abdominal pain on my right side near my belly button

by Emma
(Essex )

I have had abdominal pain on my right side near my belly button for over a year

I have had my gallbladder removed 18 months ago
I had an endoscopy done in April 2011 and they could not find anything wrong.
I get very bad heartburn and acid and pain on my right side by my rib cage which at times is very painful
I suffer with bloating too.

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Dear Emma,

I can only imagine what it is like to live with abdominal pain for months and more.

Roughly how old are you, Emma? Does this pain tend to be worse after eating? Have you lost any weight during this period of time? What is your appetite like? What about your stool colour? Does your stool float in the toilet bowl? Are you the "type A" person who is a "goal-getter" (or go-getter)? Is there any body in the family with history of stomach or duodenal ulcer? What about irritable bowel syndrome?

You see, the symptoms you've described suggests that you may be suffering with a form of excessive acid production or what is often referred to as peptic ulcer. Peptic ulcer, can also occur else where apart from in the stomach and duodenum. Some people do develop ulcer in the small intestine, and some others in a small pouch of bowel called Merkel's diverticulum that is found in two percent of the general population.
If the last were to be the case, this could cause acid symptoms on the lower right abdomen.

The truth is that it may be difficult to put one's finger on exactly what might be causing your "abdominal pain on my right side near my belly button". You can work with your GP to continue to explore the possibilities, while you get some medications to help.

Omeprazole, cocodamol and perhaps amitriptylline in any combination might help. Are you already on any of these medications?

Please ensure you get regular, at least yearly review of your abdominal pain symptoms, just to be sure that nothing potentially serious is missed.

Thank you for using our free online resource and please kindly update us on how things went if you can.

Best Wishes.

Dr Edema
Abdopain.com