Pitpat
12-07-2005, 04:22 PM
Hi all, I joined healthboards a few weeks back for some other health concerns, and I was glad to see an IBS board. I have had IBS since 1990 or 1991. I made an interesting discovery early this morning. I woke up around 5am to the pain of a colon spasm, and I figured that my day was done. My spasms tend to last 4-6 hours and they really wipe me out. Well, a little later, my son woke up and wanted to nurse. I didn't really want to drag myself out of bed, but I didn't want to leave him to cry either. I put a heating pad over the tender area of my abdomen, put baby on top, and proceeded to nurse. I dozed off while nursing, and when I fully woke up . . . the spasm was gone! I was left with the residual soreness I always have after a spasm, but the worst of it was over, and only 1.5 hours or so had passed. This happened once before, and I am wondering if the spasm stopped in both cases because of nursing. Your body releases prolactin when you nurse, and it relaxes your body (which is kind of nice - you are almost "forced" to relax when nursing, even if you start out tense), so maybe it relaxes the colon too? Has anyone else out there experienced this?? I have tried to combat spasms with deep breathing, but I've only had limited success with that. I do tend to internalize my stress, and I know it affects my IBS symptoms. So maybe this forced relaxation is the answer ;)
Actually, it's not - my son is almost 2 and is on his way to being weaned. Maybe I'll have to have another baby! :)
Actually, it's not - my son is almost 2 and is on his way to being weaned. Maybe I'll have to have another baby! :)