Anxiety and IBS Anyone Out There?

[Stanlee14]

Hello all

Ive suffered from IBS most my life due to an unrelated condition. I’ve also been a long time anxiety sufferer and recently read an article about a link between IBS and anxiety. In recent months my anxiety has been up and down, however during the ‘ups’ I noticed quite a flare up of my IBS symptoms.

This doesn’t really surprise me, however I wanted to know who else out there has similar problems, either living with medically diagnosed IBS or just anxiety and stomach problems.

I wanted to create this thread as it is a anxiety symptom that quite often gets overlooked but personally I find quite debilitating.

Cheers Stan

[Stanlee14]

Hey therising

Some very useful information there. I think I may have seen that Catalyst episode you mentioned but I will have a look for it online. It’s amazing how much we relie on those small balances in our bodies, like the gut flora you mentioned. If you get too much imbalance we can get a such a dramatic response like anxiety is amazing and scary.

All the best Stan

[Stanlee14]

Hey Courage 2020

Fist of all, welcome to the forum!

Thank you for your message. I’ve started to lose faith in over the counter meds, however seeing your comment and a few others that said the same I may well start trying some different ones to see if they help. As for the Blackmores one, I can’t say I’ve tried it I will check it out. Good on you for joining the forum, there are many great people on here who have helped me as well.

Best Wishes Stan

[Stanlee14]

Hi ShyLizard

My heart goes out you, I’m not sure I’ve had it that bad before. I’ve been quite lucky in many respects, my IBS is caused by multiple surgeries when I was a child due to an underlying medical condition. By all rights I should be curled over a toilet every 5 mins but mine has mercifully been quite managable. It’s only been the last few years with the escalation of my anxiety and a development of a panic disorder that it has really began to flare it up.

Now every time my anxiety is up I find my toilet habits triple. Like yourself I’ve found myself planning my day around it, constantly evaluating my anxiety levels and planing where I can use a loo if If I have a flare up. This in itself is quite anxiety provoking, Ironic isn’t it.

Best Wishes Stan

[ShyLizard]

Yes, the stress of having to have a toilet nearby is in itself anxiety provoking.

I'm glad to hear that your IBS has been fairly manageable. However I know how easily it worsens with anxiety and panic. What kinds of anxiety sets it off for you? For me it is being in enclosed public spaces, preparing for a social interaction, and also having to make decisions on the spot (like choosing a product of the shelf).

[Jellis2411]

There could be so many issues that cause IBS as it is a blanket term.

I thought I was coeliac at one point, whilst in a very stressful relationship, 6 months of stomach cramps and phantom bowl movements and getting told to stop acting like an idiot, then bam, I'm the ER having my appendix removed. But Not a coeliac.

And continued to have IBS issues after that.

Then my dad died and it got worse,

broke up with my x and felt better after a few weeks , the stress from my dad dying was easier to deal with in comparison

When I look back on it I'm still convinced it was worse than it needed to be due to the stress from the X.

Because at different levels of stress comes different gut feelings to this day and he was the most stressful.

I've kinda just accepted that as my own how and why, that's the way it is, so to calm down the IBS symptoms I avoid junk food, and energy drinks,

Lots of water

stress is always around us, if our bodies are healthy, the gut IBS feelings won't be so harsh to live with .

I'm also living with 2spinal fractures and 8 disc compressions and mild arthrosis,

So if I'm stressed, my gut does it's thing, and then the spinal nerves go off.

But my change in diet now (and it's a daily thing) makes it easier to deal with.

Maybe you could look at changing something in your diet?

I recently learned that fibre should be equal or more than sugar content to ensure a steady digestion. Thus better gut reactions.

Hope my ramblings help

[Stanlee14]

Hey Shylizzard

Sorry for the slow reply, I haven’t checked on here for a couple of days. I can defiantly relate to the social interaction one. For me I also get the I’m about to leave the house to go somewhere one. The number of times I’ve found myself sitting in my car ready to leave to go somewhere and found myself rushing back inside to go at the last moment. Heck I’ve even driven halfway Down the road only to turn back for an unscripted stop.

I cant say I share your enclosed public spaces one but I can totally understand why it’s a trigger for you. Maybe you could have some form of claustrophobia that brings it on. In my cause unfortunately I’ve developed a bit of a health anxiety in recent times, so any change in my toilet habits naturally becomes a trigger in of itself. After months of blaming meds and self diagnosing myself with this and that I’m finally starting to accept that it’s my constant nagging anxiety causing a lot of my problems.

