Proctalgia fugax?

[Vger]

I'm wondering if anyone here is dealing with this condition. If I can find others, maybe we can get the moderators to give us a separate forum, since there are none on the web that I can find.

If you don't know what PF is, basically, those affected are occasionally awakened at night by attacks of severe upper rectal pain/cramping that last about a half hour or so.

[joy]

i am sorry that this has gotten any answers. maybe copy and add call to attention of moderator or something like that. i am glad you joined us. please dont' give up. ask the same question in several places including new visitor.

this sounds very painful and i hope you get some help from others here somewhere.

[joy]

thanks for the link. i have not sent for it but will mark this discussion in case i find i need it. and for free, now you can't beat that these days for sure.

[Vger]

SWCharles,

Thank you for the info. I requested your free information, and I see that its main point is to recommend this product: http://analcleaner.info/orderpromopfrelief.htm

I don't see much a description of the product on the website, though. Can you describe it a little more? And is this a product that you developed for PF and are selling, or what is the product usually used for?

Thanks for any further info.



Joy,

Thanks. I've actually had this condition for about 25 years now, and am bothered by it much less than I used to be, as I have learned a lot about relieving attacks. I'm interested in a discussion forum mainly to help those who are still suffering, mainly in silence. I think just having this thread here is a good idea, since people may find it with an internet search, as I'm guessing SWCharles did. And if more show up, then I might request a separate forum. Anyway, thanks again for your good wishes and advice!

[JoeStrange]

I have had this problem for 10 or more years now. Im just getting over a really painful attack right now acutally...It woke me out of a sound sleep (its 4am) and lasted longer than normal tonight at around 25 minutes.

Tonight is a good night because I decided to get on the computer and try to find out what this problem really was, And it IS Proctalgia fugax.

I found the wikipedia on Proctalgia fugax and it describes my problem exactly!!!

My attacks are almost always directly following orgasm. If an attack doesnt directly follow an orgasm,It may come later at night while im sleeping but night attacks are pretty rare for me.

Tonight my wife and I were up late and wound up having sex at around 2am, I fell asleep afterward and two and a half hours later here I am typing this....God did this one hurt bad.

Im 31 years old and I can remember having this problem in my early 20's, Possibly even in my teens. Im really curious if there is a correlation between Proctalgia fugax and me having hemorrhoids...Which I have had sense I was 14 years old.

[Vger]

Hi Joe,

I'm glad you found some answers - and found this thread!

I have definitely read elsewhere that some people's attacks are set off by orgasm. I myself have had that happen rarely, but I have also found that sexual arousal without orgasm (or with only a "small, incomplete" orgasm - I'm not sure if males experience this) is even more prone to lead to an attack.

Have you found things that relieve the pain? If so, I'd like to hear. From what I've read, some people find that firm, upward pressure on the anus (sitting on a fist or on the bathtub edge) will help. Others find relief from putting on a latex glove and inserting a finger as far as possible up into the rectum (or having an especially patient and caring spouse who is willing to be woken up to perform this maneuver at 3:00a.m.!). These sometimes help me, but it's unpredictable. A person who posted on this thread and got deleted was advocating some disposable thing inserted into the rectum that he says works for him (it's kind of expensive, at over $40 for a package of four and I haven't tried it, but it sounds to me like the same idea).

There are two things that help me the most. First is to stand up and start walking as soon as I wake up with the pain. I walk around and use some self-hypnosis techniques (which I could explain further). If I ever let the pain make me collapse on the floor as it used to when I was young, I know it will only make it much worse, so I fight that urge. I also fight the urge to strain to empty my rectum, because the straining definitely makes it worse.

The other thing is to gulp down a glass of ice water as fast as possible. I discovered this by trying to take pills to relieve the pain, and I noticed that the pain sometimes went away right after drinking the water - too fast for a pill to work. I believe that perhaps ice water (or, in the winter, very hot water) stimulates the gastro-colic reflex (see Wiki), moving stool from the colon down into the rectum, thereby stretching out the levator muscle and relieving the spasm. (I had previously noticed that my rectum was always empty or almost empty at the time of an attack, which supports this theory - along with the fact that some people say they are more prone to attacks when their colon has been emptied by diarrhea). I also eat a high-fiber diet, which really seems to help.

I tried an albuterol inhaler, which you may have read about, but I don't think it helps me much. I haven't tried any of the other meds.

Like you, I've had hemorrhoids since I was a teenager. I haven't read about a correlation, but who knows.

If you have any questions or can let me know about anything that has helped you, I'd love to hear it!

(Wow, right before I posted this, I re-checked the Wiki article and I see that others now have also noticed that drinking water helps!)

[JoeStrange]

Yea, I have not found much that helps.

I assume that the reason behind sexual arousal or orgasm itself within males has to do with all the blood that rushes to the pelvic region and when that happens, Everything tightens up.

Im a smoker. So when this happens the only relief I found is to just go outside, Walk around and smoke. If I walk around for long enough the severe pain eventually goes away. But oddly enough, I can still feel it even the next day. It feels like the onset of an attack but the pain never comes...Weird.

I have started paying more attention to when the attacks occur and its always after sex, I dont remember anything else ever setting it off. I felt an attack coming on last night and I just jumped up and gabbed a glass of cold water and walked around. I was still awake and it was shortly after having sex.

It didnt set in last night so maybe the water really does do somthing, I know walking works because thats the only way I have coped with this through the years.