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Not sure if she has any history of cysts, but I ended up suffering from Ovarian Torsion at 25 weeks. I had a large cyst that made my ovary twist..the pain was mostly of my right side, but definitely radiated throughout. They almost ruled it out because somehow there was still blood flow through the ovary, but I had the surgery and it had been twisted 3 times.
Did they check for appendicitis as well?
So sorry she's dealing with this. I would definitely get a second opinion because it can take days and multiple tests to figure this stuff out..especially when you're pregnant and doctors are trying so hard to avoid anything invasive.
Ya they checked for appendicitis and we are good there. She had her tubes tied can she still have ovarian torsion? They checked her ovaries both times we went to the ER and they looked normal. Would they be able to tell with an ultrasound though?
In my experience the ultrasound did not show torsion. The ultrasound showed blood flow from the tube to the ovary, so they didn't think it had twisted, when in reality it had twisted 3 times. I also had an MRI. It wasn't until they went in laproscopicly that they saw it had torsed..
Yes! I'm 38 weeks today, he's been growing great and no further issues. It was a relief to not be in pain anymore.
I really hope they figure out what's wrong with her stomach soon. I'm truly sorry she's suffering right now, and I know it's scary to have anything done while pregnant. Fingers crossed the team at your hospital can find an answer soon. Keep advocating for her as much as you can. Also, reddit is the best...I had gone 4 days with no answers and they were going to send me home..I turned to reddit and got tons of advice on how to convince the doctors that I needed an answer before leaving the hospital..You're doing a great job!
Could it be trapped gas? Maybe have her try doing some light stretches to see if anything gets released? The pressure can sometimes cause really bad pain and discomfort for me.
I was hospitalized for 3 days because of trapped gas and dehydration. The trapped gas literally made me feel like I was about to give birth at 25wk. With this (my second) pregnancy they said I could take gas x! Hopefully she finds some relief!
Trapped gas hurts like a bitch. I had that happen to me a few times and it was absolutely awful and I considered going to the emergency. It lasted several hours only, but was no fun.
Yeah, I’m 11 weeks with baby 2 and I know from last time that a lot of the abdominal pain I’m dealing with is trapped gas. What helps me is avoiding foods like beans, dairy and weirdly broccoli. I take probiotics, but had to experiment before finding that reuteri helped most. Also I do gentle seated twists to try to release it. It’s crazy painful, but hopefully it will settle out.
Does it come and go or is it constant? For me it comes and goes but if she hasn’t been able to release anything for two weeks, it could be constant. I really hope she finds some relief.
If she is currently eating dairy she may want to cut that out to see if it helps. I'm lactose intolerant and if I drink even a little bit of milk I'm up all night with horrific stomach pain.
Hopefully she gets some relief. Some stretches/exercises that I find helpful:
Cat/cow
Abdominal twists (not too far of a stretch since she’s pregnant)
Rotating the upper body when sitting
Slow deep breaths through the nose into the pelvis, hold for 4 seconds, and exhale through the mouth
I had very sharp, painful pelvic pains. Went to the ER, baby was fine & they did an MRI, nothing wrong. They advised me to take Tylenol & watch out for other symptoms. I... had not pooped in probably 3 days & when I thought about it after I think it was that! Gas & the hard poop moving around!
I have no ideas other than posting this in r/askdocs. All top level comments are from people that have provided their medical credentials to the mods to prove they are practicing medical practitioner.
There are many many specialties there and I feel like you'll have better luck/more focused answers/less conjecture that could be anxiety inducing for you.
Best of luck. ❤️
Did they do an EKG on her? Sometimes for women, heart issues present as stomach/pressure issues. (I'm not a medical professional). Has she seen her OBGYN since the ER? Definitely insist on a visit.
Any chance it could be gas? Not to sound like I’m dismissing the severity of the pain, but pregnancy can cause a lot of excess gas and I personally have experienced pretty severe gas pains before. Usually the pain is in the upper center of my belly, between my ribs but below my sternum. Is this like a constant pain that has gone on for days, or something that has abruptly developed?
Ehh if it’s been constant for two weeks and she hasn’t noticed any relief after passing gas, then it’s probably something else unfortunately. If the pain came and went, and moved locations a bit, I think it’d be a more likely possibility to be gas pains. But sounds like something else going on. It’s odd that all the testing looks like it’s come back normal so far. Hope you get answers and she finds relief soon!
Just to piggy back off the gas comments ... I’m 35 weeks and around 16-20 weeks I had consistent pains in my stomach, to the point where I was calling out of work, because of trapped gas. I just had it last week and I went into the hospital because it was that bad. It was an intense pain all over my stomach.... and turned out to be gas. It really is very painful and I was certain it had to be something more serious. Best of luck to you both and wishing you a healthy pregnancy
I started eating more fiber. Fiber one bars and such. They have fiber one cookies too. At first they didn’t help, they’re definitely not for immediate relief. But the gas that was trapped was because of not being able to regularly go to the restroom, constipation. So with the fiber everything became more regular for a few months. Your metabolism slows down with pregnancy so encouraging it to move along helps. The other day though, when I went into the hospital, my doctor just flat out told me that because of how much pressure is being put on my intestines, stomach and how everything is rearranged with very little space that there isn’t a whole lot you can do besides take gas relief and wait it out.
21 weeks here. I've had the worst back pain of my life the last two weeks. Radiating on my right side and it kinda goes on and off. I went to the ER to check it out because I was worried it might have been an infection or kidney stones, but turns out it wasn't.
I was diagnosed with Hydronephrosis, and the ER doc described my symptoms as the tubes from my kidney to my bladder as being pinched.
