A new symptom...

[fitzpatrickr]

Hi everyone,

Just want to start by saying what a great forum this is!

I've had pelvic pain along with urinary symptoms on and off for about a year now. The pain has mostly been in my pubic region, perineum and lower back. I've been managing it ok over the past while with a mixture of relaxation, physiotherapy and internal and external massage.

However, over the past few weeks a new symptom has appeared - a feeling of always needing a bowel movement. This has been accompanied by small, dry hard stools - like rabbit droppings - and the pain in my lower back has increased quite substantially. I've increased my fibre and water intake to no avail - and I was just wondering to these symptoms match up with anything anyone else has had? I thought at the start it was a bout of constipation which would disappear but its still with me - and that nagging need to go feeling and the back pain is increasing.

Thanks
Ryan

[webslave]

How old are you? A sudden change in bowel habit, accompanied by pain, could indicate, rarely, and at worst, colon cancer, so get it checked out with a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy as soon as possible.

When stool enters the colon, it is a thick liquid that can flow around partial blockages or through narrow areas. As it progresses through the colon and more water is removed, it becomes thicker. This inhibits its ability to get around blockages and narrow areas. A tumor in the middle to lower portions of the colon, or in the rectum, can make it difficult for stool to pass by, leading to constipation.

If you suffer from chronic or intermittent constipation, the sooner you get a diagnosis the better. With colon cancer, for example, if it is diagnosed in the earliest stages, survival rates are well over 90%. If the cancer is more advanced, and has spread beyond the colon, survival rates drop dramatically.

If you notice changes in your bowel habits, talk to your doctor. In many cases, you will find out that you do not have colon cancer and that something less serious is causing your constipation. But it is better to err on the side of caution and get it checked out

[fitzpatrickr]

Thanks, I am 30. I wasn't sure whether it was too early to get this checked out, but I should probably be on the safe side. Is there a chance tight muscles could be causing this like they caused my urinary symptoms?

[webslave]

No. You probably have IBS-C or IBS-A, a common comorbidity with CPPS.

But please do get the colon checked out!

[fitzpatrickr]

Thanks for the advice! I'm actually in the process of moving country, so I will certainly get myself for a colonoscopy in early January. I have read the symptoms of IBS and they certainly seem to match. So strange that IBS relates to CPPS. I'm reading Amy Stein's book and seems to say that those tight tense muscles could also be responsible for symptoms experienced by some IBS patients

[fitzpatrickr]

Hi guys,

So I've posted on this forum only once or twice before when my symptoms flared - but never gave my full story which I'm wanting rectify now. The reason again is a flare in symptoms, but rather than just ask for help, I thought I'd put out there what worked for me in the past in the hope that it can be of use to someone else. And also that someone can shed some light on what is going on with me :). I'll try to keep this as short and sweet as I can.

It all started in October 2011 - just over a year ago. I was on a flight back from Australia after an amazing adventure around SE Asia and Oz. During the holiday there was lots of hiking, travelling in cramped buses, carrying a heavy backpack...but I was feeling really great at the end of it. Then halfway through the flight I noticed the urge to urinate, and then again and the again. Until quickly, I was feeling the need to go constantly throughout the flight. A few days later, this had developed to a pressure like pain in the lower abdomen and an aching in my lower back. The next three weeks were awful - the pain and constant need to urinated was terrible, I couldn't sleep and had to take time off work.

Eventually, the symptoms did decrease in severity, but remained there at a lesser level. I was still getting that painful urge to urinate, I had started to develop a tight feeling in my perineum and there were funny sensations at the tip of my penis. The severity of my symptoms changed a lot. My anxiety was through the roof. I've had previous problems with anxiety before and was on a low dose of an anti-depressant before it all started (but wasn't the most disciplined at taking it everyday). I should also point out that a lot of my anxiety has been health related.

After many urology visits, ultrasounds, private consultants - nothing was found. I was feeling low. Until I came across this website and others that suggested tense, tight muscles could be my issues. It was a light bulb going on because this made sense to me - I could feel that the muscles in my abdomen and perineum felt constantly tight. I bought Amy Stein's book, dropped my pelvic floor regularly, started to see a pelvic floor physio (for external therapy only), did some self-external massage and exercised more and gradually my symptoms started to improve. By February of this year, 4 months after it all started my symptoms were still there but mild enough that they were not the huge issue they used to be in my life.

Many times over the past few months, I have been complacent - not doing my stretches, allowing myself to get stressed, feeling myself actively tighten and pull in my abdominal muscles...and I can feel the tension rise and the pain and symptoms return. I've had a few quite bad flare ups where I was sent into a panic but a few days relaxation, stretching and warm baths has sorted those out. All in all, from February until a few weeks ago, I feel I have been managing ok, with more very good times and a few not so good times.

So that brings us to now - the symptoms described above have continued to be fairly quiet - but unfortunately I've developed some new ones. Hope this isn't too much information, but a few weeks ago - I became quite badly constipated, which has never happened to me before. There was lots of straining and pushing for a few days. Lots of fibre and water followed which got things moving - but I've been left with this full, tight, pressure-like feeling in my rectum even when I have just had a bowel movement. I suppose it is kind of like that golf-ball feeling people describe but it feels quite high up in the rectum as if I need to push something out - is this how people experience that symptom? This has been joined by aching lower back pain, pain in the buttocks and upper leg pain.

Webslave has rightly said I should go get my colon checked out and I definitely will. But, I am currently about to move to the U.S. - and the UK system is too slow to arrange a colonoscopy before the move, so it will have to be in the new year,

But I was wondering, given the context of what I have experienced over the past year - does anyone have any advice for me? Or even just someone who might be experienced the same symptoms that I've had?

Many thanks for reading guys!

[webslave]

Other than what I've already suggested, make sure your diet has plenty of fiber, that you are drinking enough, (2 litres a day) and using things like stool softeners.

(There are a few rare things to consider too, such as asking your doc to inspect the skin over your spine for a dermal sinus. You can google "spinal dermal sinus/tethered cord" if you like (very rare, but could cause some of the sudden-onset symptoms you're having).)

[fitzpatrickr]

Thanks very much. Are the rectal symptoms I'm experiencing in anyway a common symptom of CPPS?

[webslave]

Lower back pain - yes
Pain in buttocks - yes
Upper leg pain - yes.

[I will beat this]

To fitzpatrick...make sure to get soluble fiber it has help me a lot...Also look up Help For Irritable Bowel Syndrome - IBS Education, Irritable Bowel Syndrome Support, & Self Help for Irritable Bowel Syndrome