Left side chest/rib pain/swelling

[the_one]

Since July this year I've been having problems, it started as nauseas, weakness, lightheadedness, after a few months I was diagnosed with diabetes but we don't know how long it has been going on since most of the symptoms have actually started about a year ago. My problem, though, is that on my left rib, right below the breast I've been experiencing pains, it started as a pinning kind of pain, then it felt like pressure and after that it was a constant pain so bad i couldn't sleep on that side [still can't], at that point I noticed my left rib was sticking out as if it were swollen, it still sticks out and it still hurts at times, for example when I over eat [or don't eat] or when I lay on that side and sometimes just randomn pains, sometimes it also feels as if my insides were spasming on that area, could this have something to do with the diabetes or could it be the spleen? I really have no idea what it could be. I talked to a doctor about it and he said it could be a lot of things, that underneath the ribs there's a lot of muscles, tendons, veins etc and could be just anything that is sore, but could this happen for so long? like i said its been going on since around july when I had my first ER visit. I've had chest and torso xrays and none of them showed anytning out of the ordinary but this discomfort continues.

I also want to add that I have usually pretty bad anxiety, just about anything but I don't take any medication for it. Any ideas? If you need more details feel free to ask.

[the_one]

I forgot to mention that my diabets has been untreated and up until I found out my blood sugar was high I was eating A LOT so I assume in that time my glucose level was very high, i still have an overall sick feeling all the time even though i'm taking glyburide now, I still get nauseas when I eat most of the times, usually it starts as i start to eat and doesnt go away until later on.

[kenn]

I think there might be two things here (correct me if I am wrong!). Firstly, you are feeling ill when eating and secondly you have a pain in your side. I think you need to make this clear to your doctor rather than just saying you have a sore rib. There are still a lot of possible causes. It sounds like it could be related to your digestive system (not sure why you thought the spleen) but your doctor is the best person to talk to since he will know your history, etc. It might well be that this is nothing more than a temporary blip, but it is better to get it checked out again still.

I think the golden rule is that if your anxiety is causing you genuine problems with your life, it is worth speaking to your doctor about it (but not at the same time as about your side, otherwise he will link the two). If it is just because you like to worry, then it is not worth bothering about. If it is because you live in constant fear irrationally (like the house falling down or something similar), then you should see your doctor. Only you can decide because what you call anxiety might be very different to someone else's definition. I would say though that I think it is better to stay off the medication unless it is really necessary.

[the_one]

Well I mentioned the spleen because it is the only thing I can think of that would cause me to feel as it something was spasming inside of me but it really could be anything, from the beginning though, I've thought it is something related to my stomach or digestive system too, maybe it has something to do with the blood sugar being out of control for so long. I'll try and be more specific next time i see my doctor though. By the way the only medication I'm taking is for diabetes and it was prescribed by this same doctor so I don't think I should stay off of it.

What I mean by anxiety is [outside of the ill feeling i get when i eat] i usually get very nauseous when even the smallest event is coming up, i get insomnia very often too, i get choked up when i have to talk to someone i dont know or that i know but i'm not close to, also makes me sweat a lot in these occasions. But as you said i will talk to my doctor and maybe he can refer me to a therapist.

[Dana77535]

I have a niece that was 6 when she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Her spleen gets enlarged quite often too. Usually the doctor increases her insulin injections. I would definitely tell the doctor if I was you. He should be able to find out if that is what it is. And whatever you do,.....Don't quit taking medication for diabetes. My niece is just lucky she is alive because when they found out her count was 1097,...yes 1097 not a typo there,....the hospital told my sister she should have been in a coma or dead. If there is one medical condition I know quite a bit about it is diabetes,....my mother,sister,niece,grandmother all had it. Best of luck to you and please let the doctor know about the swelling and pain you are experiencing.

[the_one]

I just came back from my doctor, I want to make it clear that the place I'm getting treated at is a free clinic so it's not the best of all, but at least I get some treatment. He said I've been doing good but needed to double my medication because my blood sugar was still a little high but when i mentioned to him that I've been having nauseas when I eat and that I still have the pain in my side he said it could be because i'm still not used to the lower levels and it needs a little time, hopefully the nauseas subside with the medication but I will have to wait on this other thing until i have my residence here and can get some type of medical insurance. He really doesn't pay much attention to it and keeps saying I shouldn't worry, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope it's nothing.


Did your niece have any symptoms from her enlarged spleen Dana? or did she ever complain that she felt some kind of fullness or something under her ribs?

[Dana77535]

Yes she did. She had nausau,pain, and it was so enlarged they wanted to hospitalize her. It can be serious with diabetes. Hope this helps. Hopefully since they corrected your medication it will solve this problem. let me know how it goes. I know it is hard to find a GOOD doctor now days. Believe me. Yes she complained with a feeling of being full,....enlarged on the left side. Hope that answers your questions. Best of luck.

[the_one]

Yup that is exactly what i feel too, especially if i eat a little too much but most of the times it feels as if there was a ball inside of me pushing my ribs out, I will try to find another doctor as soon as possible and hopefully find out what this is.

Hi,
Im a 22yr old male and get the exact same feeling as well. Ive been feeling it for about 1 year on and off. I feel like something swells under my left rib and i see it bulges and feel alot of pressure (not really pain). It happens kinda randomly but more when i overeat or sometimes dont eat like you said. It got so bad several months back that i went to the ER and while i was their they just checked my vitals, did blood work and gave me a gastritis pill and after a few hours send me home and told me to go to my doctor. I was kinda dissapointed consider they charged like $1k and just gave me a pill and told me i had gas. So i started looking online and checking for the symtoms at and started to get anxiety not knowing what was wrong with me and thinking the worst. I also blacked out one day at work, i dont know if it was from axiety or from the pressure, but when i was taken to the doctors he admitted me to the hospital for 3 days for tests (catscan, bloodwork, upper GI, ultrasound, and heart tests and head tests) alot more money and NOTHING! everything came back ok and doctor says not to worry. Months later i went in for another catscan at a different hosptial with a different doctor also NOTHING! and the doctors tell me if I want i can get a endoscopy (i am afraid of doing this procedure though). I still worry because i know its not a normal feeling.
Let me know if u find out what it is, its been 1 year with this feeling and its really bothering me that its still comes and goes. I just fear the worst is going to happen.

[the_one]

samestuff13927, I understand completely how you are feeling because I did the same thing, i went to the ER several times from the pain/pressure and they ran all the same tests: heart, catscan, bloodwork, upper GI... and nothing! I thought maybe it was a hiatal hernia but that came out negative in the upper GI test, the thing is, those type of tests do not test for regular stomach hernia so that could always still be a possibility, my mom told me she once had a stomach hernia and she felt the same way about overeating, eating acidic foods, etc. and that's what makes me think it could be one but I dont know what to do about it because she says you just have to wait until it's sticking out of your gut for doctors to be able to diagnose it and treat it.I also thought it could be an ulcer because of the pain worsening when I don't eat, maybe you could try having your doctor test for that or mention to him the possibility of a hernia and see if there is any type of test or something that could detect it before it gets worse. I even tried a chiropractor thinking maybe it was a misalignment of the bones since the pain sometimes seems to be on the bones but i still have that pain that feels like it is inside. I wish you the best of luck,

the one