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I've had a similar type of pain since last June.  Over time, I've come to the conclusion that the pain may have started off as being exercise related.  Both at the start of all this and now, one consistent symptom is that when I wake up early to urinate, after I'm done, the side pain occurs.  It's almost like, any straining at the end, causes pain.  I never had this problem before this pain started in June.   Sometimes the pain is stabbing, but a lot of the time, it's also felt like a deep burning/pulling feeling that starts out in the right abdominal area, moves more to the region between the lower right abdominal region and usually goes to the right flank.  Sometimes it's also seemd to go towards my belly button.   Maybe there are multiple pains and my excercise "diagnosis" is wrong.  All I  know is that at this point, simple things agitate my "side" pain.  It sounds ridiculous, but it's true.  I do a lot of cooking and baking and even rolling out the tougher doughs hurts nowadays.  Which brings me back to the idea that, extension of the ab region is a trigger.  I've had ultrasounds, a CT scan, blood work and an MRI, all showing nothing of tears in the abdominal wall.  I've had one doctor who I'd seen for months give up on me after seeing "negative" results. A sports medicine doctor, whom I'd never met in person, looked at my results and refused to see me.  A family doctor who sent me for an MRI but it did not show anything.  Made an appointment with a different sports medicine doctor, but it's not for another month.  I reagitated the pain somehow this week and it's the worse it's ever been, which is what brought me to this forum.  Even walking around hurts now.  I've tried icing it and hit for about 2 days now and started ibuprofen and icy hot today.  It almost feels like the pain is a little stiffer after now, which again seems to suggest something musculoskeletal.  I'm not sure what else to do until they are able to find what's wrong, or if they will be able to.
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Ditto on hoping for an update...I've had similar symptoms as well, although mine started with a sneeze, literally...felt my back go tight after a big sneeze almost a year ago.  Got over it after a few days, but it reoccurs, sometimes with pretty strong pain on the right side of my lower back.  Now it's happening more often, and over time groin discomfort as well as mid-right side back discomfort has been added, and there's pain/discomfort on the right side to the right of my belly button and along and around the right side above the hip.  The discomfort in my belly is one small spot, which worries me, but like the back pain, all of this is eased with rest and heat, which makes me wonder if all this is referred pain from a disc issue in my back.  I also get bloated/full feeling when the back acts up (not helped by my belly fat, I'm sure!).  My concerns are the added locations of pain and discomfort, as well as the worsening of my back pain; it's interfering in daily activities big time.  As soon as my health insurance kicks in (none right now; decided I'd better get some), I'm heading to a doctor, but honestly I don't know if I should go to an ortho dr. or an internal medicine/GP dr.  I'm worried about kidney stones (no blood in urine, but the pain pattern matches; frequent urination but that's normal since my hysterectomy 9 years ago; everything is saggy down there, LOL.  Also worried about ovarian cysts/cancer, since they were not taken during my hysterectomy.  I know I need to get to a doctor, but reading that others have similar issues makes me feel a bit better.
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I'd like to notify everyone that I came to this page looking for answers and recently finally saw a Dr- despite having no health ins, I was able to find one that accepted Self Pay. He ordered a CT scan but after looking up how much radiation that contained and following my instincts, we switched to an Abdominal and Transvaginal Ultrasounds.

They found what the doctor believes to be Benign Ovarian Cysts. I'm not sure of the details yet as I just received the diagnosis over the phone yesterday.

To recap, my symptoms were at first swelling and discomfort about a week before my period, then back pain by my kidneys, then intermittent pain on my right side and soon my left side joined. I also experienced some hip pain and occasional flank pain while on my period and right before it. Now I simply feel swelling and some discomfort after my period. I am going to try a wait-and-see approach. I have had 1 child and am 23. I had previously been on birth control before my holistic dr asked me to get off it for awhile so that we can address my estrogen dominance issue and prescribed me progesterone, which when I began taking it this month despite taking it for the past few months right before my period, I felt the swelling. The dr said something about progesterone potentially irritating issues that were already there I believe. At worst I'll go on some low estrogen birth control assuming there's no complications. I can't afford surgery and won't unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

I hope this helps someone. I also read that 95% of ovarian cysts are benign and nothing to worry about and go away on there own, so don't be so terrified of cancer. It mostly only has a higher risk of being cancer when they occur post-menopause in women over 60. I know it sucks to find people with your symptoms who go to the dr and then never report back esp when you don't have any health ins. P.S. my two ultrasounds together were $345, I put them on credit and all outpatient places like that pretty much offer some sort of payment plan if need be, as long as you pay half up front.
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I still have the discomfort, comes and goes, but I seem to have "managed" it to a point of dealing with it. I sit a lot in front of a computer, so now I use extra cushioning while sitting. This has dramatically decreased my symptoms, but not cured it.  It might have something to do with our sciatic nerve.
I have gone through many of the tests I listed a few posts back, and my doctor still can't find a thing wrong with me. I brain storm as to what might be causing this discomfort we all suffer. Lets see if we can find a relation.

