Hello everyone,

While I know only a doctor can tell me for sure whether I have an ulcer, I'm first trying to gather information about it. I have a knack of going into the doctor stating I have one thing, but either have nothing wrong with me or it's a totally different problem. I'd really like to get some person-to-person feedback on the subject.

First off, I googled ulcers and read about symptoms and such. But while half the symptoms fit me, there is the other half that doesn't. For example, one of the symptoms I see constantly listed is a heartburn feeling. While this may sound ridiculous, I have no idea if I'm experiencing a heartburn feeling. Since reading about ulcers, I said no, but then I stopped and wondered if maybe I am, but am just not aware of it.

I don't want to get long-winded, but here's what I've been experiencing... For several months now I've been having daily pain. Sometimes it's constant and throughout the day, but other times it'll come and then disappear. For a while I thought it was just PMS, because this is where most times the pain is located. The pain never seems to be higher than my hips and stretches from one side of my body straight across to the other. Hence, why I was thinking feminine issues.

However, there are also many, many mornings I wake up and I experience terrible stomach aches. I get annoyed because I haven't even eaten anything yet to make me get a stomach ache. And when I eventually eat, that does nothing for the pain. These stomach aches oftentimes happen for no apparent reason. I'll be fine one minute, then in pain the next.

These are the main things I've been experiencing, with no real reason why it's happening. The thing is, what's really making me wonder is what happened on Saturday. I had to go to a picnic and left in the early part of the morning. I was experiencing the pain I described above, near my hips area. I didn't pay much attention to it at first and was able to somewhat forget about it for the next two hours. Unfortunately, when I got home, it was just as painful, if not more painful. I wound up laying around for a few hours, which did nothing for the pain. It eventually went away, but not before I spend half the day in pain.

The one thing I did notice was this: My mother and I were babysitting my sister's two kids. I notice when I entered into physical activity with them, the pain subsided. But the minute I would sit and rest, it would flare up again.

So after hearing these extensive details, does anyone have any thoughts? Like I said, I'm sure I should just go to the doctor and figure it out, but here's my dilemma. Because the pain I'm having is so low by the hip area and where cramps usually occur, I'm torn as to whether to see an internist or the gynecologist. I keep asking myself, is this an ulcer issue or a feminine issue?

One very last thing. I did read about looking in stool to see if there's blood in the case of an bleeding ulcer. I haven't done this because I'm visually impaired, thus am unable to look. I can ask a family member, but want to have more than an inkling of a ulcer/bleeding ulcer before I make someone do this for me.

Like I say, any thoughts on the matter would be welcome.

Natalie

I'm almost never right when I try to self-diagnose! Honestly, I think you should just head off to the dr and describe your symptoms. I'd start with your primary/internist, who can then tell you if they think it's a gyno problem.

As for an ulcer -- my stepmom has suffered from them. She had fiery pain from her stomach up her esophagus. (I believe that's actually what heartburn is).

Does the pain go away if you take tums or malax or something? My stepmom used to swig the stuff straight from the bottle.

I think gallbladder