# Weird Question



## 15578 (Oct 27, 2006)

Hi guys,Strange question for you - I have moderate/severe ulcerative colitis and possibly IBS as well. I have a very "nervous stomach," but a couple of things really trigger it:-Waiting (waiting to meet someone, waiting for the train, etc)-Cold temperature (when my body is cold a lot of times, I feel like I have to go to the bathroomOther things influence as well, such as going to the grocery store or even shopping at the mall. A lot of times if I am with someone my stomach bothers me more than if I am alone (ie - grocery shopping with my boyfriend and waiting for him to finish up and pick out his groceries). Is this stuff related to anxiety and IBD?







Should I take anti-anxiety pills besides my IBD medicine?A couple of times lately I was even unable to wait until I reached the bathroom to go.







Luckily, I have about my 6th colonoscopy appointment scheduled for 2 weeks from now..Does anyone else experience these feelings, and/or any suggestions?Thanks for the help!Jessica


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## Guest (Nov 9, 2006)

Hun - firstly, a very warm welcome to the board and secondly - no, you are NOT alone. I don't suffer like you do but certainly stress plays a HUGE part in worsening of IBS-type symptoms just as you describe.Now, I'd be a little wary of starting anti-depressants unless you are suffering with depression or very severe anxiety. I am a depressive myself, so I am on Mitrazapene for depression and I'm very well now but beware - they are serious buggers (if you'll pardon my french). However, I'm sure you don't need to suffer like this - do you have a sympathetic GP (sorry, doctor if you are from over t'pond) who you could talk frankly to - there maybe plenty they can prescribe and I'm sure others on this thread will give you much more specific advice.Please don't suffer in silence - well you've made the first step here haven't you.I wish you lots of luck and a very warm welcome from soggy old Manchester.Sue


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Yes a nice Welcome to you JessSuev gave ya some good advice there. Yes many folks with IBS have some anxiety issues as well. And like she mentioned.. you are very far from alone in that. Maybe an anti anxiety med might be something to discuss with your Doc.. at least tell him/her what you have told us here and see what they suggest.There are meds of course to help with this and there is also Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and other strategies to help us.Perhaps you can find some more info on CBT on our Hypnotherapy/CBT forum found here:http://ibsgroup.org/groupee/forums/a/frm/f/72210261Hope you feel better soon and that your colonoscopy shows nothing sinister going on.







BQ


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## Mary:::))) (Oct 23, 2006)

I wrote that down in my notes.... I am not depressed but I have anxiety at work....would that be considered the same thing? I really don't want to take another pill but I feel like when I am at work and I am so busy that's when it decides to hit .... or if I get a PITA client.....I have started calling those particular clients my ... "Special" clients lol...but I will ask my dr. about this ...


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## 21723 (Aug 19, 2005)

I agree any unnecessary drug should be avoided. Having said that I am not depressed or have abnormal anxiety other than the fear of pooping in my pants. I am experimenting with a-d for the possible correction of an abnormal bowel. There is some evidence or speculation that there is a serotonin imbalance in the gut or abnormal brain gut communications. I have to say so far the SSRIâ€™s did help my symptoms and definitely decreased pain. Tricyclics offered little help. Keep doing your own research and good luck.


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## Guest (Nov 13, 2006)

Pooman, I know one or two people on the board use low doses of SSRIs mainly citralopram successfully for bowel problems, mainly of the IBS-D type and a mate of mine was on a very low dose of valium for the same problem very successfully. My main problems are depression-based rather than IBS based and my medication (Mitrazapene) addresses this successfully so I can't really speak for its effect positive or negative on IBS symptoms though, as I say, others do seem to benefit. It is worth bearing in mind that any anti-d is a serious bugger and worth treating with the respect it deserves.Good luckSue


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## 16130 (Nov 7, 2006)

I too suffer from this anxiety. Its the weirdest thing I will be in the book store or eckerd or walmart and suddenly i have to go!! Like bad and it is ususally d!!! I have IBS -C so i do welcome these attacks!! But they are certainly not comfortable and really put a downer on my shopping mood. I also get these attacks when i shop on the internet!!! It must be an anxiety thing. I was put on anti anxiety medicine and me made me feel so weird. like all I could do was stare in space??? and then I couldnt sleep for like 2 days needless to say I did not continue the medication!! I am confused on what to do also!


