# Right side pain when bending over or twisting along with cramping pain



## lynne82

Hi,
My name is Lynne, I have had crohn's most of my life but was diagnosed in 2009 and have luckily only had one major flare up in 2010 and one recently this past winter.  My pain started out only when I was moving, bending over, or twisting.  At first I thought it was a pulled muscle because I had just began swimming a lot but the pain never went away.  Then I started having loose stools and hip pain and called my GI doctor and he told me I am flaring.  I did not put two and two together about the hip pain until he told me that the crohn's was causing it.  So, I was put on Xifaxan (Rifaximin) in the beginning of April…the diarrhea went away very fast and my hip pain cleared up a few weeks later…however, I am still having this sore pain on my lower right side (I have crohn's on my terminal ileum).  It sometimes feels like a pulled muscle because it definitely gets worse with movement, but lately within the past week I have noticed pain while I am NOT moving, in the same area.  It's almost like what some would describe as labor pains because it is sharp and comes on quickly and last for about 30 seconds and then goes away.  I can feel it tightening up, almost like my intestine is being squeezed and then released.  I am confused because the Xifaxan cleared up my diarrhea so I didn't think I was flaring anymore.  And I actually just finished my last dose yesterday.  So….could this still be related to my crohn's?  Luckily I go for a colonoscopy on May 29, but I still have a few weeks and I am a little worried as this pain can get pretty severe.  Oh, also I have noticed when I switched to drinking smoothies and having soup all day I noticed the pain is pretty much gone.  
Thanks so much!!!
Lynne


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## theOcean

It's a treatment for diarrhea, so it's likely it's been disguising your symptoms but not treating the cause for it.

You probably need to go on a course of prednisone to treat the inflammation. What medication are you on for Crohn's, otherwise?


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## lynne82

Thanks, that's what I thought too.  I currently only take Pentasa, probiotics, protonix, vit D and B-12.  I also forgot to mention that when it hurts really bad to bend over or move I also feel very nausea.  I find it strange to me though because I believe this is a different pain for me, I don't remember moving causing me so much pain before in the past.


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## theOcean

Yeah, that sensitivity is likely from the Crohn's, as well. I had problems like that when I was in flare. Unfortunately it can cause a lot of extraintestinal manifestations. Do mention that it seems like a different pain than before, but I'd recommend trying to get an appointment with your GI as soon as possible to get on some prednisone. If that doesn't work, you may have to add another medication to the mix (like an immunosuppressant).


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## Daisy123

It sounds mechanical to me, there is a possibility that you have a stricture and are suffering from obstructive symptons. Watch what you eat. It might be worth going on a low residue diet until your colonoscopy. I have 3 small strictures and have been on the diet since Christmas. The good news is that if it is a stricture you might be able to have a balloon dilation.


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## lynne82

What do you mean mechanical?  Yea I think I will eat a low residue diet until then.  I feel better when I eat that way anyway.  Did you have similar pain? Thanks!


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## Daisy123

Mechanical can be a stricture rather than inflammation. With mine, when I put my hands over my head I can feel a pull. That is why it is safer to go low residue until you know what it is. It might not be but better be safe.


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## lynne82

Yes, that is exactly the best way to put it, it feels like a pull.  I can even feel it if I tilt my head down to the ground, I feel something in that exact spot pulling.  I will definitely eat light.  So you can have a stricture and no inflammation?


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## theOcean

A stricture is often the result of continuous inflammation. The body tries to attack pathogens, and in the process can attack that tissue there as well. Then, when it heals, it heals improperly and forms a stricture instead.


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## lynne82

Update: Just found out today from the colonoscopy that it is a stricture!  He said the stricture is at the ileocecal valve.  I have to schedule and MRI enterography…he said I could possibly need a resection.  Do you know of any other treatments?  He is adamant on using antibiotics again for another month as well…and low residual diet still.  Thanks…feeling worried.


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## Daisy123

As far as I am aware crohns medications cannot help strictures because it is the result of inflammation rather than inflammation itself. Ask about dilation and/or strictureplasty. If you have to have a resection, which is scary, it will make you feel so much better.


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## theOcean

You could look into balloon dilation to treat the stricture as well. It would be worth trying before a resection, I think.