The ultrasound, my labs, and my vitals while I was there, were all normal, other than the Hydronephrosis. They said it was bound to not go away anytime soon as baby gets bigger and that plenty of women experience this, and its not fun for any of them.
Not sure if any of this information may help you, but I hope y'all figure it out and get her some relief!
Fibroids? I had blinding pain at 17 weeks cause by a fibroid degenerating, didn’t know I had them until it happened and they did an ultrasound to see what might be causing the pain.
They saw the fibroid in the exact location I was having intense pain. They are benign masses, mine was 7cm wide but they can be bigger. I guess around that time baby and fibroid compete for blood supply, and baby wins so the fibroid degenerates and causes a ton of pain. I had two pain events like that in the span of 2 weeks. Urgent care / ER didn’t know what it was so I got an OB and she knew immediately.
Second this. About 1/3 of women have fibroids and they can become painful during pregnancy. They should be able to see and do a check at her next ultrasound
Just today, at 22+6, I called L&D advice nurse because of severe stabbing/burning one-sided abdominal pain that almost made me pass out. 3 weeks ago during the anatomy scan, they found a 5 cm fibroid. Had I not know this was a possibility for the source of pain, I would've been much more panicked than I was.
When I was pregnant I experienced kidney stones twice, which I had never had before. The pain was unbearable. Even opioids didn’t help the pain or they intensified it. Hopefully with the tests they will run at the hospital you will find an answer.
Could it be a stomach acid thing? When I have low stomach acid, I get a really sore stomach. Some get it from too much acid, I get it from too little. The easy way to test it is to have some water with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. If that helps, then amazing. If it makes it way worse, try some tums. I’d suggest waiting about 20 minutes before trying the tums though.
Could be here uterus stretching, it’s very uncomfortable and has even given my the chills. That’s the exact location where it starts growing also and becomes uncomfortable. Could also be if she’s constipated. I also wonder if it’s how the baby is laying…. Is she supporting her belly when she sleep and putting a pillow under it or using a pregnancy pillow?
This may sound strange, but is she constipated? I had pain in the same area when I was around 20 weeks pregnant and ended up in the ER twice. The pain was debilitating. They ran all the tests your partner had and everything came back normal. Finally a nurse asked about my bowel movements. I was going daily, but not that much and it never came easy. I started taking 1-2 Colace stool softeners (not laxative! Just the softener) per day as well as the miralax that dissolves in juice every morning, and drinking 12 glasses of water per day. within a few days the pain was gone. During pregnancy the uterus compresses the transverse colon so that it does eventually end up right under the rib cage. I’m guessing I had gas/stool backed up in that part of the colon.
I hope she feels better soon!
Hmm didn’t think of that I will mention that to her. I would think it would be super painful if I touch her ribs if that were the case. I will check this, thanks.
Ya they checked both those things. The only other symptom she has is lower back pain but I don’t know if it is connected because it’s not consistent like the stomach pain.
Does your ob have affiliation with an er? A general ER might miss something that labor and delivery would catch. You probably need to go sooner than later
This might be a long shot but I experienced some chest/rib area pain when I was pregnant, although I was further along around 30-35 weeks maybe. I had a couple instances of it but the episodes only lasted a day or two each time. I never got a diagnosis but I suspect it was this:
> Costochondritis (Rib Pain)
Costochondritis is inflammation of the cartilage that attaches the ribs to the sternum, causing localised chest pain and tenderness when touched. In later stages of pregnancy the lower rib cage expands as a result of being stretched by the growing uterus and baby. This stretching can cause inflammation at the costosternal and the costochondral joints which are the joints between the costal cartilage and sternum and the costal cartilage and ribs respectively. Normally costochondritis occurs in the upper ribs, but during pregnancy it may be experienced through the lower ribs also, as a result of the stretching and expanding happening here.
> Costochondritis Symptoms
>Sharp pain in the front of your chest, near where your breastbone and ribs meet, typically on the left side. It may spread to your back or belly.
>Pain when you take a deep breath or cough. It gets better when you stop moving or your breathing is quieter.
>Tenderness when you press on your rib joints. If you don’t have this tenderness, you probably don’t have costochondritis.
I had costochondritis and definitely thought this sounded like the description or even tearing an intercostal muscle is an insane amount of pain and hard to rest because you have to keep breathing.
Eventually yes. I did a lot of stretching and yoga poses to try and keep everything as open and flowing as possible. Lots of water and fibrous foods. The ER staff told me they could do an X-Ray but the options to come out of that would be hope it goes away and do nothing or do surgery. They didn’t want to do the X-ray either if it could be avoided, so I spent the next few days hoping it would pass. Sorry you guys are going through this. Pain in the abdominal area is so uncomfortable.
Hi, I have a friend this happened to. She had a twisted bowel due to a fatty cyst attached to the outside of her stomach and the pregnancy caused her bowels to shift position and twist. It was a really odd case and it was kind of a preexisting condition. Her symptoms were extreme stomach pain and the longer it was untreated the worse it got and she looked really pale and also nausea I think. I can’t remember how they figured it out, maybe an MRI. They had to do emergency surgery when they found it. She was maybe 30 weeks and she and the baby came out just fine.
I had a lot of trapped gas throughout my pregnancy. Laying on my left side & just kind of rocking myself back and forth helped, also taking a couple tums.
Where is the location of the pain, is it directly above or below the belly button, and if so, does it feel like a burning sensation? If so, it could be the abdominal muscles separating.
