Stomach cramps with back pain and general fatigue during day....
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi! I'm a 36 year-old male and have had IBS-like symptoms for over 10 years.
Recently it has got worse - my bloating and stomach cramps often wake me up during the night or early in the morning. This is always accompanied by back pain and often with cold-like symptoms (blocked nose, phlegm in throat, fatigue).
After I get up the pain does usually improve but I feel spaced out / fatigued for most of it.
My girlfriend gives me a back rub every morning which sometimes helps to relieve symptoms (burping / farting) but I really want a fix as it's making me depressed and anxious.
I've tried going wheat-free, alcohol free, the FODMAP diet, Omeprazole, etc. If anyone has similar symptoms and / or possible remedies please let me know.
Thanks in advance...
0 likes, 8 replies
margaret22116 tom1980
Posted
I also developed joint pain and was referred eventually to a rheumatologist and there began the journey to diagnosis. Have you ever had any investigations done? Not that either ent or gastro had anything particularly useful to say to me. I waited a long time for dx.
And the stomach issue turned out to be inflammation/gastritis when properly investigated.
Have you ever been tested for h pylori?
tom1980 margaret22116
Posted
Hi there - thanks for your post. I believe I've had treatment for gastritis (omeprazole) but this didn't do anything. I think I've been tested for h pylori but it was a long tiome ago, maybe I should get checked again.
Thanks again
margaret22116 tom1980
Posted
yes gastritis doesn't really go away for me. It is part of an auto immune disease and I have the muscle cramps fatigue neck pain migraine and joint problems. It is all caused by inflammation. When the inflammation is under control I have no symptoms and do not react to any kind of foods. I am currently taking hydroxychloroquine and this has settled most of my problems. Also massively helped inflammation in my sinuses and pain in my feet which was becoming a real problem. .
margaret22116 tom1980
Posted
Rob have you had all the blood tests covered? In particular I would ask for esr crp and ana to be checked as they can be a pointer to underlying conditions. Sometimes GPs don't do these tests as standard but I would certainly ask for them to be covered. All too often a diagnosis of IBS is made when there are actually underlying causes. Best wishes
rob2000 margaret22116
Posted
I had quite a few blood tests but not sure if anything was found or if I was checked for those tests. Interesting though about the inflammation in the sinuses as my sinuses often felt strange. I'll ask the Dr next time about those blood tests.
margaret22116 rob2000
Posted
hi meant this comment equally for Tom. I have to say that, although I've recommended blood tests the results can often be misleading. I am diagnosed with an auto immune condition and yet, only sometimes do I have raised esr and crp. There is currently no absolute blood test for certain conditions which of course, makes it worse for diagnosis. It means gp's often don't understand what is going on. You really need a specialist looking at your symptoms in conjunction with these kind of tests. It took a year of attending a specialist clinic in St Barts in London to be diagnosed. Blood tests were often unremarkable but disease progress is the real telling point. But that requires input from the right kind of specialist I had been through gastroenterology and ent and neuro with no real help. After being referred to a rheumatologist when I developed joint pain I got my answer. And it's not always the result you want but once you know what you're dealing with life begins to get better because there are treatments out there that are worth trying and improve quality of life dramatically.
rob2000 tom1980
Posted
This is interesting as I also have this issue from post infectious ibs. But sometimes I am ok and other times I feel like I have a lot of trapped gas, lower back pressure, bloating, muscle aches, fatigue, blocked nose feeling and tension around the neck/head. I found this is mostly due to what foods I eat and I had a chicken dish with quite a lot of broccoli the other night and had a bad night and some symptoms came back the next day but only mild. Of course if I eat high fodmap foods over a couple of days then these symptoms get worse. I think it takes a few days to get back to normal so it can last a while if I eat something high fodmap.
I have defiantly found this is food issue and mostly caused by certain vegetables and fruits as I can have gluten, pizza, burgers, junk food etc and dairy ok. I have read that Sibo might be an underlying cause which might be why the gas and symptoms get worse as fermentable foods feed the bacteria, which take away nutrients.
I did some research on this and told my Dr who agreed it could be something like this but it wasn't there speciality. I have been taking peppermint capsules which have improved things a lot with avoiding certain foods and interestingly this is part of a natural treatment for SIBO.
tom1980 rob2000
Posted
Hi, thanks for your message. SIBO - I've never heard of this - will have a look. I'm currently taking strong probiotics (VSL3) to see if this helps. Will keep you posted.
I haven't noticed any foods making the symptoms better or worse. I eat a very varied diet, usually healthy with the odd slip into junk food. I'm trying to exercise more as this helps synmptoms a bit. As soon as I get out of bed the symptoms get better but after interrupted sleep it's not always what I want to do!
Thanks again.