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Acute Sporadic Episodes of Severe Abdominal Pain
Following is my case, please see if anyone can help or relate:
I randomly get "periodic episodes" of severe stomach pains that occur roughly about 2-3 months apart, almost always a few hours (anywhere from 1-4) hours of having a dinner (that is, almost all episodes occur at night time right before or at about bed time); each generally lasting 7-9 hours on the average. There have been a few shorter episodes and a few much longer, with differing intensities but generally a typical episode on the pain scale level of 1-10, 10 being worst, starts at about level 1-4 with peaking at about pain level 7-9 for the most part of an episode and then suddenly diminshing after about 6-7 hours of severe duration.
Note, the pattern of each episode is almost always about the same from start to finish - a sensation (kinda "feel like") of some heaviness in the stomach, then gradual increase in pain in abdominal area (about half an hour to an hour after that "heavy feeling"), which then quickly shots up to a severe pain scale level 7-9 that would last most through the night and then eventually resolving on its own after about 5-8 hours of peaking.
During a typical episode what I experience, almost always in the same order of occurrence: (1) A feeling that an episode is about to happen, a few minutes to about half an hour right before it actually starts - (this is important to mention because this is an onset of an episode where my body alerts me to stop intaking any food/drinks of any sort; howeveer, this initial stage is also full of anxiety and mental pressure with an unpleasant "sixth sensation" of a sort, if you will, that I am about to start facing yet another night of restlessness; (2) A mild to severe pressure in stomach and general abdominal area, lasting for a few minutes to about half an hour, that would signal positive that the episode has now begun; (3) a wave of cyclical/sinusoidal pain wave that suddenly increases in intensity from severe to extreme; typical time duration for each sinusoidal pain-wave lasts about a 1-2 minutes duration each, a low-peak-low acute cycle of sharp stabbing/burning sensation and intense pressure in the general mid-abdominal area, lasting about 5-7 hours; (4) during the peak pain hours my stomach muscles/wall may harden several times for 5-10 minutes for each time; I may lay down, get up, kneel, crouch, fold in fetal position, walk, pace, rub/massage my tummy, and try to use toilet to allow me pass gas/stool or throw up to help lower the pain and to get some relief from constant churning going on in my belly; (5) a feeling of chill/cold occurs during the early hours of an episode, followed by mild to severe dryness in mouth, that eventually is followed by a bit of nausea and/or mild-to-severe burbs upon which I "make" myself to vomit that often yields positive in throwing up of whatever may had been leftover inside the stomach by then; (6) the pain generally peaks out after 5-6 hours of acute/sharpness in severity, eventually subdueing itself almost suddenly; (7) I finally able to go to sleep after about 6-8 hours of intense pain.
I am generally so tired and full of fatigue towards the end of each episode that I fall asleep in no time and wake up in the morning all fine as if nothing ever happened - with no pain or any signs of it! Apart from being tired the morning after and having to cope with general fatigue throughout the next day due to the restlessness night, I am able to resume all functions just as normal like no problem - that is, normal eating and normal bowel movements!
I must state, during these episode, I do not have any fever (despite feeling chills/cold), headache, backache, diarrhea, blood in stool/vomit or anything else of that sort. I make myself to go to the bathroom several times during an episode to see if that would help and I am able to go with normal bowel movement (while the pain in the belly is still going on) and pass normal stool - with no extraordinary smell, blood or any abnormal discoloration - suggesting that the issue is not with my large intestine (colon). I strongly suspect that this whole thing occurs and is confined to my small intestine. However, no doctor, gastrointestinal specialist, and even expert surgeons have been able to diagnose or detect any problem with any of my organs or digestive tract.
I have had all sorts of blood and stool tests, ultrasounds, x-rays, colonoscopies, endoscopies, barium swallows, tests at the best-of-the-best hospitals and by the best-of-the-best specialists in my area but, alas, yet all to none avail. I do have insurance despite of which it has still cost me several thousand dollars in deductables.
