Almost Constant Abdominal Pain

[Sean01]

I' ve been T2 since Oct 15. managed through diet, exercise and metformin (time release)
Diet - I have diverticultis) but basically, I know what works and I stick to it - mainly eggs, tomatoes and spinach.
Exercise - at least daily - weight lifting and strongman

For the last 6 months I have been waking with abdominal pain - at first it just work me up at 3:14 every morning (!!) and was gone by around 6 - no problem.

Recently, it has become more severe, lasts long but no longer starts at 3:14 (!!) but comes and goes - varying severity throughout the day.

I still manage to exercise in the evenings as long as the pain is not too severe, but I have noticed that in the mornings, it is so bad I struggle to walk after getting out of bed

Summary 5 a.m. I walk like an old man with serious health problems. 8 p.m. - Atlas stones/log press etc.

I keep having ultrasounds - we don't know what the problem is - SUGGESTIONS WELCOME. (We're confident it isn't bowel or bladder cancer)

Thanks for listening

Sean

 

[Engineer88]

Quit the metformin? what are your blood sugars like?

 

[Indy51]

Personally I'd have a rest from metformin for a while to see if the pain goes away. Given my own experience of bleeding gastritis and low ferritin from just 6 months on 1 tablet of XR a day, I don't trust that stuff at all.

 

[MrsGruffy]

93 year old mum suggests cramps in the colon, which commonly occur in the night or early am - she's not a doctor, just her experience. They don't show up on scans, but the colon is a muscle, and can cramp just like leg cramps,etc. She has diverticulitis too.

 

[Lally123]

I' ve been T2 since Oct 15. managed through diet, exercise and metformin (time release)
Diet - I have diverticultis) but basically, I know what works and I stick to it - mainly eggs, tomatoes and spinach.
Exercise - at least daily - weight lifting and strongman

For the last 6 months I have been waking with abdominal pain - at first it just work me up at 3:14 every morning (!!) and was gone by around 6 - no problem.

Recently, it has become more severe, lasts long but no longer starts at 3:14 (!!) but comes and goes - varying severity throughout the day.

I still manage to exercise in the evenings as long as the pain is not too severe, but I have noticed that in the mornings, it is so bad I struggle to walk after getting out of bed

Summary 5 a.m. I walk like an old man with serious health problems. 8 p.m. - Atlas stones/log press etc.

I keep having ultrasounds - we don't know what the problem is - SUGGESTIONS WELCOME. (We're confident it isn't bowel or bladder cancer)

Thanks for listening

Sean

There's a few things it could be if you've only had ultrasounds maybe it's time to pester your Dr for more investigations. Things like inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, gallstones could all cause night time pain or could be medication related. Whatever it is pain of that severity needs proper investigations and ultrasounds won't show everything. Definitely go back to the gp.

 

[kitedoc]

My doctor always says that most of his diagnoses come from taking a thorough history and performing a thorough examination. Perhaps you need a second opinion.

 

[britishpub]

My non-clinical and completely uneducated diagnosis is Gallstones

PS. I say this as my 23 yo son, who otherwise is a perfectly healthy sport playing normal young man suffered from severe stomach pains for a few weeks which wasn't taken seriously until he finally turned yellow, and was admitted urgently and after a few days on drips was well enough for the gallstone to be finally removed.

An MRI scan will be a good way to get a diagnosis of what actually is happening.

 

[Jenny15]

My gallstones were seen on ultrasound. I've seen a gastroenterologist for years about my various GI issues. I suggest a referral.

I've been on Metformin for 9 years. 7 months ago we increased it from 1000mg to 1500mg. I developed chronic diarrhoea but didn't think of Metformin because I was convinced that I was OK on it. In fact, I was only OK in 1000mg. I am now much more wary of this med, after having these symptoms for 6 months before a different doctor twigged.

Even a few days or weeks of this kind of pain would have me camped outside the doors of my doctors until they found the cause (and treated the pain). Repeating the same kind of test - ultrasound - is less helpful than trying other kinds of tests.

 

[Sean01]

There's a few things it could be if you've only had ultrasounds maybe it's time to pester your Dr for more investigations. Things like inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, gallstones could all cause night time pain or could be medication related. Whatever it is pain of that severity needs proper investigations and ultrasounds won't show everything. Definitely go back to the gp.

thank you

 

[lindijanice]

Hey @Sean01 sorry to hear you are experiencing such a malady as it certainly wreaks havoc on one's life! I would wonder if you should have an occult blood test done - shows if there is bleeding in the gastric system through a blood stool sample.....I have experienced something very similar when I have to take anti-inflammatory meds like Aspirin or Ibuprofin.....it is a "raw" pain that can occur at any time.....it could be in the stomach or anywhere along the bowels....I would agree with everyone else who says that you need to advocate for yourself more strongly and get more investigations done....are you experiencing any yellowing of your eyeballs or skin? That could indicate something going on with the liver.....just thinking out loud! Trust you get it sorted out soon, Blessings/L

 

[donnellysdogs]

You need a camera up and down you, not repeated scans....

