Left Side Pain

[Del]

I have been gluten free for four months and a few days....some good days and plenty of bad days. I'm 62 years old and I've read it can take years for someone my age to heal! My question is do any of you get a pain in your left side....right about where you waist is? Sort of a twinging/throb.....not constant but comes once in awhile.

Thanks!

Del

[ravenwoodglass]

Hi Del, That area is a common site for discomfort perhaps because it is an area where the large intestine takes a sharp turn. The pain we get can be felt in a lot of different places for a lot of different reasons. If this is something new and it gets severe or if you have a fever and chills you should get it checked out. Have you had a colonoscopy? Many of us have diverticulitosis and that can also result in discomfort and in serious illness if it turns into diverticulitis.

If you haven't already dropping dairy for a bit can also help speed the healing along.

[Del]

Hi Del, That area is a common site for discomfort perhaps because it is an area where the large intestine takes a sharp turn. The pain we get can be felt in a lot of different places for a lot of different reasons. If this is something new and it gets severe or if you have a fever and chills you should get it checked out. Have you had a colonoscopy? Many of us have diverticulitosis and that can also result in discomfort and in serious illness if it turns into diverticulitis.

If you haven't already dropping dairy for a bit can also help speed the healing along.

Thanks for replying! This pain only makes itself known once in awhile...so far it's never been severe.

As far as dropping dairy....I don't drink milk....it's made me feel sick to my stomach for a few years now....I have noticed since being gluten-free that carefully checked ice cream bothers me....but cheese doesn't. Does that make sense?

Del

[Jentu]

Yes Del, that makes sense. Lactose is one of the two main culprits in milk, and cheese tends not to have it. Beneficial bacteria are used to produce both cheese and yogurt, and in the process the bacteria consume the lactose. Someone here posted a chart with a ranking of the lactose content of certain dairy items, maybe they will repost it for you.

I'm new at this, but my guess would be that cutting out all milk products, even the ones without lactose, might speed up your healing because there are other things in milk (like casein) that might bother you. It's worth a try, anyhow.

Good luck and I hope you feel better.

[Del]

Thanks....glad to know I'm not totally nuts!!!!

[jewi0008]

Thanks for replying! This pain only makes itself known once in awhile...so far it's never been severe.

As far as dropping dairy....I don't drink milk....it's made me feel sick to my stomach for a few years now....I have noticed since being gluten-free that carefully checked ice cream bothers me....but cheese doesn't. Does that make sense?

Del

Del,

I once had the left side pain so bad that I thought it was my ovaries. I was in the worst pain...after a lot of money spent at the Dr...nothing was found. I believe it was the gluten. I could not even sit my left side hurt so badly!

[debmidge]

Hi Del, That area is a common site for discomfort perhaps because it is an area where the large intestine takes a sharp turn. The pain we get can be felt in a lot of different places for a lot of different reasons. If this is something new and it gets severe or if you have a fever and chills you should get it checked out. Have you had a colonoscopy? Many of us have diverticulitosis and that can also result in discomfort and in serious illness if it turns into diverticulitis.

If you haven't already dropping dairy for a bit can also help speed the healing along.

First thing I thought of was diverticulitis too, then maybe ovarian. I had this on and off for the past 4 years and it was enlarged ovarian cysts would come and go. Well if you already got checked out and it wasn't either of these too, make sure you go for annual check ups especially if you still get the pain.

Or, is there something new in your diet that you did not eat before going gluten free? Like a lot of soy or flax? Maybe something is giving you colon gas .... a food that you are eating more regularly now than you did before going gluten-free?

[Joni63]

Hi,

I just wanted to say that I've only been gluten free for 3+ months and the whole first month dealt with left side pain. It felt like it started up under my rib cage and would work it's way down from there. It was not constant, and finally has gone away. I think it was just my body's way of reacting to the gluten free diet.

I had a lot of strange things go on for the first 2 months. Things seem to have leveled off now.

[Offthegrid]

I've been having this and some gas. Since going off casein (protein in milk) and soy, it has completely gone away. I'm sorry to have to say it, but you may possibly have some food sensitivities other than gluten.

[GFBetsy]

You might also consider having your gall bladder checked. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it's on the left side. My friend thought she was lactose intolerant for years before finding out it was her gall bladder - and she could also eat cheese, but not milk or ice cream. Gall bladder problems are actually problems with fats, so I've never been sure why cheese didn't bother her, but it didn't.

[Del]

Thank you all for your replies!

[FootballFanatic]

I would say gas gas gas.

If it gets really bothersome you can talk to your doctor and point out where it is and they will poke around on you to feel where it is and if it could be something more serious than gas. I did that because I kept thinking it was a kidney or an ovary and when he felt around my stomach he said he felt signs of constipation and gas so to not worry about it and just try to up the fiber and the water intake.

Usually mine it like a dull pinch/cramp

[FootballFanatic]

**Sorry double post

[Del]

I would say gas gas gas.

I think you might be right there....since it's not a constant pain! Thanks!

[debmidge]

You might also consider having your gall bladder checked. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it's on the left side. My friend thought she was lactose intolerant for years before finding out it was her gall bladder - and she could also eat cheese, but not milk or ice cream. Gall bladder problems are actually problems with fats, so I've never been sure why cheese didn't bother her, but it didn't.

Betsy, I agree ..funny you say this because I had gallbladder discomfort on upper right side of abdomen (where this organ is) AND pain on left side because the gallbladder bile was irritating my newly discovered IBS. It wasn't until the gallbladder was removed and the inflammation died down that the gas and discomfort on left side went away.

Deb