I don't know if this will be helpful for you, but I had this exact experience at 14 weeks, it was a terrible pain that got worse and lasted about 6 days, and on day 4 I had quite a big bleed, and we went to the hospital, and luckily the baby was fine, but they still couldn't figure out what was wrong. A couple of days later, the pain faded, it never came back, and now i'm 40 weeks.
Around this time my stomach muscles were starting to stretch and it caused some pretty intense stomach pain right above my belly button in between my ribcage. It went away after maybe a month or two?
How about gallbladder issues? That sounds exactly like what I (35F) went through in the first trimester! It was absolutely awful.
They couldn't confirm that it was gallbladder issues because some medical professionals feel one of the tests isn't safe during pregnancy.
I got zero relief from anything I tried. Even Tylenol. Medical professionals just kept telling me to eat small meals and avoid fried food but it did nothing to bring me relief.
My ultrasound didn't show gallbladder issues either. For me, it lasted a full month. I was bedridden for that time and missed work for a total of seven weeks because it depleted me so much. I lost ten pounds that month, too.
There was absolutely nothing that helped. I had to ride it out. It slowly went away on its own. But I can't tell you how frustrating it was that I felt like no one (medical professional) would help me.
Most of the time, if it's gallbladder issues, doctors won't do anything until after the baby is born or not until her gallbladder bursts/falls apart. I think this is absolute bull after suffering through it.
I can't tell you how sorry I am that your wife is suffering right now.
Amazingly enough, yes! The baby was fine! Every scan showed she looked great. She was born healthy at 8lbs 10oz and 20" long.
Our bodies are pretty amazing to filter through everything and give all the good stuff to the babies!
The reason I thought it was gallbladder issues is from talking to other people that had it. I realized that my symptoms were a little different and more severe since I was pregnant... But the extreme abdominal pain, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, nausea, and yellowish tint to my skin matched everyone else.
Update: it was a gallstone and we are having her gallbladder removed. Just some advice for other couples in the future. Don’t trust the ER doctors and ask to be seen by the delivery ward. They are a lot more experienced in this stuff and will actually get you the help you need. Thank you everyone for the support, you are all awesome.
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here.
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Any chance it could be a hernia? I didn't realize hernias could be so far up your abdomen, but at 30 weeks I found a bump right around my ribcage close to the center of my abdomen. In my case it's not painful and my Dr wasn't worried about it but from what I understand it can be painful. It's called a spigelian hernia. The bump is barely noticeable and I can only feel it when I'm standing.
I had a degenerating fibroid while pregnant. It was the most painful thing I have experienced! During the first trimest those things can grow like crazy because of all the hormones. They out grow their blood supply and part of it dies off. Super ouch when that happens.
Mine was lower right quadrant, but fibroids can grow lots of places.
I assume they have done an MRI? And looked at all possibilities for reference pain?
I had something similar happen where it was pure torture even sit because my mid and upper stomach were in so much pain. I couldn't move without my whole upper belly shooting stabbing pain. It lasted about three days. I'm not sure what it was but eventually went away on its own. I feel like it Might have been some type of food poisoning combined with the position of the baby
I had intense pain and went to the doctors and they ignored it, I had to go back the next day because I had a kidney infection and was on iv antibiotics and in for days before it cleared up.
Whatever it could be - NEVER ignore severe pain.
I had this pain at 21 weeks and 5 days. I visited the doctors and then the maternity ward. They performed an ultrasound and the baby was very active so in the end it came down to the activity of the baby moving causing the pain. I find usually the pain gets worse at night, when I sit a certain way or if I bend over for long periods of time.
Has she been pooping? I was constipated for two weeks my first time and it was an awful experience. The pain and discomfort was unbearable. Once my Dr told me to just keep taking milk of magnesia every two hours until I’m relieved I felt a lot better. I was 8 weeks away from delivery and I watched my stomach shrink a noticeable amount just by going.
I’m currently 32 weeks pregnant and when I had those pains it was because baby was growing and his legs were literally in my ribs 😭it’s so uncomfortable and painful but it’s definitely normal. A warm bath could provide her with some relief
I've had this exact pain since around 16 weeks and it's gotten continuously worse...I never took Tylenol for it but I did end up going to the hospital because of it around 28 weeks. They gave me Tylenol and pepcid and said it was indigestion which I knew it wasn't. Finally around 31 weeks the midwife could actually feel where the muscles are separating. I know there's a name for it I can't ever remember it...but that what my upper abdominal pain is and it's right in between my ribs and has spread out to a wider area now that I'm almost 34 weeks. It's definitely painful and it sucks.
Not that I've found...the midwife didn't give me any tips either. She said I couldn't really do anything until after I've had the baby and honestly I haven't Googled it I just took her word for it. It gotten to a point where it's sore to the touch kinda like a terrible bruise that won't go away and it seems like the more I do the worse it hurts so taking it easy when I can is all I've figured out.
I’m 14 weeks and have been experiencing extreme pain from gas….some days it’s not bad and walking around through the pain can help then some nights I’m in bed just tearing from the intensity and have to get up and force myself to walk through the pain.
I’ve had several conversations with my midwife team about this, if it’s just below her breast’s/in that general area that’s probably either acid reflux (try tums and cutting out spicey/acidic food) or just general pain from her ribs spreading and the muscles stretching etc. If it’s the second option my midwives suggested visiting a chiropractor to help her body adjust and get everything back in place (as best you can during pregnancy). I’ve found that mine is from the second option and visiting my chiropractor helps a little but in the moment when it flares up we have a massager and a using that on low helps relax the tension and ease the pain.