I drive a vehicle with manual transmission.
My bed is older then 10yrs
I sleep on my sides (left or right) primarily, back 20%
I parallel park my vehicle (requires me to look over my right shoulder) 
I sit in front of a computer 30-50% of my waking hours


When it does aggravates me, I feel it first just right of my naval, like a pressure feeling. Stress brings it on faster. Stretching/leaning to the left really aggravates it, so I have avoided that. The "punched in my back feeling" over the last 2-3 ribs in the back is still tender. Most notable if I take the palm of my wrist (top, not bottom) and apply pressure to this location, I really feel it. I would swear it was Kidney, but doctors say its not. I've read online with people with "left flank" pain discomfort that mimic all of our symptoms for right side discomfort. Strange or coincidence?  BTW, I'm male.
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Hey glad to know this thread is still alive after 6 years...I have the same pain many of you have described...lower right flank/back pain off and on sometimes presents more in my pelvic area and for yrs now I have had that involuntary abdominal contraction when the area is palpated, (I believe the medical term is "abdominal guarding") I was in the hospital for 2 days last yr for bad colitis and they said my appendix looked fine on CT and that my colon was inflamed and full of air. I am 25 now and was put on BC at age 15 b/c was told I has PCOS and needed it to regulate my cycle. I had a transvaginal ultrasound in 2009 and was told I did not appear to have PCOS, although I did never get regular periods on my own so now that I'm older I'm thinking something else such as PID or endometriosis, during that 2009 ultrasound, my right ovary was not visible (not sure how that happens) and I had 1.6 cm of "loculated" fluid in my uterus...the report said possible due to a uterine synchae? (spelling?) still haven't been able to find an understandable definition of what that is or what it means for me. My other theory is kidney stones my grandpa on my moms side dealt with them more than once and I'm not big on meat, poultry or fish and eggs disgust me so a very large portion of my diet is dairy, yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, frozen yogurt, cheese, etc. I also take 2000 IU of vitamin D daily and am starting to think that is too much. Does anything in your routine bloodwork give away a kidney stone? Or is it only seen on ultrasound? It is really annoying and I am so fed up with conventional doctors, plus I am intelligent, fully functioning and normal and am in college, but dx of anxiety, OCD, and mood disorder have always branded me and made docs biased. I swear to this day if I were having a pulmonary embolism or a serious heart problem, I would just ignore it and tell myself it is anxiety, because I have been told that so much, and because it usually is. But I also have my share of legit physiological health problems, almost died when I was too from an oversight that my mom caught b/c she is a nurse, and have a scary sense of self-awareness, and am usually right when I think there is something "wrong."
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I'm almost sure this is not an appendix issue or Gallbladder issue. If anything, I believe this is related to the right Kidney. It has returned, and bothers me everyday. I've have it now for two weeks and counting. What I like to know is, why is my 10th, 11th, & 12 ribs (back ,right hand side)  so tender when I apply minimal pressure? It feels as though someone has punched me in the Kidney area. It radiates around the flank to the front and down into the groin & lower/mid back, but the real tenderness is only centralized in the lower back ribcage, as if I had a sore Kidney. If I push in from the front, it does feel as though my Kidney is sore.  I wish we could get more information from the doctors. Are we suffering from Kidney stones, Kidney gravel, Kidney Infection. I want to think this is purely Muscular (because stretching seems to aggravate it).

   
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I am suffering as well. The pain started months ago in my lower pelvic area accompanied by a sudden onset of severe acne on my back. I've had urine test and ultra sound and the doctor says hmmm i think it could be endrometriosis take the BC and everything will be fine. bla bla bla so after reading the novel of possible side affects i decided to go to a natural path. she says it could be a semi twisted bowl. Really? can that even happen? Anyway for the last 2 months the pain has moved into my right flank area and has worsened! So this brings me here. I don't even know how to go about getting a second opinion. Do i just call up another doc in town and tell him I want a second opinion? Should I just take the pill for a while and see if that helps first? But what if it is kidney related? won't that aggravate the problem? Any suggestions would be greatly appretiated...oh BTW if it helps I am a yr old female..3 kids.
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I had same kind of problem past 3 years, The Pain my god . It under my right chest and the radiation will be @ back also,after the Ultra Sound . We found that 7mm Of Gb Stone. Most of the alopathi Doctor's say that i hae under go Laptoscop Removal of GB. I am not happy with that if you remove the GB. The issue is not fix the stone may form in Liver too then what the fun? So My point is that GB is not reponsble for the stone.We have to find the source of the stone. I went Homeopathy Doctor's they gave a some Pills which was good but if you take fatty food then i have to take pain killers in IV. After few months i found a new doctor of Hemopathy he gave me good Medications. By the time i reached him my stone Size was 15mm with in few months i was 24mm now the size is 2.5mm so i am very happy,He asked me to cont... for 3 months but i have have control on my food in take no fatty foods, no meat with heavy fat.
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It sounds to me like you have a urinary reflux. I had to have bilateral ureteral reimplantation while in the Navy. It took them a couple of years to figure this out as I kept coming up negative on tests. I kept having pain in my right side/flank...it was so bad that I couldn't even walk at time. At first they thought it was muscular, then appendicitis, but I kept having a high white blood cell count and sometimes a high red blood cell count. When I was in severe pain I would have high blood pressure. Finally, it was recommended for me to have a cystogram done (not a pleasant test). It showed that my bladder was not completely emptying, which was causing the urine to go back up to my kidneys, which was poisoning them (chronic pyleonphritis). I had the reimplantation done, but I still get bladder/UTIs occasionally. My doctor in the Navy said I would probably be prone to them for the rest of my life. So, I would recommend checking into ureteral reimplantation.
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Hi, I also have pain on my right side.  It is around waist level on the right side and is a low painful throb that comes and goes, but lately doesn't go away. It radiates from the back  to the front.  It has woken me up a few times also.  Have had this pain intermittent for a few years now, and always thought it was back strain, but I think I was being hopeful. The last few months, I have it more than I don't.  I have been having some colon issues lately, so I am booked for a coloscopy in a few months and an ovarian ultrasound coming up altho my doctor couldn't feel anything after a pelvic exam.  My doctor had all my organs ultrasounded a month ago and everything looked good, no problems with my kidneys or liver, pancreas or bladder, but I am worried about the colonoscopy.   Did have my gall bladder out 4 years ago, and wonder if this pain is related to that somehow. However, Had some blood in my stool, so now of course, I am freaking out a bit.  I am over 50 so things start looking a bit scarier.  I am wondering if anyone has had this pain after having a gall bladder out, or if people with colon problems find that there is a spot that is more painful than other areas. 

