Weird shocky feelings on my abdomen

[Katie]

I don't know if this is in the right forum, but I have a question about a weird symptom.

For the past year or so, the skin on my belly is hypersensitive....it feels like little electric shocks are going across it if it is touched, either by me or my dear husband. It is a 'no touch zone'

Clothing doesn't seem to hurt, but any other pressure or touch does.

My husband doesn't know whether to laugh or cry...there are so many no touch zones now that he is just counting the days till surgery, till this is over. I've always been a touchy-feely person, and hate not being able to enjoy even a simple touch.

Anybody else have this problem? I have big compression problems with both c4/5, 5/6 and L3/4-L5/S1, for what it's worth.

[Justin]

I don't know if this is in the right forum, but I have a question about a weird symptom.

For the past year or so, the skin on my belly is hypersensitive....it feels like little electric shocks are going across it if it is touched, either by me or my dear husband. It is a 'no touch zone'

Clothing doesn't seem to hurt, but any other pressure or touch does.

My husband doesn't know whether to laugh or cry...there are so many no touch zones now that he is just counting the days till surgery, till this is over. I've always been a touchy-feely person, and hate not being able to enjoy even a simple touch.

Anybody else have this problem? I have big compression problems with both c4/5, 5/6 and L3/4-L5/S1, for what it's worth.

Hi Katie,

I'm just now seeing this. Have you had any abdominal surgeries in the past? (I can't remember off the top of my head.) Do these shocks hurt or is it just an unpleasant sensation?

This doesn't sound like referred pain from viscera or nerve roots; it sounds too superficial in nature. However, it very well could be related to your spine problems.

I hope you are having a great weekend!

[Katie]

Thanks Justin

It is hard to describe this feeling....it is somewhere between a hurt and discomfort. I jump when touched and do NOT want to be touched again, mainly on the right side, and it is almost like a static electricity shock feeling.

This is much different from the deep abdominal pain I have in the low pelvic area, where I had the hysterectomy in 2003. I believe that that is from adhesions, as shown in a laparoscopy a year later. I've had an ultrasound to make sure that it wasn't anything to do with my appendix, as the pain was breaking through my 300 mg/daily dose of morphine.

The same surgeon that did the hysterectomy did the laparoscopy, and said the scar tissue was wrapped around my bowels. So I guess it is a 50/50 chance of it being spine nerve damage vs adhesions?

So two pain issues at the same time. Adhesions inside, and nerves and ???? on the belly?

Thanks for the guess about this...I'm beginning to feel loonie

[Justin]

Thanks for the extra info Katie. I'm not making a diagnosis, but it does sound like your adhesions are the culprit. The adhesions are a chronic change, scar tissue. These adhesions can cause obstruction(s) and chronic abdominal pain.

I think the superficial paresthesias, hypersensitivity is directly related to the adhesions. It's as if your abdomen is doing something similar to "muscle guarding" in which muscles try to protect an area (your spine, for example) from further injury. Muscles become hypertonic and rigid in an effort to protect. With the inevitable tissue texture changes in your abdomen, your adhesions have created a "hostile" environment in which your body is sending out a warning signal (static electricity shock) to protect your abdomen (this is not as likely as below...superficial nerve entrapment by the adhesions).

The adhesions could possibly be causing the release of inflammatory mediators in the surrounding area when the adhesions start to cause blockage and/or restriction of your small intestine. The adhesions could also be affecting the superficial nerves in the abdominal wall. These nerves might be irritated when placed under mechanical stress (excess movement) or could be directly compromised--entrapped--by these fibrous bands.

I hope this helps and I'm just throwing out ideas at the moment...

[Katie]

Justin, those are fascinating facts. I knew that the adhesion strands were wrapped around the intestine, but didn't know the finer details of what they were actually doing to the tissues.

If they are in fact causing constriction and starting to block the intestine, at what point do I need intervention? When do they start to become dangerous, and if I am having this much pain now that is breaking through the morphine, what other signs are there to warn about too much obstruction. When is enough too much?

I am very familiar with impaction and twisted gut in horses and it is deadly, one of the main causes of death. And I have gone through countless surgeries with a family member suffering with Crohn's disease, and on home TPN when he lost so much of his small bowel from being blocked, etc. So the thought of having adhesions causing constriction and/or blockage is a little worrying.

You have once again provided me with more information than any of my local doctors. Don't suppose you want to move up this way, do you?

[Justin]

If they are in fact causing constriction and starting to block the intestine, at what point do I need intervention? When do they start to become dangerous, and if I am having this much pain now that is breaking through the morphine, what other signs are there to warn about too much obstruction. When is enough too much?

I would say intervention is patient specific, meaning that some patients could have adhesions causing significant blockage while other patients could have minimal blockage that is causing extreme pain. I'm sorry the pain is breaking through your morphine...that must be awful.

I think "when enough is too much" is based on how you ultimately feel. It is in your best interest to have your adhesions worked-up properly by a trained medical professional, as excision of some of the adhesions may be warranted. Anesthetic blocks could also potentially help.

I am very familiar with impaction and twisted gut in horses and it is deadly, one of the main causes of death. And I have gone through countless surgeries with a family member suffering with Crohn's disease, and on home TPN when he lost so much of his small bowel from being blocked, etc. So the thought of having adhesions causing constriction and/or blockage is a little worrying.

I don't think you need to worried per se. A consult with a physician will greatly help eliminate your worries and should guide you in treatment for your situation. I don't think you would see classic volvulus (twisting of intestines like you describe in horses, which is predominately seen in pediatric human patients). What I was implying was the more active you are the greater the possibility that obstruction can occur and increased symptoms would be experienced.