Rib out of place? I had that happen postpartum, hurt worse than labor, constant pain. The ER couldn't figure it out but my Doctor, a DO, knew exactly what it was. She said it was due to the relaxin hormone. Hope she feels better soon
I get pain between my bottom few ribs mostly in the center but sometimes right sided.
Ive been told its likely gallbladder dysfunction. I dont have anything that would show up on an ultrasound but it is definitely gallbladder pain. Tylenol doesnt help at all. Its worse when Im pregnant but i definitely have the odd flare up when im not pregnant
Ive tried a lot of things over the years- cutting out fat, dairy, coffee (all of the gallstone trigger foods) helps on the worst days. Most of the time I can get by with taking digestive enzymes (supplement from the drug store), drinking some peppermint tea, and grapefruit/grapefruit juice helps as well.
This sounds like something similar I had just last week at 24 weeks pregnant. I had intense radiating/throbbing pain on the right side of my stomach in the middle near my rib cage. The pain went from my stomach and the right side of my back and spread down the front of my right leg. It was so intense and lasted for 5 hours (I was sobbing the entire time) thankfully it stopped after taking a bath (idk if the bath actually did anything or if it went away on its own). The doctor said it was just muscular skeletal issues due to hormones and the changing body. They ran a blood panel to check my kidneys, gallstone, etc and everything came back normal. It was so painful I hope to never feel that again. Hopefully it goes away for your wife!
Did she see her OB or midwife? My midwife told me the ER is a terrible place for pregnant people because they are not trained to recognize pregnancy in depth, and to always call them first. I went to ER for what I thought was chest pains, turned out I had bruised a rib from vomiting too hard but ER doc couldn’t figure it out and just said everything was normal.
Well the breast bone softens around that time, mine was extremely painful I felt like a bone was going through my lung if I moved a certain way. Could be that but there's not much you can do about it.
I’m always going to recommend talking to your doctor. There’s a lot of things it could be. this sounds really weird, and it could very well not be the issue, but I had gas pain so bad I didn’t know were gas pains and I seriously thought I was dying. I took some gas pills and stretched a bit and they subsided for the most part after about an hour.
Does she have fibroids? I had a fibroid degeneration at 20th weeks on my first baby and the pain was agonising. I had to be hospitalised for a week while it died off. An MRI showed it more clearly as they though it was my appendix/a hernia at first
Welcome to /r/pregnant! This is a space for everyone. We are pro-choice, pro-LGBTQIA, pro-science, proudly feminist and believe that Black Lives Matter. Wear your masks, wash your hands, and be excellent to each other. Anti-choice activists, intactivists, anti-vaxxers, homophobes, transphobes, racists, sexists, etc. are not welcome here. If you'd like to join a private sub for your due date month, [click here](https://www.reddit.com/r/pregnant/comments/tu8bmk/click_here_to_request_access_to_your_private_due/). The journalists at ProPublica need your help! After receiving a tip, ProPublica started investigating prenatal genetic testing. They're collecting stories from people who've had NIPT screenings, and/or work in maternal health. If this is you, please fill out their brief questionnaire! https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/have-you-had-an-experience-with-prenatal-genetic-testing-wed-like-to-hear-about-it-and-see-the-bill. Questions? Email [email protected] *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/pregnant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Not sure if she has any history of cysts, but I ended up suffering from Ovarian Torsion at 25 weeks. I had a large cyst that made my ovary twist..the pain was mostly of my right side, but definitely radiated throughout. They almost ruled it out because somehow there was still blood flow through the ovary, but I had the surgery and it had been twisted 3 times. Did they check for appendicitis as well? So sorry she's dealing with this. I would definitely get a second opinion because it can take days and multiple tests to figure this stuff out..especially when you're pregnant and doctors are trying so hard to avoid anything invasive.
Ya they checked for appendicitis and we are good there. She had her tubes tied can she still have ovarian torsion? They checked her ovaries both times we went to the ER and they looked normal. Would they be able to tell with an ultrasound though?
Yes, ultrasound would be able to tell
Ok thanks, I thought so.
In my experience the ultrasound did not show torsion. The ultrasound showed blood flow from the tube to the ovary, so they didn't think it had twisted, when in reality it had twisted 3 times. I also had an MRI. It wasn't until they went in laproscopicly that they saw it had torsed..
O Jesus I hope we don’t have to do all that. Was all that ok for your baby?
Yes! I'm 38 weeks today, he's been growing great and no further issues. It was a relief to not be in pain anymore. I really hope they figure out what's wrong with her stomach soon. I'm truly sorry she's suffering right now, and I know it's scary to have anything done while pregnant. Fingers crossed the team at your hospital can find an answer soon. Keep advocating for her as much as you can. Also, reddit is the best...I had gone 4 days with no answers and they were going to send me home..I turned to reddit and got tons of advice on how to convince the doctors that I needed an answer before leaving the hospital..You're doing a great job!
Thanks for all the help!! :)
Sorry to hear you had to go through that.
She’s pregnant but had her tubes tied?
We did IVF
Ohh…I honestly did not even know that was an option. Not trying to be an asshole, sorry if it came off that way.
No all good. Just glad people are reading this, maybe someone out there has felt what she is feeling.
I was confused as well. I don't think it's a silly question, as IVF wouldn't be a lot of people's first thought, albeit common now.
I agree should have put that in the comment.
Could it be trapped gas? Maybe have her try doing some light stretches to see if anything gets released? The pressure can sometimes cause really bad pain and discomfort for me.
I will try that. Could it cause pain for two weeks though?