I have had tried maintaining a food diary to isolate if there may be an issue with my diet, an unknown food borne allergy or malabsorptions, but, that too had not been helpful except to suggestively (but not conclusively) suspecting some ingredients such as certain fruits and veggies, etc, that perhaps may be the culprits. However, none of those suspected food items can be positively identified to be the actual culprits because some episodes had occurred even in absence of the suspected ingredients!
As a subject for a case-study: I am (otherwise) a healthy adult male with healthy lifestyle and normal dietary habits. I don't smoke, don't drink, nor eat/abuse junk/fast food nor go on eating binges. My preferred choice of drink is simply plain cold water. I avoid all sorts of sodas, sugary/salty drinks/snacks, and coffees etc. as much as possible. I do take a cup of hot black tea every morning and occasionally a glass of plain low-fat milk at bed time. I, in fact, have what known to be a balanced/healthy dietary lifestyle. It has been ruled out that I do not have intolerance to dairy, eggs, cheese, wheat/breads, cereals, etc. I prefer chicken and fish over red meat, however, I have not shown any signs of indigestion after eating a meal containg beef or lamb meat. I do get some stress on times but generally it's no more than any guy next to me and probably just what an average healthy normal adult would get during a working week. I do get to relax and excersize time to time (but not as regularly as I used to some years ago) since I pack quite a busy daily routine that does not allow me to even think or feel about having any extraordinary level of stress.
My stomach problom started about two and a half years ago (October 2009) and has been so typical in its recurring patterns that, by now, I have become accustomed to handling each occurrence as to just endure the pain through the whole night rather than rushing to an ER or going to see a doctor about it. That said, it is still quite troubling (and annoying!) when it occurs and I have not (yet) lost all hope in finding a cure for it. If anyone else out there suffering with similar issue(s), please kindly share. Thank you so very much.
I randomly get "periodic episodes" of severe stomach pains that occur roughly about 2-3 months apart, almost always a few hours (anywhere from 1-4) hours of having a dinner (that is, almost all episodes occur at night time right before or at about bed time); each generally lasting 7-9 hours on the average. There have been a few shorter episodes and a few much longer, with differing intensities but generally a typical episode on the pain scale level of 1-10, 10 being worst, starts at about level 1-4 with peaking at about pain level 7-9 for the most part of an episode and then suddenly diminshing after about 6-7 hours of severe duration.
Note, the pattern of each episode is almost always about the same from start to finish - a sensation (kinda "feel like") of some heaviness in the stomach, then gradual increase in pain in abdominal area (about half an hour to an hour after that "heavy feeling"), which then quickly shots up to a severe pain scale level 7-9 that would last most through the night and then eventually resolving on its own after about 5-8 hours of peaking.
During a typical episode what I experience, almost always in the same order of occurrence: (1) A feeling that an episode is about to happen, a few minutes to about half an hour right before it actually starts - (this is important to mention because this is an onset of an episode where my body alerts me to stop intaking any food/drinks of any sort; howeveer, this initial stage is also full of anxiety and mental pressure with an unpleasant "sixth sensation" of a sort, if you will, that I am about to start facing yet another night of restlessness; (2) A mild to severe pressure in stomach and general abdominal area, lasting for a few minutes to about half an hour, that would signal positive that the episode has now begun; (3) a wave of cyclical/sinusoidal pain wave that suddenly increases in intensity from severe to extreme; typical time duration for each sinusoidal pain-wave lasts about a 1-2 minutes duration each, a low-peak-low acute cycle of sharp stabbing/burning sensation and intense pressure in the general mid-abdominal area, lasting about 5-7 hours; (4) during the peak pain hours my stomach muscles/wall may harden several times for 5-10 minutes for each time; I may lay down, get up, kneel, crouch, fold in fetal position, walk, pace, rub/massage my tummy, and try to use toilet to allow me pass gas/stool or throw up to help lower the pain and to get some relief from constant churning going on in my belly; (5) a feeling of chill/cold occurs during the early hours of an episode, followed by mild to severe dryness in mouth, that eventually is followed by a bit of nausea and/or mild-to-severe burbs upon which I "make" myself to vomit that often yields positive in throwing up of whatever may had been leftover inside the stomach by then; (6) the pain generally peaks out after 5-6 hours of acute/sharpness in severity, eventually subdueing itself almost suddenly; (7) I finally able to go to sleep after about 6-8 hours of intense pain.
