# ibs and peri menopause



## fedup (Oct 28, 2004)

hi not sure if i'm perimenopause or not but i have'nt had a period for 2 months now. I've been through a lot of stress lately over my ibs symptoms so this could be the cause.Just wondering if anyone has had worsening ibs symptoms while going hrough the menopause.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

oh yes my ibs-c--and my insomnia--got worse during peri and even more so after menopause.but yes, you're right--stress can make periods go away for a while. that happened to me when i was much younger and going through a very difficult time.hope you can somehow find a way to relieve the stress. for me, i found that meditation, yoga, relaxation techniques,exercise helped--also cbt. quite a few people on the board have found michael mahoney's ibs audio program very helpful at relieving stress and ibs problems.good luck--wishing you all the best.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Some folks have their hormones for a trigger. I'm one of those people... lol And yes as my GI said... sometimes things get worse before they get better. And that has been true for me. The process of menopause can take 12-15 yrs for some... so patience is key. lol One thing that keeps me going is knowing SOMEday (and sooner than later) I will be _post_ menopausal and hopefully my IBS will calm way down.


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## Diana63 (Oct 20, 2009)

Stress can cause so many symptoms in our bodies and periods stopping can be one of them.Maybe you could have a chat with your GP about it.I am going through the menopause but i have not noticed my ibs worsening but i suffer severely as it is and i dont know if i could cope if it got any worse.I am managing to tolerate taking a homeopathic remedy for my hot flushes/sweats which has helped eased them a bit.As BQ said at least the menopause will stop eventually, unlike for me my ibs,thats never ending.Annie7 also gave good advice about the relaxation techniques,worth a try also.Take care.


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## rhodyker66 (Jul 29, 2011)

Diana63 said:


> Stress can cause so many symptoms in our bodies and periods stopping can be one of them.Maybe you could have a chat with your GP about it.I am going through the menopause but i have not noticed my ibs worsening but i suffer severely as it is and i dont know if i could cope if it got any worse.I am managing to tolerate taking a homeopathic remedy for my hot flushes/sweats which has helped eased them a bit.As BQ said at least the menopause will stop eventually, unlike for me my ibs,thats never ending.Annie7 also gave good advice about the relaxation techniques,worth a try also.Take care.


Hi I am new to the forum. I need someone else to talk to that is going through similar things other than my Dr. I had gone on for months with the back and forth to the bathroom and could not eat much of anything, food disgusted me and that is not like me. I lost 20 pounds in a few months. I need to lose weight but not the way I wanted to. I saw my gastro Dr. and went in for a colonoscopy/endoscopy a few weeks ago and I called yesterday for my results and she said she found nothing which is good, but I do have IBS and I can't seem to do anything right to make myself feel better! My OBGYN says I am in perimenopause, a real joy! I am on the pill to control my cycle if not I would have it longer. I have it about 2 weeks out of the month. Mostly spotting/clotting until the last 4 days of the pill pack then it is medium to heavy flow. I also suffer from servere anxiety and depression. I have gone through a lot in the past few years. I got divorced, lost my home to foreclosure, have been fighting for disability for 3 years, I had no choice but to move in with my mom and sister and her family which is not the most comfortable, but it is a roof over my head and with no money it helps. I do get food stamps and medical assistance thankfully. I also have fibromyalgia. I just feel like such a mess and I know everyone is tired of me not feeling good. Okay I guess that is it from me for now, not sure what else to say. Thanks for listening.


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## Diana63 (Oct 20, 2009)

Hello rhodyker66I'm so sorry you are having such an awful time,i do understand as i suffer very badly also and i have chronic fatigue syndrome.This year has not been good for me as my mum passed away then i had another three close bereavements,so 2011 i really want to end!!I have good support of family and friends which has been of great help.I am taking it you are taking some kind of medicines to try and help the symptoms you have and do you have someone you can talk to apart from when you are on the forum,which of course is a good place to come and vent and others understand.Take care.


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## rhodyker66 (Jul 29, 2011)

Diana63 said:


> Hello rhodyker66I'm so sorry you are having such an awful time,i do understand as i suffer very badly also and i have chronic fatigue syndrome.This year has not been good for me as my mum passed away then i had another three close bereavements,so 2011 i really want to end!!I have good support of family and friends which has been of great help.I am taking it you are taking some kind of medicines to try and help the symptoms you have and do you have someone you can talk to apart from when you are on the forum,which of course is a good place to come and vent and others understand.Take care.