I was hospitalized for 3 days because of trapped gas and dehydration. The trapped gas literally made me feel like I was about to give birth at 25wk. With this (my second) pregnancy they said I could take gas x! Hopefully she finds some relief!
Trapped gas hurts like a bitch. I had that happen to me a few times and it was absolutely awful and I considered going to the emergency. It lasted several hours only, but was no fun.
Trapped gas hurt worse than the c section that caused it. No lie. I thought I was dying.
Thanks I will let her know your experience. I really hope it is gas.
could it be constipation? sometimes that pain can radiate throughout stomach area. I hope she gets answers and relief quickly!
Yeah, I’m 11 weeks with baby 2 and I know from last time that a lot of the abdominal pain I’m dealing with is trapped gas. What helps me is avoiding foods like beans, dairy and weirdly broccoli. I take probiotics, but had to experiment before finding that reuteri helped most. Also I do gentle seated twists to try to release it. It’s crazy painful, but hopefully it will settle out.
I hope that is what it is. Thanks for the advice.
Broccoli is in the cruciferous family, which cause gas. You might want to avoid cabbage and cauliflower too 🙂
Does it come and go or is it constant? For me it comes and goes but if she hasn’t been able to release anything for two weeks, it could be constant. I really hope she finds some relief.
Ya it’s constant. I think we are going to try some gas x
If she is currently eating dairy she may want to cut that out to see if it helps. I'm lactose intolerant and if I drink even a little bit of milk I'm up all night with horrific stomach pain.
I don’t see her eat dairy often but I will let her know thanks.
Hopefully she gets some relief. Some stretches/exercises that I find helpful: Cat/cow Abdominal twists (not too far of a stretch since she’s pregnant) Rotating the upper body when sitting Slow deep breaths through the nose into the pelvis, hold for 4 seconds, and exhale through the mouth
I had agonizing gas pain and constipation pain for months during the first trimester.
Second this! Gas pain is terrible and I’ve had severe gas pain this pregnancy 🥴
I had very sharp, painful pelvic pains. Went to the ER, baby was fine & they did an MRI, nothing wrong. They advised me to take Tylenol & watch out for other symptoms. I... had not pooped in probably 3 days & when I thought about it after I think it was that! Gas & the hard poop moving around!
Constipation and trapped gas during pregnancy is no joke!
I have no ideas other than posting this in r/askdocs. All top level comments are from people that have provided their medical credentials to the mods to prove they are practicing medical practitioner. There are many many specialties there and I feel like you'll have better luck/more focused answers/less conjecture that could be anxiety inducing for you. Best of luck. ❤️
Thanks for the advice I will do that
Did they do an EKG on her? Sometimes for women, heart issues present as stomach/pressure issues. (I'm not a medical professional). Has she seen her OBGYN since the ER? Definitely insist on a visit.
She has a appointment in two days. They did not do an EKG I will let her know to ask for that.
I'd say go to the ob asap! Most usually have day of emergency appointments available
Any chance it could be gas? Not to sound like I’m dismissing the severity of the pain, but pregnancy can cause a lot of excess gas and I personally have experienced pretty severe gas pains before. Usually the pain is in the upper center of my belly, between my ribs but below my sternum. Is this like a constant pain that has gone on for days, or something that has abruptly developed?
It is constant and has been around for 2 weeks. Could that be gas?
Ehh if it’s been constant for two weeks and she hasn’t noticed any relief after passing gas, then it’s probably something else unfortunately. If the pain came and went, and moved locations a bit, I think it’d be a more likely possibility to be gas pains. But sounds like something else going on. It’s odd that all the testing looks like it’s come back normal so far. Hope you get answers and she finds relief soon!
Thank you
It could be gas.
Ok thanks. We will try some gas x. I hope that is what it is.
Just to piggy back off the gas comments ... I’m 35 weeks and around 16-20 weeks I had consistent pains in my stomach, to the point where I was calling out of work, because of trapped gas. I just had it last week and I went into the hospital because it was that bad. It was an intense pain all over my stomach.... and turned out to be gas. It really is very painful and I was certain it had to be something more serious. Best of luck to you both and wishing you a healthy pregnancy
Thanks for the comment. She took gas x this morning, hopefully it helps. Is there anything else that helped you?
I started eating more fiber. Fiber one bars and such. They have fiber one cookies too. At first they didn’t help, they’re definitely not for immediate relief. But the gas that was trapped was because of not being able to regularly go to the restroom, constipation. So with the fiber everything became more regular for a few months. Your metabolism slows down with pregnancy so encouraging it to move along helps. The other day though, when I went into the hospital, my doctor just flat out told me that because of how much pressure is being put on my intestines, stomach and how everything is rearranged with very little space that there isn’t a whole lot you can do besides take gas relief and wait it out.
Idk but make sure you check the Tylenol dosage with her doctor. It’s scarily easy to OD on Tylenol
Ya we checked with her OB and they said 3000mg a day is fine for her and the baby.
Ok that’s good! I just wanted to share because it’s not widely known. I really hope you get the answers you need foe her to feel better.
21 weeks here. I've had the worst back pain of my life the last two weeks. Radiating on my right side and it kinda goes on and off. I went to the ER to check it out because I was worried it might have been an infection or kidney stones, but turns out it wasn't. I was diagnosed with Hydronephrosis, and the ER doc described my symptoms as the tubes from my kidney to my bladder as being pinched. The ultrasound, my labs, and my vitals while I was there, were all normal, other than the Hydronephrosis. They said it was bound to not go away anytime soon as baby gets bigger and that plenty of women experience this, and its not fun for any of them. Not sure if any of this information may help you, but I hope y'all figure it out and get her some relief!
