I started having severe pain in my lower back and left side abdomen just under my bottom rib, should my doctor do other tests?

I am a 69 year old male. 19 days ago today just out of the nowhere I started having severe pain in my lower back and left side abdomen just under my bottom rib. That pain lasted all day but the following day was just like it never happened. Then the third day was back to the same pain again then the fourth day nothing. This pain cycle repeated several times then after 8 or 9 days I started noticing a black tarry stool. There was never any fever and no constipation and only very mild softening of stool during the whole time.The pain episodes were diminishing and the tarry stool was looking normal in about 2 weeks but then I started noticing a lot of mucous surrounding my stool. I had been busy on a work project this whole time and had put off a doctor visit until the 16th day. I called my doctor’s office and went in that day. The doctor did urinalysis, stool test for blood and did bloodwork to check for infection, etc. All these tests came back normal so he scheduled a CT scan for the following morning and the ct scan also came back normal. The doctor put me on ciprofloxan 500mg twice a day and metronidazole 500mg 3 times a day. I had a colonoscopy 2 years ago and 3 polyps were removed.
This obviously was/is a GI issue but how could all this have taken place and yet leave no traceable evidence? Should my doctor do other tests or should I just consider this like a health hiccup and forget it?



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Ahmed Fawzy
12:11 am

Hi
I recommend doing an endoscopy to your upper gastrointestinal tracks, it seems you had a peptic or duodenal ulcer that healed, I think you can ignore the whole thing
Good luck

Ayman Darrag
2:07 am

Hi.
In my opinion , if all of these tests (CT ,stool,urine) came back normal, this can exclude any major problem, so it can be gastroenteritis, and or IBS , so if you did not develop other symptoms like nausea,vomiting,blood proved in stool , then stay assured it’s nothing bad and get your medical treatment.

Masr Fawzy
6:29 am

Are you having now any pain anywhere?
Do you have fever?
Are you loosing any weight?

I don’t see you do have something serious , and no need for further tests, however if the pain is affecting your daily life or bloody stool or started loosing weight , do endoscopy and also consult an gastroenterologist

May be it’s just irritable bowel syndrome and spastic colon that causes you the pain

Dr.Honey Arora
2:30 pm

Hi..
It does not look serious as your investigations are all normal..
Continue with the management as advised by your Physician..

Hope you get well soon..

Regards..