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6 Replies Last post: Apr 24, 2008 6:51 AM by tkacruzidid  
Click to view Gotta Run041's profile Amateur 33 posts since
Mar 8, 2007
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Apr 23, 2008 7:21 AM

Severe Abdominal Pain after Marathon MOnday - Help!

I ran Boston on Monday and am suffering from severe abdominal pain. What's going on? Has anyone ever had this? My stomach hurts and my intestines hurt. It hurts to talk. It hurts to lay down and sleep. My stomach area looks swollen. Could my stomach/intestines just be inflamed from all the jarring after 26.2 miles? This pain is a physical pain of the stomach, not like a heartburn or "tummy ache" that pepto bismol would take care of... I went to convenient care yesterday, but they are only testing for dehydration. I hardly think dehydration explains acute abdominal pain and I mentioned that, but.... Please let me know if you've felt this and what you did to get better!

Thanks,

Caryn

Click to view fdeberry's profile Amateur 11 posts since
Jun 7, 2007
1. Apr 23, 2008 8:46 AM in response to: Gotta Run041
Re: Severe Abdominal Pain after Marathon MOnday - Help!
just my non-informed opinion, but distended stomach and severe pain....Go to the hospital....now.
Click to view Ewart_Harris's profile Legend 312 posts since
Dec 14, 2007
3. Apr 23, 2008 11:08 AM in response to: Gotta Run041
Re: Severe Abdominal Pain after Marathon MOnday - Help!
I have had this many times after a marathon or long run. I thought it was due to the fact that I do not eat before my runs (but usually do before a marathon so my stomach is not use to the food) and also if I try coffee before a hard work out or race. However it is never as severe as in your case. No hurt from talking. The worst cast I had went away by the next day and subsided by the afternoon after the race. I alos find that when I try most of the Gu on a run they usually do this to me as well.

Sorry I could not be of more help.
Click to view Jim24315's profile Legend 1,921 posts since
Dec 14, 2007
4. Apr 23, 2008 1:53 PM in response to: Ewart_Harris
Re: Severe Abdominal Pain after Marathon MOnday - Help!
I suggest going to through emergency of hospital rather than urgent care. A few years ago I went to the urgent care in our area twice and they sent me home each time. Unless they see blood our you pass out they don't know what to do. Finally I went through ER at the hospital, which by that time I was peeing blood. It turned out that I had kidney stones and they took me right in. It doesn't sound like that's what you have but whenever there is pain it's not something to ignore. Go to emergency.
Click to view csickels's profile Pro 95 posts since
Oct 23, 2007
5. Apr 24, 2008 6:36 AM in response to: Jim24315
Re: Severe Abdominal Pain after Marathon MOnday - Help!

I agree with the posters above. Don't assume the "Doctors" at urgent care know what they are doing. Just because you're not dead already doesn't mean this isn't serious. If you're still feeling this pain, just bite the bullet and go to the ER. Just like there are incompetent taxi drivers, grill cooks, custodians, etc, there are plenty of incompetent physicians too! It's just common sense that an urgent care center would be a likely place to find doctors who aren't good enough to have their own practice or be in a hospital. No offense to any good doctors who choose to work urgent care, for whatever reason.

GO TO THE ER! Your condition sounds kind of serious. Why would you take a chance?

Click to view tkacruzidid's profile Rookie 1 posts since
Nov 27, 2007
6. Apr 24, 2008 6:51 AM in response to: Gotta Run041
Re: Severe Abdominal Pain after Marathon MOnday - Help!
My son would have the same thing happen after soccer games, what the gastroenterologist explained to him is that there is this syndrome that occurs in some folks when they run for extended periods. The blood pools or is used moreso by the leg muscles, and this shift in blood flow will sometimes rob the intestines of their blood supply, even to the point of starving parts of the intestines for bloodflow causing little areas of necrosis, or tissue death, which is temporary and resets itself after the exercise is completed. However, the extreme abdominal pain comes from the fact that areas of the intestines are undergoing minute areas of necrosis and even though the phenomenon isn't too threatening in the long run, he was told to consider running shorter distances, or taking breaks thruout the soccer game to let the blood flow restore itself to the abdomen periodically. There is a name for this syndrome but I can't remember what it is.