Abdominal pain

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) or gastroparesis 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

 * Katrina Berne, PhD, reports a prevalence of 50-90% for IBS symptoms (including diarrhea, nausea, gas, and abdominal pain).


 * 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.

ME/CFS
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.

Symptom recognition
Abdominal pain is significantly more common in children with ME/CFS compared top adults with ME/CFS.

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

Research studies

 * 2010, Gut inflammation in chronic fatigue syndrome

Possible causes

 * Gastroparesis
 * Irritable bowel syndrome

Potential treatments

 * Antibiotics
 * Diet, such as the low FODMAP diet
 * Probiotics

Learn more

 * Leaflet on abdominal symptoms in CFS/ME