Spasms that feel like kicks inside your left upper quad.

[EricaL]

Last year I had a nasty bout with some issues of abdominal pain. They checked my gall bladder, did an upper GI, etc. The end result was that they diagnosed me with IBS. I take Levsin when I get very crappy with pain and it helps. However, every now and then I experience these sensations that don't hurt, but are definitely wierd and I'm curious to know if anyone else has experienced them.

In my upper left quadrant, basically right below my ribcage, I'll feel these vibrations and spasms. Honestly, the best way to describe the feeling is comparing it to how a baby feels when it moves inside you. Though, I am most definitely not pregnant. These sensations happen every so often and they are very annoying.

Anyone else had anything like this before? If so, did you take anything to make it stop or just let it go?

[meyan]

Hi, I feel what sounds similar to you too. My pain is mostly in my upper abdomen, but what comes-goes or stays...(depends on the day)  is this mild pain ranging to very painful sensation under my left rib cage, sometimes I can feel it under my left shoulder blade in my back. It pulsates, throbs, vibrates, and jabs and it lately feels like a pulled muscle in my back, it starts out mild and may work into more, and I have described it just recently as feeling like labor contractions.  Thanks to something not even related to this I was diagnosed  with gallstones and IBS and prescribed Pinaverium. The medicine helps a wee bit, but the price is great cause then I feel so tired and out of it all the next day. Over the years the symptoms  came and went but since last Sept. I'm experiencing more bad days than good. My doctor has me scheduled to see a surgeon but that's not until April 2010.
Do you also get the bloating?

[EricaL]

Thank you for responding... Those funky spasms weren't really described and I was just wondering... hehe, I've never tried the Bentyl, the Levsin works pretty good for me, but I do have to take two at a time.

I've made major changes to my diet. I haven't eaten at a fast food restaurant in about six months. Unless you count a spinach and italian flatbread sandwich from subway as "fast food".

Basically, I only use olive oil or peanut oil. I eat loads of fresh spinach and asparagus. I eat cereals with whole grains, flax seeds and omega oils. I eat very little red meat and mostly eat chicken and fish - salmon and tuna most often. I rarely drink sodas... so, I've noticed a lot less trouble since I've made the dietary changes, but it still flares up for me. I am under stress (divorced, remarried, selling a home, getting a new job, etc) and have been for a couple of years.

I have high acidity and am prone to chronic heartburn also, so I have to keep an eye on what I eat.

Amazing how your intestines can get so finicky.

[FurballsMom]

When I was first diagnosed with IBS I was getting these spasms you're talking about all throughout the entire colon.  The spasms really do seems like a baby moving around and kicking, and that's the description I've used for this many times myself.  Are you using Levsin (Hyocyamine) sublingual for the cramping and spasming?  I found that the older medication, Bentyl (Dicyclomine), which is a little sedating, works much better for me.  I didn't get any relief from the Levsin at all.  Now days when the cramping starts or the spasms start again, I'll take the Bentyl and I will get some relief.  I know what you mean about the spasms.  They really are that annoying.

Of course, the biggest help for this has been changing my diet and not eating the things that I know I'm sensitive to.  Gluten and dairy are big items for a lot of people with IBS.  I went to a naturopath and went through an Elimination Diet to find food sensitivities and that helped a lot.  It helped me to lose weight, too.  When I wasn't eating things that were bothering me, I lost the weight without even really trying.  It turns out that I have a lot of food sensitivities and allergies.