[cookies4marilyn]

http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/patient_care_fgid.htmJoolie, this is a GREAT site - and many of us here are aware of the work at the UNC (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Center for Functional GI Disorders. I attended the IFFGD and the DDW where physicians from this center made their presentations and I was able to meet a few of them!From the above link:Motility is the muscular activity of the GI tract. Normal motility (e.g., peristalsis) is an orderly sequence of muscular contractions from the top to the bottom. In FGIDs, the motility is abnormal - there can be muscular spasms that can cause pain, and the contractions can be very rapid (fast motility is diarrhea) or very slow (slow motility is constipation). Sensation is how the nerves of the GI tract respond to stimuli (for example, digesting a meal). In FGIDs, the nerves are sometimes so sensitive that even normal contractions can bring on pain or discomfort. Brain-gut dysfunction relates to the disharmony in the way the brain and GI system communicate. With FGIDs, the regulatory conduit between the brain and gut function may be impaired and this can lead to increased pain and bowel difficulties which can be worsened by stress. There ya go, sweetie!!! Spasms and painful contractions -