How many MAV'ers Have GI probs or IBS constipation etc:

Hi Everyone,
I’d like to know how many of us Mavers have GI problems.
IBS
I have chronic constipation, bloating tummy soreness on right hand side of my belly button.
Thankyou :oops:

jen

1 Like

Hi Jen,

I do, started in a big way about two years in to this mess. I have chronic reflux for which I take meds daily. It’s got a lot worse again recently - so now have bad symptoms again and lots of bloating. Am always prone to constipation.

Don’t know if there is a direct connection to the mav - if it’s part of the syndrome, or whether the stress of the first two years simply had a bad effect on my stomach and caused it to go mad. did your doc say that there is a connection? I have never thought to ask mine, although recently it’s crossed my mind.

H

Hi Jen,

You already know my answer to this one. A big YES. It started off and on in late 2007 and is now pretty constant. Endless singing noises coming from my gut usually worse in the late afternoon. Migraine? Probably but I just had blood tests today for celiac disease.

Scott

Yes, as soon as my MAV started, the digestion issues started. Mainly constipation, but also issues digesting certain foods. For example, now suddenly too much (and I don’t mean a lot) of red meat will give me pains like you wouldn’t believe! I added soluable fiber to my diet and that has basically solved the constipation. I also use gas-x pills if the pressure inside gets too bad, which it can for no reason. Interestingly enough, while my neurologist/balance doc didn’t see a connection between MAV and digestive problems, when I went to see a gastrologist (the second one - whom was more recommended) I mentioned all this to him and he noted there can be a connection between the two - the big brain and the “little brain” (i.e. the digestive system) even though no one seems to have proof/want to admit it. Was freshing to find a doc who was willing to look outside the box a bit.

PS. Prior I didn’t have digestive issues. When this all started happening, I did end up having my gall bladder removed which was a total coincidence, but also not the problem (gall stones). Got checked for fructose and gluctose allergies - no problem there either. So I am convinced that MAV does indeed mess with your entire system.

:x Well - that’s a question! I think we all do. Who all thought we would be talking about this one day. And yet so openly - lol. Actually - I think most of us probably have more of a problem with IBS - and the constipation comes from the meds we may be taking. Good luck - sometimes diet can offset either one or the other.

Hi Hanna,
We have talked about the brain gut theory before,
although I don’t know how much of it I understood, lol. my brain is moosh… :shock:

I know much of our seratonin is made in the bowel, so if our bowels are dysfunctional,
then we could have sero probs.
Geesh who knows.
I mean how common is it realy?
hence the post.

jen

I was diagnosed with GERD and IBS right before I was diagnosed with vestibular migraines. Both my neurologist and my GI docs said that they are inter-related and one greatly affects the other. We as MAV’ers have super sensitive nervous systems therefore the problems with stomach, bowels,medications,etc and so related to stress. It is just the way we are wired was the way it was explained to me.

I also discussed the gluten/celiac component with my GI. He was very knowledgeable and said that a lot of migraineurs did have a gluten intolerance or sensitivity.Some even had Celiac disease but a lot had dairy/lactose intolerance too. He even did the Celiac testing on me to make sure I didn’t have it. All the tests came back negative. He said that even if the test came back negative I might have a sensitivity or intolerance. The only way to make sure of that was to go gluten-free for a few weeks and then add it back in to see how I felt. I could not tell any difference in my symptoms or the way I felt.But I can mark that off my list.

I guess I just have IBS,GERD,MAV and bilateral MM. I guess it could be worse :wink:

My IBS problems started just before my migraines but it now thought that I could have been a person who had abdominal migraines as a child. The vertigo (rocking, swaying) came later.

Sally

That’s interesting Sally. My neurologist and I decided that I may have had abdominal migraines as a child too. I was always having stomach-aches as a child,nauseated,vomiting and headaches. I did have allergies but not to food. I was always car sick too.

I had never even heard of abdominal migraines until I started researching migraines. My IBS usually acts up now whenever I have a migraine.

While I was still diagnosed with Meniere’s, and following the less-restrictive diet (except for sodium!) associated with that, my sequence of symptoms was headache->dizzies->nausea. A gastroeneterologist had my breath tested for what he said is the most common cause of IBS, bacterial overgrowth in ze gut. It took two months for the irresponsible !@#$%^&s at Washington Hospital Center to report the outcome to him. During this period I was taking opioids to get to sleep. The answer from the test was Yes. He put me on a mild antibiotic for a coupla weeks, and my gut got better. Relapse, though, came not too long later, and neither a repeat of the earlier drug nor the more powerful antibiotics he prescribed (the latter regimen had to be cut short) eased the problem. The Buckholz-type diet restrictions have done the trick, though.
But it’s also true that I haven’t done hard work that combines challenges to mind and body for many months. (If I found myself in a place where I felt I had to push on, past a bad headache and dizzies, perhaps the same sequence would replay.)

Most definitly I would say I have intestinal problems to go along with my MAV. I wonder if anyone has found relief through a good probiodic or candida clense I am thinking of doing it myself. It’s not like I havn’t tried a boat load of other “cures”.

Yes and yes some more…sometimes I wonder if it is a gut problem because that is where mine seems the worst at times…eating brings on my symptoms how weird it that?

Ok ,
That’s 11 people so far.
Hmmm?

Jen

1 Like

Yes, I have been diagnosed with MAV and have on-going intestinal issues. (I also wonder if I have fibro as fatigue and pain that moves from here to there is becoming quite a issue for me.) As for the intestinal stuff, it has been going on for years - first diagnosed as IBS, then diverticultis (for which I had colon resection last year) and now IBS again.

Diet has helped the MAV greatly but done nothing thus far for the IBS - actually, it seems to be worse as the headaches/dizziness/vision issues get better. Weird.

Read this thread with interest, as, although the dizzies and swaying can make me feel nauseous (like motion sickness), I don’t have any gastro issues (that I know of…)

They go hand and hand for me when MAv is stable IBS is stable…when Mav is off, the IBS kicks in big time…I getting the the point with all these diet restrictions and nausea…waters my best bet :smiley:

Cecilia

I have mild GERD, started before my vertigo did, I used to take medication for it but it hasn’t really bothered me in a few years. I cut out all alcohol soon after it started, which I think was the main problem.

That’s interesting that you mention right side belly pain, because I’ve been dealing with that for several months now, and neither I or my GI doctor know what’s causing it. I tested negative for celiac and have no other symptoms besides the pain. Do you know what causes it for you? My MAV has been much better the past year, so I don’t really think it’s connected.

Yes… I had a MAJOR allergic reaction 4 years ago - (1st time I have ever had any reaction to anything) anyway… ended up in emergency room pumped full of antihistamins, 2 injections from EPI PEN etc. Never found out what caused it! After that (2 weeks later) I started choking ALL the time. After 6 months of tests my GP FINALLY sent me to a gastro expert. I had a tube stuck down my throat (omg!) and diagnosed with a Hiatus Hernia & GERD. Been on Lansoprazole for abt. 3 years, also have chronic constipation and BAD stomach & right side pain… then came the MAV. I think its all linked. Was healthy before that. :?

I wonder if not ibs and various stomach-issues are comorbid with many health-issues besides mav. The stomach (+ bowels) is such a sensitive organ…

oh and yes I’ve had a lot of stomach-problems with my dizziness.

Thought I would revive this old thread. I have been diagnosed with IBS and have battled it for years. It is interesting how many MAV sufferers have intestinal issues.