abdominal pain runners
My son has abdominal pain in his left side. What could it be?
He is 19 years old and very fit – a runner. He described the pain as located behind the ribs and stomach on the left side. The doctor he saw put him on prevacid, thinking it was stress related, stomach acid related. My son doesn’t feel like this is what it is. He has never had heartburn in his life. After taking prevacid for two weeks, the pain is worse. At the follow up appointment the doctor sent him home and wants to give it more time to see if it will “run it’s course.”
What could be causing the pain, and what can he do?
Now his pain has worsened and they are doing a ct scan today to see what they can find. I wish I could be with him!
It would be gas but the Prevacid would/should have taken care of this. When you say left side I am wondering whether it is his spleen or part of the pancreas. Does your son get increased pain just as he is finishing eating? A few years back my nephew got crossed checked from behind and smashed up against the boards and ruptured his spleen while playing hockey. He was able to keep his spleen without surgical intervention but when he ate he was in a lot pain as though the expanding of his stomach was pushing against the swollen spleen. This lasted for a few weeks and he had to remain in the hospital until the majority of the swelling came down.
Is it possible that your son has hurt himself, pushed up against a wall, or something else and has forgotten about it?
A spleen can rupture from a fall and you don’t necessarily have to fall directly on it for it to happen. A friend of mine, her father fell last year on the ice and he had unexplained pain and it turned out to be a ruptured spleen.
Good luck to your son, I hope everything works out okay.
Planks