I am generally so tired and full of fatigue towards the end of each episode that I fall asleep in no time and wake up in the morning all fine as if nothing ever happened - with no pain or any signs of it! Apart from being tired the morning after and having to cope with general fatigue throughout the next day due to the restlessness night, I am able to resume all functions just as normal like no problem - that is, normal eating and normal bowel movements!
I must state, during these episode, I do not have any fever (despite feeling chills/cold), headache, backache, diarrhea, blood in stool/vomit or anything else of that sort. I make myself to go to the bathroom several times during an episode to see if that would help and I am able to go with normal bowel movement (while the pain in the belly is still going on) and pass normal stool - with no extraordinary smell, blood or any abnormal discoloration - suggesting that the issue is not with my large intestine (colon). I strongly suspect that this whole thing occurs and is confined to my small intestine. However, no doctor, gastrointestinal specialist, and even expert surgeons have been able to diagnose or detect any problem with any of my organs or digestive tract.
I have had all sorts of blood and stool tests, ultrasounds, x-rays, colonoscopies, endoscopies, barium swallows, tests at the best-of-the-best hospitals and by the best-of-the-best specialists in my area but, alas, yet all to none avail. I do have insurance despite of which it has still cost me several thousand dollars in deductables.
I have had tried maintaining a food diary to isolate if there may be an issue with my diet, an unknown food borne allergy or malabsorptions, but, that too had not been helpful except to suggestively (but not conclusively) suspecting some ingredients such as certain fruits and veggies, etc, that perhaps may be the culprits. However, none of those suspected food items can be positively identified to be the actual culprits because some episodes had occurred even in absence of the suspected ingredients!
As a subject for a case-study: I am (otherwise) a healthy adult male with healthy lifestyle and normal dietary habits. I don't smoke, don't drink, nor eat/abuse junk/fast food nor go on eating binges. My preferred choice of drink is simply plain cold water. I avoid all sorts of sodas, sugary/salty drinks/snacks, and coffees etc. as much as possible. I do take a cup of hot black tea every morning and occasionally a glass of plain low-fat milk at bed time. I, in fact, have what known to be a balanced/healthy dietary lifestyle. It has been ruled out that I do not have intolerance to dairy, eggs, cheese, wheat/breads, cereals, etc. I prefer chicken and fish over red meat, however, I have not shown any signs of indigestion after eating a meal containg beef or lamb meat. I do get some stress on times but generally it's no more than any guy next to me and probably just what an average healthy normal adult would get during a working week. I do get to relax and excersize time to time (but not as regularly as I used to some years ago) since I pack quite a busy daily routine that does not allow me to even think or feel about having any extraordinary level of stress.
My stomach problom started about two and a half years ago (October 2009) and has been so typical in its recurring patterns that, by now, I have become accustomed to handling each occurrence as to just endure the pain through the whole night rather than rushing to an ER or going to see a doctor about it. That said, it is still quite troubling (and annoying!) when it occurs and I have not (yet) lost all hope in finding a cure for it. If anyone else out there suffering with similar issue(s), please kindly share. Thank you so very much.
It is truly amazing how similar my symptoms are to the ones you have discussed. Is this a form of IBS? I have been searching for answers yet have found none. I have intense stomach pain for 5-7 hours every few months. It reaches a 7-9 on the pain scale as you have discussed.
