Question: two days ago, i felt like someone kicked me in the lower left quadrant of my back. i also realized that i hadn't had a bowel movement in four days (usually daily for me). i tried pain meds for my back pain and laxatives and stool softeners and drank mylanta...but nothing helped. today i went to urgent care, they did a stomach and a hip X-ray, and said that my left intestine was really backed up, and sent me home to drink a lot of liquids and a bottle of magnesium citrate. let's hope that stops the pain. however, while looking at the X-rays, the nurse noticed six white dots on my hip bone -- she said they looked like "white springs" to her and asked if i'd had surgery, which i had not. i did have my first colonosopy three months ago -- but all was fine. when i was a child, i had a spastic colon (50 yrs ago). a few years ago, i had a mass in my lung and was diagnosed with sarcoidosis (i'm a 60-yr-old white male). all is ok now except that i use an inhaler twice a day. i was also recently told that i now have osteoarthritis. so that gives you all the details that might be pertinent. my overall question is: what are the white spots on my hip X-ray (the nurse who saw me said she'd never seen that before)? and since the X-ray spots are on the same side as the blocked left intestine, is it a coincidence that both things showed up at the same time or is there a connection? i've read that the spots could simply be calcium buildups...and i've read that they could be proof of bone cancer (especially since previous X-rays showed no spots and this one showed 6+ spots). what's your take...and what should be my next step? thanks for any help/guidance! - XXXXXXX