Stomach cramps

[CDJ]

Are stomach cramps a normal part of crohns disease? Josh is getting them 3 -4 times a week. They often start in the morning before he has eaten and taken his meds. He ends up going to the toilet a lot for a couple of hours, with his stomach being very painful. He takes Buscopan [ an anti spasmatic tablet to help ] and a pain killer.
The pain rates from low to severe, in that he needs to lay down and have a water bottle on his stomach, and sometimes he will feel sick.

Sometimes he can go a whole day with no problems, but then the pains will start in the evening and he just feels really awful.

We know there are certain food which set it off, so avoid these, but more often there is nothing that sets him off, so we are at a loss to know the reason why.

His GI doctor doesn't seem overly concerened, she is putting it down to IBS spasms. Until March this year when he had a major flare up, and crohns was found to be in his small bowel as well, he had never suffered with stomach cramps before. So I really don't think he has IBS as well.

Could it be that he is getting irritable bowel disease as well as crohns disease? Do others get stomach cramps like this too? And does anyone have any idea as to how to cope with them.

 

[Clash]

My son used to have stomach cramps before he was dx'ed and until his treatment got things under control. Our GI felt it was part of his CD but mentioned he might have IBS as well but I didn't buy that since like your son he didn't have the cramps before CD. Once we got his meds right all the stomach cramping went away.

I hope he is able to feel better soon. C took an antispasmodic as well during that time and he didn't feel like it helped so much, in fact we still have a bottle full of those meds.

 

[Farmwife]

Cramps are a way of life here. I don't buy IBS either. Grace when she was the nearest to her remission, she didn't have any cramps. Now their coming back.

Do you think it could be his meds?

HUGS

 

[EthanClark]

Both my son Clark and I have CD and we both get stomach cramps. I have had CD for 17 years and will have cramps at least once a week, sometimes daily. They get so severe at times it is worse than my labor pains I have experienced. Clark used to complain of tummy aches all the time until we put him on EEN. Since then he hasn't had any issues with them. For me it is one of my main problems with this disease. Everyone is different but I don't think it is uncommon for CD sufferers to have the cramping. I find a heating pad sometimes eases the pain a little. Good Luck :ghug:

 

[Twiggy930]

My son gets exactly what you describe CDJ. Our docs are also not too concerned about it because all his lab work and fecal calprotectin tests come back normal. They have thrown around the IBS as well as Crohn's thing as well. I too don't buy it. We have tried Buscopan and it did nothing. My son has missed a lot of school because of this unresolved symptom. It is very frustrating.

My son seemed to improve a bit when he started taking a good probiotic. He also takes high doses of vitamin B2 because at one time we were told the abdominal pain might be due to abdominal migraines and high doses of vitamin B2 can help to prevent migraines. I can't say for sure whether the probiotic or the vitamin B2 has really helped. We also tried Iberogast which is a herbal liquid that is supposed to help with IBS pain. My son hated the taste and he had to take it 3 times a day so after about 2 months of him gagging it down every meal we gave up. We also tried the FODMAP diet with no success.

I am pretty sure that sometimes stress can trigger abdo pain for my son. We have tried deep relaxation techniques which are mildly helpful but once the pain has begun they don't really do much.

I'm sorry I don't have better suggestions. If you find anything that works let me know because this is something that we struggle with too.

 

[poppets mum]

My daughter gets stomach cramps daily which supposedly is ibs I don't believe it.

 

[gemmafer]

I'm always curious exactly what is meant by "cramps." Obviously it's hard to describe exactly what you feel to someone else, but when I think of cramps, I think of the gassy pain I get before I have loose bowel movements, which I only seem to get when I eat/drink something my bowel doesn't agree with. When I think of inflamed instestinal pain or obstruction, it's a much sharper more severe and long lasting pain. Like it starts at the top, I can feel it pull towards the middle and it finishes very painfully in my abdomen. Which was also an every-day thing for me before I went in to remission.

 

[crohnsinct]

Not a lot of problems with cramps but my daughter has figured out that when she gets dehydrated she cramps up. She just starts drinking a good amount of water and it usually resolves.

 

[Mehita]

We've found that extra water helps with cramping as well. Most people don't drink enough water anyway, but DS will drink even more than recommended. It seems to help. It's worth a try.

It's always hard to get kids to describe their symptoms. When we talk about cramps here, it's usually a squeezing type feeling in the muscles and we describe pain as sharp, piercing kind of feeling. DS says pain makes him breathe faster and shorter and makes his heart beat faster, whereas cramps make him breathe slower and no heart changes... which makes sense. Not to say that cramps can't be extremely painful, but I do think its important to be able to distinguish between the two.

 

[Devynnsmom]

Devynn has a lot of stomach cramps. We journal everything now.

 

[CDJ]

Thank you for all the replies. It is good to know that others get similar symptoms. I also feel this isn't IBS. I sometimes feel the GI doctors get a bit dismissive of what children go through, unless it is obvious what the problem is. Because children can't always describe things properly it can be hard to deal with.

Josh has had to take today off school as his cramps were bad this morning, which for him must have been bad as he never takes time off school unless he really needs to.

I have taken on board the drinking, and will get him to drink more. It certainly won't make things any worse.

Like you Devynnsmum, I document everything now. It certainly helps when asked by the doctors as to when things start.

 

[Devynnsmom]

It sure does. I keep track in a book, and also on a word program on the comp. When I go to her appts, I take the book. But I also print out any symptoms etc since the last appt. That way they can keep it in their files and they have all the appts, tests etc.