Abdominal pain

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Abdominal pain or stomach pain is a common complaint in ME/CFS. It often forms a part of a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)[1] or gastroparesis[2] both of which are common in ME/CFS patients, although it may have other causes, such as ulcers and should be investigated to rule out alternate diagnoses.

Prevalence[edit | edit source]

  • Katrina Berne, PhD, reports a prevalence of 50-90% for IBS symptoms (including diarrhea, nausea, gas, and abdominal pain).[3]
  • In a 2001 Belgian study, 81.8% of patients meeting the Fukuda criteria and 85.6% of patients meeting the Holmes criteria, in a cohort of 2073 CFS patients, reported gastrointestinal disturbance.[4]

ME/CFS[edit | edit source]

Maes et al. (2014) found that both abdominal pain/cramps and abdominal pain that eased after a bowel movement were significantly more common in ME/CFS compared to chronic fatigue patients.[5]

Symptom recognition[edit | edit source]

Abdominal pain is significantly more common in children with ME/CFS compared top adults with ME/CFS.[6]

Long COVID[edit | edit source]

Abdominal pain is a potential symptom of Long COVID in the World Health Organization's definition.[7]

Research studies[edit | edit source]

  • 2010, Gut inflammation in chronic fatigue syndrome[8]

Possible causes[edit | edit source]

Potential treatments[edit | edit source]

See also[edit | edit source]

Learn more[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. [citation needed]
  2. The Gastroparesis and Dysmotilities Association. "Your Upper Digestive Distress is NOT: IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)" (PDF). The Gastroparesis and Dysmotilities Association. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  3. Berne, Katrina (December 1, 1995). Running on Empty: The Complete Guide to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFIDS) (2nd ed.). Hunter House. p. 58. ISBN 978-0897931915.
  4. De Becker, Pascale; McGregor, Neil; De Meirleir, Kenny (December 2001). "A definition‐based analysis of symptoms in a large cohort of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome". Journal of Internal Medicine. 250 (3): 234–240. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2796.2001.00890.x.
  5. Maes, Michael; Leunis, Jean-Claude; Geffard, Michel; Berk, Michael (2014). "Evidence for the existence of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) with and without abdominal discomfort (irritable bowel) syndrome". Neuro Endocrinology Letters. 35 (6): 445–453. ISSN 0172-780X. PMID 25433843.
  6. Jason, Leonard A; Jordan, Karen; Miike, Teruhisa; Bell, David S; Lapp, Charles; Torres-Harding, Susan; Rowe, Kathy; Gurwitt, Alan; De Meirleir, Kenny; Van Hoof, Elke LS (2006). "A Pediatric Case Definition for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome". Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 13 (2–3): 1–44. doi:10.1300/J092v13n02_01.
  7. Soriano, Joan B.; Allan, Maya; Alsokhn, Carine; Alwan, Nisreen A.; Askie, Lisa; Davis, Hannah E.; Diaz, Janet V.; Dua, Tarun; de Groote, Wouter; Jakob, Robert; Lado, Marta; Marshall, John; Murthy, Srin; Preller, Jacobus; Relan, Pryanka; Schiess, Nicoline; Seahwag, Archana (October 6, 2021), A clinical case definition of post COVID-19 condition by a Delphi consensus, World Health Organization (WHO) clinical case definition working group on post COVID-19 condition, World Health Organization
  8. Lakhan, Shaheen E; Kirchgessner, Annette (2010). "Gut inflammation in chronic fatigue syndrome". Nutrition & Metabolism. 7 (1): 79. doi:10.1186/1743-7075-7-79. ISSN 1743-7075.