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## 21723 (Aug 19, 2005)

> quote:Originally posted by amberrae82:I too suffer from this anxiety. Its the weirdest thing I will be in the book store or eckerd or walmart and suddenly i have to go!! Like bad and it is ususally d!!! I have IBS -C so i do welcome these attacks!! But they are certainly not comfortable and really put a downer on my shopping mood. I also get these attacks when i shop on the internet!!! It must be an anxiety thing. I was put on anti anxiety medicine and me made me feel so weird. like all I could do was stare in space??? and then I couldnt sleep for like 2 days needless to say I did not continue the medication!! I am confused on what to do also!


What meds were you on and for how long?Some have a sedative effect. It also takes a couple of weeks for your body to get use to them. Most of the "weird" feelings will go away.


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## 15017 (Nov 14, 2006)

I have a history of anxiety (general anxiety disorder) and have always thought my stomach problems were just a part of being "nervous" all the time. Yesterday I was diagnosed as having IBS for the first time. Finally, I feel like I have a name for this condition I've been suffering with since I was about 13 years old (I'm 41 now). When I was in high school, my doctor had me on Librax for my stomach aches -- but the anxiety was never really diagnosed until I was in college and it got REALLY severe and was basically making my life HELL. Of course, my stomach problems were also extreme during college. I think any stress or anxiety is going to make the IBS flare up --- at least, now that I look back on my stomach problems, it sure seems that way. I take Lexapro and Xanax for my anxiety -- sometimes they help, other times no. I got on a plane one time only to have a massive panic attack (and IBS attack) and had to de-board before the plane taxied off from the terminal. It was HORRIBLE, EMBARRASSING and made me feel about 2 inches tall to see all these people staring at me like, "What the heck is wrong with HIM??" I basically ran off that plane after telling the flight attendant I had to get OFF NOW and rushed to a bathroom in the terminal. That was after taking THREE Xanax before I even got to the airport! Guess sometimes our mind/body is just going to do what it's going to do wheter you're taking meds or not.I'm hoping to learn a lot more about IBS from this board, and it's link to depression and anxiety. Can't believe I've been living with this for so long and never have been diagnosed correctly.Kevin


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## 23376 (Jul 31, 2006)

Experts say that stress and anxiety definately have an impact on IBS and colon mobility. Personally, I've taken some drastic steps to been on short term disability for the last two months to deal with my severe IBS issues.It has taken me the two months, a high fibre diet and Celexa to get control of alternating D & C. Well I should say I had control for a short period. The alternating D & C, has returned although not as severe as when I first left work. I have found that stress and anxiety definately impact how I feel. It took about 4 weeks for my first dosage of Celexa (20 mg) to make a differnce. But upping the dosage to 40 mg daily really hasn't helped when I feel stressed or anxious. We are comming up to a particuarily stressful time of year and I'm noticing that my IBS symptoms are reappearing more fequently the closer we come to Christmas. (Strained finances because I'm off work, family obligations, spousal pressure, gifts to buy, figuring out what to get relatives etc. etc.) So, I'm hoping that the antidepressents will truly kick in (like the first doseage)after the stress has subsided.Sorry I've ranted enough.Sleep and quality of sleep is a huge issue for me, lately. I generally only get between 3-5 hours per night. Was on tarazodone for a short period, but made me stop breathing.Does anyone have any sleep suggestions?Jack


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## 15017 (Nov 14, 2006)

Jack,I have to take a Xanax about an hour or two every night before I go to sleep or I will toss and turn worrying forever and can't sleep. Another non-prescription alternate that I find helps me is Celestial Seasonings "Sleepytime" herbal tea with honey. I don't know what's in it, but it seems to help me fall asleep very easily. Kevin


