I am desperate to find out what is causing me excruciating pain in my left flank every morning when I wake up! It ranges in severity from mild, to "please kill me".
It has been going on for the last ten years or so. At first it was a rare, mild, pain that did not interrupt my quality of life. Over the years (and mostly in the last 2 yrs) has become SO SEVERE, that I have been unable to awake in the morning and take a deep breath without wanting to cry/die.
I have tried every single thing I can think of including;
Dietary modifications (eliminating various things: sugar, dairy, meat, coffee, etc.), drinking more water, less water, trying not to eat after certain times, trying to not drink after certain times, etc.
I have tried re-arranging my excersize schedule, I've tried medications for pain & inflammation, I've been diligently trying to find a cause, but have not succeeded yet.
The ONLY thing that has been effective has been a liquid diet. After about 3 days of juicing fresh juices and only consuming liquids, the pain subsides! Once I eat solid food again, the pain returns. I've tried everything & bloodwork has ruled out Pancreatitis and Celiac disease.
I think I may be experiencing the same kind of problem! Mine is not as severe as yours quite yet, and I haven't had the same amount of time to experiment with my symptoms as they only started appearing a little while ago (not sure exactly when, but two months, tops). I do think, though, that our problems are probably similar in origin for a few reasons:
1) We both have flank pain after eating: not exactly a common symptom, and at first I too thought this was indicative of pancreatitis, but I am only 20 and do not drink, smoke, etc.
2) only a liquid diet seems to help: aside from pancreatitis one of my first thoughts was a food allergy or intolerance, but I couldn't find a common factor in when the pain occurs other than solid foods.
May I ask, do you experience only flank pain after eating? Or do you have abdominal (or stomach) pain that accompanies it?
Mine is accompanied by a burning pain in my abdomen, but the flank pain always lasts longer. But the burning abdominal pain was starting to make me think that maybe my problem is something as simple as a gastric ulcer, and the pain is radiating to my back. I haven't been tested for H. pylorii yet, but I think this might be worth looking into. However, while an ulcer sounds (for the moment) like a promising explanation of my symptoms, I have done a lot of reading on ulcers the last few days and nowhere do I find any mention of people with gastric ulcers being forced to go on a liquid diet to manage the pain. It is really that symptom that stands out to me, and I can;t find a matching condition where it becomes difficult to consume solid food.
Sorry this was so long, but I'm glad I found someone with a similar problem!
Good luck and feel better!
Last edited by moderator2; 02-05-2012 at 10:02 AM.
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I may have found a diagnosis!!!
Check out "Cystinuria" and see if it matches your symptoms at all. I found it to be accurate, and when they did a 24 hr. urine collection to test for it, my levels were elevated, and I finally found what was wrong with me!
The Good: I know what is causing my pain now.
The Bad: There is no cure, and I can no longer consume ANY animal protein or foods high in sodium or methionine. Also, I am supposed to drink FOUR liters of water everyday Minimum!
It's a hard change to make, but when I stick to that (or liquids only) I feel soooo much better.
I can't say for sure what's wrong with you, but I will say this, I have chronic pancreatitis and I have lots of flank pains. Especially in the morning and after eating.
Flank pain! Severe! Any help? 
Re: Flank pain! Severe! Any help? 
