Self Trigger Point Release work (Manick's Case)

[Manick]

Turns out that yeah, I didn't have a hernia. I was forwarded to a GI at the Baylor Clinic who immediately diagnosed me with IBS after I described my symptoms to him, and encouraged me to go back on Elavil, but this time at a lower dosage of 10mg. He claims that 10mg specifically has been the most effective dosage based on feedback from patients. Unless it was a coincidence, it has seemed to speed up my recovery process after flare-ups, but thankfully doesn't give me constipation like it used to when I took 25mg.

One thing has been bothering me lately though, about the type of pain I have been feeling recently. I used to have very sharp pains only on both sides of my flanks, when things were really bad, but there have been a couple of changes. I noticed that pain sometimes appears right below my stomache, which can get extremely numb after a bowel movement depending on how I've been treating myself. It feels almost equivalent to heartburn or indigestion, and gets noticeably worse if I lie down. The pain used to be more dull, and felt more like a belly cramp before, and I don't remember it getting worse from lying down (if anything it always got better from doing this). I get a significant amount of (extremely temporary) relief if I consume liquid, almost as if something were stuck down towards the bottom of my esophagus and was knocked loose that was causing the pain, but it comes right back.

The good news is, that I can now sit down virtually all day long without consequences. I almost have to wonder if the chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome side of things are a lot better now, but the IBS side is still here or maybe even worse than before. I say this because I suffer virtually no pain from any of my reproductive organs or urethra for any reason anymore, but rather irritate the symptoms of my IBS. Simply just being sexually aroused for example, or ejaculating, will sometimes give me very bad bloating, gas, and increase my pain suffered before and after bowel movements significantly, even if I haven't eaten hardly anything that day. Can anyone make sense of this sudden change of symptoms I am experiencing?

[webslave]

Stomach symptoms sound a lot like GERD. Incline the bed.
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=5244&p=30608#p30608
viewtopic.php?t=6918&p=38722#p38722

IBS is one of the classic precursor conditions for UCPPS. The nerves involved in the bowel and intestines cross-talk with the nerves of the pelvis and genitourinary tract.

[carld]

If these GERD like symptoms started after you started Elavil 10mg...Then I would have to say that in my case I have proven to my self that Elavil can relax the LES ( lower esophageal sphincter) muscle and cause reflux...

[Manick]

This thing you call GERD and its symptoms, actually started about 2 weeks before I saw my GI and began taking my Elavil again. Over Christmas break I actually ran out of Elavil 25mg but due to constipation and stool inconsistency issues, but I decided to stop taking it anyway, and was off it for about a little over a month. Then I had a really bad episode about halfway through the break around newyears and that's when I began feeling these symptoms. However, they do not seem to persist for long. I have been taking certain countermeasures against it to combat it in the same way I would deal with indigestion, and it seems to be working. I drink herbal decaf tea, take anti-acid pills, and try to eat very light non-fatty foods that are easy to digest (and chew slowly). What seems to bother it the most, which my psychiatrist finds very unusual, is any sort of sexual activity, especially when prolonged. What one would assume would cause urinary symptoms from sexual stimulation/activities, causes problems in my GI tract such as difficulty having consistent bowel movements, extremely painful bloating, and of course excessive gas. If my libido is high and my urge becomes difficult to control, my sexual arousal alone can cause these GERD pains/symptoms to appear a day or two later after a bowel movement, and won't go away unless I am extremely careful about what I eat.

I have actually noticed something very interesting though from the first half of my christmas break and recently, and that is that I may actually be intaking far too much fiber, which is causing me excessive amounts of gas and possibly trapped gas from my bowels contracting due to muscle spasms. At the very least, that is what it feels like, because not long ago I felt so bloated and painful that I attempted to massage my bowels loose, and sure enough, once I was able to relieve myself of all that built up gas, the symptoms reduced significantly. But for the first two weeks of my Christmas break, I had actually been eating very unhealthy food and very little fiber foods, but did not suffer an increase in symptoms or more difficulty with consistent bowel movements. Similarly, these past three days, I have significantly lowered my fiber intake after I suffered a major episode of pain, and now I seem to be almost completely better already.

[webslave]

If what you say about sexual activity causing bowel symptoms is really what's happening, then it's a fascinating case of nerve cross-talk.

Irritable bowel syndrome, interstitial cystitis, and other chronic pelvic pain (CPP) disorders often occur concomitantly. Neural cross-talk may play a role in the overlap of CPP disorders via the convergence of pelvic afferents.

http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15940629

[Manick]

That articles findings would certainly make a lot of sense for my case. Is there a more up-to-date, similar study by any chance?

Also, once again today I experienced a significant increase in flatulence / bloating from sexual stimulation, and to help better test this theory I abstained from eating anything almost 11 hours before the fact. The only thing that was in my bowels was 2 servings of cereal which I had eaten in the morning, and I made sure of it by encouraging a bowel movement early in the day. I found that even with almost completely empty bowels, that gas would still build up and get trapped, and would begin to cause very sharp pain unless massaged loose. Once I massaged my bowels loose, and was able to pass gas, I found significant pain relief. Furthermore, once I emptied my bowels completely of the digested cereal, I found even more pain relief. With this I can say with almost complete confidence that my problem lies primarily with my nerves irritating my IBS symptoms, because I certainly do not feel any urinary symptoms. Will knowing any of this matter though? And will the doctors be able to use this information in any way? I heard IBS can last anywhere from 6-9 months, but it has already been 9 months since my first onset (although now I have a better idea of how to treat it than before).

[webslave]

IBS can last for life. You should try to identify problem foods. In my case it was gluten-containing foods.

