# spasms upset stomach weird movements at night



## 18659 (May 16, 2005)

are these colon spasms ??i was laying down last night in bed, my stomach was upset and like something was moving around inside of me in bed. my stomach bothered me, i drank water all that day, and usually when i drink soda's it doesn't bother me, but water did. was this my colon moving around ??


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

If you felt something moving around, then it's almost certainly abnormallly intense intestinal activity, but that is not a symptom of IBS, nor would it be a "spasm".


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## NancyCat (Jul 16, 1999)

IMO intense intestinal activity can feel like a "spasm" to one w/IBS. I believe that people who have IBS are "feeling/perceiving" this activity that "normal" people aren't aware of having.


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## 17176 (Mar 31, 2005)

chris donr listen to flux he doesnt know what hes talking about,it prob was a spasm, he thinks spasms dont exist when they infact do.to the moderators im not apologising for saying this when i AM correct.I talked to a specialist who specialises in ibs he assures me they do exist, good luck chris hope you feel better soon.


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## 18659 (May 16, 2005)

Thnx Joolie I too feel it was a spasm, because it feels like the colon is moving, or soemthing is moving inside. my stomach was upset, and very bloated when i got up and walked around. I had to lay down again.


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## Fed Up (Jun 5, 2005)

Millions of IBS'ers who have spasms cant be wrong! I believe that Nancy cat is right in saying we are more sensitive to our bowel activities etc and that is why we get the pain, or feel the movements. But they certainly do exist and I do too believe its a symptom of IBS. Nearly all of us have had it at one point! I never had them that bad, but the only thing that eased the pain was to lie down and rest. Hope you find some answers! x


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:. I believe that people who have IBS are "feeling/perceiving" this activity that "normal" people aren't aware of having.


No, what is being described is *not* a symptom of IBS. IBSers cannot "feel" their intestine anymore than a healthy person could.


> quote:that is why we get the pain, or feel the movements


IBSers have pain, but not movements.


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## 17176 (Mar 31, 2005)

fed-up and chris we know that we ARE right just ignore him and his bloody quotes. I know who i believe i.e a specialist who specialises in ibs i must tell him hes completely wrong, fancy that eh!!!!!!! hope you feel better soon chris (hugs)


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:i.e a specialist who specialises in ibs


I don't believe any such doctor or any real doctor at all would seriously purport to claim that the symptom described above, which is unknown to medical science, is caused by any known condition, let alone IBS.


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## 23196 (Jun 24, 2005)

I have felt that "movement" before too. I dismissed it in the past because the movement I felt didn't hurt. But I was reading on another site that someone else discribed this and it was a parasite. This was an advertisement for a colon cleanse product. That's why I'm considering buying this but I'm afraid I might get diarhia from it. What do you people think?


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## 14139 (May 13, 2005)

This is just my observation. It bothers me VERY much that someone continues to disregard peoples feelings and symptoms. Everyone on this board has shown alot of sympathy and concern for each other. "cvoorhes" asked a question and was basically told it is all in his/her head, just like the doctors tell all IBSer's. I don't understand why this person continues to make people uncomfortable and also feel like they may be making things up. Do you truly understand the pain, fear and axiety that we IBSer's have???? Granted there is alot of interesting theories out there and I would like to read them, but don't discount the other persons feelings. I would greatly apprecite it if you would show some sympathy.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I think the main issue is that we have no data to determine whom this happens to.I think it does happen. I know in the clinical trial I was in when we discussed the whole seeing/hearing/feeling things that were not in fact there this did come up for some IBSers in the study.What I don't know is what % of other people who also experience the sensation of something moving in there. I've had visual hallucinations from a sleep disorder, but no feeling things sort of issues. Which is how the whole feeling things that aren't there discussion came up. I was unusual for that category, but I had a previous problem that caused that.It isn't something that seems diagnositic for IBS and I don't know if anyone has studied it.I do not believe this is a parasite, as it would have to be an awfully big thing in there to get any sort of sensory info like that, or you would have so many that it would be unlikely that it would have been missed by your docotors (you'd have enough to be seriously ill with something).I do not believe colon cleansing products remove parasites better than getting the proper medical treatment for them. Some of them are mostly fiber, but others have a lot of stimulatory laxatives in them and will cause diarrhea.I don't know why some people report this sensation. But I think it is faulty sensory issue rather than parasites or anything like that. I also wonder if it has to do with how people may be interpreting the sensations when they get to the brain. What if the mis-sensation isn't getting sensed as pain in some people?In summary, I think some people do feel some odd things. I just don't know if that actually has anything to do with them having IBS, it may be a separate issue, that just some IBSers happen to have.K.


