If you don’t have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), it may be difficult to imagine how incredibly painful the stomach cramps and diarrhea can be. The wave of cramps can make you double up and pray for them to stop. And I know that after a bout and after the diarrhea and the cramps have settled down, I feel as if my blood pressure dropped considerably, leaving me weak and tired.
Most people with IBS have tried just about everything under the sun to stop the cramping, changing diets, eliminating foods, adding other foods, you name it – it’s likely been tried. …read more

Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) is a medication that has been studied for treatment of symptoms of moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease (8 Help My Hurt posts on IBD/IBS/Crohn’s disease). Results of studies were discussed at the annual meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology. 
The medication is from a class of medications called anti-TNF alpha (Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha), which has already proven helpful for people living with chronic pain caused by Crohn’s. However, what researchers have found is that not only is Cimzia effective  for people who failed a more common treatment with infliximab, it can be less costly than the other …read more

If you live with the discomfort and pain of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you very likely  have tried many things to try and reduce the episodes of cramping and pain.
Now for some, there may be some relief in the form of probiotics. In a presentation at the American College of Gastroenterology annual scientific meeting, researchers provided findings from 19 different studies that showed that probiotics can ease symptoms and help normalize bowel movement frequency in patients with IBS.
Probiotics, which contain bacteria or yeasts,  are found in yogurt or dietary supplements.
Newsflash!! Kristen over at Lively Women just reminded me that she’s …read more

Disease below the waist – that’s what many people call illnesses like irritable bowel syndrome, colon cancer, and Crohn’s disease. As a result, these diseases aren’t talked about as much as they should, which means that there isn’t enough understanding “out there” for people who are living with chronic pain as a result.
There’s an interesting story out of the United Kingdom about a woman who only began living life as it should be lived, when she was 40 years old. The 40 years before that, living with Crohn’s disease mean frequent, painful trips to the bathroom and an incomplete education. …read more

While getting a diagnosis of a disease like Crohn’s disease isn’t what most people want, when you’ve been sick or affected by chronic pain, severe pain, getting such a diagnosis is often a relief.
An 18-year-old in the United Kingdom had been experiencing severe abdominal pain for five years before she was finally diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Now that she has a diagnosis, doctors can work on trying to get the disease under control.
The disposable “camera pill” is swallowed and then tracked as it goes through the patient’s digestive system. The radio transmitter provides the images of areas in the body …read more

Yesterday, a reader posted this question for us in one of the comment sections:
Is anyone experiencing I.C. (interstitial cystitis), IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) & vaginal bleeding? You are not alone. I’m on Elmiron, have been suffering for many years. I’m already past menopause. As if these are not enough, also I’m on medication for high BP, high cholesterol, diabetes & thyroid cancer, thyroid gland taken out, followed by radiation treatment twice.
Marijke here: Do any of you have any of these issues and if so, what are your experiences? Has anyone else tried Elmiron?
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"Fatigue, weakness, joint pain and migraines are frequently overlooked as symptoms of the disorder"
Celiac disease is often thought of as a disease or allergy that is just gluten intolerance, but it is much more than that. People with celiac disease can’t have ANY gluten as the gluten damages their intestinal walls bit by bit, leading to severe and sometimes life-threatening complications.
Here is a good article, Celiac disease: an elusive ‘iceberg‘, which describes describes the disease and the effects.
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Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, celiac disease, joint pain, gluten intolerance

I is for injection….
It’s also for:
Inflammation: Many times, when we have pain, it’s caused by inflammation or swelling, even if we can’t see it. For example, some types of arthritic pain are caused by inflammation inside the joints, so people are treated with anti-inflammatories to help relieve the pain.
Imagery: As part of the complementary and alternative methods of healing, imagery is a major player. People are taught to put themselves in a different place from their pain, or they are taught to imagine pushing the pain away, for example. Here are a couple of sites that do a …read more

What is Crohn’s disease? What are its symptoms? How does Crohn’s disease cause chronic pain? Are there treatments?
To answer these questions and more, click on the radio below to listen to a radio show that was taped in November 2007. Dr. Gary Wild, from the McGill University Health Center in Montreal, Canada, discusses Crohn’s disease.

Image: Newscom
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Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, can make life miserable – you just never know when that painful cramping will start and you’ll need to be as close to a bathroom as possible.
Research has shown that a psychological treatment called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can help some people with IBS learn how to manage their symptoms somewhat. The problem is, it’s not always easy to get out to the many appointments that are needed to learn the techniques and, in some areas, there aren’t enough people who are available to do this therapy.
Click here to read more.
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