I get a lot of cramping abdominal pain and bowel symptoms that my doctor says are due to irritable bowel. Could this be connected with my Myotonic Dystrophy?
This type of symptom is certainly very common in Myotonic Dystrophy patients and can be very troublesome. Because the muscle in the bowel wall can be affected it may well be related but it is not well understood. Drugs used for ‘irritable bowel’ can be helpful but if the problem is troublesome it should be thoroughly investigated, bearing in mind also that the cause may be completely seperate. Some patients also have a weak anal sphincter, making it difficult to hold back faeces. In children this may go along with severe constipation.