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## 16593 (Jun 22, 2005)

I have IBS and have off and on almost everyday feel the sensation of my intestines moving around. It's not so much a cramping sensation, but a movement sensation. It used to happen every night before I would go to bed and it would drive me crazy. Now, it only happens if I have eaten a bit too much or if I eat a mild trigger food. I asked my GI about it and he said that it IS a symptom of IBS and that I was feeling "increases intestinal activity". Hope that helps.


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## 16593 (Jun 22, 2005)

Forgot to mention, I can also FEEL my intestines moving around in my stomach as well. When I have this "increased intestinal activity" I can place my hands on my lower abdominal area and feel them moving. As a result, I know that it is not in my head, and it is not heightened sensitivity as I can actually feel this hapening with my own 2 hands.


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## NancyCat (Jul 16, 1999)

I go to an IBS specialist who has just finished doing some training ###UNC's Digestive Disorder Center, the gold standard in IBS research and treatment. When I met her the first time I described what I feel as a spasm. I dont remember exactly what she said but I'm positive that she validated that I indeed had them. I understand what Kath is saying that perhaps spasms are just something that some IBS'rs have, but i think that due to that fact many Dr's acknowledge spasms as another symptom of IBS. Remember that IBS is different for everyone so IMO one cant say for sure a certain action or feeling isnt a symptom of IBS. Also IMO for the purposes of support and info about IBS on this board I wish that Flux would quit telling members that spasms arent part of IBS. We are getting hung up on semantics rather than being a sounding board/support group that the IBS BB is supposed to be, IMO.


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

Spasms ARE a part of IBS - and the sensation of them!! YES YES YES - I agree with cvoorhees, NancyCat, joolie, FedUP, KathM,MaryAnn, Jomo,and Dana - I have had them and I know exactly what you are talking about. Flux - I am sorry to dispute your info here, I know you are very knowlegable in many areas, but this most certainly CAN be a component of IBS. It may not be a part of the diagnostic CRITERIA (Rome I, II , Manning or otherwise), but it is common to IBS patients. I speak with IBS patients from all over the US and Canada - I was seen by 3 different gastros and several internal medicine specialists for IBS - All of them - including the one I saw at Mayo Clinic - knew about spasms and what they were. Why do you suppose physicians prescribe anti-SPASmodics???http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/ibs/RE IBS:======="The normal motility of the colon may not work properly. It can be spasmodic or can even stop temporarily. *Spasms are sudden strong muscle contractions that come and go."*...The colon responds strongly to stimuli (for example, foods or stress) that would not bother most people.....IBS affects the motility or movement of stool and gas through the colon and how fluids are absorbed. When stool remains in the colon for a long time, too much water is absorbed from it. Then it becomes hard and difficult to pass. Or spasms push the stool through the colon too fast for the fluid to be absorbed, resulting in diarrhea. In addition, with spasms, gas may get trapped in one area or stool may collect in one place, temporarily unable to move forward...."==========Does this mean that these spasm feelings are a definitive diagnosis of IBS? NO. Does this mean ALL IBS persons have them. NO. Do a good majority of persons indicate that they have spasms - Seems so.. you may say that antispasmodics are soley to keep motility normal, rather than worry about the sensation itself. Be that as it may, the sensation is real, and it is a part of IBS. When I told my gastro about my spasms and how tired I was afterwards, he told me that the activity of the intestinal cramping and spasms for hours on end were equivalent to doing 1000 sit-ups in a row - thus my fatigue. We discussed this at length.I have had every onr of my physicians refer to spasms, it is mentioned in many IBS informational pages:http://my.webmd.com/content/article/5/1680_51485.htmDo a search for the word spasm - on the above link - I won't C & P that here - but you will find it all over the IBS info.Just because it isn't "documented" and researched doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It does - and I have experienced both non-painful and painful spasms. Were they "caused" by IBS? That may be a semantic concern - Maybe they were and maybe not, but they were experienced and are a part of IBS. You can quote any study you want to - in the "field" spasms linked to IBS DO exist.For the record, I am speaking as a BB member, not a moderator, because I am a BB member first and have been that much much longer than I've been a mod. - OK, I'm done - "Spasm" over.







