what do you do during an attack?
#342391 - 02/20/09 02:27 PM
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birtha
Reged: 02/05/09
Posts: 44
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I start panicking which makes the pain much worse. I do all the breathing and crap but nothing helps! What do you guys do? I had a minor episode late last night but can't take anything because of early pregnancy. Just need some advice. Thanks!
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Count to 5000 as fast as you can. Around 1500 you'll feel much better. It's harder than it sounds and it works to keep your brain off the pain.
Sounds silly. Works great.
1. Count to 5000.
2. Get old. take everything off (that you can)
3. Take ALL pressure off your belly.
4. Get rid of the gas. Burp, let one rip, anything. Your stomach is stretching and you are feeling the pain.
HTH!
~nelly~ 
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heat! Can you use a heat pad? I use a big old sock filled with rice and microwave it for 2 minutes. Hot baths too. Helps release the cramping. Hot tea, or even hot water can help too.
For the panic, there are all sorts of methods and I've tried many! - I like Nelly's 5000 idea, though I've never tried it. You can try visualization - I know someone who is able to imagine the pain shrinking slowly and says it works. I've never worked that out exactly, but visualizations from the IBS 100 (hypnosis) program have helped me stop an attack at times. You could also try buying a guided meditation cd from amazon or something - something that will help bring you out of the panic. good luck and congratulations on being pregnant!
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Ladies & gentlemen take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.
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Thank you guys! I do immediately put a heating pad on my stomach but sometimes it's just not enough. 
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Birtha,
I have a mantra I recite during really bad attacks to keep my mind busy (Hawkeye knows it, and promises never to laugh!!:) Plus I usually have to squeeze something through the pain or my fingernails end up cutting my palms. But for me, I can't handle heat on my tum during an attack, I need cold - a cold cloth on my neck or forehead, I think more to calm my blood pressure and relieve the sickening feeling I get.
Each person is different, hopefully you find something which works for you. All the best with your pregnancy!
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Cassandra
Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like you've never loved before.
IBS A 20+ years, Chronic Migraines, Chiari Malformation (decompressed June 22, 2010), Brachial Neuritis, and ??? the list just keeps growing, but I'm still shiny side up!
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Sometimes it helps if I breathe out of one nostril by taking my hand and press on one side of my nose, and then alternate. I learned this a long time ago at a seminar to treat stress in the office, and found it helps with IBS, I think is refocuses your attention on breathing and it seems to pull the pain out of my abdomen.
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Cassandra,
I've never done more than crack a smile. I still need a mantra. At the moment I say, now just this, now just this - something I heard on an insight meditation course. It brings me more into the present and less into imagining what terrible thing I might feel next. I do need my own mantra, but Cassandra I love yours too and it will always be one of my favorite things. 
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Ladies & gentlemen take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.
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