Can hernia cause mild lower right abdominal pain along with nausea and vomiting?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 27-year-old male, and I weigh 200 lbs. I do not smoke. I exercise and eat fairly healthily. Lately, I have been eating an extremely high-fiber diet with a lot of beans or psyllium husk and oatmeal. I have had mild lower right abdominal pain for a couple of weeks now. I thought it was a hernia, as I recently started exercising. My doctor suggested it was an abdominal strain. Recently, I had some nausea and bloating. I went to urgent care yesterday. They tested for appendicitis although I did not have too much pain on touch. My gallbladder is slightly sensitive to the touch. I have high SGPT (ALT) levels of 49 (U/L). Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have reviewed the details and the attached lab reports (attachment removed to protect the patient's identity) thoroughly. I agree with your doctor, that it is likely a muscle strain. Your blood reports are within normal limits, except ALT (alanine transaminase), which is just above the upper limit of the normal. It is possible, that this is because of fat-related inflammation of the liver, due to your higher weight and body mass index. This does not necessitate any treatment other than weight reduction. It is also not uncommon to have gas-related pain, which too secondary to being overweight and having slow bowel transit causing excessive gas production. Multivitamins usually worsen the gas symptoms, since your hemoglobin is within normal limits and you eating a quite healthy diet, I suggest that you can stop it taking them. Turmeric powder if taken alone, or mixed with any liquid, can also cause gut-related upsets. I generally do not suggest such things except as used as add-on ingredients in your food. Psyllium is good, that you can take. You can apply an analgesic cream over the area of pain and can take some painkillers for a very short duration of time, such as tab Brexit (Piroxicam) 20 mg as per need to reduce pain. Avoid stretching exercises, since that can cause worsening of the pain, and take rest for a few days and see if that pain goes away.

Thank you.