mwhalen523

I have had an intermittent pain just barely under the lowest rib and about 2 in. to the right of the sternum. It is a dull pain that persists for sometimes hours...and then goes away for (up to) days. I can live with it, but I have had the pain for approx 15 months now. Not sure how it started. I was taking Advil PM approx 4x per week right before this started. After reading that Advil PM can cause stomach bleeding, etc., I stopped taking it. (I took it to help me sleep -- I'm not a great sleeper). The pain seems to be more uncomfortable when I'm sitting after I eat. Over the past 15 months, I have not noticed that any particular type of food causes it to begin hurting more than others. I've had the pain after both spicy and non-spicy foods, so it is not necessarily triggered by the type of foods I eat. I have noticed the dull pain even on an empty stomach. Also, I do notice that from time to time when I am agitated (e.g., nervous, stressed at work, angry, etc.) that the pain initiates. Overall, when I get the dull pain, it never last the entire day. I also have noticed that more often than not, I usually pass gas about a minute after the onset of the pain, so I can say that I do see a minor correlation between the pain and passing gas. Having said that, on other days when I'm not experiencing any pain, I can have a LOT of gas and not have the dull pain in my abdomen. The pain can best be describes as a dull, persistent pain. Not a sharp or acute pain. I cannot seem to find the specific source of the pain by pressing in the area of discomfort. DEFINITELY SEEMS THAT THE DULL PAIN IS GREATER WHEN I'M SITTING AFTER EATING.

I'm laying out all of these symptoms so that you can see that there doesn't seem to be a clear pattern of what iniates the pain. I am a 53 yr old male and I exercise 5-6 days per week for about 45 mins each day, so I am in good shape. I do not drink smoke - never have.

I had a ultrasound of my pancreas, liver and GB -- results were fine. Nothing remarkable. My doc also had a pulmonary embolism test conducted -- again, results were fine.

Any feedback would be appreciated. I'm not sure what the problem is, I've been healthy as a horse my whole life.