Tethered cord is when a part of your spinal cord gets stuck onto surrounding tissues (usually old scars) from previous accidents (car, usually) or from previous spinal surgeries. Also, some people get syringomyelia, which is when some cerebral spinal fluid enters the inside of the spinal cord where it doesn't belong because there is a block of flow around the outside of the cord, where the CSF should be flowing (in order to bathe, nourish, and help clean the spinal cord). This causes compression on the nerves in the cord, and this can cause the bowels not to work properly. I have both disorders (caused from a spina bifida birth defect which was closed after birth, then I retethered 40 years later), but didn't know it for months until an MRI was taken. I had what docs thought was IBS but nothing would help it...not diet change or anything. You can read about these and other related disorders at asap.org, thechiariinstitute.org, or wikipedia.org.
Now I am looking for a NS to do a detethering surgery on me to help me walk again and to help my bowels and bladder get control again. In the meantime, I control my diarrhea by taking 1 mg. of Imodium with lunch and 1mg with dinner. So far that is the only thing helping me.
Thanks for asking...
Goldhart
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Re: Tethered cord/IBS
