Upper abdominal cramps (severe spasms)

I have and actually right now having the same issues as everyone else.  I was diagnosed 3 years ago with Chronic Pancreatitis but luckily all the abnormalities in my pancreas are gone but now i have this cramping in my left side ribcage area.  I have been prescribed an antispasmodic but it has down nothing to help only made it worse if anything.  Good luck everyone, I hope you find relief or something that helps, until then stay positive. 

My spasms come on so quickly and painfully that I leap out of bed at nigh or jump to my feet if working. I can actually watch the muscles twisting and moving. I try to stretch them out if I'm able but have also found a new ways to breath deeply and they will pass after about 10 minutes only to pop right back up again. After reading these posts, I plan to renew my vitamin and minerals and try a muscle relaxer when they start to act up. The pain is extreme - getting a forced breath in when I can.

I've had these spasms for years as well. Usually get them when i'm reaching down for something or twisting my torso to grab something.

I first got them when I tried a low carb diet and then they came back again when I went on a calorie restrictive diet.

During that last diet, I was prescribed a high dose of potassium and the problem went away after taking it daily for a few days. I remained on the potassium for 90 days and didn't have any other issues while on it. They have recently started happening again and I need to renew my prescription as that seemed to work for me.

I was taking : Potassium CL Micro 10 MEQ ER TABS - 2x daily

 

Good luck to you all. This problem is a major hassle if not treated.

Hi All, I have had the problems people describe here since the birth of my daughter. Truthfully, they started while I was still pregnant. Some people here seem to be describing a digestive issue and some seem to be describing a muscle issue. Mine is definitely of the muscular variety. It happens when I bend down or curl up, but I can't do it on command. Essentially it feels like my organs are squeezing out of place. I will be putting my socks on or bending down to get something or sneezing and suddenly my upper right side spasms. I feel organs (liver, intestine, diaphragm?) slide up under my bottom ribs. I straighten up, put my hand there, and wait for everything to slide back into place and the spasm feeling to stop. It is very painful, to the point I can't speak, and it lasts maybe 10 seconds. I don't know what would happen if I could not straighten out and be upright. Anyway, I have a little bit of a solution. I have started doing weight lifting, and focusing on strengthening my core muscles. I have decided that there is a tear somewhere in the layers of muscle in my abdomen. I don't believe it will heal on its own, but I do think that working around the problem helps. I am stronger and it happens less often, but it did happen again recently during a sneezing fit. I will continue to get stronger as I don't believe modern medicine can help. Good luck everyone!

i have also had my gall bladder out two years ago and was fine for four months being pain free.Then out of the blue the dreaded pain came back and is still with me today after having just undergone an endoscopy with no probs so im left with this pain again and taking oralmorp to help me through untill i get to see my doctor who thinks im putting the pain on its nice to think that im not alone thanks for your posting.

Had the same problem after giving birth to my daughter. Asked my OB and he diagnosed it as Rectus Diastasis. There are exercises you can do but traditional ab crunches actually make the muscle separation worse. If you do the proper exercises, they also fix post baby poochy belly :)

I too have these and the only way I have found to get rid of them is laying on my stomache flat on the ground and putting my hands on the ground and pushing my upper torso towards the sky.  Any help on this is greatly appreciating.  As this started 7 years ago when I delivered my first child.

Sounds exactly like my symptoms. I don't know what kind of doctor to go to.

I'm a golfer. I recently moved to Central Cali from SD I thought these cramps on both sides of my rib cage were from dehydration but I've been drinking water like a fish and still get them. I don't know how to make them stop but when I squat with my back straight the pain subsides you guys may want to try this. Good luck!

I have to post a reply!! I ended up with this exact pain many times and ended up in the ER thinking I was having a heart attack. Doc ran my calcium levels and it came back at 4 so really low. Got prescribed 5,000 mg of Ca every week and I've felt soo much better! 

I have had a similar experience where my upper right abdomen (under my rib cage) feels like it gets a charlie horse. It will usually go away if I stand or rub the area. I haven't been to the dr. regarding this but have had these episodes on and off for about 10 years. I had a couple of these episodes today. I am also curious if others have similar experience and if so if they had a diagnosis from a phsycian.

As mentioned in many of the posts here, I too have these terrible cramps in the upper left quadrant of the stomach beginning behind the rib cage. When they come on, they are HUGE. The muscle sticks out of my body and stays that way until it finally subsides. The muscle is then sore for days. I get them in my back as well, on both sides running the length of the back or in specific areas when lying flat on my back. One person mentioned when wiping the "wazoo" it triggers the stomach one, same here! I guess knowing others have it helps deter the feeling like I'm going nuts. I'm shocked with all these posts no Doctor has commented at all! There must be some Dr. out there somewhere who has heard of this and can shed light on it!! Maybe even just to tell us he knows of it and has seen patients with it and they're working on it! Something? Maybe?

I just experienced this and was hospitalized. It came on sudden and I thought I needed to use bathroom but no. It was like a charlie horse in my midsection that went around and up into my chest. It was very painful and made me nauseous. I kept thinking if I could stretch out or something it would help but nothing I did helped. It was like a squeezing pressure too. Went to ER and they admitted me and gave me every chest and heart test there was. Heart healthy, not that. Numerous people mentioned it could be gall bladder. Going to get an endoscoy.

I too have these pains and I have had them for years but I have them all over my belly and both sides all the way up under my breasts. Sometimes they are so severe it is unbearable and you can actually see the muscles knotting up. Massaging the area usually helps but it is really hard to catch your breath and stay calm. I can't even describe the pain it so severe then the muscle is usually sore for quite a while after.

About 5 of these post sounded like I wrote them. Several more was all to familiar. I do believe it has something to do with the nerves...as I have proven nerve damage elsewhere. However, has anyone found any answers? They are getting worse and more frequent.