Stomach & Abdomen Pain

[Jo Ike]

Hi, my name is Joanne.

First post on the Fibro board. Does anyone else have pain in this area when they lean up against something or someone touches them there, for example someone has to food shop with me because it is way to painful to lean into the shopping cart to put things in or take them out. Or trying to wash some dishes & your stomach being against the sink?

To give you some back round, I've been sick for 5yrs. Nobody knew what I had.

After almost a year an MS specialist said Transverse Myelitis (I had swelling in my Thoracic spinal cord). Some lesions on the brain also, he still does not think it is MS at this time.

I see my pain management doc in a couple weeks & I will ask him about this, I was just at my primary & she said it's the Fibro. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

I did not list my symptoms & meds as there are so many.

Joanne

[Fayelle]

If you have not seen a gastro specialists request to see one just to rule out gastro issues.....

In my experience fibro pain does not stay with you constantly it comes and goes.....It is not a consistant issue which is part of the reason it is frustrating and difficult to treat.....

Abdominal pain could be associated with the Irritible bowel syndrome most fibromites contend with, however even that is sporadic.....

With lesions I would be quite hesitant to rule fibro in.....Fibro mimics MS and other conditions that are more serious than fibro.....Therefore it is essential to rule as much out as possible before completely ruling fibro in.....Plus generally there is an underlying condition which is the trigger condition for fibro, that needs to be found and treated to successfully treat fibro.....

Even if fibro is ruled in it is always essential to get checked for new symptoms because fibro is not responsible for everything and things can be overlooked by blaming the fibro.....

Consistant pain upon pressure would be a cause for concern in my opinion....

In fact even with a probable diagnosis for fibro for myself I am having a colonoscopy this Monday in order to discover the cause for some new bleeding issues, this could be blamed on my IBS symptoms related to my fibro but my doctor and new gastro specialist felt that it should be looked at further in order to be safe.....

Eventually it will become clear to you if you have fibro which symptoms are typical fibro for you and which are new and need to be assessed.....

Welcome to the boards I hope you are able to get solid answers soon!!!

Fay

[Jo Ike]

Fay,
Thanks for responding & hope your appointment goes well today.

I originally had a virus with a high fever that brought on the Transverse Myelitis.

I did have my gallbladder removed in Nov of 2005, after several months of seeing the gastro doc, had endoscopy done and was rx'd aciphex for reflux.
I do have IBS, was taking Zelnorm, stopped in April. I have terrible constipation, but since the weather has changed my bowel habits seem to be working well for me. (I did take Miralax a few times.)

I'm not sure but I'm thinking the pain is from the surgery, even though it was done by laproscopy. I had begged the doctor to do more testing since I was vomiting so bad & the pain was a 12 on a scale of 1 - 10. I also had lost 20+ pounds. They finally did a hidascan which showed it being inflamed and only one stone, which blocked the common bile duct. I now have a fatty liver, I think that might be because my gallbladder isn't there to break down the fats.
My doctor said a fatty liver is not painful.

My fibro hurts all the time, even just being touched in certain places, but I also have neuropathy. (sp) I see the neurologist tomorrow & I'll ask him what he thinks.

Joanne

[Fayelle]

:(

It sounds like you have a lot going on....It would not be a shock to have fibro with all of that too.....

Now comes the fun part....Managing the fibro on top of everything else.....

I have to admit that I am never pain free, but since mine is so sporadic, and changeable it came down to an obvious fibro DX.....But mine is manageable I am learning....The fun part being the trial and error of what works for you and what you can stand to live with on a daily basis.....

The one thing that has helped me is knowing I don't have anything that is actively killing me, or degenerative.....That the pain is not a sign of anything severe and that it will pass.....This has helped me take a more active role in seeking manageable behavior patterns.....And to settle down so that anxiety is not a factor in triggering more fibro symptoms.....

Thanks for wishing me well on my appt....It went well :D .....Just confirmed what I already knew about the IBS.....At least now its confirmed by a GI LOL....

At any rate welcome again and feel free to ask anything people will answer if they feel they have something to add, and vent vent vent away if you need to, sometimes its just about the need to vent it all out.....

Fay

[Jo Ike]

I just got back for the doctor, & the abdominal pain is Fibro related, if I drop some weight it may help.

I was using Tramadol for the pain amongst my other meds & it just doesn't work.
So, he prescribed me the Fentanyl patch today & I'll see how that works out, I need that for my sacroilittis (si points), I get so much nerve pain & banding & it last quite a few days when it happens, almost always actually. I can't even reach for anything, the pain is a searing pain in my lower back & leg.

I tried the Epidural block before & it didn't work. Today I received yet another steriod injection in my neck, a little higher up this time - so of course I'm in pain already, that usually last a few days after the shot.

Everybody have a nice weekend.
Joanne

[DiMarie]

What about a hiatial hernia, it sounds like the spot that could be in.
I hope they can resolve it soon.
Dianne

[Cry Tears]

I don't know why you'd have gut pain from Fibro unless you have ...inflamed intestines, maybe!
I too have FM...was diagnosed 20+ years ago...was "stable" with it till my gut pain increased...many gasto docs, colonoscopy's, ERCP's and other test was just passed off as FM...when it was NOT FM...all time it was Crohns disease and my intestines were so inflamed and tender...couldn't move without gut pain...anything that touched my tummy area was way too painful. For years was passed off as FM.
Finally saw a "gifted" gasto who is gentle and skilled enough to get up much higer into my small intestines during ANOTHER colonoscopy where she saw the red inflamed intestines that showed normal on every test known!
She was shocked to see how bad my Crohns was...puzzled by the test proving everything normal!
I'd suffered long time with tender tummy...now found the reason all along was Crohns disease.
Years later, I went on to have a bowel resection in 2 areas where they removed over 3 feet of small intestines,
but had to leave several feet of diseased intestines because I need them, and they hoped they'd heal with meds.
I have to be careful with what I eat now...I'm allergic to wheat and finding more releif with being on a gluten free diet.
Also make sure you're taking the Methyl B12...if you are having IBS you're probably deficient.
Please read about this on Vit Def forums, read what Rose has written...it will work wonders for fatigue and sleep pattern! Sure helped me, big time!
Hope this helps...I'm not saying your pain is all from Crohns disease, but perhaps a possiblilty...but will take time to discover.
Blessings, cheryl