I am so sorry for everything you have gone through. I don't have too many people to talk to about IBS except my doctors when they are in. I am not taking anything for the IBS, but I do take anxiety and antidepressant meds. I just hate how this IBS gets in the way of everything! My mom who just turned 78 has been having a lot of health issues. She has memory loss and now she has some sort of macular degeneration in her eyes, one is worse than the other. She went this past week to an eye surgeon and they did all sorts of tests that totally made me sick, but they had to do them to see what was going on. She had a needle in her eye, I tell you I had to leave the room I almost passed out! She goes again Monday for a shot in the other eye. If she doesn't have this treatment she could lose her sight. So there has been a lot to handle with my mom. I am the one who takes her back and forth to appointments and some days it takes its toll. It is not easy to come back and live with your mom especially when she has so many issues. She has some sort of dementia/alzheimers too. I have no friends here, lost them all when I got divorced. So my days are pretty much boring a lot. I have no money to go do anything and waiting on disability is driving me crazy. I have to get my ex back to court because he owes me about 3 grand. Yeah my life is FULL of stress! My stomach just made a volcanic sound as I typed that! I am glad I found this group.







You can call me Kerri.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Hi kerri so sorry for all you are going through. yes it's hard isn't it when there are so many difficulties in life and then one has several chronic illnesses to deal with as well.my mum is 88 and also has lots of problems---macular degeneration, dementia, poor health, etc. it's hard, isn't it, when those we love suffer so.my hubby has heart problems (stents) suffered a closed head injury last year and now has a spot on his lung...i have ibs-c, sijd and mitochondrial disease and many problems as well as chronic fatigue related to that.and diana--so sorry to hear you lost your mum this year,as well as the other bereavements. that is so hard--so much to go through.i do hope next year is a better one for you. and i know you have suffered from severe ibs for such a long long time.i will keep both of you in my prayers. stay strong...sending you both prayers and positive thoughts..hope things get better for both of you..


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## rhodyker66 (Jul 29, 2011)

annie7 said:


> Hi kerri so sorry for all you are going through. yes it's hard isn't it when there are so many difficulties in life and then one has several chronic illnesses to deal with as well.my mum is 88 and also has lots of problems---macular degeneration, dementia, poor health, etc. it's hard, isn't it, when those we love suffer so.my hubby has heart problems (stents) suffered a closed head injury last year and now has a spot on his lung...i have ibs-c, sijd and mitochondrial disease and many problems as well as chronic fatigue related to that.and diana--so sorry to hear you lost your mum this year,as well as the other bereavements. that is so hard--so much to go through.i do hope next year is a better one for you. and i know you have suffered from severe ibs for such a long long time.i will keep both of you in my prayers. stay strong...sending you both prayers and positive thoughts..hope things get better for both of you..


God Bless you Annie! I need a lot of positive thoughts!! I had some bentyl the Dr. told me to take and I did. I am not sure if I noticed anything cause I had a cup of decaf tea and my stomach did its usual thing. I mean I like to just lay around sometimes but this is just crazy! I have things I need to do and can't function geez! I see you are in the U.S. I am too, in R.I.


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## Diana63 (Oct 20, 2009)

Kerri..You do have so much to deal with and i do hope just being here on the forum can help you a bit even if it is just to get everything 'as they say' of your chest.Have you looked on the meet ups section to see if there is an ibs support group in or around your area that you could maybe go to.I looked after both my parents and i know how stressful and worrying it can be as well as your own health issues,you sometimes wonder how you do it,but always seem to find the strength to get on and do it.Have you had any sort of councelling,maybe just being able to talk to someone face to face can be a bit of a relief also.Take care of yourself.xAnnie..Nice to hear from you,you are such a caring person and i know your health problems are chronic also.Its not an easy life we lead,especially when loved ones are ill also.We try to get on with daily life the best we can,but it is so exhausting.Take care of yourself.xMy mum had Dementia along with other health problems,so i do know how you are both feeling.Thinking of you both.x


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

My heart goes out to all of you ~ I too have encoutered much of the things mentioned here, and life can really be difficult. One of the things that got me through having IBS for years and years with nothing helping, as well as other surgeries and big life stressors was hypnotherapy - specifically the IBS Audio program Annie mentions. If you need to talk to someone about this, please let me know or you can call 877-898-2539 or take a look at the links below. There IS hope and you can get better - these sessions do help you with life overall including the IBS. Hope that helps and (((HUGS)) and prayers to you all... Take care.


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