Sharp twangs on lower right side of abdomen


(Diane)

I'm 35 years old and for about the last 3 months have been suffering with sharp twangs of pain in my lower right side of stomach.

Sometimes this pain travels to my right hip and lower back.

The pain is not constantly there more like shooting stabbing type pains.

My periods are as regular as clock work and I have no other symptoms....any advice on what this would be much appreciated.


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Dear Diane,

The pain you described here - sharp twangs on lower right side of abdomen or stomach, that comes on and off and sometime spreads to your lower back and hip, sounds more like a pain arising from your right ovary.

Have you noticed a correlation with any time of the month? Does it seem to occur more about two weeks into your period? There is a condition called Mittleschmerz or Mid-cycle pain that could bring about such pain. This condition though tends to occur more in teenagers, though can occur at any point in a woman of childbearing age.

Another possibility of such a pain that causes on and off sharp "twangs" that could be on going for the length of time in the abdomen could be from an adhesion. Have you had any surgical operation in your abdomen? Appendectomy or maybe cesarean section? Scars formed after the wound inside your abdomen has healed, could cause the surface of an organ or organs in your abdominal cavity to stick to the wall of the abdomen, causing occasional dragging sensation and pain.

The good news is that none of these two conditions would cause you any significant or serious problem.

If the pain persists or worsening, please be sure to see your doctor. You may need to have an abdominal and pelvic ultrasound scan done to exclude ovarian problem.

We hope this helps. We also hope this pain resolves soonest. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any further query in the future as we wish you the very best.

Good Health To You,

Dr Omatseye Edema MD MSc MRCGP CCFP DRCOG
Family Physician, Emergency Medicine Practitioner and WebMD
Abdopain.com.

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Jul 08, 2016
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starstarstarstarstar 		That The Pain Comes On 10 - 14 Days Before Peroid Makes Mid-cycle Pain Most Likely
by: O. Edema MD

Hi Diane,

That's right. That the pain is occurring 10 to 14 days before your period is due, tells me that it is most likely due to mid-cycle pain.

An ultrasound may show nothing especially if done outside those times. The pain arises not from the ovary per see, but from the small amount of blood that comes from the release of the egg (ovum) from the ovary. This blood sticks to the inner wall of the abdomen, causes irritation and those short lasting "twangs" of pain.

At best, the ultrasound would show small amount of "free fluid" and perhaps a few follicles. I do not expect a lot to be seen.

Please Diane, if you can, do not hesitate to update us here on what was found on ultrasound scan and how things went.

Thank you for coming back to update us and we look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Until then, please keep well.
Jul 02, 2016
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starstarstarstarstar 		Twangs
by: Diane

No I've not had any surgery etc on my abdomen,the pain seems to happen approx 10-14 days before my period is due and is not constantly there it may twang a few times then ease off for a few hours then start again...I've been to my gp and he's arranging a pelvic scan so hopefully will find out soon what's causing this pain

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