Anxiety/stress diarrhoea

[mac01]

Hi, so I'm not specifically expecting professional/medical help on here, I am just reaching out to hopefully find anyone who is going through a similar experience to me. Also I'm talking about poop for anyone squeamish 🙂

About a month ago I had a bout of diarrhoea a couple of hours after eating a salad at a cafe. I figured my stomach just didn't agree with it and thought noting else of it. Ever since though, I've been getting diarrhoea on and off, sometimes watery, sometimes a little mucusy, and the odd time a completely normal poop. I get it either 1,2 or 3 times a day, or sometimes I skip days. It doesn't happen at any specific time or after I've eaten anything particular, and I've no food intolerances that I know of.

After 2.5 weeks I went to my docs, he had a feel around my tummy which was normal and requested a stool sample. Results came back clear, however he prescribed me antibiotics "just in case" which I have been reluctant to take... I'm not eating as much and have lost my appetite as I'm scared it will trigger a bout! I don't really have any abdominal pain, I'll maybe get the odd mild cramp but that's it.

Overall I'm feeling well, but the diarrhoea is really starting to get to me. I can be a bit of an anxious person and a bit of a worrier, and other than an annoying eyelid twitch that I've been getting for a few weeks, I have no other physical anxiety symptoms. 3 weeks ago my work told everyone to work from home because of the whole covid-19 thing. So I'm not sure being on my own all day in the house with more time for my thoughts is helping. Can thoughts alone really trigger this?

Anyway, like I said at the start, keen to hear if anyone has a similar experience and how you coped, as I find it odd that I continue to have diarrhoea without any other symptoms...

[uncut_gems]

Hi mac01,

Welcome to the forums! Abdominal distress is an extremely common symptom of anxiety, and one I also experience. Speaking personally, I feel it very distinctly come on in my stomach, usually in anticipation of something scary and not necessarily in response to something in my diet.

I can also say I experience the eyelid twitch thing, which I think is fairly common. All this to say yes, stewing in our own thoughts about health anxiety can absolutely make GI problems worse. Have you tried sticking to plain foods like grains and avoiding dairy and raw veg? Slowly introducing foods back into your diet, starting with grains, might help you narrow down the culprit if you suspect your stomach is sensitive to something.

Warmly,

Gems

[mac01]

Thanks so much for your reply. I've really stripped back my diet, eating plain toast, porridge, potatoes, plain meat, I haven't drank coffee in over a week which is a struggle in itself! The weird thing is nothing in particular seems to trigger the diarrhoea, I could be sitting watch a film and I'll feel it come on. The worst thing is I could have a normal bowel movement one day, feel completely fine and think I'm better then bam, the day after it happens again, which is starting to get frustrating... I find it hard to concentrate on anything else at the moment. It's getting to the point where I worry it's going to take over my life...

[mocha delight]

Hi mac01 I was diagnosed with coeliac disease at the end of June last year and all the things you mentioned are symptoms I had pre diagnosis. Not saying you have coeliac disease or anything as those symptoms can be symptoms for a broad range of different things but check out the coeliac Australia website and google on google images ‘symptoms of coeliac disease’.

[blondguy]

Hi Mac01

Good on you for posting about Anxiety/Stress Diarrhoea....This is a very common symptom of even mild/low level stress/anxiety especially in this difficult time we are going through...and yes...thoughts can cause our poop to vary for sure. 

Our digestive system is the most 'sympathetic' to stress/anxiety and yes I have had the same issues on and off for a while too..unfortunately. I noticed above that you have solidified your diet...and dumped most of the coffee too! Having a coffee on the weekends is fine as our anxiety/stress levels are way lower

You are very proactive with your health Mac01 and good on you! You are not alone...have a look at all the people that also have a similar issue on our copy & paste link below

www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/anxiety/what-physical-feelings-of-anxiety-do-you-get

any questions are always welcome 🙂

my kind thoughts

Paul

[mac01]

Thank you for the reply Paul, and that link is helpful thank you. Yes it's crazy how our mind can have such an affect on the body. I figured anxiety would beed to be severe to have this sort of affect, maybe not?... I'm trying to keep myself busy to take my mind off it, it's difficult when environments change from a busy workplace to being alone at home! I haven't been too bad the last couple of days, but not holding my breath 🙂 I got a probiotic this morning that I'll try to see how that goes. Will also try to stick to a lunch time social-distancing walk! 🙂

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi mac01,

Glad that you've decided to join the forums and it looks as though you're finding lots of support here 🙂

I too am familiar with gut issues and I know how hard it can be - sometimes the difficulty is that it can't always be traced so easily back to the last food you ate since sometimes foods take longer to digest in your gut. So confusing! The foods you're eating sound low in fibre anyway which would make it runny too. Have you ever thought about seeing a dietician?

As the others have said too anxiety can absolutely impact the digestive system - sometimes it contributes to gut issues (like it can make Celiac disease worse) and sometimes it can cause gut issues on its own.

I'm not sure if this helps a little - at the very least I do hope that you can get some reassurance that this doesn't have to take over your life 🙂

rt

[Hilanior]

What helped me was keeping a loose food and symptom diary, just to see if any patterns would emerge. For me it wasn’t so much a single food, but stress and overthinking definitely made it worse. Being at home alone with too much time to focus on every bodily sensation can definitely ramp things up, the gut is super sensitive to anxiety.

In my case it eventually calmed down on its own after a few weeks. I stuck to lighter, simple meals and made sure to keep hydrated.

I didn’t end up taking medication , but I know some people feel reassured trying them.