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Lung Cancer Survivor. Why Am I Getting Abdominal Pain?
Question: I have sharp, cramp-like abdominal pain on the left side that is relieved by drinking water. What is the probable cause? I have gallstones although my doctor doesn't think this the cause of the pain. I am also an 8 year lung cancer survivor.
Hello, XXXXXXX ,
I want to congratulate you first of all for beating the cancer.
Hope you stay in remission for the rest of your life.
You say that you do have gallstones. If you have not had
severe right upper quadrant pain, nausea, vomiting, fever
and chills along with dark urine or yellow jaundice, you have
not had a gallbladder attack.. Your pain is on the left side.
You also say you get relief by drinking water. To me, the two
look like are related. If you have acid reflux or excess acid , by
drinking water you are diluting the amount of acid. Acid can
irritate and cause severe spasm at the lower end of the esophagus
and this can bring on the pain.
I suggest that you get an upper GI X-ray series to see if you have
any large hiatus hernia. If there are any abnormalities noted on
x-ray , then you might need an endoscopic evaluation.
What you could try is taking a PPI such as Omeprazole or Lansoprazole
20 mg. tablet once or twice a day about an hour and a half before
meals for 7-10 days and see if your pain improves. This tells you
if this acid related.
Hope this helps.
I wish you the very best.
I want to congratulate you first of all for beating the cancer.
Hope you stay in remission for the rest of your life.
You say that you do have gallstones. If you have not had
severe right upper quadrant pain, nausea, vomiting, fever
and chills along with dark urine or yellow jaundice, you have
not had a gallbladder attack.. Your pain is on the left side.
You also say you get relief by drinking water. To me, the two
look like are related. If you have acid reflux or excess acid , by
drinking water you are diluting the amount of acid. Acid can
irritate and cause severe spasm at the lower end of the esophagus
and this can bring on the pain.
I suggest that you get an upper GI X-ray series to see if you have
any large hiatus hernia. If there are any abnormalities noted on
x-ray , then you might need an endoscopic evaluation.
What you could try is taking a PPI such as Omeprazole or Lansoprazole
20 mg. tablet once or twice a day about an hour and a half before
meals for 7-10 days and see if your pain improves. This tells you
if this acid related.
Hope this helps.
I wish you the very best.
Note: Revert back with your health reports to get further guidance on your gastric problems. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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