 

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cmax.....Please, please, please come back and let us know how everything goes.  Best of wishes on your colonoscopy. I'm still suffering from this as well. I still think it is Kidney related, without an infection. My other possible theory is a pinched nerve in the back, but that doesn't explain the tenderness in front, if I'm laying on my left side and pushing in on my right flank (front). I wonder if a (hidden) kidney stone can cause this. I say hidden, because so far, It hasn't been seen on any scan. I sure hope it is not colon related, as I'm very regular. My last, and somewhat other theory, is a stomach ulcer.     

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I have had the same symptoms...all the blood tests, CT scans...and basically my Dr just told me that if the pain gets worse, go to the ER. I am thinking it is a nerve issue as well. I will check back to see if any one has any luck...I'll write if I find anything!

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If the pain comes back when you eat gluten, I think you should look into celiac disease instead of crohnes. I was misdiagnosed with crohnes. Surgeon found signs if it during colonoscopy and an ultrasound X-ray video. However, if it is crohnes the infection does not just go away when you stop eating certain foods. Where as celiac, the infections go away after you remove gluten from your diet.
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I've been having flank pain and constant nausea for a month. And no, I'm not pregnant. 

It began with just being constantly nauseous. I thought it was an infection but all of my blood work came back normal. Then the pain started a few days later. It started with a stabbing pain in my flank that would travel through my pelvis and I felt like I had to urinate all the time. I have a history of ovarian cysts so an ultrasound was ordered and nothing came of it. I went to my GP who ordered more blood work and a CT scan. Again, normal. I was put on IBS medications and told that it was a stomach problem. I didn't respond to them. So I was taken off of them and now told to try some OTC medications like Pepsid. 

So, no kidney stones/infection. I did have one reading of a high WBC, but my doctor dismissed that (which I'm still a bit worried about). My urination urges went away after a couple of weeks, but the nausea and the pain still remain. I don't know if I should start writing down my diet. I am honestly at my wits end with this because the nausea is crippling and I'm losing weight because I can't bring myself to eat very much. The pain is usually at night and so bad that I can't lay on my right side because the pressure put on it is too unbearable. I have read through both discussion pages but I didn't really read any stories quite like mine. I haven't had my gall bladder tested and I am on continuous birth control to treat the ovarian cysts. I have had horrible menstrual cycles; they were crippling for the first two days and after that they eased up a bit but the pain was awful. Since being on the continuous treatment, my pelvic problems have been manageable (I have been diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain but the pain I am experiencing is nothing like my pelvic pain). I remember reading about a connection between flank pain and antibiotics. I was taking Minocyline for my acne. I was on it from 2007-2012. I stopped in October 2012. I don't know if this has anything to do with my symptoms now, but I'll throw it out there.If anyone has experienced this, has any suggestions...please comment. I am a full-time college student and these symptoms are affecting my schooling quite badly. I hope the previous users have found relief, or a diagnosis of what they're going through.  

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i am a 44 year old male i had my appendix out  still had pain as well  then they said  i had gallstones  so i took out my gallbladder after they said it was diseased   i still feel pain in my back and down in my pelvic area  just like when i had the gallstones  i dont get it and im very worried  the pain comes across the right side of my bac but its like heavy pressure  and then like a pain in pelvic area     sometimes more severe  it was coming and going now i have had it past week straight   i had to have a full gallbladder surgery cause some stones had got into my ducts  but they so called fixed that  this pain is right side of back comes up into adomen right under the chest   i have no idea what it is  someone have to have had this before  is it possible the stones ar still there or have come back

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