Pain inside lower right rib cage

[Chuck78]

I know this is a common symptom with crohns, but it seems that my pain in the gall bladder area is lessened when I take Nexium. My GI thinks that my distended belly pushes on other organs causing discomfort. A Dr in an urgent care thinks I have a bile issue that Nexium can fix. When I took Nexium the pain lessened but was still uncomfortable.
I've had an endoscopy showing a hiatal hernia, acid reflux, an esophogeal stricture and some irritation. My GI wants me to cut back on Nexium because it can block calcium intake with prolonged use.
Does anyone have suggestions or long term experience with this?

 

[David]

I agree with your GI. Not only can it block calcium, but it can lead to a wide variety of other issues as well. If it's only helping marginally, then search for the answer that will help significantly.

With that GERD and distended belly, my first thoughts are major diet alteration. Are you familiar with the [wiki]Paleolithic Diet[/wiki] or [wiki]Specific Carbohydrate Diet[/wiki]?

 

[Chuck78]

I am not familiar with either diet but I will research them. I have cut down on caffeine, Sodas, high fiber, sugars ect... But I have not tried a true diet yet. Thanks for the input David

 

[David]

For sure. I should have double checked but I assume they performed a CT scan or ultrasound for the area, yes?

 

[Chuck78]

Yes I have had 2 ct scans, colonoscopy, endoscopy, and a sonogram in the past year. I do show bleeding in my urine samples but no visible stones so far... And my blood work should be in soon.

 

[David]

What's your doctors theory on the blood in urine and do they feel that whatever is causing that might be causing your pain?

 

[Chuck78]

She thinks it could be remnants of a recent sickness or a small stone that could not be seen by a scan. The side pain has been around for a year or so. Blood red urine was the reason I went to a doctor in 2010 and it led to my crohns diagnosis. It would suck if I get frequent stones huh!

 

[David]

Hmmmm. So you've had blood in your urine for two years and the specific cause remains undiagnosed. That doesn't sound like stones to me. It can obviously be caused by a variety of things but it seems to me the specific cause should be found. You may want to ask for a referral to a nephrologist (kidney doctor) or maybe a urologist. One of the first things that comes to mind is Hydronephrosis which could be caused by an inflamed ileum creating a blockage, thus my thought about seeing a nephrologist. These are of course just guesses, but if it was me, I'd start demanding to have additional tests or referrals to specialists.