“I am 30 years old and have many of the same symptoms as Kimberly. I had my gall bladder out two years ago and had terrible attacks for the year following my surgery. The pain was unbearable. The pain was the worst in my right side under my ribs and eventually spread across my entire abdomen. During my attacks my stomach became very, very tight. My attacks often occurred at night – they woke me from my sleep. They usually occurred if I was sleeping on my stomach. My attacks aren’t so severe now – knock on wood – but my stomach pain still often wakes me up at night. My right side is always tender and sore. I am always constipated, but when I take in more fiber, my pain in my right side gets worse. My doctor thinks my problems are caused from acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome. I take Prilosec for the reflux and Levbid as needed. My attacks seem to get worse if I take Prilosec and Levbid on the same day (4 hours apart) for a few days in a row. I have trouble handling both of them, I think. I go to sleep on my back on two or three pillows, and I sleep with blocks under the head of my bed to keep the acid flowing down. I think this has helped quite a bit, since my attacks are usually more like episodes now than attacks. I can’t lay on my left side. When I do, my right side under my ribs feels very uncomfortable. My doctor thinks my bile duct is OK, because I have had blood tests done during attacks and everything was OK. I am glad my doctor hasn’t found a more serious problem with me, but I would like to feel normal again. If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. I think there is something wrong other than the reflux and irritable bowel syndrome, but I don’t know how to figure out what the problem is. I have had an upper GI, X-Rays, CAT scans, endoscopy,and a colonoscopy. Everything came back fine except for my throat being inflamed from the reflux. Thanks again.
Christine
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