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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:Spasms are sudden strong muscle contractions that come and go.".


So doesn't that mean that your heart is suffering from endless spasms? Anyway, spasms are a red herring here. Cvoorhees is describing the sensation of motion in the gut. I don't know what that is, but I do know that *sensing motion in the gut is not a symptom of IBS*.IBS causes pain, IBS causes cramps, IBS causes bloating, IBS causes nausea. These are things everyone experiences at some point. They are normal, human experiences, although they occur a lot more in IBS.There is nothing magical or special about IBS that it could somehow cause weird symptoms that are apparently experienced by just one-thousandth of one percent of IBSers. Most of IBS symptoms mediated by visceral hypersensitivity. There's no mechanism by which that can sense motion. The human body just isn't physically wired that way. Motion--normal muscular gut motion--can be misinterpreted as painful. Now that is what IBS is about. This means at the very least, Cvoorhees (and perhaps a few others) has some medical condition other than IBS. I would think that is a major discovery, no?


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:Why do you suppose physicians prescribe anti-SPASmodics???


By the way,there is a good discussion about "spasms" at http://ibsgroup.org/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/431...m/604107851/p/1To answer this question, specifically, you must know that IBS used to be called "spastic colitis". That's because it had been believed initially the underlying pathophysiology of IBS was due primarily to abnormal gut contractions. When it turned not to be the case, the name was dropped and that started the whole thing with symptomatic-based diagnosis. The drugs hung around partly because they were the only things doctors had available to prescribe and because some of them may help because they reduce alter gut (largely) motility, which causes pain and diarrhea, they may independently reduce pain on their own, and reduce (normal) gut secretions, which may also contribute to pain and diarrhea.


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## 17176 (Mar 31, 2005)

shut it flux!! why dont you just go awayyyyy, i notice the moderators dont edit youe comments wonder why that is??????? favouritism or what??????????? anyone else agree????? Personal attack deleted . why would a specialist who knows A LOT about ibs lie???????? just keep your obnoxious comments to YOURSELF!!


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## 18659 (May 16, 2005)

Spasms do exist, when i had my colonscopy, they could not finish, because i was having such bad spasms on the table, i had to have a barium enema which was terrible. When i dont eat anything before bedtime, like last night, i was ok, but yes when i eat heavy, or at night, i have these movements at night, and yes they are real.


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## administrator (Aug 20, 2004)

As long as someone works within the posting guidelines they are allowed to express whatever opinion they want. Including Flux. Some people may not like his opinions/facts/interpretations of facts. But as long as he plays within the rules the fact that some people do not like his opinions/facts/interpretations is no reason to ban him. Even experts and specialists disagree about things. Just because one says something does not mean it is generally accepted as fact in the medical literature or the medical community at large. It is that one expert's opinion of what is going on. Please do not use your disagreement with someone over their opinions/facts/interpretations as a reason to attack them.We do request everyone try to be sensitive to how expressing their opinion will effect others.Thank you for your attention


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