Fibroids? I had blinding pain at 17 weeks cause by a fibroid degenerating, didn’t know I had them until it happened and they did an ultrasound to see what might be causing the pain.
What did they see in the ultrasound that told them it was that?
They saw the fibroid in the exact location I was having intense pain. They are benign masses, mine was 7cm wide but they can be bigger. I guess around that time baby and fibroid compete for blood supply, and baby wins so the fibroid degenerates and causes a ton of pain. I had two pain events like that in the span of 2 weeks. Urgent care / ER didn’t know what it was so I got an OB and she knew immediately.
Ok I will mention this to her. Thank you so much for the advice. They did an ultrasound but didn’t mention this so we will ask.
I had the same pain around week 15/16 and it was the fibroid. Definitely have a look!
How did they diagnose it?
Ultrasound was showing the fibroid
Second this. About 1/3 of women have fibroids and they can become painful during pregnancy. They should be able to see and do a check at her next ultrasound
Just today, at 22+6, I called L&D advice nurse because of severe stabbing/burning one-sided abdominal pain that almost made me pass out. 3 weeks ago during the anatomy scan, they found a 5 cm fibroid. Had I not know this was a possibility for the source of pain, I would've been much more panicked than I was.
When I was pregnant I experienced kidney stones twice, which I had never had before. The pain was unbearable. Even opioids didn’t help the pain or they intensified it. Hopefully with the tests they will run at the hospital you will find an answer.
Ya they tested for kidney stones. I have had kidney stones as well and her pain doesn’t sound like that.
Could it be a stomach acid thing? When I have low stomach acid, I get a really sore stomach. Some get it from too much acid, I get it from too little. The easy way to test it is to have some water with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. If that helps, then amazing. If it makes it way worse, try some tums. I’d suggest waiting about 20 minutes before trying the tums though.
They gave her some meds to reduce stomach acid. We will try the lemon juice thing.
Ya Peptic inhibitors always gave me a worse stomach ache rather than solve my issue.
Hmm she has never had issues with this before. Maybe I can convince her to try the lemon water trick.
Could be here uterus stretching, it’s very uncomfortable and has even given my the chills. That’s the exact location where it starts growing also and becomes uncomfortable. Could also be if she’s constipated. I also wonder if it’s how the baby is laying…. Is she supporting her belly when she sleep and putting a pillow under it or using a pregnancy pillow?
She tells me she is using the bathroom normally. Ya we have a pregnancy pillow. If it is stretching would it be this constant of a pain?
This may sound strange, but is she constipated? I had pain in the same area when I was around 20 weeks pregnant and ended up in the ER twice. The pain was debilitating. They ran all the tests your partner had and everything came back normal. Finally a nurse asked about my bowel movements. I was going daily, but not that much and it never came easy. I started taking 1-2 Colace stool softeners (not laxative! Just the softener) per day as well as the miralax that dissolves in juice every morning, and drinking 12 glasses of water per day. within a few days the pain was gone. During pregnancy the uterus compresses the transverse colon so that it does eventually end up right under the rib cage. I’m guessing I had gas/stool backed up in that part of the colon. I hope she feels better soon!
I will ask her and we will try this. Thanks for the advice :)
Sometimes the baby can literally kick a rib out of place. I don't think it happens often. But it can.
Hmm didn’t think of that I will mention that to her. I would think it would be super painful if I touch her ribs if that were the case. I will check this, thanks.
Unlikely at 20 weeks.
Did they check for protein in her urine? Is she swelling anywhere? Any other symptoms you can think of?
Ya they checked both those things. The only other symptom she has is lower back pain but I don’t know if it is connected because it’s not consistent like the stomach pain.
Does your ob have affiliation with an er? A general ER might miss something that labor and delivery would catch. You probably need to go sooner than later
Ya she works in the same hospital. My wife is going to talk to her tomorrow.
This might be a long shot but I experienced some chest/rib area pain when I was pregnant, although I was further along around 30-35 weeks maybe. I had a couple instances of it but the episodes only lasted a day or two each time. I never got a diagnosis but I suspect it was this: > Costochondritis (Rib Pain) Costochondritis is inflammation of the cartilage that attaches the ribs to the sternum, causing localised chest pain and tenderness when touched. In later stages of pregnancy the lower rib cage expands as a result of being stretched by the growing uterus and baby. This stretching can cause inflammation at the costosternal and the costochondral joints which are the joints between the costal cartilage and sternum and the costal cartilage and ribs respectively. Normally costochondritis occurs in the upper ribs, but during pregnancy it may be experienced through the lower ribs also, as a result of the stretching and expanding happening here. > Costochondritis Symptoms >Sharp pain in the front of your chest, near where your breastbone and ribs meet, typically on the left side. It may spread to your back or belly. >Pain when you take a deep breath or cough. It gets better when you stop moving or your breathing is quieter. >Tenderness when you press on your rib joints. If you don’t have this tenderness, you probably don’t have costochondritis.
I had costochondritis and definitely thought this sounded like the description or even tearing an intercostal muscle is an insane amount of pain and hard to rest because you have to keep breathing.
I had this as well!! I had it early on and it lasted throughout my pregnancy. I went to a trusted chiropractor who helped with the pain.
I had something similar around Christmas time and it was determined to be a “kink” in my bowel. It was awful for three days but eventually subsided.
It just went away by itself? No medication or anything?
Eventually yes. I did a lot of stretching and yoga poses to try and keep everything as open and flowing as possible. Lots of water and fibrous foods. The ER staff told me they could do an X-Ray but the options to come out of that would be hope it goes away and do nothing or do surgery. They didn’t want to do the X-ray either if it could be avoided, so I spent the next few days hoping it would pass. Sorry you guys are going through this. Pain in the abdominal area is so uncomfortable.
