Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Helpful Tips How do you deal with lower back/stomach spasms?

Hi everyone! Sad to see so many people fighting this damned thing but happy to find a place that we can come together. Ive only ever met one other person who said they had AS. I've been fighting it since I was 11 though it was only correctly diagnosed when I was 30 - am now 45. The last six weeks have been hell. started with a terrible spasm on 13th december - like a cramp that just kept coming in waves for hours on end. Was trapped at home for two weeks then went into hospital in an ambulance as I couldnt sit in a car. spent three days there on pethadine, cataflam and valium. Came home and had another two weeks off work and seemed to be getting my mobility back slowly when I was hit by another spasm attack on 14th Jan - I suspect it was linked to my stomach this time, reacting to the meds and am now taking nucoxia (etoricoxib) instead of cataflam preceded by ranitidine to protect the stomach. Still not back at work and though I do feel better and walk around at home with my stick the spasm threat is never far. Cant afford to stay away from work any longer! Any advice on how to deal with the wretched thing?

Hi Jay and welcome to KA. I'm sure others who have experienced something similar to you will have better advice than me. I have RA, not AS, and haven't experienced quite what you are describing.

However, when my RA pain was at its most severe so I could barely function, I began using fentanyl patches which delivered the narcotic pain meds through my skin, thus avoiding stomach issues. I adjusted very well to these patches and was able to go to work, drive and function acceptably well. The pain was never gone but was much diminished. The other good thing about the patches was the constant delivery - no ups and downs as oral pain meds wear off.

I'm off the patches now because I'm using methotrexate and prednisone so I'm just using percocet (oxycode and aceteminophen) for occasional more severe pain. I'm also taking celebrex plus rabeprazole to protect my stomach.

Hope things improve for you soon.

Thanks Wendy. Will check with my doc re the patches. The sustained release would help too I'm sure. Btw when my AS first showed up all those years ago it was misdiagnosed as RA and I was treated for that for a year and a half. Take care and stay on top of it.

Hi,
Can anyone inform how to point out spasm.

Regards.

JAY

my mild spams just feel like especially tight muscles and weaken the muscles and then cause feelings of numbness as well.

my bad spasms are when the muscles become completely rigid and cause one to scream in pain when you go to use the muscle, like a cramp that persists for 12-36 hours without letting up. causes severe fatigue of the muscle.

the first kind i may not have been aware of if not for PT and physiatrists pointing them out. the second kind, there is absolutely no mistaking them!

for the first kind, ice or heat help. for the second, only ice gives me relief.

hope that helps.

hi from one jay to another. I'm from india too, kerala though bangalore used to be home and now working in muscat.

as sue said, you can;t mistake the second kind. it's just like a cramp which leaves you screaming in pain and it keeps recurring until you get the muscle to relax. my recent ones were lower back and stomach and lasted for something like 5-6 hours reducing in frequency from every 30 seconds to every few minutes. my last bouts lasted for almost 6 hours. can't imagine how you deal with 12+ hours sue! they leave you completely spent. i use heat but i think perhaps your cold pack might be worth a try. i had asked my doctor but he recommended heat.

the milder spasms tht sue mentioned are a result of extended trauma and leave the muscles much tighter and therefore less pliant than they should be. i have these in my upper back and on my neck and exercises under the guidance of an experienced physiotherapist is good as well as tns and ultrasound. i think physiotheraphy is the best solution for those. take care and stay well all of you. remember this needs to be fought on alifelong basis and that might mean lifestyle changes, diet changes and regular exercise

more later but since you mentioned ultrasound, that's been a big one for me at the PTs to the point that this fall i bought my own home ultrasound machine. my back was so bad this fall that getting in the car to go to the PTs to get the ultrasound was sort of defeating the purpose. i was skeptical about the home machine but i love it! works as well as the ones used at PT. i'm lucky that my husband can do it for me. here's a link where i talk about it:

discussion of home ultrasound machine


and a link to the site to buy it. i researched it very thoroughly before choosing this one. made sure it's power was as close to the one at the PTs as possible. the only difference is its pulsed instead of continuous, but that seems to be ok.

home ultrasound machine - mend me shop

sorry i didn't respond sooner, when you were talking about your stomach, didn't realize you were talking about the dreaded muscle spasms. and when mine last that long, only when i move, so if i lay really still......

and yeh, try the ice, works great for me, have all kinds of ice packs, though my favorites are colpacs: colpacs
and cvs "peas" (not real peas but gel material): cvs "peas"

some people don't tolerate ice well but a lot do
using ice was suggested to me by others here when i first got here
this place has both useful advice and people who understand
so welcome!

Thanks Sue. Read the links. My problem at the moment is similar, I can't risk driving, terrified of the slightest bump let alone the process of getting into the driver's seat and getting someone to drive me to the PTs wouldn't be convenient leave alone the discomfort of the drive. Am trying to see whether I can get a PT who will do house calls at least till this attack is under control enough for me to be mobile. Will also follow upon the home ultrasound - check whether they have a dealer here or if there is a similar product.

Yes, this site is great. Thank you all. Like I said earler, wish so many of us didn't have to deal with this s**t but since we do it's great that we have a place to share advice, experiences and just shoot the breeze. Bless whoever started kickas.org. Thanks again and stay well

Hiya Jay64.

This is my first post and I hope I'm doing this right. I've been 'lurking' for quite a while, but I had to reply to your question because, to me, cramping is one of the worst things about AS.

Mine usually hit at night. At one point I spent over 3 years without a full nights sleep, so I know where you're coming from. The chest cramps were the most frightening, because I kept thinking about the heart being a muscle *gulp*

Luckily, my doctor didn't laugh and put my mind at ease on that score.

But in answer to your question: I never found either the hot, or cold remedy much help. Nor was the ultra sound. In fact, that only made me worse.

At the moment I use a muscle relaxant - Baclofen 10mg -, which I take 3 times a day. It has really cut down on the amount, and severity of the spasms.

I hope this helps, and I hope you find something that helps you.

i take a muscle relaxant too, zanaflex, 2 mg at a time (any more drops my BP too low). when things are under control, i just take it at night right before bed or under specific conditions, because it does make me sleepy. but it does help with the muscle spasms. i like zanaflex because it only lasts in the bloodstream about 6 hours and only makes me sleepy for about an hour.