You have once again provided me with more information than any of my local doctors. Don't suppose you want to move up this way, do you?

Thanks for your kind words. However, I would not replace the information I have speculated about (I haven't examined you in person, etc.) with that of a medical professional.

Good luck with this issue and I hope it will not be too bothersome for you.

[Katie]

I don't think you need to worried per se. A consult with a physician will greatly help eliminate your worries and should guide you in treatment for your situation. I don't think you would see classic volvulus (twisting of intestines like you describe in horses, which is predominately seen in pediatric human patients). What I was implying was the more active you are the greater the possibility that obstruction can occur and increased symptoms would be experienced.



Thanks for your kind words. However, I would not replace the information I have speculated about (I haven't examined you in person, etc.) with that of a medical professional.

Good luck with this issue and I hope it will not be too bothersome for you.

I guess with my garbled mind, I didn't explain things well....again I didn't mean to exaggerate about thinking I might get a twisted gut, only that I've seen what gut problems can do including impaction, in both animals and humans, and was wondering how I'm supposed to know when it hits the dangerous stage, especially when things are being masked by the narcotics.

I was supposed to be referred to a specialist over seven months ago, and still haven't had a call for an appointment, even after checking twice. So I have to do my own research and cover my own butt by questioning those who are more experienced than I am. I know you have to qualify your answers and are extremely careful to not have us depend on them, and I have great respect for that.

I do need to figure out when to hit the emergency ward though, and to have some idea of the symptoms that are pointing to 'you need to go NOW', you know? Or when to push really hard for some treatment beforehand. Because experience tells me that unless it is urgent, all they are going to say is that it is adhesions and there is nothing they can do. (Except for another laparosopy & snip-fest ) I truly don't panic, and I hope that it doesn't come across that way...since I can't get in to a specialist, I'm just trying to find a scale of urgency for my symptoms, especially since they are being masked right now.

I really like your explanations...you are able lay it out so that it is easily understood without me feeling like I'm being spoken down to. That is a real talent for someone in your profession, and is not common.

[Justin]

I guess with my garbled mind, I didn't explain things well....again I didn't mean to exaggerate about thinking I might get a twisted gut, only that I've seen what gut problems can do including impaction, in both animals and humans, and was wondering how I'm supposed to know when it hits the dangerous stage, especially when things are being masked by the narcotics.

Hey Katie,

I completely understood what you were saying with your horses example. The forum sometimes make it hard to communicate effectively (not you or me...just in general, things get lost in this form of communication). About when it gets to a "dangerous stage"--I'm not sure to be honest, but I imagine that if the pain is breaking through your morphine and you end up having excruciating pain where it hurts to talk, move, etc. then I think that would be an urgent case. I understand about wanting to be preemptive of the dangerous state. All I can say is that if you feel something "out of the ordinary" in the duration / frequency / severity of your pain, then it should definitely be investigated. Sorry it's not a definite answer.

I was supposed to be referred to a specialist over seven months ago, and still haven't had a call for an appointment, even after checking twice. So I have to do my own research and cover my own butt by questioning those who are more experienced than I am. I know you have to qualify your answers and are extremely careful to not have us depend on them, and I have great respect for that.

Sorry about the wait. Gosh. Hopefully, you will get an appt soon.

I do need to figure out when to hit the emergency ward though, and to have some idea of the symptoms that are pointing to 'you need to go NOW', you know? Or when to push really hard for some treatment beforehand. Because experience tells me that unless it is urgent, all they are going to say is that it is adhesions and there is nothing they can do. (Except for another laparosopy & snip-fest ) I truly don't panic, and I hope that it doesn't come across that way...since I can't get in to a specialist, I'm just trying to find a scale of urgency for my symptoms, especially since they are being masked right now.

I understand. I think urgency would be the inability to walk / talk / move and a sharp increase in the intensity of your pain.

I really like your explanations...you are able lay it out so that it is easily understood without me feeling like I'm being spoken down to. That is a real talent for someone in your profession, and is not common.

Thank you. I think everyone deserves to know what is going on with their health. I think there are many barriers in life, real and artificial, that benefit no one. This forum is a place for me to present information to patients to help guide them in the care they are seeking. I don't have ulterior motives and there is no underlying profit to be had--I do this because I truly care about the well-being of others and I believe that everyone deserves a life with the least amount of pain possible.

Here's a link that might be of interest to you: Abdominal Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome (ACNES): A Commonly Overlooked Cause of Abdominal Pain. This is an interesting quote from the discussion:

If a patient says, "I have this pain in my stomach, and nobody seems able to find the cause," the examiner should immediately think of ACNES.

[Katie]

Justin, thanks for that. I'll just stay alert for changes. I'm not going to get a better answer than that

I think the best thing anyone can say about you is this...You GET it.

Even with all you have been and are going through, you still take the time to help each and every one of us to the best of your ability, both with your answers to our questions, and by building this site for us.

Thank you.

[Justin]

Justin, thanks for that. I'll just stay alert for changes. I'm not going to get a better answer than that

I think the best thing anyone can say about you is this...You GET it.

Even with all you have been and are going through, you still take the time to help each and every one of us to the best of your ability, both with your answers to our questions, and by building this site for us.

Thank you.

Thanks for your very kind words Katie. BTW, the Society should be up and kickin' in about 2 weeks. It's actually going to be done tomorrow, but I want to make sure everything is exactly how it should be before it goes "live."