Wow this whole abdominal migraine thing sure answers a question about stomach pain I had as a kid 
Just tossing out a zebra that’s probably fairly unlikely but certainly a tricky thing: it’s possible to have endometriosis in all sorts of weird spots, including your diaphragm. If there’s any correlation to your period & when you have these episodes, it might be something to consider.
Simkie makes a very good point about the possibility of endometriosis outside the uterus or other hormone / period cycle issues
No correlation to any part of my cycle, BUT I did begin hormonal birth control (pill) around the time this started. My OBGYN has insisted repeatedly it has nothing to do with it, but I have my suspicions. I will bring this up with my GP tomorrow and get her opinion, thank you!
Look up the BCP you are on. Bloating , nausea and abdominal pain are common side effects of some BCP.
If it comes with iron tabs, for sure don’t take those. Don’t take them on empty stomach, that always made me nauseous
I recently had (another) surgery to excise endometriosis and it had been quite some time since the last one, so I took a good hard look at the literature.
Maybe I shouldn’t’ve been surprised, but…holy shit, there’s so little we know about women’s health. And a significant amount of the research that’s being done is outside of the US.
Doctors really like to present information or answer questions as if we know everything. We reeeeeeeally do not, especially when it comes to things unique to women.
If this started with your birth control, I’d consider that a waving red flag. Is going to something non hormonal an option, just to see what happens?
Simkie are you familiar with the books by Mary Roach? In her book “Bonk” she touches on how underfunded research is on reproduction, genitalia, and sexuality. The underfunding and lack of support for reproduction alone, profoundly effects half the population for the majority of their life.
also you do not have to talk to a doctor about the side effect of medications you are taking. TALK TO A PHARMACIST!!! this is their training and they have access to all the recent data and the drug makers information.
Doctors are not always up on all the side effects of medications, They may be more familiar of what THEIR patients have experienced but not what all the SEs can be.
My best friend’s doctor insisted that her birth control pill was not the cause of her high blood pressure. She was thin, fit and ate properly and on multiple drugs to control her high blood pressure. After going off the pill her blood pressure decreased to the point where she no longer needs any BP meds. Doctor’s don’t know everything, even if they think they do.
I’ve read some of her stuff but not this one, I really should! I enjoy that sort of thing 
Another good one in that genre and subject is Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything
It kind of blew my mind how recent the discovery of hormones is. We haven’t even known about their very existence for very long! 
Hormonal birth control can really aggravate migraines.
There are absolutely women who discontinue hormonal birth control because the resulting migraines are untenable.
If the abdominal pain is indeed abdominal migraine, the hormonal birth control is likely to be an aggravating factor.
And, I think it’s entirely possible that the hormonal birth control could be a factor in the abdominal pain regardless of whether it is, or is not, a migraine.
exactly. The discovery of Estrogen is less than 100 years old. Any further discovery of its function and regulation is even younger. Circle back to how underfunded research is around the subject of hormones.
OP I hope you are on your way to figuring out your issue and its management
I should clarify that working in healthcare has made me less confident in providers, not more, as sad as that is. I am the last person to take what a provider tells me as gospel, and I tell my own patients they should be their own advocates and they know themselves best. Obviously yes, you take in to account what the person who studied for years and has mountains of experience says but…all healthcare providers are not created equal.
I did bring up a possible hormonal connection to my GP. In her opinion, she said it’s absolutely possible and not something she’d rule out but due to the infrequency of my symptoms it’s not top of her list so we’ll keep it as something to look at if more likely things don’t pan out.
She conferred with my gastroenterologist, and they’d both like me to try 90 days of omeprazole. I’m to keep a daily log of symptoms if any and we’ll reevaluate at the end of that period. I’m not thrilled about that long on omeprazole due to the possible side effects but, we have to figure this out.
If nothing changes, gallbladder and hormones are on the table. Apparently up to 80% of women who are symptomatic but have completely normal testing on ultrasound/HIDA scan/bloodwork are still found to have highly diseased gallbladders when surgery is performed. Go figure.
I’m so sorry you feel so lousy—I also have some chronic gastro issues and it’s exhausting. I didn’t see if you’ve been tested for H Pylori, that was/is a huge problem for me. Sclerosing mesentery can also be painful, and it can be very difficult to find, let alone treat. We’re still working on that tbh. And, lastly I hope you’re getting some relief by now.
I had similar off and on pain for years. All tests came back normal. Since I have lupus, which can cause inflammation in all kinds of places, the gastro finally decided to have the gallbladder out.
The surgeon said it was only mildly inflamed. He didn’t think it was bad enough to have caused the pain, but the pain went away after the surgery.
A Gallbladder ejection fraction of 80% is what is wrong with you. Anything over 60% is Hyperkinetic Gallbladder disease . Your PCP is very mistaken about GI disorders and you need to see a GI surgeon for an opinion and they will probably need another HIDA scan done at a University hospital.
I sent you a PM with more data.
Do not take NSAIDS and no pill will make your feel better if the gallbladder is your only problem. Pepcid is a good replacement for Zantac,
BYW many GI specialist also do not catch the hyperkinetic gallbladder, mine was diagnosed by using Up To Date( search words functional gallbladder disease) and verified by specialist at Duke Medical center.
Another test you haven’t had is a fecal Pancreatic exocrine Insufficiency and if you have that along with your abnormal EJ of course you feel ill.
Nocturnal pain even waking you from sleep is classic symptom. As one of my best GI Doc’s said"don’t let anyone push you to the shoulder" .
Really don’t give up I had to findi my answers after testing “normal” and then having them confirmed. by the “real” specialist.
Pancreatitis can be triggered by egg yolks (high fat).
Well I will chime in with weird symptoms. I get terrible headaches followed by nausea and occasionally vomiting. So far Tylenol seems to help. But these don’t occur often enough to really pinpoint a cause.
I do have gastroparesis and some crazy GI issues. Sometimes I have gastric dumping and that is even worse because my blood sugar goes crazy. So far I make sure to exercise on an empty stomach to avoid dumping but I don’t really know that exercise will cause gastric dumping? It could be the dumping is just random, but again it doesn’t happen often enough to really track.
Now I’m more worried about my overwhelming thirst when outside in hot weather. I start getting light headed and dizzy. Need to go get more blood work but I’m betting it will be normal as always.
I saw this thread got revived and thought I’d update you on my situation in case it can help. I was listening to a podcast and the guest (a doctor) said that if you don’t poop every day you’re constipated and should consider eating more fiber, well I go like 2-3x per week. Also a few of my friends had recently started taking psyllium husk for weight loss too so I figured why not, it might help. Lo and behold it works!! I don’t like drinking things besides water so I take 3-4 capsules in the morning and sometimes 2 mid afternoon if I feel I need it and my stomach pain is gone! Side bonus hunger is no longer painful (I thought that was normal…) it’s just mildly unpleasant and without consciously trying I am slowly losing weight as I no longer fear being a little hungry
Glad you have an answer and are feeling better. Thanks for the update.
I’ve had very severe gut pain for years that comes and goes, but after I got COVID in 2022, I was in such pain I couldn’t get out of bed to go to the ER. What finally has made a difference is that my new(er) gastroenterologist prescribed Levsin. I was on it for maybe 9 months (day and then night, then only night, then not at all), and the COVID gut pain finally went away, and I have it on hand now should I ever feel that awful pain coming on.
It’s an older medication, been around for a long time, and is cheap. So far as I know, no side effects, it’s easily tolerated, and quiets internal cramping that feels like icy daggers in less than 5 minutes.
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