1 Comments
Me too the stores are so similar to mine. Unfortunately I've been dealing with this since 2012 I've had many work ups and still haven't found any answers. I've even had my sphincter of Odi cut and I was born without a gallbladder and I had the theory about EPI but the doctors can't find any reason why I get these episodes exactly 3 months apart. It used to be every other month until I got my sphincter of Odi cut now it's every three months
I experience these terrible episodes too, started when I was a kid. I too seem to be an 'anomaly' to my doctors. But, I have noticed that it happens with stress and constipation. I'm actually having an episode today, it's 9pm and it started around 11am. I avoided the ER today though! I usually can't make it through the pain but I tried the new anti spasmodic prescription and pain med I have to take prn (hycosamine and baclofen). The meds helped, still had bad pain but it was manageable. Anyway, I hope you at least have those types of meds to get you through your episodes. It's a relief to hear there are others that have experienced this.
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I have experienced the same as everyone is describing. I am 52 year old white male, live in Latin America, and the first time I had the pain was in 1984 after a 24 hour fast, I ate a meal and an orange juice and thought it was the cause. The pain has repeated every 1 to 2 months for the past 30+ years and I have visited countless doctors and had all kinds of medicines and no one worked.
I feel that is it somehow gas related because when I stand in vertical position I feel like burping and this eases the pain, not much from about 10 to 9 , but not for long. The pain starts 3 to 4 hours after my last meal and it lasts exactly 6 hours. Sometimes the attacks are lighter than others.
What happens to me, and not one has yet mentioned in this forum, is that even though meds do not help, whenever I have them the next few days my stomach feels weak and I sometimes get like “after- shocks” of the pain, which are lighter versions of it for about 3 to 4 days. Therefore I have decided to just ride off the pain and not risk it by taking meds.
Has anyone been successful in eradicating the pain?
I feel that is it somehow gas related because when I stand in vertical position I feel like burping and this eases the pain, not much from about 10 to 9 , but not for long. The pain starts 3 to 4 hours after my last meal and it lasts exactly 6 hours. Sometimes the attacks are lighter than others.
What happens to me, and not one has yet mentioned in this forum, is that even though meds do not help, whenever I have them the next few days my stomach feels weak and I sometimes get like “after- shocks” of the pain, which are lighter versions of it for about 3 to 4 days. Therefore I have decided to just ride off the pain and not risk it by taking meds.
Has anyone been successful in eradicating the pain?
Look up MALS (Median arcuate ligament syndrome) or celiac compression. I had the stomach issues in July and August 2015. At the time, I didn't know what it was, but I saw this post while I was doing research and the description matched what I was going thru. In August, I went thru a EGD/colonoscopy, did Prilosec, and it seemed to resolve on its own. Didn't think any more about it until today. Today (Feb. 2016), I got the results of a CAT scan of my chest for a heart issue and it turns out that the symptoms we all seem to be describing may be due to impaired blood flow because of a structural defect in the muscles and blood vessels just under the diaphragm. I hope this helps some of you solve this mystery. Discuss the possibility of MALS with your physician.
1 Comments
I just found your post. Have you had any other attacks? I am going to ask my doctor about this MALS before mu EGD next week.
I've been having similar pain after lunch for the past week. This did not happen over the weekend, which I found to be odd because my diet is the same. My activity is slightly subdued, I suppose. While the timing is completely different, your description is perfect. I thought it was the introduction of coconut oil into my coffee in the morning. Stopped that and still had pain. Tried drinking tons of water with my meal, tried drinking noting at all.
At this point I just plan to bear it. I can't afford $10,000 worth of testing for guesses. I've found that Alka-Seltzer seems to help a little bit.
At this point I just plan to bear it. I can't afford $10,000 worth of testing for guesses. I've found that Alka-Seltzer seems to help a little bit.
Have you tried medicinal marijuana or CBD? I've read that it helps with the muscle spams, inflammation, and GI issues. Just throwing it out there.
1 Comments
MsTues may I ask how you are doing now as I am reading this thread in hopes I can help my Doctor help me. I am really getting to the point of just giving up as I have been passed around the medical field for almost 4 years now and the attacks are becoming more debilitating as today I was unfortunate enough to have an attack at work that had me crying for two hours. Embarrassing to say the least
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