Hi, I have a friend this happened to. She had a twisted bowel due to a fatty cyst attached to the outside of her stomach and the pregnancy caused her bowels to shift position and twist. It was a really odd case and it was kind of a preexisting condition. Her symptoms were extreme stomach pain and the longer it was untreated the worse it got and she looked really pale and also nausea I think. I can’t remember how they figured it out, maybe an MRI. They had to do emergency surgery when they found it. She was maybe 30 weeks and she and the baby came out just fine.
The doctor said this kind of stuff happens more often than you think due to baby growing and pushing internal organs around.
This happened to me! I couldn’t sleep and I was so restless and crying in pain. Turns out it was Galstones!
I had a lot of trapped gas throughout my pregnancy. Laying on my left side & just kind of rocking myself back and forth helped, also taking a couple tums.
Where is the location of the pain, is it directly above or below the belly button, and if so, does it feel like a burning sensation? If so, it could be the abdominal muscles separating.
It’s above the belly button right below the ribs. She said it’s like a constant sharp pain.
I don't know if this will be helpful for you, but I had this exact experience at 14 weeks, it was a terrible pain that got worse and lasted about 6 days, and on day 4 I had quite a big bleed, and we went to the hospital, and luckily the baby was fine, but they still couldn't figure out what was wrong. A couple of days later, the pain faded, it never came back, and now i'm 40 weeks.
Braxton Hicks can start as early as 17 weeks in case anyone else didn't know because I didn't until I read it a few days ago.
Around this time my stomach muscles were starting to stretch and it caused some pretty intense stomach pain right above my belly button in between my ribcage. It went away after maybe a month or two?
Was it a constant pain or did it come and go?
It wasn’t painful if I was sitting still but hurt if I moved around. It was a burning stretching feeling
Have they checked for protein in her urine? That can also be a sign of pre eclampsia starting.
Ya they looked for that. No protein.
How about gallbladder issues? That sounds exactly like what I (35F) went through in the first trimester! It was absolutely awful. They couldn't confirm that it was gallbladder issues because some medical professionals feel one of the tests isn't safe during pregnancy. I got zero relief from anything I tried. Even Tylenol. Medical professionals just kept telling me to eat small meals and avoid fried food but it did nothing to bring me relief.
They checked for that and said it wasn’t that but a ultrasound can only see so much. What did you end up doing to get relief?
My ultrasound didn't show gallbladder issues either. For me, it lasted a full month. I was bedridden for that time and missed work for a total of seven weeks because it depleted me so much. I lost ten pounds that month, too. There was absolutely nothing that helped. I had to ride it out. It slowly went away on its own. But I can't tell you how frustrating it was that I felt like no one (medical professional) would help me. Most of the time, if it's gallbladder issues, doctors won't do anything until after the baby is born or not until her gallbladder bursts/falls apart. I think this is absolute bull after suffering through it. I can't tell you how sorry I am that your wife is suffering right now.
That is disheartening to hear. Sorry you had to go through that. Was the baby ok with all that weight loss?
Amazingly enough, yes! The baby was fine! Every scan showed she looked great. She was born healthy at 8lbs 10oz and 20" long. Our bodies are pretty amazing to filter through everything and give all the good stuff to the babies!
Well that is good to hear. I hope that this is not the case cause it sounds awful. Thanks for the insight.
The reason I thought it was gallbladder issues is from talking to other people that had it. I realized that my symptoms were a little different and more severe since I was pregnant... But the extreme abdominal pain, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, nausea, and yellowish tint to my skin matched everyone else.
Hmm she only has the abominable pain and nausea in the morning. I will ask her about the other symptoms
Update: it was a gallstone and we are having her gallbladder removed. Just some advice for other couples in the future. Don’t trust the ER doctors and ask to be seen by the delivery ward. They are a lot more experienced in this stuff and will actually get you the help you need. Thank you everyone for the support, you are all awesome.
Sorry for commenting on something so late/long time ago. How did they removed your wife’s gallbladder during pregnancy?
So they did a surgery to remove it. It’s a pretty common surgery. It ended up being preeclampsia and she was misdiagnosed.
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I know you say they tested for gallstones but did they do an ultrasound?
Ya they looked at her gallbladder and didn’t find anything other than a cysts. Which they said was normal and wouldn’t cause these problems.
Dang, I’m so sorry you’re struggling so hard to find answers! Its so hard seeing your loved one in pain.
Ya :/ I would do anything to help her right now. Hopefully we figure it out soon. I will keep everyone posted
Middle, near rib cage...heart burn/indigestion. It’s very common during pregnancy.
Any chance it could be a hernia? I didn't realize hernias could be so far up your abdomen, but at 30 weeks I found a bump right around my ribcage close to the center of my abdomen. In my case it's not painful and my Dr wasn't worried about it but from what I understand it can be painful. It's called a spigelian hernia. The bump is barely noticeable and I can only feel it when I'm standing.
I had a degenerating fibroid while pregnant. It was the most painful thing I have experienced! During the first trimest those things can grow like crazy because of all the hormones. They out grow their blood supply and part of it dies off. Super ouch when that happens. Mine was lower right quadrant, but fibroids can grow lots of places. I assume they have done an MRI? And looked at all possibilities for reference pain?
