Health Organization for Pudendal Education

hi all
got a question if anyone can answer it. recently i have been having cramping type pains in my abdomen, mainly when i need a bowel movement but also after and they last for hours, i was wondering if it was anything to do with the pn entrapment. i do suffer from ibs and i am quite stressed with one thing and another at the moment, so not sure if this is the problem, i recently had a colonoscopy and was told everything looks great in there but i can honestly say it doesnt feel it.
really just wanted to know if pn can cause ibs type symptoms such as bloating, cramping as i am not 100% sure which nerves and muscles the pn nerve works on.
it seems that my bowel is always sore etc



andrea

Hi Andrea,

Your sympoms will almost definitely be related to your ibs, it is a common sign, especially if you have had a clear conlonoscopy.


Understandably you are very anxious at the moment and your gut is reacting to this. You could dis uss it with your gp who may feel it appropriate to prescibe a muscle relaxant that works on the gut. I have never heard that pn gives out abdomonal pain, but I have been told by Dr G. that many pn sufferers also have ibs

Hope this is reassuring.

Regards Molly

Hi,
I have been away from the forum for quite while. My pain is definitely related to bowel movements and to peristalsis along the bowel. Up til now I have found that Colofac MR capsules every 6 hours (twice the usual dose) are helpful. They are antispasmodic. The MR is the long acting form and much better than the normal tablets. But recently my bowels have become looser and at times the pain is unbearable. My GP has given me Loperamide tablets to reduce the gut motility. They usually come as capsules and are used for diarrhoea. But I don't have diarrhoea and was concerned that the capsules would be too strong and bung me up - which also causes PN pain. So I cut the tablets up and take a 1/4 or a 1/2 at a time. They don't seem to have any side-effects. They help a bit - and anything which reduces the pain is a help. I also take Dicycloverine tabs but these cause dryness and I have Sjogren's syndrome (dryness of body glands) and these are more problematical for me. I was prescribed Hydroxychloroquine for the Sjogrens but that caused the looser bowel movements and increased the pain, such that I stopped the drug. My GP suggested restarting it with the loperamide and at 1/2 the previous dose. I haven't yet dared to do that!

So I'm not sure if this is helpful at all as you asked "if pn can cause ibs type symptoms such as bloating, cramping" but for me it's the other way round that the bloating/cramping causes the PN.

PS. Last time I wrote I was about to try PreGabalin. What an awful time I had with that. It was like I had Alzheimer's - I couldn't add up, even easy numbers, remember who people were or make a coffee. I lost 3/4 stone from water retention when I came off it after 5 months. Lots more awful side-effects. Never again...

Best wishes,
Dorothy

hi dorothy
i must admit that my pn pain is worse when i am bloated and i think that is because of the pressure it puts on the pelvis has anyone else noticed this



andrea

This is always been my problem, rolling cramps that linger after a BM. I take lots of fibre from veg and fruit and lots of water every day but the only thing that seems to help is Magnesium tablets and Acidophillus.
When I forget to take them then I know all about it!
I recently decided to try out gluten free breads thinking it might be good for me...the resulting cramps were terrible so I know im not coeliac but need to stick to my regular routine of wholegrain breads and plenty of veg. Wouldnt it be great to be able to eat anything!

Hi,
Has anyone considered candida? If you have antibiotics, your gut can have an overgrowth of the the candida organism which is normally balanced out by our friendly bacteria. These are killed by most modern broad spectrum antibiotics like the amoxil and cephalosporins. if you have candida overgrowth, then this feeds on sugar and fruit sugars in your bowel and produces gas and cramps. In turn, these can set off the damaged pudendal nerve.

Friendly bacteria like acidophilus help but also anti-fungal medicines. There are many supplements and herbs which can treat candida overgrowth. I find Mycopryl by Biocare particularly good. Hope this helps someone.

Dorothy