Ibs And Runners Trots.

[mommysboy]

1. I've tended towards IBS when under pressure or during periods of emotional upset. In my case it just means I get heavier movements which are uncomfortable but nothing more. It's intermittent and I get a bout every few months (and feel I have it now). Sometimes I don't get it for a year or 2. In fact, I always get it during World Cups as it destroys me to watch my team do so badly. Last time I consulted a UK doctor he gave me amiltriptyline at the lowest dose. I think it's a prescription medicine though and wondered whether it's safe for me to use under my own guidance.

But there is altogether something more challenging:

2. Runners Trots. When I play(ed) in midfield or up front at football (running strenuously really) I can get nasty bouts of intestinal cramps- I'm told quite a few runners get them too. When I consulted my doctor in UK about 25 years ago, he said there was little that could be done other than taking an opiate which was obviously not conducive to playing sport. I wondered whether there are now some medicines that could now stop or alleviate the symptoms as it's quite painful actually and I really don't think I want them again.

I know at my age with my history I ought to consider a colonoscope but really don't want that at all as I'm quite fearful of tubes inside me with good reason, so please no advice on that score unless really felt necessary.

[FBN]

Amytriptiline is one of the older generation medications for depression and has been used in small doses to treat anxiety as well. It is a prescription medication so probably not available OTC.

Runners trots are more common in ultra-marathon runners and, as far as I know, none of these guys bother with any medications for it due to the side effects which will be either sedative (as with opiates) or anticholinergic (dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation etc); all of which are highly undesirable under those circumstances.

[mommysboy]

I guess what I really need to ask is:

Is there any medicine available to prevent or alleviate acute intestinal cramps?

Is there any life long condition that makes someone more prone to gastro intestinal complaints but appear otherwise healthy?

[FBN]

IBS is a collection of symtoms and not a disease; the cause is really unknown and is usually a lifelong condition.

There is a strong link to anxiety and depression but it still is unclear if depression is the main problem and IBS secondary or the other way round.

Treatment is usually dedicated to the main symptom; if diarrhoea then Loperamide; if mixed then even Amytriptilline. Why the antidepressant works is still unclear. Colic then antispasmodics such as Donnatal or any of the newer drugs. Many can be found through Dr. Google.

Up to 20-40% of people with IBS will improve on placebo so, I would venture that the treatment should consist of other modalities such as diet, stress relief and a systematic exclusion of foodstuffs that cause onset of symptoms in an individual like excluding lactose or gluten and finding the right balance and combination of foods that provide fibre and other carbohydrates.

[Orangutan]

I guess what I really need to ask is:

Is there any medicine available to prevent or alleviate acute intestinal cramps?

Is there any life long condition that makes someone more prone to gastro intestinal complaints but appear otherwise healthy?

Try Colofac retard (mebeverine hydrochloride). Available in Bangkok at the big paharmacy on Sukhumvit just past Soi 4 (Nana) on the left. Where all the farang go.

-O

[mommysboy]

<P>Thanks for the answers. Wow! yes for sure a lot of things now fall in to place and I think the cause of most my ills is indeed IBS. I don't know why I hadn't researched this earlier as a doc. had diagnosed this some time ago: I thought it was just about having a tendency towards the trots.<BR><BR>I have a heck of a lot of gluten and lactose in my diet, and thinking about it performance anxiety really gets to me.<BR><BR>No easy cure I know, but at least the lights are on.</P>

[katana]

Buscopan or colofac for gut spasm/cramps.

[mommysboy]

Buscopan or colofac for gut spasm/cramps.

Thanks my chemist concurred. Most grateful!

Obviously I've set my mind to what is going on, and definitely seems linked to strong emotions such as fear and dread, not sure which fuels which though!

For sure, chilli seems to be implicated.

Anyway bliss!

Just a bit concened that it could be masking something more serious as I know IBS is a disease of exclusion. but I guess only exhaustive tests would reveal anything else.

I guess after 30 years it would have made it self known.

[mommysboy]

I'm now doing some quite strenuous running and take buscopan a few hours b4 and sometimes just after. The effect has been amazing!

Is it a prescription medicine though? and can I take it once or twice a week indefinitely, without side effects or loss of effectiveness.

I was also able to complete a strenuous afternoon of football without any repercusssions at all, whereas previously I'd got heat exhaustion and got quite ill.

It strikes me my I've definitely got a lower stomach problem and always have had really. My dad who is now 79 has also suffered from the same and a couple of years ago was diagnoised with a twisted,blocked artery in colon. As his son, is it possible I could have the same.?

It's been diagnosed before as mild IBS. It seems to run in my family. Is there a simple, non invasive procedure for ruling out anything else as I don't feel ill at all?

[Sheryl]

Buscopam is non-prescription in Thailand, available OTC everywhere.

It will not lose effectiveness if used once or twice a week, and it does indeed work well for many people with IBS

Potential side effects include dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, urinary retention (difficulty peeing) and an elevated heart rate. Should not be taken by people with glaucoma or heart disease.

Your main danger is that all Buscopan does is mask symptoms and it sounds like more serious causes have not been properly excluded. As you note, IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion. And, even when it has been properly arrived at (which does include a colonoscopy to rule out other problems), there is nothing to say that the person will nto develop a GI malignancy or other pathology (e.g. diverticulitis) later on, so any subsequent worsening of symptoms or new symptoms may again require diagnostic evaluation.

Nowadays colonoscopies are not unpleasant, they dose you up with drugs such that you don't feel a thing after the insertion of the IV. My sister recently had one and the doctor was kind enough to let me in to observe the findings. I was struck by the fact that at the same time we were viewing her appendix on the screen (i.e. the tube was in all the way to there) she was lying there peacefully asleep with a smile on her face!

[mommysboy]

Buscopam is non-prescription in Thailand, available OTC everywhere.

It will not lose effectiveness if used once or twice a week, and it does indeed work well for many people with IBS

Potential side effects include dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, urinary retention (difficulty peeing) and an elevated heart rate. Should not be taken by people with glaucoma or heart disease.

Your main danger is that all Buscopan does is mask symptoms and it sounds like more serious causes have not been properly excluded. As you note, IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion. And, even when it has been properly arrived at (which does include a colonoscopy to rule out other problems), there is nothing to say that the person will nto develop a GI malignancy or other pathology (e.g. diverticulitis) later on, so any subsequent worsening of symptoms or new symptoms may again require diagnostic evaluation.

Nowadays colonoscopies are not unpleasant, they dose you up with drugs such that you don't feel a thing after the insertion of the IV. My sister recently had one and the doctor was kind enough to let me in to observe the findings. I was struck by the fact that at the same time we were viewing her appendix on the screen (i.e. the tube was in all the way to there) she was lying there peacefully asleep with a smile on her face!

Wise words.

I think I'm ok in all honesty, if it's an illness then I've had it from 12 years old

But It's the cost, the drugs, and procedure that frighten me. Perhaps best done in UK for me. I would feel really vulnerable otherwise.