Serious Abdominal Pain at Night

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LookingBusy
LookingBusy Posts: 72 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I would like to preface this by saying that I am working with my doctor on this. I am just looking to see if anyone has any experiences or ideas I can bring back and share with my doctor, physiotherapist, etc.

For a while now I have been getting very bad abdominal pain at night (while sleeping). It starts in the late afternoon (mild) but wakes me up in the middle of the night. It feels like it is very intense muscle spasms in a ring around my stomach/abdominals.

It does not seem to be linked to any type of food. I have monitored my food intake very carefully. I could eat the exact same thing for all meals, two days in a row, and only have pain on day. I also have zero digestive issues. It does seem to be linked to cardio. I ran for about 45 min this morning and am already starting to get mild pain.

My doctor did an ultrasound on my stomach a year ago (it happened around Dec. 2015 for a month or so) and found nothing. Recently she tried heart burn medication and a digestive aid. Neither seem to make a difference.

I typically lift 3-4 times per week, with cardio 2 times per week. I am in the gym every morning Mon-Fri and am active on weekends, although don't necessarily work out hard. I also participate in contact sports in the spring/summer (with mild to moderate injuries from time to time).

Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Or have any ideas? Just looking for topics I can bring up with my doctor.

Thanks!

Replies

  • LookingBusy
    LookingBusy Posts: 72 Member
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    Yes, thank you. We've explored most of them. The only thing I can think of is that IBS is related to running, but normally that is during or immediately following the run and not in the evening. I've experimented carefully with foods and nothing seems linked to it.
  • LookingBusy
    LookingBusy Posts: 72 Member
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    Yeah, I had an ultrasound to look for cysts just in case. Hiatal hernia is definitely something that has caught my eye too. Going to try to push for an ultrasound of my chest perhaps.

    Thanks!
  • gazellefish
    gazellefish Posts: 72 Member
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    It's not necessarily consistent with your symptoms but ask about your gallbladder - is the pain aggravated by fatty foods? I had pain for about a year (off and on) but no acute attacks (severe pain episodes). They treated me for IBS, heartburn, I had an x-ray, colonoscopy/endoscopy, blood work, stool test, etc., and I only figured it out after eating a lot of pizza after a fast and took myself to urgent care in a LOT of pain.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,931 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Throwing ideas out there. I have no clue though.

    Gallstones or kidney stones? The pain for these isn't always localized. Gallstones can also fix themselves - so they can be missed on an ultrasound if they broke apart before the doctor looked. And they can be recurring.
    Bowel inflammation?
    Urinary tract infections?
    Anxiety? Some mental disorders have very real physical symptoms.
    Maybe ligament pain if it's showing up after exercise... maybe also could be blood vessels?
    Ulcers? Maybe at the top of the stomach where the acid doesn't hit unless you're laying down or moving around a lot?
    Could be allergies... how do you feel on dairy? When I was a baby I couldn't digest milk and my mom had to let me sleep sitting up vs laying down. I'm still allergic to milk to this day. I'm not talking lactose intolerance. I'm talking a milk protein allergy (I get eczema from too much dairy as well).
    How about possible parasites? No idea on what kind would only bug you at night though.
  • LookingBusy
    LookingBusy Posts: 72 Member
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    Thank you everyone.

    Fatty foods actually seem to make it better, as strange as that sounds. There doesn't seem to be any connection with food. I can have literally eat the exact same things two days in a row and only have pain on one of them.

    I think the most likely options would be endometriosis or hiatal hernia. Going to see if I can get those tests done next.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    Sounds like gallstones. I never found a trigger for mine, except alcohol. When they took mine out they told me it was mostly 'sludge'. It can usually be seen on an ultrasound.

    The pain was like you describe. Like a ring around my stomach in the diaphragm area, being tightened. My stomach felt bloated and I crawled around in my hands and knees.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    I also thought gallstones. Some of the worst pain I ever had.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited March 2017
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    For me, high fat, and high vitamin B triggers a very sharp gnawing stomach pain.

    I figured out the high vit B thing as one day I took my jamieson 100% and a few hours after took my preworkout which also contains 100% B vitamins.... 4 hours later, pain

    The fat thing was figured out from doing a round of low carb. Never again.
  • LookingBusy
    LookingBusy Posts: 72 Member
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    cerise_noir wrote: »
    For me, high fat, and high vitamin B triggers a very sharp gnawing stomach pain.

    Interesting. I eat a lot of yogurt and seafood, which are high in B12.
    girlinahat wrote: »
    Sounds like gallstones. I never found a trigger for mine, except alcohol. When they took mine out they told me it was mostly 'sludge'. It can usually be seen on an ultrasound.

    The pain was like you describe. Like a ring around my stomach in the diaphragm area, being tightened. My stomach felt bloated and I crawled around in my hands and knees.

    Yes! It feels like a ring of sharp spasming pain.
  • LookingBusy
    LookingBusy Posts: 72 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Haha, yep! Internet searching doesn't seem to be helping. I have a high pain tolerance but it's really bad right now. Like a sharp pain right under my belly button right now.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,120 Member
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    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    Have you had an upper endoscopy and/or colonoscopy?

    Also have you had a barium swallow?
  • LookingBusy
    LookingBusy Posts: 72 Member
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    rileysowner wrote: »
    amyrebeccah wrote: »
    Have you had an upper endoscopy and/or colonoscopy?

    Also have you had a barium swallow?

    No, I will need to ask for that too.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,525 Member
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    Have you consulted a gastroenterologist or just your primary care doctor?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • LookingBusy
    LookingBusy Posts: 72 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Have you consulted a gastroenterologist or just your primary care doctor?

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Just my primary care dr for now, but this sounds like a good idea. Thank you.
  • cathipa
    cathipa Posts: 2,991 Member
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    Also consider mesenteric doppler looking at the vessels of the gut. Any history of high cholesterol or family history of artery disease?

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