it might be worth a try x

All I'll say is that I haven't had gallstones but I have had kidney stones which is similar pain wise I think.

There is no way on earth I could've typed these posts during an attack. I have health anxiety too but I didn't have time to be anxious about this pain because it was so all consuming. Honestly, you wouldn't be wondering if it was getting worse or not if it was something like that.

It does sound like it's likely a pulled muscle but if it persists or is very bad then ask for advice.

More likely constipation. Once you're backed up enough, you can get nasty pains just under your ribs at the 'turns'. The looser movement could be due to this as well - they get through whilst the main bulk can't.