Muscle strain as a source of stomach pain?

[Pinecone]

Hey all. I am days away from finishing my course of vancomycin. Lots of my symptoms are better. No more D, no more nausea, less bloating, and appetite has largely returned. However, I'm still plagued by a lot of pain, all over my abdomen. In fact, I think pain is my last symptom -- when I take tramadol, a prescription painkiller, I feel 100% back to normal. Even my annoying tenesmus eases up!

I've been looking into what could be causing the pain, and my best guess right now is some sort of muscle strain. I think this because the pain doesn't fit the usually descriptors -- it's not a burning, bloating, stabbing, cramping, or stretching pain. At least, I don't think it is. It's more like a severe "ache", if that makes any sense. This ache completely goes away in a hot bath, with a heating pad pressed against it, or as I mentioned, when I take tramadol. Tylenol and ibuprofen don't touch it, though.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. I could be way off here! But, in the absence of other c diff symptoms, and any symptoms that might suggest IBD, this is the best conclusion I could come to. Has anyone else experienced muscular pain and exhaustion after their c diff cleared? I've been struggling with this for almost three months now, largely without treatment. Surely my inner and outer stomach muscles are worn out by now!

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any replies!

[beth22]

It sounds like it might be muscle spasms, but I would ask your doctor. When I have muscle spasms, a heating pad usually helps me.

[georgina]

Don't think that pain is a classic IBD symptom but you can go to your GI and test for that , also get checked for diverticulosis.

[Pinecone]

Thank you, Beth. That certainly seems like a possibility. I think it's worth bringing up to my doctor how much warmth can improve my pain. Maybe I'm way off base here, but I feel like if normalcy is a single pill or warm bath away, that's significant. I'm not informed enough to know why it's significant, but it definitely seems like it could be!

Georgina, I don't think I have IBD either. The symptoms just don't seem to match up with what I'm experiencing. Plus, I've had multiple CT scans that never showed a hint of inflammation. Four different ER doctors told me it didn't look like IBD at all. It's not something I'm entirely ruling out, of course, and if the suspicion is there I'll happily have scoping to check. Diverticulosis isn't something I've looked into very much, but it seems like my CT scans and x-rays would've seen it if I had it. Plus, I'm only 25. Doesn't look like something that happens much at my age. Then again, it could be newly formed, and it's not like I'm immune to rare stomach problems, lol. Again, if the suspicion is there, I'm glad to get it checked out too. Thanks for the response! Gives me something new to look into.

I have another question that might seem a bit silly. What actually counts as a "stomach cramp"? In my frequent googling these past months, I've seen "cramp" used interchangeably with "pain", but that's not right, is it? A cramp is a specific kind of pain, I thought. Like a twisting, tight pain. So when people have asked me if I have stomach cramps, I answer based on whether or not I have that sort of pain. Lately I feel like I might be wrong, though, because I've seen things like piles and fissures cited as causes for stomach cramps, even though they seem like they'd only cause a burning or stinging pain. Is any stomach pain considered a stomach cramp? Or is it mistakenly used interchangeably?

Sorry if it seems like a pedantic question. I honestly do just want to be more accurate with my symptom reports to my doctor, though.

[Musings]

Pain is a major indicator of IBD but it generally falls into the sharp, stabbing, burning categories versus an ache. CT scans are not the best diagnostic tool for IBD and colonoscopy and/or the pill cam is still the most recommended for determining if someone has Crohn's or UC though I agree that your symptoms do not sound like a typical case of either.

I did find that I strained/pulled muscles during active c.diff and felt some pain afterwards. It could also be, as Beth mentioned, from spasms. There are several medications that can help with this.

~Lauren

[georgina]

There is also the Calprotectin test to determine if you have IBD or not , it might be an alternative to colonoscopy.

[Pinecone]

Lauren - I did think it sounded fishy when the ER doctors ruled out IBD when they didn't see inflammation on the CT scans. I figured they just only said what they did because it wasn't a red alert kind of inflammation, and thus not what they deal with in the emergency department. That's why I've never ruled it out for myself. I'd just expect more D and B, along with a different kind of pain, so it's not at the forefront of my mind right now.

I do have bentyl and levsin from previous ER visits, but I was under the impression that I shouldn't take them with c diff. Thought they might've fallen under the same umbrella as immodium. Could be wrong, though.

Georgina - Wow, thank you for mentioning that. I've never heard of it! Always glad to learn of new things. I will jot it down for my doctor's visit! I am eager for any alternative to a colonoscopy, because I'm just so afraid of what the prep will do to my sensitive, hurting guts.

[beth22]

There are also some blood tests to see if you have markers for Crohn's. I don't remember what they are - my GI ran them, but I would ask your doctor.

