different pain

[danno]

hi all,
haven't been to the forum in a while and thought I'd check in.
strangely enough, my pain seems to have changed over the past year.
the testicular pain that used to bother me is almost gone - but now I have quite pronounced lower back and internal rectal pain.
think this is somehow related to my (undiagnosed but obvious to me) IBS - and is essentially the same muscular tension.
am much less obsessed with the entire problem than I was - did go and see Dr Wise who was a great help but have not been very disciplined with the relaxation.
if anybody has advice on IBS please let me know.
Cheers,
Dan

[scotsman]

Have you tried any internal or external physio? Probably worth exploring that option.

Richard.

[Howden]

Hi Danno. My experience with IBS started about 20 years ago--long before the onset of my CPP. Perhaps by telling you my experience I can save you a lot of time and pain. The IBS was very painful and I lost a lot of weight rapidly. As a result, I tried everything I could think of to resolve the condition, at first without success. The thing to remember about IBS is that it is a syndrome and a diagnosis by exclusion i.e., no abnormalities can be found so you have IBS. I know, because of my circumstances at the time, that the main cause of the condition was extreme stress. I then found I was lactose intolerant (I was reluctant to accept that, because I loved my ice cream). The IBS was partly resolved when I made a serious attempt to relax and to avoid dairy products. It was eventually resolved (that is to say, I was symptom free) when I went to see a naturopath about CPP, and he put me on a diet and supplements (there were too many supplements to enumerate here, and the fact is I really cannot remember them). One was a green drink and I think that was very helpful. The diet was essentially very low carb intake, mostly chicken, fish and vegetables and no sugar. Of course it had no effect on my chronic pain, but the improvement to bowel function was apparent very soon after I went on the diet. Here's the good news: I finished with the diet more than three years ago, and if it were not for the dietary restrictions necessary to deal with the CPP, I would be able to eat anything I want (I know, I have occasionally broken the dietary rules). In short, do whatever you can to alleviate or escape your stress (you need that for your CPP), test yourself to see if you are lactose intolerant, and then consult with a naturopath about a diet to deal with the IBS. I hope this helps.