Vagus nerve

[navydad]

Anyone here ever DX;ed with dysfunction of it, I saw teh GI doc yesterday,,, he said he thinks its IBS and to drink a bottle of citrate,, along with yogurt and flaxseed,, today all that came out was black taarry stool,, not nearly enough,, and stomach still feels bloated,, and i still have that twitching on the left side of my face, it goes around the nose, cheek lower jaw, ,, almost feels like my face is being torn off,,, something is going on,, I spent the day on trhe phone yesterday,, only to be told,, there is nothingmore we can do,, its really scaring me,, ER rooms are out of the question,, they do nothing,, and was told last time were here to only treat life threatnening medical issues,,, I just want to cry,,, its unbearable,, I;m so tired of my arms and legs burning so bad,, ,,

[inga]

My vagus nerve does not work correctly....it is part of PN.

[Dolly Dimples]

 Hi Navy Dad, I'm so sorry to hear that you are having so much going on .

          Just to say that IBS can be an awful complaint to suffer .

                                 My Hubby had this for years and tried every thing going, with no cure.

                                  Watching ones diet, and which foods seem to make the trouble worse can give relief,

                                                                             also tablets to take before eating helped him some ,

                           but in the end it just ran it's cause for a couple of years or so, then left him.

   I know sympathy and prayers are not much help, but I do feel for you as your problems seem never ending,

                                         I hope that soon you might overcome them all and get back to some normality.
                                                                                    Bless you < DOlly
.

[gurs]

When you have neuro issues with the Sjogrens, and it affects your entire GI motility, it causes great discomfort. I found that those fiber supplements only make
the problem 100% worse. Ask your doc about Reglan or any other medication that can help the motility. I can only eat very tiny meals, and cant eat anything past
3:00 in the afternoon because it just wont digest before bedtime.(takes that long!) even when I dont eat, hurts and im bloated all the time. I def stay away from certain
foods like lettuce, onions, green peppers, ice cream..the list goes on. I eat very, very, bland and boring foods..its just the gastroparesis that is doing it..

[navydad]

My vagus nerve does not work correctly....it is part of PN.

Did they test your vagus nerve?   or did you just pass out from it,,, I know it affects everything,,

[inga]

It was the combination of symptoms and passing out.  The vagus nerve is one of the 10 cranial nerves.  It is the longest and innervates a large number of organs.  Autonomic neuropathy is very complex.  My approach now, is to try to sense what my body is trying to do, and gently help it along...if I can.  It is very hard to manage.  It is hard to help it along without knocking it over the other way.

Unfortunately these conditions are very complex, and medical science doesn't have the answers.

[inga]

Here is a fairly clear description of the nerve and its domain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagus_nerve

[anita]

Navydad,

One would think that if the GI thought you had autonomic neuropathy, that he would have set you up with a gastric empty test.  If you have motility problems it will show on the test and Reglan or Domperidone will help.  The test is very simple:  They have you eat a couple eggs with contrast mixed in and lay on a table for a couple hours while it takes pictures of the stomach emptying.   My only emptied a whopping 4%...almost completely paralyzed. 

The other thing that helps (if it's autonomic dysfunction--gastroparesis) would be proper diet.  Gurs mentioned several things that would be good.  My GI suggests a mechanical diet (chopping all food) to aid the digestion (since the stomach is unable to move/process it like it should).  The other thing is to avoid all raw veggies and fruit.  Raw foods make the stomach work much harder.   

I've read some of your others posts and you suffering from many problems.  You would really benefit by having some tests done to see what is really going on.  You should give more thought to Hopkins (Sjogren's Center).  Testing for autonomic dysfunction is non-invasive and even your GP should be able to order some of them.  Sorry to hear you're having such a hard time.

[inga]

Could some of these issues be from the Chiari surgery and subsequent infection?

[navydad]

No,, the stomach issues have been going on long before the chiari surgery,,, As for testing,, you have to remember,, i live in a area that still uses leaches and blood letting

Tomorrow I go for ivig, I just blindly follow along what teh doctors tell me,,

All day , teh citrate has moved things along,, not to my likeing though, everything so black and tarry,, just had some supper,, and agin its just laying there,, Iknow darn well something is going on,,, As black as it was It makes me wonder if I odnt have a bleed up there

[inga]

A leech could scare me into wellness!  Aha, a cure!

[irish]

navydad, I hate to say it but I would suggest that you get yourself to a doctor or to ER as it sure sounds like you are having a GI bleed. Anytime you have black tarry stools bleeding is the first thing they check for.

Have you had a colonoscopy lately??? I just had one today. I drank the Golytely which is done after supper the night before and during the night. It is a lot to drink, but it has a very bland slightly salty taste. With this you don't get those horrible intestinal cramps that almost drive you nuts.

Please check into this ASAP. It may be that whatever is bothering your colon is really making itself known. Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with autoimmune. Could even have a stomach ulcer or diverticulitis. Needs to be addressed. Good luck to you. Irish

P.S. Hang in there with the IVIG as many times neuropathy will respond. Also, need to get more opinions to see what the actual problem is. The other thing I am wondering about is your eyes. It seems like there is some autoimmune gastrointestinal problem that also presents with the "cruddy" eyes. IRish

[Epson]

Wow, I never new about this, sounds horrible.  I would of thought veges nerve would be something you got from over playing slot machines.

[Billydude]

Navydad,  I was just diagnosed is Vasovagal Syncope just last week.   I don't actually faint but when I stand too long it I get all clammy and my heart races and I get very weak.   I feel as though I could faint.

[Calli66]

bottle of citrate,, along with yogurt and flaxseed,, today all that came out was black taarry stool,, not nearly enough,, and stomach still feels bloated

I noticed darker sticky stools when I tried flax meal....maybe it's that. I had to quit using it---too rough on my system.

Docs are always telling you to add fiber and roughage to help constipation, but all that insoluble fiber can rile up the IBS big time.

Yogurt wrecks me. Adds even more bacteria to the intestines, and maybe the wrong type. Good for some people who have fairly normal digestion, but can have a bad effect if the system's already messed up.

Try a product called "Natural Calm"--a magnesium citrate powder that you mix with hot water. I get mine at Whole Foods Market. It's not harsh like laxatives and helps you to "go." I take mine at bedtime.

I agree with somebody else's post here: no raw foods, no fruits. The kind of super-screwed up GI tract we have with SjS, you can really get an awful mix of bad bacteria fermenting the stuff in your small intestine and large bowel--thus the bloating. Trying eliminating all sugar for a couple of weeks at least. That gives the bacteria less to feed on. It really helped me get control of the awful bloating.

Calli