We are taking Metamucil daily, which does not help. Kaopectate seems to relieve the cramping and diarrhea, but then it causes constipation. She prepares 8 oz. and takes 6 oz. Any suggestions you might have regarding our constant digestive problems would be greatly appreciated. Tetsuo Ashizawa, M.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX Myotonic dystrophy affects the digestive tract.
Esophageal motility is abnormal, with decreased pressure to push the foods down to the stomach.
As a result, patients may have feeling of foods stuck in the chest after swallowing. The gall bladder often shows stones that necessitates surgical treatments. The huge colon sometimes becomes so large that the diaphragm may be pushed up. These are all thought to be due to weakened smooth muscles in the digestive tract, although to find the exact cause we need more studies. Diarrhea is not described in the literature well.