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Abdominal cramping and nausea during bowel movements?

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 9/11/2011 7:21 PM (GMT 0)
I am getting horrible cramping and nausea during my bowel movements. It starts out with a pretty strong urge to get to the bathroom. Once there and trying to go, my entire abdomen cramps so hard that I end up doubled over in pain. This is then accompanied by extreme nausea, sweats, light headedness. This continues for about 20-30 minutes before it subsides enough for me to think maybe it us over, come back inside (yes, Crohn's with an outhouse is the best), take off my gear (44 degrees and raining) and wash my hands, just to have the urge start up again and rush to get my gear back on to start the whole process over again. This has been happening almost every day for a week. It starts within half an hour of waking up. The first trip usually produces a soft bowel movement, but within 2 hours it is diarrhea, and once that is gone, nothing except slime and some blood (blood which is pretty fresh and I think coming from hemroids but not certain). Usually within 4 hours, things will calm down and remain fairly "normal" till the next morning. Is this a typical Crohn's symptom? Is there anything I can do or take to reduce the abdominal cramping?
Posted 9/11/2011 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
it was normal for me when i was having an attack. i also have a weak liver and therefore i too had nausea and dizzy spells while sitting in the toilet, sweating away.

you need to go on a restrictive diet. no dairy (other than plain yoghurt), boiled rice and boiled potatoes until your colon is able to move normally once again. i would also suggest you take probiotics because your gut at the moment is highly acidic.

for the cramping, i used to just drink chamomile tea with honey and just take a warm bath. it always helped me relax and the pain would pass.

good luck!
Posted 9/11/2011 10:37 PM (GMT 0)
I was on only rice and fruit and veggie juices until my doctor said I needed to eat things with high fat content to help digest my Asacol which was coming out exactly the way it went in. So I'm now eating a small amount of almonds/peanut butter/salmon/bacon etc 3 times a day with the Asacol. Maybe it is time to give up on the Asacol and go back to my rice. I did start probiotics the other day, so maybe they will start helping me out here soon.
Thanks for the tea & hot bath idea. That must be why I have been day dreaming about the hot springs the past few days. My subconscious must know what my body needs!
Posted 9/11/2011 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
Sounds like you may be in a fairly remote area so I don't know how easy it is to get to your doctor but I think you should go. Asacol has always gone straight through me and my doctors say that is OK that it still works. Probably does because it gives me a headache. You may need to Knock down what sounds to me like a fair flare. Didn't realize I was a poet? Anyway you likely need prednisone my friend. I don't think Asacol will get your bowels calmed. I'm no doctor but seems like you need a step up in treatment.
Posted 9/11/2011 11:42 PM (GMT 0)
My GI is 360 miles away, but doing what they can by phone to help reduce the number of long drives/flights. I just started the blood work prep for azathioprine on Friday after 2 weeks of unsucessful waiting for the Asacol to work. I guess I just need to be patient till I can start that. I find it odd that Asacol can work even when not digested? Now is see bits and pieces of the red coating, so I know it us breaking apart. But when the capsule is still completely intact, how can it be doing anything?..crazy magical drug! :). Thanks for the advice!
Posted 9/11/2011 11:56 PM (GMT 0)
wow- that sounds amazing being so far away from everything (unless you're dealing with something like this *&^%^ disease!)

i was having those same symptoms for the longest time- i was actually puking on the can almost every time i had to go #2 it hurt so bad.  over the past year it's come and gone...i've gotten on pain meds which have helped a lot, but my crohn's has definitely been much worse in the past year or so.  we're talking surgery now so we'll see. 

i would have to basically hold my gut (put a lot of pressure on it) while i was sitting on the can to try to mitigate the pain.  they gave me bentyl but that didn't really work and made me feel all spacey.  is your gut painful all day?  mine is and when i have to go to the br the pain gets much much worse.  the pain meds are good as long as i keep them in my system bc who knows the next time i'll have to go so i can't exactly time the meds.  i was thinking stricture or something but they scanned etc and said nope- just "normal" inflammation.  mine has never really resoled itself.

i wish i could be more help- i guess just wanted to tell you you're not alone...i'm dealing with what sounds to be something very similar.

 

Posted 9/12/2011 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
Aaah yes, I get that as well and it's awful! Even in remission, it happens to me but it's from IBS, which I have as well. Guess we can't win... Hope you feel better soon!
Posted 9/12/2011 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry to hear you have been struggling with the same problems, but nice to know I'm not alone!  Hope it doesn't come to surgery for you, but if it does, hope it helps relieve some of your symptoms. 
I have pretty minor gut pain all day. It isn't bad though until trying to have a bowel movement. I do have sharp stabbing URQ and occasional LRQ pretty consistently though.  It was actually my first and more prominent symptom for quite a while. I take vicodin for the sharp right side pains, but like you said it is hard to plan the pains associated with going to bathroom.  If I take a pain pill for that, by the time it is really kicking in, the morning 4 hours on the toilet in pain is about over.  
And I should clarify; I do live fairly remotely based on the average opinion, but I'm still in a town with a hospital and I have a general practitioner in town that I can see. There are just no GIs for 360 miles. :)
Posted 9/12/2011 1:15 AM (GMT 0)
I thought you might be remote. Good that you are going on a stronger med. I had a lot of doubts about intact asacol doing me any good while going through me also. Just saying the doctors said it worked. I had/have my doubts except for the headaches. I think it is good that your pain level is not too bad when you aren't on the pot, as often as that might be :(

One sign that things are getting bad is if it wakes you up at night to go. That is when, in my experience, the Crohns has hit the fan. Good luck to you.
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