interesting article on digestion and pain

[metronycguy]

http://www.medicinenet.com/irritable_bowel_syndrome/page2.htm



"As already mentioned, abnormal function of the nerves of the gastrointestinal organs, at least theoretically, might occur in the organ, spinal cord, or brain. Moreover, the abnormalities might occur in the sensory nerves, the motor nerves, or at processing centers in the intestine, spinal cord, or brain. Some researchers argue that the cause of functional diseases is abnormalities in the function of the sensory nerves. For example, normal activities, such as stretching of the small intestine by food, may give rise to abnormal sensory signals that are sent to the spinal cord and brain, where they are perceived as pain.

Other researchers argue that the cause of functional diseases is abnormalities in the function of the motor nerves. For example, abnormal commands through the motor nerves might produce a painful spasm (contraction) of the muscles. Still others argue that abnormally functioning processing centers are responsible for functional diseases because they misinterpret normal sensations or send abnormal commands to the organ. In fact, some functional diseases may be due to sensory dysfunction, motor dysfunction, or both sensory and motor dysfunction. Still others may be due to abnormalities within the processing centers One area that is receiving a great deal of scientific attention is the potential role of gas produced by intestinal bacteria in patients with IBS. Studies have demonstrated that patients with IBS produce larger amounts of gas than individuals without IBS, and the gas may be retained longer in the small intestine. Among patients with IBS, abdominal size increases over the day, reaching a maximum in the evening and returning to baseline by the following morning. In individuals without IBS, there is no increase in abdominal size during the day.

[stlyin moe]

I see, very interesting. Makes sense to me. Thanks metro. Definately supports what I was thinking and the measures we're taking to correct the problem. I look forward to hearing how the enzymes work out for you guys...

[bob clark]

Hi stlyin moe,

Hopefully the Prepzymes will get here on Monday. But I've been wundrin'. Have you stopped taking them for any length of time to see if your pain comes back? And so you'll know for certain that it's the Prepzymes that are responsible for your pain relief and not some other unknown reason?

[stlyin moe]

Yes I did stopped taking them at one point and sure enough the pain crept back in about a week later.

It appears that I can miss taking a capsule at a meal without any major pain consequence. In fact, last night I had a pasta dinner and forgot to bring a capsule with me to dinner. I was terrified I'd pay for it, but nothing negative has happened. I think it takes a while for the enzymes to depelete from my system, in my case it appears to be about 5 to 7 days before the pain gets to the intolerable point.

[carbar]

this seems to be an interesting discovery Stylin Moe. I am going to give the enzymes a go too. Nothing to lose.

[SunnyCJ]

I have been taking the digestive enzymes suggested here for the past two days and unfortunately haven't had any relief yet.

I just posted a new message about baclofen and how I believe it is causing my abdominal pain, so the enzymes may not help it at all. I'm hoping once I stop the baclofen that the pain will subside. In the meantime, I'm going to keep taking the enzymes just in case they may kick in and decrease some of the pain.

CJ

[stlyin moe]

CJ, it may take a bowel movement or two till you'll know if they're working for you. You'll know when you're passing stools that have had the enzymes when you see the stools much smaller in diameter. I hope this works for you soon...

[alan]

Moe, can you describe the pain you had in your abdomen? I basically feel like I have pain in every organ (plus there's the burning, scraped off skin sensation I have everywhere, but that is probably not something digestive enzymes could help)

One of my daily meals, because I eat so little due to the abdominal pains and constant feeling of fullness, is a can of Boost Plus. Would I take an enzyme capsule with that?

[stlyin moe]

Ya Alan your pain sounds pretty much the same as mine was...feeling like you're on fire to being beaten with a baseball bat. The enzymes helped dramatically.

I hope to see reports from others that have said they've ordered them. Hopefully they'll have similar results.

[bob clark]

I've been on them for a week and am sorry to report no change. I even doubled-up on them a few times. I can taste them in my system so there's something "chemical" or "active" inside the capsules.

I'm gonna keep taking them and see what happens.

I ordered some acidopholous capsules too and should get them in a day or two. Maybe the antibiotics I took a couple months ago killed off all the good gastrointestinal bacteria and I need a "refill"!

Something is causing me a lot of pain. I just want my right side to feel like my left side. Is that TOO freakin' much to ask Lord!!!??? :)

Anyway, thanks for the suggestion Moe. It was worth a shot and who knows... maybe in a few more days they'll kick in.

[metronycguy]

i started than less than a week ago, i finally remembered to take them 3 times a day with major meals, i seem to have a lot less stool output than i normally have. my system seems to be fast, about 40 hours for corn to go through.
i never had abdominal pain.

[stlyin moe]

It's strange how the stools get much smaller isn't it? It's remarkable how much more your body absorbs when the food is broken down with the aid of the enzymes.

Metro, a friend of mine said he understood that they would also act as a stimulant to aid in moving things along. I didn't find this to be the case for me, but I only eat once a day and only take one now.

There was a time in the beginning where I was experimenting with them and varying the dosage per meal (i.e. 2 capsules with each more then 3 capsules with each meal). When I reached the 3 capsules per meal I began to have accidents. I stopped taking them for a week and immediately stopped having accidents. I then began to only take 1 per meal which is where I'm still at and have had no problems since. Occasionally I'll forget a capsule if I go out to dinner, but even missing one here and there doesn't put me back to square one.

Bob, I'm still hopeful they'll help you. It's brutal having to live like that...

[SunnyCJ]

I have been taking the enzymes for almost 2 weeks now and have not noticed any difference in my burning pain. I have a BM every day and every thing is pretty consistent, but no difference in my pain. I had such high hopes too. I'm going to stick with them anyway, but I'm not sure I will buy another bottle. It was definitely worth a try. It's so frustrating!

CJ

[alan]

Moe,

Could you please take a look at the iherb.com website and see if they have any enzymes similar to the ones you're using?

Thanks,

[metronycguy]

i really try and remeber to take one before eating.
i realy thing they do help me somewhat, i never had pain in abdominion though. i just crap way to much, and i think i get bloating. i probably have bad habits dont chew enough, swallow before its probbly chewed , i seem to have less output, which is good for me.