Pains in the stomach can be symptoms of other diseases...

Ture Ålander and his opponent.

Thought further after having written the former posting...

A couple of days ago I got a tip on an article in a Norwegian paper with the title ”Magesmerter kan vaere symptom på andre sykdommer” or “Pains in the stomach can be symptoms of other diseases.” This tip has been lying there… But now I had to read more properly. See about these findings in Swedish here.

In this article it stands that problems from the stomach and intestines often can be connected with other diseases and with psychological problems. They can also be connected with earlier encroachments, abuse (övergrepp). The Swedish General practitioner Ture Ålander says that for to be able to help those patients the physician needs to see the whole human being, not just focus on the stomach problems.

The Norwegian physician and researcher Malin Eberhard-Gran has done a similar study which supports Ålander’s ideas. Her study doesn’t have only stomach-problems as starting-point, but symptoms of diseases in general.

They had asked women between 18 and 40 years in two townships in Norway about disease-symptoms. They found that many who had several physical symptoms often had been exposed to violence. They also saw that the more violence they were exposed to the sicker.

And these women suffered not only from symptoms like headaches and pains in the stomach, but also from diagnosis like diabetes, asthma and different forms of allergies.

From her praxis as General Practitioner Eberhard-Gran had found that when there were many different disease-symptoms there are often other things lying beyond.

She says:

“If you get a patient with headache, sleeping problems, pains in the stomach and maybe even diabetes, there are reasons to a closer investigation on how this patient has it, for example if the patient has been exposed to violence.”

And she means that it is important to have the whole person in focus, not just each disease-symptom for itself.

One of three Swedes is plagued by different types of problems from the stomach as pains, being stuck-upped (uppblåsthet), having constipation (förstoppning) and diarrhoea (diarré).

Those plagues are difficult explaining medically and many different and thorough examinations (undersökningar) show that everything is normal.

Ålander is hoping that his founds shall contribute to a better and more effective treatment of this group of patients.

Now while I was writing I suddenly recalled what Alice Miller actually wrote about the fifty-year old American actress Isabelle, who had been suffering from a chronic inflammation in her intestines after a psychic shock!!! And about her experiences of seeking help. Not so good experiences. Isabelle had been exposed to sexual abuse as a child by her father (who was physician. Yes, even in the “best” families…). Memories she had suppressed, until her return to Ireland, the country where she was born? She had very high (but not really conscious) expectations on a meeting with a former male friend, and support from him, a support she didn't get though. See the chapter “Medication versus memory” in her book “The Truth Will Set You Free” pages 26-41.

Back to the original text. Ålander says that:

”The results talks for that we shall not only focus on the symptoms of the stomach in patients with returning/persistent stomach and intestine troubles, but see the whole human being. It can be to establish a trust-relation and combine psychological treatment with medication.”

And he adds that a lot of research remains before one for sure knows what methods and medicines [if any: my addition] which are best in the treatment.

“Those with plagues from the stomach often had other plagues at the same time. For example 80 % said they were tired. Among the healthy in their stomachs the number was 20 % [complaining of tiredness]. Even when it came to headache (huvudvärk), pains in the back (ryggont), down-heartedness (nedstämdhet), restlessness and agony the ones with problems from the stomach were over-represented.”

Another interesting finding was that 46 % of the women with constant/persistent troubles from the stomach had been exposed to one or another form of physical, psychological or sexual abuse. For the ones with healthy stomachs 16 % had been exposed to abuse. For the men the connections aren’t as plain as for women.

Ålander is careful about drawing any conclusions from these results [why??], but means that they can become an important piece in the puzzle when one investigate patients with returning/peesistent problems from the stomach.

See the dissertation by Ture Ålander at the Karolinska Institute recently: “Functional gastrointestinal disorders: Co-morbidity and non-somatic aspects.”

In the conclusion it stands:

"FGID (persistent functional gastro-intestinal disorders) is related to an increased demand on primary health care due to an increased overall co-morbidity. Women with longstanding FGID often have a history of physical, emotional or sexual abuse which is associated with a poor HRQoL (Health Related Quality-of-Life Measure) and increased health care seeking. Negative parental upbringing represents an aggravating factor in FGID. The treatment of FGID should involve assessment of psychological distress."

Also read about Anna-Luise Kirkengen's founds here and here, and Linn Getz's. And about the ACE-study here and here.

PS. Watch how super-cute they were, these four babies laughing!!!