Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group abdominal pain

I am new to this forum. My 19 year old son has had AS for about 6 years. For the last year and a half he has suffered bouts of severe or constant abdominal pain in his lower right side. He has had two colonoscopies, an endoscopy, x-rays, two abdominal scans-one with contrast, and numerous biopsies and blood work. Everything is "normal' except that he has a hiatal hernia and some reflux. He has been on Enbrel since June with great success for the AS but not the abdominal pain. All his doctors seem to pass the buck when they don't find the cause of the pain. We are at wit's end. He is a college freshman at Clemson and is trying to do his best despite all of this. Does anyone out there have a clue as to what we should try next or is there anyone who has experienced similar symptoms?

Hiya,

Welcome, I am sorry to hear about your son, I know when it affects our children it can be very stressful.

My experience has been similar, with buck passing between the medical disciplines.

The good news is that you son is n't showing signs of Inflammaatory Bowel disease which often accompanies AS, and can be very debilitating.

What helps/worsens the pain? Any particular class of medications, anything else stiff or sore at the same time.

Sometimes you get internal inflammation and scarring outside the organs on the soft tissue which holds things in place. or it can be referred pain and the problem is elsewhere. I found that I get pain down low in my abdomen, I found it was on the nerve distribution of a particular level of my spine that is affected and massage and tens at that level has eased the pain.

There are charts all over the internet key words would be "myotome" and "spine" "innervation".

These days the scans are pretty good, but they have different settings/parameters depending on what they are looking for. A GP or PCP can order them, this may find the problem or put your mind to rest.

I had to shop around for Dr.s that would help and some of the opinions and help were inadequate

Good Luck,

David

Hi Kris,

Aside from what Davo has added... How low, is lower right side? Two things come to mind for me. If his pain is just below, or just under his right rib cage it could be Gall Bladder issues or stones. It can radiate down lower as well from my own experience. The pain can come and go. It can be noticed after a meal or at night. The stones can be so small they don't show with imaging. Has he had liver functions done? Appendex?

The other is referred pain from irritated nerve roots coming out of his spine. Ask him when and how the pain presents itself. Is his abdomin pain more noticable when his back is flaring. Does it happen after slouching in a chair for a time. Bending forward encroches on the nerve roots. If their especially irritated from the inflamation it can cause a bloom of pain into the abdomin. This is what happens to me. The pain is different at times, Sometimes stabbing. Sometimes generalized. Or dances around. But I can usually attach the pain to positioning. If pressing in or down on the area of the pain doesn't make it hurt more or at all, it could be referred pain. Sort of like Phantom pain if you will.

If nothing is showing up with testing. It could be just part of the disease process. He should really pay attention to what he is doing at the time of the pain. Or what he has just done. Is the pain constant? Does it change with positioning?

This disease is kinda global. It can effect lots of parts of your body. See if you can get some more info from him. It might just connect with someone here.

Good luck.

Kerry

Welcome To KickAS,
You came to the right place, you are already getting
good help. Great people here to help us.

Good Luck,
Mike

Hi Kris

Along with AS, I have Crohn's disease (which is one of the inflammitory bowel diseases). I have had the same pain/pains in my abdomen for years. I finally went to the Mayo clinic and they though that along with AS/Crohn's disease, I more than likely have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I personally think that this is all connected. My doc has me taking Dicyclomine (not sure on the spelling) and it seems to really calm down the abdominal pain.

Good Luck

Tom

Hi Kris

Welcome aboard.

I also have abdominal pain in the lower right side but mine comes and goes. I thought it may be my appendicts but the dr. checked it out and of course it isn't. The dr. can not find the cause of it and thinks it may be part of the AS . He said the HBL27 (I think I got it right) gene can cause all kinds of strange things happen.

But you will get all kinds of excellent advice here. Just hang in there.

Take care
Valerie

I have IBS which cause me sharp abdominal pains....I notice when I eat certain food that doesn't agree w/me it cause severe pain there.....so I have to watch what I eat.....I hope your son can find some relief soon

Hope "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."
."

I want to thank all of you that have replied to my post. I sent Patrick the info on the website so he could register himself. Just knowing that all of you are just as interested in Kicking AS as I am is a relief. I would do anything to make him feel healthier. Thanks for listening.

Welcome to KICKAS.

Glad you found this site.

Have a look in the NSD No Starch Diet Forum, many people have posted great success of the diet. Also look into the 3 day apple diet.

Have a good look around the whole site and all the forums, there is a lot of useful information.

You will find the people here very knowledgeable and supportive.

Take Care
Wayne

Hi Kris,

Sounds like I went through last summer.... all the tests came back normal for me as well. Was labeled IBS. Found I really have to watch what I eat and how much. Follow the no/low starch and that helps with 80% of it.

Still have issues from time to time with lower right side.

With gall bladder... I was told the lower right area would be very sensitive to touch if that is the issue.

Take care,

Tim

Hope is only a post away with KickAS.