I have not seen this problem discussed in the forum, but a couple of years before my dx of C.C., I had some major problems with ileocecal valve disfunction. I would wake up about 2 hours after retiring with really terrible intestinal gas and burping. Nothing seemed to help and it would take me a long time to get back to sleep. This was a particularly stressful time in my life with family problems.
I was crying out for help one night when I remembered getting a deep tissue massage a few years earlier and the therapist telling me that my ileocecal valve felt hard - he massaged it for a few minutes. He explained that it is the valve between the small and large intestine and that it is designed to open when the small intestine is ready to evacuate its contents to the large intestine. It can get "stuck" either in the open or closed position. Both are bad. "Closed", it keeps contents in the small intestine longer than necessary and the back-up can start to "poison" the system. "OPEN" it lets contents go too soon before that phase of digestion is complete and wreaks havoc in the large intestine. If you google "Ileocecal Valve Syndrome" you can read more about it. I had many of the seemingly unrelated symptoms like headache, chest pain and right shoulder pain. It is suggested that you manipulate the valve my massaging in the right place and go on a very low roughage, bland diet. Hard for me who lived on whole grains, nuts & seeds, raw veggies, etc.! The results for me were nothing short of miraculous and my symptoms went away in just a few days! After that, I always massaged the valve before retiring and no more problems.
After that long-winded explanation - could there be a connection to MC? Seems likely that my intestines became damaged during this time. I should have stuck to that diet. It was just the ticket for MC!
ileocecal valve problems
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It wouldn't surprise me at all if there were a connection, because the inflamed patches that cause MC are typically more prevalent in the ileum and right-side colon, than anywhere else in the digestive system. And of course the cecum is right in the middle there, so it is likely to be inflamed, also.Hopeful wrote:After that long-winded explanation - could there be a connection to MC?
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Even though I had diverticulitis (on the left side, of course), my most persistent and most significant pain was always on my right side, in the area that you indicated, whenever I was reacting.
You're most welcome,
Tex
You're most welcome,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.