[Manick]

I can't be too sure yet because I haven't done any planned testing yet, but I am pretty sure that I have been causing myself an unnecessary amount of flatulence from digesting far too much fiber heavy foods. I've read in several places discussing IBS, that too much fiber intake can actually cause excessive gas, and actually make IBS worse for some people. So just several days ago, I put my theory into action, and I drastically decreased my fiber intake from about 100-120% DV to 50% DV (and sometimes none), and haven't been suffering the same symptoms as before as severely. I am still able to go regularly, without constipation or diarrhoea, and have not been suffering the same amount of pain throughout the day.

But I actually had a blood test to see if I was allergic to gluten, and the results showed negative. I also have an appointment to have a blood test to check for Celiac Disease, because I have had a history of Lactose intolerance in the past (and Lactose intolerance is a symptom of Celiac Disease). But I am keeping myself away from most dairy products anyway regardless.

[samgg10]

Manick,

I've had IBS-C type symptoms leading up to chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome too. Constipation & small/incomplete BMs; some bloating, but nothing excruciating. With chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome I now have suprapubic pain on the left side (I don't know if this is what you mean by lower abdominal soreness). Lots of post-BM pain, especially if I don't try to relax.

Anyway, Magnesium supplements have been huge for me.I don't struggle with the IBS stuff anymore. Try it.

[Manick]

This has been really bugging me lately, and it's happened on and off. Occasionally, for a period of time, my pain will gradually increase the longer I go between meals. The pain appears right below my ribcage, and is a sharp tearing sensation that isn't very deep below my skin, and is more severe later in the day. The pain sometimes goes away or can be prevented if I simply eat a lot, but this makes it extremely hard to diet, because the pain demands I eat more than I am allowed for my calorie intake. This same or similar kind of pain, can sometimes be relieved if I am able to pass gas, if there's any there, but can make the area begin to feel somewhat numb if I have too much of it. I read up about how ulcers can cause hunger pains, but I had a CT scan done with contrast not long after my initial onset about 4 years ago, where they found nothing. Would that scan have picked it up if it was there?

[webslave]

I had the same symptom. Mine was caused by gluten and reflux. If you are overweight, lose weight to stop the reflux.

Also useful is a fermented drink called Yakult. Try that when you get the pain.

[Manick]

Lately I've been trying everything for chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome and even other related conditions over the past couple of months. I'm living a more healthy lifestyle and practising many different good habits in general, and can go in more detail about it later, but basically I've been trying everything I can think of to reduce my pain and recently my pain not only isn't getting better like it should be, but rather getting even worse. Also, the things that have always aggravated my symptoms are aggravating them even more than before now, and I've been in pain for much longer periods of time. Can anybody explain the logic behind this?

[Manick]

Please, I really need help right now, SOMETHING! My pain hasn't been this bad in nearly a year and a half, back when I had to go work a very stressful job. The amount of pain I am going through right now is SO BAD that even taking 3 different prescribed pain medications multiple times a day (as directed), is BARELY helping. The only reliable pain killer for me has still been drinking alcohol which is really starting to worry me even though I'm only drinking 20-25 ounces of plum wine a day.

One of the main causes for my symptoms used to be masturbation. Simply not masturbating for 2-3 days would almost always make my pain go away, until I decided to go on a masturbation binge and my pain got bad all over again due to my stupidity. But over nearly the past 3 months, that has not been the case. Even 5 minutes of MINOR sexual stimulation seems to make my pain worse, and I haven't even masturbated in 24 days. I have finally managed to learn how to stop masturbating in response to anxiety and depression, and rarely have urges anymore, but it's not helping anymore at all! I am beginning to wonder if me abstaining from masturbation is making my pain WORSE! The pain has been almost NON-STOP lasting through the majority of the day, and driven by my bowel movements, regardless of the absence constipation or diarrhea or straining. Every time I have a bowel movement, my pain seems to reset, and I have gotten so desperate that I tried not eating for two full days but it didn't help at all.

[webslave]

You're drinking nearly a litre of alcohol a day? I would say that although this seems to help, it may well be causing the flare instead.

Get the anxiety and depression treated as a priority. My experience from talking to sufferers of this condition is that if there are unresolved mental health issues, especially depression and anxiety, the prognosis is not good. You really have to get those conditions successfully treated first.

[Manick]

I stopped drinking alcohol though for like 3 days and it didn't seem to help at all. And my pain increase occurred even before I started drinking. The whole reason I started drinking again in the first place was because of my pain increase... Even then, it's only 12% alcohol. I've always had some degree of anxiety and depression, but it's not as if it has been that bad recently until maybe today. For the past 2-3 months I actually have been relatively successful in keeping myself in high spirits, staying active, being social, and in general enjoying my every day more than usual regardless of my pain level. Also, almost exactly 1 year ago my pain suddenly completely vanished for no apparent reason for nearly 6 months, and yet I was probably MORE depressed and anxious during that time more than I had ever been before in recent years. I have been going through every anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication known to man with my psychiatrist for almost three years now, and yet nothing seems to really work for me. The most recent anti-depressant that I have been trying might be doing something, but I can't be too sure.

Above all though, I believe that my depression and anxiety doesn't cause my pain, but rather that my pain can cause depression and anxiety. The pain always comes first, and almost never the other way around. I definitely don't think being depressed and anxious helps it at all, but it never seemed like the cause of it, and I always manage to break out of cases of extreme depression fairly easily.

Also, I must correct myself in the amount of alcohol I consume daily. I can go through a 50oz bottle in 3 days, so that's more like 16oz or so daily.