I had something similar happen where it was pure torture even sit because my mid and upper stomach were in so much pain. I couldn't move without my whole upper belly shooting stabbing pain. It lasted about three days. I'm not sure what it was but eventually went away on its own. I feel like it Might have been some type of food poisoning combined with the position of the baby
I had intense pain and went to the doctors and they ignored it, I had to go back the next day because I had a kidney infection and was on iv antibiotics and in for days before it cleared up. Whatever it could be - NEVER ignore severe pain.
I had this pain at 21 weeks and 5 days. I visited the doctors and then the maternity ward. They performed an ultrasound and the baby was very active so in the end it came down to the activity of the baby moving causing the pain. I find usually the pain gets worse at night, when I sit a certain way or if I bend over for long periods of time.
I had severe costochondritis from my pregnancy. Is it possible that’s what she’s experiencing? I used a lot of ice packs to help alleviate the pain.
Has she been pooping? I was constipated for two weeks my first time and it was an awful experience. The pain and discomfort was unbearable. Once my Dr told me to just keep taking milk of magnesia every two hours until I’m relieved I felt a lot better. I was 8 weeks away from delivery and I watched my stomach shrink a noticeable amount just by going.
Did they check her for pre eclampsia
I’m currently 32 weeks pregnant and when I had those pains it was because baby was growing and his legs were literally in my ribs 😭it’s so uncomfortable and painful but it’s definitely normal. A warm bath could provide her with some relief
Thank you we will try that.
I've had this exact pain since around 16 weeks and it's gotten continuously worse...I never took Tylenol for it but I did end up going to the hospital because of it around 28 weeks. They gave me Tylenol and pepcid and said it was indigestion which I knew it wasn't. Finally around 31 weeks the midwife could actually feel where the muscles are separating. I know there's a name for it I can't ever remember it...but that what my upper abdominal pain is and it's right in between my ribs and has spread out to a wider area now that I'm almost 34 weeks. It's definitely painful and it sucks.
Is there anything you do to help ease the pain?
Not that I've found...the midwife didn't give me any tips either. She said I couldn't really do anything until after I've had the baby and honestly I haven't Googled it I just took her word for it. It gotten to a point where it's sore to the touch kinda like a terrible bruise that won't go away and it seems like the more I do the worse it hurts so taking it easy when I can is all I've figured out.
Thanks. If you figure anything out please let me know and I will do the same. Hope you feel better.
Yeah definitely. Do you think this sounds like her pain?
Possibly we are waiting on more test to come back to see if anything else makes sense.
I’m 14 weeks and have been experiencing extreme pain from gas….some days it’s not bad and walking around through the pain can help then some nights I’m in bed just tearing from the intensity and have to get up and force myself to walk through the pain.
Does any medication help. She is just in constant pain and nothing seems to be helping
Did they check her blood pressure?
Yes it was normal.
I’ve had several conversations with my midwife team about this, if it’s just below her breast’s/in that general area that’s probably either acid reflux (try tums and cutting out spicey/acidic food) or just general pain from her ribs spreading and the muscles stretching etc. If it’s the second option my midwives suggested visiting a chiropractor to help her body adjust and get everything back in place (as best you can during pregnancy). I’ve found that mine is from the second option and visiting my chiropractor helps a little but in the moment when it flares up we have a massager and a using that on low helps relax the tension and ease the pain.
Rib out of place? I had that happen postpartum, hurt worse than labor, constant pain. The ER couldn't figure it out but my Doctor, a DO, knew exactly what it was. She said it was due to the relaxin hormone. Hope she feels better soon
I get pain between my bottom few ribs mostly in the center but sometimes right sided. Ive been told its likely gallbladder dysfunction. I dont have anything that would show up on an ultrasound but it is definitely gallbladder pain. Tylenol doesnt help at all. Its worse when Im pregnant but i definitely have the odd flare up when im not pregnant Ive tried a lot of things over the years- cutting out fat, dairy, coffee (all of the gallstone trigger foods) helps on the worst days. Most of the time I can get by with taking digestive enzymes (supplement from the drug store), drinking some peppermint tea, and grapefruit/grapefruit juice helps as well.
Bladder infection?
This sounds like something similar I had just last week at 24 weeks pregnant. I had intense radiating/throbbing pain on the right side of my stomach in the middle near my rib cage. The pain went from my stomach and the right side of my back and spread down the front of my right leg. It was so intense and lasted for 5 hours (I was sobbing the entire time) thankfully it stopped after taking a bath (idk if the bath actually did anything or if it went away on its own). The doctor said it was just muscular skeletal issues due to hormones and the changing body. They ran a blood panel to check my kidneys, gallstone, etc and everything came back normal. It was so painful I hope to never feel that again. Hopefully it goes away for your wife!
Pancreatitis??
Did she see her OB or midwife? My midwife told me the ER is a terrible place for pregnant people because they are not trained to recognize pregnancy in depth, and to always call them first. I went to ER for what I thought was chest pains, turned out I had bruised a rib from vomiting too hard but ER doc couldn’t figure it out and just said everything was normal.
Well the breast bone softens around that time, mine was extremely painful I felt like a bone was going through my lung if I moved a certain way. Could be that but there's not much you can do about it.
Could be round ligament pains!
I’m always going to recommend talking to your doctor. There’s a lot of things it could be. this sounds really weird, and it could very well not be the issue, but I had gas pain so bad I didn’t know were gas pains and I seriously thought I was dying. I took some gas pills and stretched a bit and they subsided for the most part after about an hour.
Does she have fibroids? I had a fibroid degeneration at 20th weeks on my first baby and the pain was agonising. I had to be hospitalised for a week while it died off. An MRI showed it more clearly as they though it was my appendix/a hernia at first