What Causes Pain And Discomfort In Ribs?

Posted on Tue, 28 Jul 2015

Question: Back in November I went to the doctor because I was feeling a pain in my left side directly under my bottom rib. About an inch or two left of the sternum. Ican also sometimes feel something move there. While there isn't always pain there is always discomfort. I can be laughing and my side feels weird so I have to quit. Anyway I got this CT scan. The doctors said they saw nothing. I've attached one of the images but I'm not sure how good it is. The discomfort starts right where that smaller organ is under the heart. do you know what this could be?

Answered by Dr. Shoaib Khan (38 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Looks just like accumulation of gas; few suggestions

Detailed Answer:
Hello sir and welcome.

Thank you for writing to us.

I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. Based on your description, location and from what little I can see from the attached image I can only see some amount of gas in the region described by you.

Some times, the accumulation of gas can also cause discomfort and some amount of abdominal distension. This could also provide you with the sensation of something down there.

I would recommend a change in diet and lifestyle like given below:

+Do not leave long gaps between meals
+Have 5-6 smaller meals instead of 2-3 larger meals
+Drink plenty of water
+Get sufficient amount of sleep
+Avoid spicy, fried, fatty and oily food
+Avoid carbonated drinks
+Avoid tea and/or coffee
+Avoid unnecessary medications
+Use omeprazole, pantoprazole, or ranitidine every time you experience such symptoms
+Avoid stress
+Try to lose some weight if at all you are over weight or obese
+Avoid smoking
+Avoid alcohol

Please also feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I would be more than happy to help.

Best wishes.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar