Serious pain in the lower left side, anyone else?

[CassieCKA]

Hi all, I am new on here and have been searching the threads to find something related to this but come up empty handed so I thought I might start a new thread.

I've had crohn's for 10 years and up until recently I've been in and out of remission, on remicade, prednisone etc... off and on.

Recently I began remicade again for a flare up and everything was going well, it works really well for me and has in the past.

About 1 week after my last remicade treatment I started getting crazy bad cramps on my lower left side and then it moved to a constant pain.

I looked everything thing up, thought it might be a stricture because of the quick healing from the remicade but then I went and saw my specialist and he said a stricture in the colon would be really rare because of how big the colon is. And then said he wanted to see how I went after my next remicade and until then not do anything. Thanks doc.

Well he went on vacation and the pain got worse so I ended up going to the ER and my GP and they ordered an ultra sound that showed everything was fine with everything else and it just showed a lot of stuff in my bowels but no blockages or strictures.

The thing is it's now back even after having remicade 2 weeks ago, it was fine for a week after remicade and now hurting again. You can actually feel a solidness on my lower left side and it's totally tender to touch. My GP gave my Lactulaid which helps draw water into the bowel to move things along but that doesn't make a huge difference.

I tried low fibre, and avoiding certain foods but nothing is helping unless I just stop eating. I have insane gas pains and nothing moves along very well and this pain is enough that I can't lift my left leg with my own muscles and I walk a bit hunched over.

My GP thinks it might be a twisted bowel, I'm seeing my specialist in 2 weeks so not sure what will happen then, has this pain ever happened to anyone else?

Usually when I'm sick things flow straight through me with the greatest of speed and now I'm totally backed up which in ten years I've never come across.....

If anyone can help shed some light I would be SOOOO appreciative!!!!

Thanks
Cassie

 

[dreamintwilight]

Hmm...I hope it is not an abscess! Have they ever done a CT scan on you? Before I got diagnosed and I was having a lot of pain I thought it was coming from my left side too. It got so bsad I hunched over to walk because it hurt to walk striaght. Also, any time I was in the car and went over a pothole it hurt a lot.

I went to my OB-GYN thinking it was a gyne issue and she scheduled an ultrasound. They said it was fine except I had "free-floating fluid" in my abdomen and sent me to the hospital to get a CT scan done. That's when they saw the abscess. Could it be possible the "stuff" they saw in your bowels could be an abscess?

I would request to get a CT scan done if I were you. It gets a clearer picture than an ultrasound would for sure. Good luck to you! Keep us posted.

 

[CodeBrown]

CT scan or colonoscopy...sounds like an abscess or diverticulitis...the swelling can cause things to slow down. Are you running any fever? I'm no doctor, but if it is a twisted bowel, wouldn't that be a medical emergency? That kind of pain warrants a thorough checking out though. Let us know what you find out!

 

[CassieCKA]

I just got a CT Scan on friday and they think I have a bacterial infection so they have put me on Cipro and Trichozole, so hopefully there will be some improvement! My night sweats have stopped and my fevers and much less so fingers crossed!!!

 

[lilbingo]

Maybe I should get a CT Scan myself because I have the same issue but my pain isn't constant just the soildness on my left side.

 

[adrilima]

I have the same pain

hi cassie,

It is my first time here. I have crohn for more than 20 years, and just few days ago I started to have again the pain as you did described. Abdominal pain, left side, etc... I am taking codeine for the pain. I feel drawzzy but it helps a litle bit. Are you taking any pain killer?

I hope you'll get better... I know it is insane.

 

[Hedgehog]

Hi Cassie and welcome,

I have exactly the same. In fact my Crohn's began with this LLQ pain and I thought it was my ovarian cyst at first. Strangely the Crohn's was found in my small intestine but the worst pain I have is on the lower left. I also get the hard lump there too. I've been to A and E a few times for it so it can be quite extreme pain. Anyway I've had a CT and colonoscopy and nothing was found! I do get constipated since I got the Crohn's so I think it's related to that. I personally think my colon is inflamed too even though there's nothing on the test results to suggest it is. Maybe there's mild inflammation that isn't picked up but which leads to spasms.
I take 30mgs codeine for it. Sometimes it's not enough but thankfully I don't get this pain every day. I also find that using suppositories/enemas for the constipation helps. I haven't found other laxatives or fibre to be of much use.
You should push to get this checked out though. They could have missed something.

Gail

 

[theend2]

I have also had left side pain for the past 2 years now. For me it's just part of the disease Ulcerativ Colitis for me. I am on pain killers for it sometimes they don't work sometimes they do sometimes the pain is bad sometimes it's not. But it's always there. Getting used to is now but it does a number on your brain somedays I just get fed up and want it to just go away but just have to keep plugging. I also get the constipation sometimes. Hang in there you come to get used to it unless it is an infection then the pain should go away somewhat. Doctors in Boston also suggested that do to the trauma of Ulcerative Colitis that my colon on the left side has become hypersensative and that is the pain I feel. Hope this helps if anything to know your not along in your struggle with this disease. Keep the faith.

 

[AbdoAlien]

Hi I'm with Hedgehog..I have had LLQ pain for the last 5 years on and off...doc kept saying ovarian cyst and then last year she even went to the extreme to say it was a pulled groin!!! When the pain was in my abdomen, not groin!!! Anyway I was Dx w/ crohns in my ileum in may '10, but I still experience LLQ pain...Doc just says it's feces stuck at the sigmoid area...however even when I have constant D the LLQ pain is still there, but they've never been able to find anything.....keep an eye on it and good luck...

 

[DaddyWarbux]

I too am now having the same type of pain in my descending/sigmoid part of my colon. I'm currently in remission and on 2mg of Entocort/day. It woke me up 2 nights ago at 1am and then tonite at 4am with cramping then nausea. I can feel a more solid place in my colon on the lower left side next to my pelvis. It's almost like feces probably got stuck there. The most alarming part to me and one that wasn't mentioned here is that it created ribbon like feces when I'm having this pain. In my past experience this indicates some type of partial blockage or stricture. I also heard some gurgling I had a resectioning done in my terminal ileum 2 yrs ago ao it really surprises me that the pain is now on my left side in the colon. My only thought on cause is inflammation caused by poor food choices last week. I never eat spices food and I ate a spicey chicken enchilada. I took digestive enzymes beforehand and didn't think anything about it. I'm pretty sure it probably caused the inflammation. GI doc is having me increase my Entocort to 3 pills / day now. Does any of this sound familiar??

 

[cb323]

Most of my pain has always been on the left side and across the belly button. I thought it was my diverticulitis. I also have the ribbon like stool, when I'm not having diarrhea. My GI said it is common to have the pain there. I'm still undiagnosed and awaiting more test. Doctor still thinks it is Crohns. Hope you feel better soon.