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Proctalgia Fugax -- Part III

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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Posted 2/16/2017 10:31 PM (GMT 0)

dawn b said...
Hi all. I am a 44 year old male and have had this condition for about 4 years. I cant find any cause of the attacks which I get about every 8 weeks. They last around 40 minutes to an hour and cause fainting due to extreme pain, sweating, a general feeling of panic and leave me feeling wiped out.
Very relieved to find this forum, my doctor had no answers for me but my symptoms are exactly what people on here describe.
I am not alone.

same with me mad
Posted 3/27/2017 10:17 PM (GMT 0)
I'm a 57 year old male and I've been going through these episodes for about 3 years now. It would seem as though I'm very fortunate as I only experience this about 2 - 3 times a year. One thing that seems to be different than everyone else so far, is that I experience it when I'm working. I stand on my feet most all day. It would seem the times that I have had the episodes I have been a bit stressed. The pain is almost unbearable. I think that I would rather pass another kidney stone, which I've done 5 times. I have not passed out yet, but it seems like each time I'm getting closer to it. Sometimes I think if I did pass out , the pain may be gone when I come to. I don't know. Breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea and when the pain has subsided I feel like a limp dish cloth. Completely wiped out. At this point, I'm just glad to know that I'm not the only one. Oh yeah, the sitting on the ball thing did absolutely nothing for me. So far the only thing that works has been time. about 20 minutes and it's over.
Posted 4/20/2017 10:43 AM (GMT 0)
Hello you all!
I have a long history with this syndrome- it started when I was 7 years old, and I am 39 years now. And as a young boy I couldn't speak about it to anyone because I was so ashamed about it because it is related to rectal area. The severity of it fluctuates and it can be as bad as others have told that you almost or literally pass out, or you wake up at night with an hour long pain. It took thirty years for me to get a name for it and over ten years to even mention it to a doctor.
What has helped me is the knowledge that in my case it is connected to stress- and when I understand that, it is easier to cope with the pain because I can try to control the stressful events in my life with different kinds of relaxation methods.
But, here is the total winner for me, yoga pose "downward facing dog" -Adho Mukha Svanasana, or modification from it, seems to help to relax the muscles and ease the pain. The idea of the yoga pose is that the position will force the muscles to relax by stretching them and therefore tension will relieve over time. Also relaxing one's jaw muscles will help to relax the muscles in rectal area, method used by women giving birth.
I think I read it from this thread also. When I told about this syndrome to my wife, she told me about this pose and we modified it a bit so I can take the pose for example in our bed at night. Whereas in the original pose you are standing on your feet and arms, I tend to be on my knees and elbows trying to find the spot where it stretches the muscles in my pelvis and buttocks. This truly saved me. I had the episode just last night and I woke up, took the pose and relaxed my jaw- the episode was over in couple of minutes. It is even an positive cycle when I can feel the muscles relaxing it relaxes my mind also and it quickens the process.

Post Edited (pmard) : 4/21/2017 12:31:36 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 8/10/2017 9:57 PM (GMT 0)
I'm a 47 year-old male dealing with these "attacks" at random for about 20 years. about five years ago I had the worst moment of all when I blacked out when going back to bed during an episode, and I fell face first into my solid wood bed footboard. Long story short, I lost three front teeth in the collision and spent close to $20k for tooth implants and facial surgery after being rushed to the ER!
I finally decided enough was enough and sought to get to the root of the problem! My doctor referred me for many tests, including allergies. Now this may sound far-fetched, but it turns out I had a mild allergy to coconut! The allergist had me document everything I had eaten in the prior 24 hours to the episode. The day before I had a drink with coconut oil as a main ingredient (green colored Powerade). This also made sense because I could trace back to a prior episode that occurred about 12-14 hours after drinking the same drink. (I usually avoided green powerade but it was all that was available at the store when I bought it that day).
I have since avoided any food made with coconut and/or coconut oil. The episodes have dramatically reduced in frequency and the occasional ones that I have had, on review of what I'd eaten in the past 24 hours, sure enough, I had not seen/not looked for, coconut in the ingredients!
This may all be pure coincidence, but I'm happy with the reduced frequency of incidents of PF.
My usual "cure" is to lay down, take ibuprofen and distract my mind with the hope of just falling asleep. Typically the episodes will only last 15-30 minutes and I will wake up feeling fine.
Posted 3/14/2018 8:23 AM (GMT 0)
I had an attack last night passed out on the bathroom floor l, Ive experienced the pain before but nothing this bad. I’ve used Germolene topical antiseptic anaesthetic cream to good effect. Don’t know if this is harmful so will check with my GP.
Posted 8/1/2021 12:39 AM (GMT 0)
When I first posted that my PF was definitely a food sensitivity, there were no other posts where anyone had made a connection to a specific food, but now there are several posts where specific foods have been identified. In my case it can take up to three days after eating corn before the onset of the pain. This delayed reaction also happens with people who have FODMAP sensitivities. I wonder is PF is similiar to a FODMAP sensitivity? It is wonderful to be free of this awful pain that so often came on in the middle of the night or during exercise or at times of stress. I hope that all of you who suffer from PF can find a cure.
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