[Pinecone]

I actually had a whole lot of blood work done after my first GI visit. They took 7 vials of it! I'm not sure exactly what was tested for, though. Never had a chance to go over it with my doctor, since I was diagnosed with c diff the next day. I have access to the tests online, but I have no idea what any of them mean. The note under each of them just says "normal thyroid, no celiac". Not the most detailed explanation! I'll be sure to ask if I had any of the Crohn's markers in my workup in my upcoming appointment. Thanks for the heads up!

[Musings]

The specific blood test for IBD is very expensive and not always covered. The calprotectin fecal test only detects inflammation which could be IBD but could also be c. diff, unspecified colities, etc. Ultimately, a colonoscopy and/or a pill cam are the best tests to determine if someone has IBD.

Bentyl should not be taken with active c.diff. I only took it afterwards.

~Lauren

[Pinecone]

Yeah, I thought so about the Bentyl, Lauren. Too bad about the blood test... I'll still inquire about it, but I won't get my hopes up. Looks like pill cam is my best non-colonoscopy hope right now!

I'm feeling pretty stressed out today. My last vanco is in a few hours, after which I start watching, waiting, and worrying. I also have my doctor's appointment tomorrow, with so many things to ask about. Feeling anxious about that. Plus, of course, I'm still having constant pain. Hopefully I can get that sorted with the doctor, at least. I wish they could prescribe me pain medicine, but they've said they cannot! Ugh. Here's hoping the root of the pain can be solved quickly, at least.

[amyc]

I wouldn't jump to a scope in the immediate aftermath of Cdiff. The prep washes out your flora, and you need to let it recover to see if you can now beat the infection now that you are off meds. Ask your doctor about the levsin and bentyl. I don't think they are like Imodium, but that's a doctor question.

[beth22]

Quest labs usually has pretty reasonable prices for lab tests. I know they charge way less than the hospital lab for the same tests. I don't recall the tests for IBD being that expensive. There is also the one for IBS called IBSchek.

[Pinecone]

Hey folks, had my appointment today. It was kind of a whirlwind. My white-coat anxiety kicked in in full force. Lost another 11 pounds since the fifth of the month, but I'm not stressing that since I was fat. Doctor basically ignored everything I'd written down on my pad of paper -- didn't even check my tongue for thrush after I brought it up. In hindsight, I really should've just opened my mouth and asked to get looked at, but... I can't fault myself for nervousness. She chuckled at my choice of Culturelle as a probiotic (there's conflicting reports about every single probiotic, so I just picked the one my mom uses at her workplace for c diff patients), but didn't offer an alternative. Dismissed my muscle-related complaints without any explanation, and had nothing to say about my inability to pass gas.

As you can guess, this all lead to the booking of a colonoscopy for next week. I still really disagree with doing one this soon after c diff, for all the reasons amyc said and more. However, she got me scared with talk of atypical UC or Crohn's. I couldn't refuse. In light of that, she didn't order any bloodwork, lactose intolerance testing, or any prescriptions for pain/tenesmus. Feeling pretty bummed out.

I know I need to be my own advocate, but I really just freeze up in there. So disappointed with this appointment, compared to the last one. My last appointment had stool tests and bloodwork and everything, leading to the c diff diagnosis. This one just left me confused and colonoscopy-bound.

I think I'll cancel the colonoscopy if I see dramatic improvement in my pain over the weekend. Since my stomach pain is the -only- reason they're checking me out, I figure it's okay to skip it if I don't have the pain anymore. But, I'm not optimistic. Still hurting today.

In the meantime, a question. Is the bowel prep as bad as it sounds? Is there anything I can do to make it go smoother? I'm doing suprep. Seen a lot of mixed reviews about it. I'm the kind of person who gets an upset stomach when I drink too much, so I'm worried about that, plus the possibility of a cramping chain reaction leaving my writhing on the toilet. Can anyone soothe my fears? I'm only afraid of the prep -- I'll be under sedation for the procedure. Thanks a lot.

Edit: On the advice of several trusted family and friends with medical backgrounds, along with my own research and, frankly, my gut feeling, I've decided to postpone the colonoscopy. I want to give myself time to heal first, especially since my pain is greatly lessened today. I will begin probiotics, fiber, and slow reintroduction of nutritious food, including kefir, which looks yummy. I hope I don't regret it, but I just feel in my heart that there's nothing more going on than a bit of IBS and battered colon.

[beth22]

I think you have to go with your gut feeling ( no pun intended ). If you don't think the colonoscopy is a good idea, then wait. Give your body a chance to heal. Culturelle did not agree with me, despite the fact that it only has one bacteria. I take a multi-strain probiotic called VSL#3, but there are others. Florastor, which is a yeast, helps some, but it did not agree with me either and just made things worse.