Abdominal spasms et al.

[biowham]

This may have nothing to do with anything neurological, but folks on here have such a wide experience, I thought I'd ask. For many months now, I've been having significant GI problems. First, I was waking up several nights a week with severe nausea and chills. Doc put me on Nexium in a.m. and ranitidine (Zantac) in p.m., which made that and the frequent chest squeezing I'd been having pretty much go away.

Now, however, I've been waking up a couple of nights a month with some kind of ague/chills that cycle up and down accompanied by some mild nausea and diarrhea. It's like a stomach bug, but sort of milder. Keeps me up for about 3-4 hours, resolves for the most part into the next day. Always hits at night, usually about midnight.

Accompanying this for the last two weeks I've had abdominal spasms, mostly on my upper left side, but they creep in a sort of band across my lower ribs in front. I noticed them during the day, but they are most noticeable at night.

Any comments/insights/experiences you all might have with any of the above would be appreciated. I've asked for a referral to my GI doc (my history includes a huge sessile tubulovillous adenoma that I had removed two years ago, so I have a GI doc).

Thanks,
Bio

[Quixotic1]

Bio - Funny you should bring this up.  I have pretty chronic constipation and occasionally have a little cramping, but for a few weeks have been having severe (tears to the eyes) cramping before needing to go.  this is unlike anything I have ever had before.  I also just put myself on more fiber and probiotics to see if it helps anything.

Also, (looking down at the floor) I have been on a sugar kick and can't seem to get enough.  Yesterday was the worst.  I am going seriously low carb and trying to see if I can straighten things out.  I'll keep you posted.

One of the studies I saw some time ago said that IBS "manifested" more frequently in MS.  It stopped short of calling it a result of Ms, but I thought that it was interesting.

Jen - I had the exact same thing yesterday and was sure it was a stomach bug, but seem okay today.  What is with all this?

Quix

[biowham]

Jen, exactly. And your episodes sound a lot like mine. Have you tried any of those "self-care" things?

Bio

[jensequitur]

Sounds about right - if the nerve is setting off a spasm, then it's essentially a spastic colon, right?

I had about three days last week that were rather scary - I got the worst abdominal cramps, and had to go several times a day - until there was nothing but bile.  It didn't seem to be a stomach bug, and it wasn't nervous diarrhea.  It finally went away, thank goodness.

[biowham]

Saw my GI doc today. I love that man. He listens to me, he tells me what is wrong, and he takes care of it. Wouldn't it be nice if all doctors could at least make it to step one of that sequence?

Anyway, it's what I suspected...IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). He's giving me a smooth muscle relaxer to take when I have "episodes." If that along with taking METAMUCIL (woohoo) and probiotics doesn't help things within six weeks, we're moving on to antidepressants.

He had a very interesting way of describing IBS, saying that it was like a seizure of the enteric nervous system. Sounds about right to me. It would seem that my nerve signaling is out of sequence all along my digestive tract.

Bio

[cassrox]

After numerous tests for more than a year, a surgeon and pain specialist decided I should have my gallbladder taken out even though all the tests for gallbladder trouble were negative.

That was in 2004, and now five years later, I have no gallbladder but still have the same problem.Gastro doc thinks it may be neurological and associated with the MS symtoms I've been having for some tme now. MS specialist thinks it's a possibility too. It was the main reason she wants me to have a thoracic spine MRI done.

If neurological cause is ruled out gastro wants to look at my stomach - it's about the only thing that wasn't tested back then.

[Fluffysmom]

I hope you feel better soon; sounds miserable.

Kathy

[biowham]

Thanks, Jen. I've got my GI referral, so we'll see what he says. I've thought about gallbladder, although I have NO pain in that area. Whatever it is, I'm ready to see it go bye bye. Ugh.

Bio

[jensequitur]

How's your gall bladder doing?  You might need to have the lower bits checked out.

I find that other problems will set off neurogical symptoms, so...