Myself like many people enjoy a coffee when I’m out (not the best drink for some one with anxiety I know.) But I found it can quite often become some -what of a laxitive too. More than a few times I’ve found myself rushing to the nearest toilet after my beloved cappuccino. Another one of mine is the, I’m about to exercise one. I’ve had that one for as long as I can remember. For most people the very thought of exercise is enough to turn people’s stomach but that’s not a surprise (ha ha).

[Stanlee14]

Hi Jellis, thanks for the message.

Don’t apologise for rambling, your in good company here, I’m a shocker for rambling myself. Very interesting you mentioned you thought you were coeliac at the time as I’ve pondered that myself lately. Out of all the replies I’ve got, yours is the one that I’ve most related to. Especially the cramps and phantom movements. As I said in my original post I have medically diagnosed IBS however with the escalation of my anxiety it has really become a problem. It’s interesting as cramps and the like have never been my usual IBS symptoms. On top of that my frequency of movements have tripled. My anxiety has become quite health related in recent times so having these cramps and symptoms natuarally makes me believe it’s cancer or somthing because what else could it be? All this despite the fact doctors have told me to expect these kind of symptoms my whole life. I wonder if the anxiety I’ve been having has brought all these symptoms to light. In all honesty nothing surprises me with anxiety anymore it’s fightningly powerful because it’s so primitive. Honestly I’ve not heard of a part of the body anxiety doesn’t affect, why should I be shocked it affects the gut as well.

On a side note- personally I’ve taken up drinking ginger tea. I brew it up at home using grated ginger. I’ve found it quite good for relieving cramps. It’s quite a good anti inflammatory and also helps with Intergestion. Recently I also changed to an almond milk as I felt full cream milk was not agreeing with me and I’ve quite a difference as well. But like you said it’s a daily thing. I’m also a firm believer that when it comes to diets there’s no such thing as a one size fits all. In fact I believe it’s the biggest lie out there.

All these people come out going on about this diet and that. One week it’s carb free the next its paleo and then vegan. At the end of the day the’re all trying to sell this false idea that there’s a magical diet out there that will make you lose wight without having to do any hard work. It’s all lies. I believe it’s about finding what’s right for you as an individual. But I’m getting off topic. Any way...can I ask did you suffer from IBS before that period in your life or did manifest itself during that time. Because I find it quite interesting as it sounds like you still suffer with it now.

Cheers Stan

[ShyLizard]

Thanks Stanlee14 for the response. I have also had the 'leave the house to go somewhere' one, in fact that was often my main one when I had to go to a job. I definitely relate to having to rush back inside at the last minute. These days I work from home and only leave the house about once a week to go shopping, and most of the time I am okay until I get there.

Health anxiety is not something I suffer with currently, although that's only because I haven't had any odd symptoms for quite a while. But if I do get them, it would be sure to bring my anxiety on.

As for your thoughts on diets etc, I totally agree with you in saying that there is no one diet that works for everyone. You can never really give anyone dietary advice other than to try different things and see what works for you. And sometimes certain foods only affect you temporarily, I have found. I have gone off wheat bread before, feeling like it was improving my gut, but now I can eat as much as I want with no problems whatsoever.

[Stanlee14]

Ah yes I’ve tried different breads as well but never really noteced much difference. I’ve also tried different combinations of anti biotics and pro biotics. Changed from one milk to another, all this with mixed and unclear results. Which leads me to my original post in regards to anxiety and it’s role in this precarious balancing act.

What’s the factor altering the ballence in gut flora in our bowels. Is it the seemingly un-related stressors like anxiety or depression? Is it diet? Is it both ? Or could it be a natural occurrence in the body?

I find it very telling that the intricacies of both our gut and our minds are two of the more least understood parts of the human body. As my doctors have told me many times you can’t really take an x-ray of the gut and see it at work on a biological level. Sure we can stick a camera down there and look at it but you only see the guts themselves and not their processes.

Can I just say a big thank you for your continued messages over the past week, it’s been great. I’m a little bit rural where I live and I don’t get to talk with other IBS sufferers all that often, so it’s nice to chat with others who get it. It’s like anxiety and depression in that can sometimes feel a bit isolating at times so cheers!

[ShyLizard]

You're welcome. This is the only thread I have posted on so far (apart from an introduction), and my IBS symptoms were not something I expected to share with anyone on this site. So thank you for creating the post. It was actually the only topic I related to from the recent posts. I also live in a rural area, so I don't get to talk to many people full stop, let alone other IBS sufferers.