# IBS Backache?



## inesse (Mar 11, 2008)

Hi thereNew to the forum. My doctor thinks I may have IBS. HE wants me to go for a barium enema as in my family history Bowel cancer is rife. I do have age on my side as I am only 28. All my symptoms seem to match that of IBS. I have for the last year or so suffered with constapation and lower back ache. I assumed the constapation was due to not having a perfect diet and the back ache was either due to the constapation or my monthly cycle. I recently went to the doctor after suffering 4 weeks of diareah. Mostly in the mornings. After waking up at about 8am I would suffer frequent bouts of diareah untll about lunch time when more often than not it would settle down. On most of the websites I have looked on one of my main symptoms always seems to be missing off of the symptoms list which is making me wonder if I do infact have something other than IBS. My back ache. It is always in the lower back and can often radiate down to the tops of my thighs. This really is painful. When I get it alongside bloating and stomach ache it can be almost crippling. I rely on at hot water bottles a lot to ease the discomfort. Some times one on my tummy and another on my back. I have noticed that on days I have diareah the back pain is worse. It often eases off after I have passed a stool then can sometimes build up again. However it very rareley goes altogether I will have it all day. Sometimes I have had it for weeks on end. Other than that the rest of my symptoms seem to match that of IBSDoes anyone else on here suffer with backache related to IBS?Cher xxxx


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## rosiep (Feb 5, 2008)

Yes, I often have lower back aches when my IBS is flaring up. Using a heating pad helps but does not always make them disappear. I just have to let the flare ups take their course and then after a few days they subside.


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## matt2909 (Mar 11, 2008)

I too get backache which can be just as bad as the stomach pains, when the condition first flared up about two years ago the dr was baffled because he didnt regognise that the back pain was part of ibs, after numerous tests and a load of worry i was told it may be ibs, still not been officially diagnosed with ibs, but as the attacks are few and far between lasting a month or so on and off, the dr says its not serious, still the backpain is very bad, and im glad to find other people who have the same symptoms and it's not just me.


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## clareuk (Feb 7, 2006)

I also suffer with lower back ache with the diarrhea. I suffer every morning with this and it comes on shortly afterwards. I have to get up really early to get to work and practically sit there for hours just emptying. I have mentioned this to the doctor who I don't think really understood. Some days I have felt absolutely shattered before I start work. The back ache will also sometimes last all day and sometimes through to the next day.I am certain it is linked to the diarrhea as if (not often) I have a good morning I don't have any problems and then when the diarrhea comes back so does the backache. Normal pain medication such as paracetamol have never helped ease it either.It is a real ache in the lower back area, and if I bend down it feels almost sore inside. I have also used hot water bottles which helps a bit.Claire


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## inesse (Mar 11, 2008)

Hi guysThanks for your replys i find it reassuring to know that other people suffer the same way i do. I must admit for the last couple of days this week and for a few days last week i have found it hard to come to terms with how painful and uncomfrotable all this is. At the moment i have a horrible back ache where i cant get comfy. And as previously mentioned pain killers dont seem to make a big differece. I have started a food diary to see if i can figure out what seems to make it worse. The back ache was so bad this morning and i felt so tired i just wanted to go back to bed. I find the pains in my tummy can often feel worse when i move about. Although the back ache seems to ease with movement! Anyone else get that? Cher xx


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## clareuk (Feb 7, 2006)

Yep. I have quite often had pain all day in my tummy. Ranging from bad cramps to sharp pains in my tummy. I manage to carry on with the backache and tummy pains but it would be so much nicer to just not have them at all. My hot water bottle is my best friend and rarely a day will go by that it isn't on my tummy. If I'm standing up it feels ok but sometimes when I just bend down to pick up a pen or something it really aches. I did actually ask on here a while back about lower back pain but I didn't get many replies so it is reassuring to know them I'm not alone. I'm seriously thinking about having a TV installed in the bathroom as I'm in there so much.


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## sands (Mar 13, 2008)

I too suffer back pain that is debilitating at times.My GI told me at first that it was my colon and then at my last appointment said it IBS can really cause back pain.It mimics a bulging or slipped disk in the spine.So I thought all this time it was my back acting up because of lifting or something.The pain in the lower back and upper thighs is familiar to me...Does anything help the pain? Sandy


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## clareuk (Feb 7, 2006)

When I went to visit a gastro doctor he pescribed me Codeine phosphate to try as it has a constipating effect although it didn't do that for me at all. It is codeine which is very addictive if used all the time but they are a painkiller and I have to say that although they didn't help with the diarrhea they totally worked as a painkiller and really helped with the backache. I don't think that they are advisable to take all the time because they are so addictive but very occassionally when the pain is really getting me down I do take one.Paracetemol don't help at all. I do use hot water bottles a lot.


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## BlackHawkDown (Mar 15, 2008)

I started getting the IBS-D after I injured my back at work and started seeing a chiropractor that would crack my back and electro-shock with those padds on my back muscles. I was diagnosed with two bulging disc , the IBS came 4months after the injury as soon as i started too see a chiropractor.


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## bubblechick (Jan 19, 2010)

Hi there cher 'hope that is your name' and yes backache is one of the symptoms of IBS and your right on most of the sites it doesn't tell you anything about backache and i think thwy should as it is a symptoms and sometimes a painfull symptoms i suffer with abdominal and back pain and it is awful i didnt know this was one of the symptoms until i went to the doctors about it and they said it is a symptom anyway chick i hope thyis has helped you but if you still feel unsure then speak about it with your doctor and he/she may be able to reassure you.


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## IBS_In_SC (Nov 4, 2014)

Yeah the back pain for me is very new. My symptoms have pretty much remained confined to left abdominal pain with loose bowel movements. Over the past month and a half the pain has literally flipped from anterior where the abdomen is to the posterior which is the back. All left side just opposite of where my front abdomen pain was! Bowel pattern has changed little. The only pain I get in my back that doesn't add up is the intermittent stabbing pain just near my 9th/10th rib and almost over center of spine but not all the way..a little to the left. It bothers me more at night or rather very early norming around 4am/5am. Bowel movement seems unrelated to it. Doesn't lessen after. Had ct scan without contrast to look at kidneys for stones. Nothing remarkable. Radiologist even noted pancreas looked unremarkable on "this no contrast study",liver unremarkable,spleen unremarkable,no adnopathy seen,no ascites present in abdomen,adrenal glands looked unremarkable,no stones,no swelling of kidneys,mild atherosclerosis of abdominal aorta was present. Otherwise the no contrast helical scan was unremarkable. All this has to be ibs related unless the no contrast ct missed something.


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## SheLikesCats (Feb 3, 2015)

I also suffer back pain. Mine is typically just above my kidneys, but can move all over. It generally feels as though someone is grabbing my colon through my back and giving tight squeezes over and over. It's akin to PMS cramps, but worse. They ruled out kidney issues with me so it is just plain 'ol IBS pains...


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## moufie (Jul 14, 2003)

Yes to back pain. I have chronic inflation of the large colon which I was told from my osteopathe that it can cause pressure on the abdomen and back which can put things out of place.


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