It also depends where the abdominal pain is... it would help to know where ie lower area under belly button, right hand side with ascending colon, stomach area or liver or whole stretch across the middle etc....

The fact it starts at night could be more related to foods and timing of them if you eat at a set time..but the only way to know this would be cameras. You say cancer been ruled out.. how has it been ruled out?

Spinach is one thing that is definitely off the list for me to eat but I havent got diverticulitis but I do have a colon that cant stand leafy veg at all and it will give me obstructions wrapping utself around and around and around in my colon. It passes through me whole but twisted if I eat it. I will also get chronic pain from eating anything leafy. However my illness is different to yours. Spinach can be supposedly ate for diverticulitis but it may also be worthwhile just seeing whether that may be a food that may be causing probs. Obviously I'm not a medic but I do know how things with foods can keep changing with any colon problems and what works for one may not work for the other. I also realise why you eat spinach.

It really depends upon whether this is a flare up of the diverticulitis or perhaps something else.

Difficult to advise when the general desciption of abdomen is quite a vague description of where the pain is.

 

[HR-Guy]

I' ve been T2 since Oct 15. managed through diet, exercise and metformin (time release)
Diet - I have diverticultis) but basically, I know what works and I stick to it - mainly eggs, tomatoes and spinach.
Exercise - at least daily - weight lifting and strongman

For the last 6 months I have been waking with abdominal pain - at first it just work me up at 3:14 every morning (!!) and was gone by around 6 - no problem.

Recently, it has become more severe, lasts long but no longer starts at 3:14 (!!) but comes and goes - varying severity throughout the day.

I still manage to exercise in the evenings as long as the pain is not too severe, but I have noticed that in the mornings, it is so bad I struggle to walk after getting out of bed

Summary 5 a.m. I walk like an old man with serious health problems. 8 p.m. - Atlas stones/log press etc.

I keep having ultrasounds - we don't know what the problem is - SUGGESTIONS WELCOME. (We're confident it isn't bowel or bladder cancer)

Thanks for listening

Sean

Sean to hear about your pain. I think u have a lot good replies posted on the board. I would visit the doctor again and start pressing for more answers. In the meantime I would forgo the tomatoes with diverticulitis, the small seeds can be causing u issues. Eggs are usually listed on the triggers for gallbladder attacks, however, if it was the gall bladder you would have a pain more to the right under your rib cage to the back of your side. The tomato is from the nightshade family and does cause issues for some people. I would plug and play with what you are eating, while trying to get an answer from the doctor. I would start with the tomatoes first of all.

 

[Sean01]

Sean to hear about your pain. I think u have a lot good replies posted on the board. I would visit the doctor again and start pressing for more answers. In the meantime I would forgo the tomatoes with diverticulitis, the small seeds can be causing u issues. Eggs are usually listed on the triggers for gallbladder attacks, however, if it was the gall bladder you would have a pain more to the right under your rib cage to the back of your side. The tomato is from the nightshade family and does cause issues for some people. I would plug and play with what you are eating, while trying to get an answer from the doctor. I would start with the tomatoes first of all.

I don't like tomatoes!!! I like ketchup and I like tomatoe sauces e.g. in Italian cooking, but I eat the tomatoes to help reduce the risk of colon cancer - it is a very common problem in my family. Eggs - let's not go there. I do strong man training. I'm 18 stone plus at the moment and solid - I am eggs. It's not that I don't appreciate the advice - but one thing is for certain I may have to go back to the drawing board and redesign my diet - it has worked brilliantly for the last 2 1/2 years, but adapt and survive!
Sean

 

[Sean01]

Quit the metformin? what are your blood sugars like?

I've heard that met can be a problem - but it works for me. I am very good on controlling bs.

 

[Engineer88]

I've heard that met can be a problem - but it works for me. I am very good on controlling bs.

if your bgs are good with the Met then stop taking it a few days and see if its causing the pain.

 

[Struma]

First thought is biliary tree.
Next, you need to rule out pancreas problems with USS, bloods for amylase level, and possibly ERCP? Might be chronic pancreatitis.
But I am not a medic ...

 

[Brunneria]

Hi,

When do you eat the eggs?

Reason I ask is that if i eat several eggs, by themselves, they give me gut cramps and pain when they reach a certain point in their journey. I laughingly call it getting eggbound, but it is v uncomfortable. And it happens a certain number of hours after the eggy meal, which could easily be the middle of the night.

Experimentation (and a desire not to give up eggs) has taught me that if I mix them with enough other foods in the same meals( spanish omelette or full breakfast), then I am ok with them a couple of times a week.

The thought of me eating the number of eggs you do, daily... well it just couldn’t happen.

 

[lindisfel]

I've heard that met can be a problem - but it works for me. I am very good on controlling bs.

Some find Vit B12 drops with Metformin, that could effect the gut.

I eat at least two dozen eggs a week.
Eggs are a great food and have the right combination of goods fats and proteins.
The old advice has been superseded.

Gall stones are ok if they are too big to go down the bile duct. A scan showed I had three large ones in my gall bladder but I had no problems and still don't. It was an incidental finding from a CT scan of an adrenal tumour.
Not having enough fat stops the gall bladder working properly.
Derek