# Depression and IBS



## XJ6Jaguar1985 (Aug 4, 2007)

6 More days until my Dr.'s appointment! But who's counting? Hehe. I got over whatever "Bug" I have...Apparently Florida has bad water and well, drinking bottled water has helped...Anyways, I think it is worth noting I do have severe anxiety problems and I think I remember Eric posting something in here that said lack of serationin probably can directly relate to IBS related issues. I mean when my anxiety hits, I get it BAD-Choking feeling in my throat, nausea, pit in my stomach, eating food feels like a lead weight...I have a lot of erm "Baggage" to say the least from the past year which has lead to my bad anxiety. Do you guys think an anti-anxiety pill with counseling would help with everything? Funny thing is my IBS symptoms seemed to disappear when I was in a relationship with someone. I'd go to counseling, but I don't think my newfound healthcare will cover me because of everything that has transpired in the past two weeks. (I'm 23, I'm my father's dependent, I was eligible for healthcare because I was a full time student. I could only miss 3 classes topps, but I've been in Florida helping my father because of my stepmother's passing.) Does anyone know if there are free Anxiety counseling meetings like AA meetings? This probably isn't the right place to post this, but it does have to deal with IBS too! haha. I'm really scared to take a perscription for my anxiety, but man is it BAD!


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2007)

Hi there - well Eric's a good and knowledgeable egg so I'd rate whatever he says. I don't know - but I'm sure that when you are anxious/depressed/stressed and generally mentally not on "top form" - physical symptoms are almost inevitably bound to be worse - whether there is a serotonin connection, I'm not sure - you'd need to do some more research on that.I think its also worth pointing out that all anti-depressants are serious "buggers" and not to be taken lightly. They may also take some time to work and are very ideosyncratic - so what might work for one - might not suit you. You will have to give any medication of this nature some time. If you anxiety symptoms are mild/moderate - it may well be worth looking at alternative "cures" first - though of course a combination might work too. You need to work closely with a sympathetic GP and talk things through.I have battled with depression all my adult life - am now on 30mg Mitrazapene (not a widely used SSRI derivative) a day and have been well and happy for about 21 months - so yes, anti-depressants have given me my life back - but this comes at a price - no anti-depressant is totally without its side-effects - my only problem is a stone of weight that I cannot shift - but the choice of being miserably thin or happily content and abit weighty - well I know what I'd choose.You need to give this all plenty of thought - work closely with the health professionals and have a good root about on these forums - there are alot of dead knowledgeable folk here - I'm pretty clued up on the depression side of things - so feel free to PM me any time but I'm very lucky - only have very, very mild IBS symptoms - so you'd need to talk to somebody else on that - Kathleen, Eric, Overitnow (Mark), or any of the mods of the IBS Forums.Good luck Sue


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