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## lynne82

Thank you!  And there's no way it will heal on its own by eating a light diet?  Worries me because I can feel it gradually getting worse….


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## Daisy123

lynne82 said:


> Thank you!  And there's no way it will heal on its own by eating a light diet?  Worries me because I can feel it gradually getting worse….


No, once a part of the bowel has narrowed it cannot get better without some form of surgical intervention. I hate to say this but strictures do get worse and they can be dangerous if you get obstructed. You need to sort this out sooner than later. If you do need an operation, it is best to have it done while you are as healthy as possible. I have had seven ops, multiple resections and dilations in the past. Yes, surgery is scary but it is nowhere near as bad as you think it is. These days if done laparoscopically, you can be in and out in four days. I was in seven days for my last resection but I had to have open surgery.


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## The Real MC

Just read this as I have been having similar symptoms since this past monday.  The pain is in the same area where I had an obstruction a week ago.  Seeing the doctor today.


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## lynne82

Daisy123 said:


> No, once a part of the bowel has narrowed it cannot get better without some form of surgical intervention. I hate to say this but strictures do get worse and they can be dangerous if you get obstructed. You need to sort this out sooner than later. If you do need an operation, it is best to have it done while you are as healthy as possible. I have had seven ops, multiple resections and dilations in the past. Yes, surgery is scary but it is nowhere near as bad as you think it is. These days if done laparoscopically, you can be in and out in four days. I was in seven days for my last resection but I had to have open surgery.


For some reason I didn't realize you wrote this until now!  Ok…I am really bummed out about this.  I go for my MRI tomorrow and I guess I'll go from there.  Really hoping it is small and just can be dilated.  I am a stay at home mom of a 3 year old little boy and my husband works a lot so I have NO IDEA how I can possibly have surgery right now.  At the same time I am in pain and don't want to be anymore.  Even when I eat no fiber foods and hardly anything the pain is still really bad when bending over.  I wonder if this can effect the muscle somehow?


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## Daisy123

I think the pain is a pulling pain, it is the bowel and not the muscle. Fingers crossed that it is small enough to dilate, it is certainly the best option.


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## The Real MC

Had the radiology test, no inflammation and no sign of Crohns.  After some recollection it may had been a torn muscle when I vigorously cleaned the shower walls a few days before.  Feeling much better after staying inactive to let the muscle heal.


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## lynne82

The Real MC said:


> Had the radiology test, no inflammation and no sign of Crohns.  After some recollection it may had been a torn muscle when I vigorously cleaned the shower walls a few days before.  Feeling much better after staying inactive to let the muscle heal.


I am glad yours is just a pulled muscle.  Just keep an eye on it because that is how mine started.  I seriously thought I had pulled a muscle from swimming.  It only hurt to move I wasn't having any other pain or symptoms until like 2 months later!


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## lynne82

Well my doctor called with the results of my MRI today…he said I have moderate to severe inflammation in my ileum next to the stricture but that the stricture isn't too big he said.  He said he is hoping that all my pain is due to the inflammation and not the stricture.  So I am going to keep using the antibiotics for another 6 weeks and if I am still in pain after that then he said we would look into surgery. I don't know why he won't try any other drugs but he said that he doesn't want me to go on steroids.  I am just worried because I have already been on antibiotics for 6 weeks and I have only noticed it has got slightly better but not too much better.  So, hoping and praying this works.  I really don't want and need surgery.  And my other question that I should have asked him is even if the inflammation goes down, the stricture will still be there…so what then?


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## zilla7777

The stricture and the inflammation are handled by different clinics in large hospitals where I live. The colorectal surgery team handled my strictures and the Gastroenterology clinic helps me with medications and treatments for remission. They both work together closely though, and will make sure that surgery is the best option for you.

Even when in remission strictures can be a huge pain, and they are definitely worth getting on top of early. The double balloon enteroscopy method seems to help some people, but in my case they just jumped straight to a resection. Regardless though, from the severity of my strictures I feel like the surgery gave me part of my life back. It's brilliant to be able to eat healthily again (low residue is generally quite unhealthy.)

Daisy is right. Surgery isn't the most pleasant experience, but it's not THAT bad.


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