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## 13418 (Oct 30, 2006)

> quote:Originally posted by Jack Morrison:Experts say that stress and anxiety definately have an impact on IBS and colon mobility. Personally, I've taken some drastic steps to been on short term disability for the last two months to deal with my severe IBS issues.It has taken me the two months, a high fibre diet and Celexa to get control of alternating D & C. Well I should say I had control for a short period. The alternating D & C, has returned although not as severe as when I first left work. I have found that stress and anxiety definately impact how I feel. It took about 4 weeks for my first dosage of Celexa (20 mg) to make a differnce. But upping the dosage to 40 mg daily really hasn't helped when I feel stressed or anxious. We are comming up to a particuarily stressful time of year and I'm noticing that my IBS symptoms are reappearing more fequently the closer we come to Christmas. (Strained finances because I'm off work, family obligations, spousal pressure, gifts to buy, figuring out what to get relatives etc. etc.) So, I'm hoping that the antidepressents will truly kick in (like the first doseage)after the stress has subsided.Sorry I've ranted enough.Sleep and quality of sleep is a huge issue for me, lately. I generally only get between 3-5 hours per night. Was on tarazodone for a short period, but made me stop breathing.Does anyone have any sleep suggestions?Jack


I completely understand your anxiety. I deal with it every day and I can't say that I'm dealing with it very well. Right now I am avoiding leaving home other than going to work. I have even asked my husband to change our regular Thanksgiving plans to stay home. I feel bad even having to ask but my IBS has been so bad for the past six months that traveling is very stressful for me. I have told people for years that I hate the holidays. The stress from it is awful for me as I always fret over letting people down.Lately I have been put on an anti-anxiety med. It's a low dosage of generic Zoloft. It's only been a couple of weeks but I can see an improvement in my mood. I hope it starts controlling the travel-related anxiety also. I've had that problem for 20 years though so it may be a little harder to conquer.Just wanted you to know that you are not alone. I hope you feel better soon and are able to get through the holidays smoothly.Tina


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## Screamer (Aug 16, 2005)

I too am an IBS anxiety cycle type of person (lol, did that even make any sense?!?!). I've tried a few different anti depressants in the past but so far have found that they gave me more side effects than they did good.Tina, I've had IBS as far back as I can remember (so over 20 years) and I also feel the guilt of cancelling on people. Like you Christmas is always the worst time of year, family wanting us to travel to the coast and stay in a house filled with not just relatives but family friends (oh the horror of an attack with 10 people standing in the room right next door!!). Hopefully there'll be an answer for us all before too much longer and we'll finally find a bit of peace with our stomaches!


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## 15578 (Oct 27, 2006)

Thanks all for the advice. I have about my 6th colonoscopy on Monday and my GI doctor (also doubles as my primary) wants to prescribe an anti-anxiety pill for me. I am going to ask him about BuSpar, as I have read it is the only non addicting one... has anyone taken this medicine before?


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## 15017 (Nov 14, 2006)

I took Buspar for anxiety, and it didn't help me at all -- but that's not to say that it won't help you. Everyone reacts differently to medications. Lexapro seems to be the only one that really has helped my anxiety (in combination with therapy and Xanax) -- plus Lexapro, at least for me, is the only one that didn't have side effects. I tried Zoloft before that, but it really affected my stomach terribly. Hope the Buspar helps -- give it a try and if it doesn't work there are other options out there. I wouldn't worry so much about addiction -- I think the main thing is to get control of your anxiety. I debated with that issue for years and finally decided that I'd rather be able to live my life as "anxiety-free" as possible and took the plunge to start on an SSRI anti-depressant. It's helped me a lot. (I would suggest that maybe you speak to a psychiatrist though -- as they specialize in the various anti-depressants and so forth out there -- a primary doc doesn't really have the same background that a specialist will have -- just my "two cents") Kevin


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