# Anxiety and IBS-D



## shimo (Sep 12, 2007)

Hello everyone,I have been a frequent visitor here but today I really had to register as I had to talk about this to someone.If you ask me, I probably had IBS all my life as I still remember a few "episodes" as a 8 year old kid. It wasn't as bad as today because stress was much lower, even though I had to go to school. Today I'm an adult and a dad of a 2 year old boy.I got separated due to my condition mostly but always tried to "mask" what I really had. (I was very easy to irritate, and of course I still am, especially if I feel *at risk*).I live about 200km away from my boy, so seeing him is ALWAYS a nightmare for me. This is literally killing me inside.My anxiety is always off the charts whenever I go outside, even when I go to my doctor, and the problem is - he doesn't really understand anything about IBS. He did diagnose it, but he's one of those that thinks IBS a psychologic condition...To put my story into a few words, IBS got worse after I had Helicobacter Pylori infection. I still think I had it before that but it wasn't severe or mild, it was micro-mild. I would probably have an attack once a month if that much...I am writing here because today i did wake up with suicidal thoughts. I cried and felt totally desperate.Thinking about my kid did put those thoughts away though, but now seriously I feel that one day I won't make it. I never really had an "accident" like most people had (I am not exposed to the outside world that much - probably 3 hours a day and I thank God for that), but I really think that if I have one , I won't be able to handle the social stigma.I was always a perfectionist (aren't we all these days?), intelligent, good looking and overall a good person with others (I guess this is probably due to IBS, I do know how to calm down other people, i just cannot calm myself down).IBS completely destroyed my life. I wanted to be a doctor - had to quit school due to IBS, I wanted to have my own business - couldn't do it due to IBS (burocracy and queue lines aren't an option for me), I also bought a beautiful car that is parked all the time because I started to fear traffic jams (this is new, it didn't happen before). I tried to get myself "used" to being in traffic jams by training myself up for it. Like going intentionally to a traffic jam knowing that i'll be trapped there for over 5 minutes (which is probably 5 hours for us IBS people). So far it didn't work and resulted in a big big panick attack. But then, I was able to manage it as the green light come up.This doesn't make sense though. As soon as the green light comes up, I feel free and IBS is gone (at least until the next red light). I can't really understand this (i guess i can but i refuse to, i'm not insane). I know it's anxiety, but then how can I manage anxiety better? You all know that going to a gym is a problem for all of us...While I'm at home 24/7 (I can be here for like 3 days in a row without going crazy - of course I get out to walk the dog and have a coffee or something in the morning), I have no attacks at all. I talked to a female sufferer, and she felt just like I did. The real problems arise when we are exposed. I mean, of course we all have "D" but, it gets worse when we are on the outside. Can someone more experienced then me explain this? I know it's related to anxiety, but how to overcome that?Thanks for reading, I really needed to share this with someone at last.


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## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Hi Shimo,First of all, welcome to the forums.I am so sorry you are in this situation, but thankful that you finally decided to register and reach out for help. It takes a lot of courage to take this first step to reach out and I'm real glad that you did.It seems that your anxiety has become more difficult to control over time. Have you talked to a dr about it? Getting some meds may be a good way to go, esp. at this moment considering what you're going through -- I know, I didn't believe in anxiety meds or antidepressants for a long time, but I have to admit that taking it makes a big difference (like you, stress is one of my major triggers). Most dr.s won't put you on it forever -- after a full term of meds if you're doing well, they would work with you to find a way to manage your anxiety and IBS so you could gradually quit the meds -- that's what my dr's been trying to do with me. Have you tried any IBS meds? Like, antidiarrheals, antispasmodics, etc.? If not, you might want to ask your dr about them, too. Calcium and probiotics (esp. the latter) work well for many people. Please visit the medication forums on this site for some details. There are also ways to manage by diet changes, etc, depending on the severity of your IBS. We have a food/nuitritiojn forum if you're interested in checking it out.In the mean time, you might want to also check out the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Hypnotherapy forum -- these two work very well for a lot of people to get their anxiety under control.And plus, you DO need to talk to a professional/dr if you've had suicidal thoughts. Please do. And if these thoughts recur (which I sincerely hope not), please do also make use of the crisis resources (http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=71753) to find a professional or someone or anyone to talk to.Again, I'm very thankful that you are talking to us on here. And please do keep talking. We all do care very much.Cherrie


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## shimo (Sep 12, 2007)

Hello Cherrie,Thanks a lot for your encouraging words. It really means a lot to me, as this was the first time I spoken about my condition like this. Usually I tend to hide the embarrassing details.I had never heard about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy yet but I presume that it would be helpful for me, as most of my problems come from anxiety itself. I guess this happened because of the Social Stigma I had to go through as a kid, like going to school, high school and college. Believe me or not I used to deal with the symptoms daily, however (luckily) I have never had an accident... however just the "what if i have to go" feeling eventually got into my head and it didn't get out.My first IBS episode was when I was about 14. At the time I seen my doctor and she gave me "Pepsamar" which is an anti-acid and it did relieve all the symptoms at the time. Today Pepsamar still helps me (it basically blocks the D but ultimately it gives me constipation if I use it often). I have been clever enough to not get myself addicted to it though, so I take *only* on those occasions when I need to be extra-sure nothing is going to happen. (I work from home) Please note that I take Aluminum antiacids, those that promote constipation and not the other way around. Anxiety is the only symptom that I cannot control though. And anxiety usually triggers the rest, so I believe my biggest problem relies there. I am currently testing a few things on my diet (cutting a few ingredients), I plan to talk to a new doctor in a week or two.Let's hope this one cares to listen. By the way I never tried antidiarrheals or antispasmodics.Mostly because I'm afraid to become immune to those, and since I am only 22 I prefer to leave it as a last resort.So far I tried to cut Fructose/Lactose out of my diet, but I guess it's too soon to tell if it worked or not, Fructose can take ages to get out of our systems, so I will probably need to wait a while.I personally believe that IBS has something to do with either food allergies or a low amount of benefic bacteria in our systems (those are the theories that make more sense to me). But of course I'm no doctor, I am just passionate by medicine (how ironic isn't it), so I guess I'll have to talk about that to my doctor. Let me thank you once again for your encouragement, it did and does help me to read other people's opinions and compassion.


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## Lillett (Jun 4, 2006)

I used Mike's tapes (under the CBT section of the forums) as I had severe anxiety attacks relating to my IBS. I got relief from the IBS almost right away but still struggled with urgency. Then I started a new job and the stress has caused weekly attacks. But I can say that I am doing better than last year (weeks and weeks of non stop D). With the new stressors of a new job, I have experienced two anxiety attacks (been in the new job about two months now) and I have been able to "calm" myself almost immediately before it gets out of hand like before. Please keep us informed of your progress and wish you well.


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## Cherrie (Sep 1, 2006)

Hi Shimo,Good to hear back from you! You're so very welcome. The folks here are all very sympathetic and supportive and I know I owe many many thanks to many people here.Me too had bouts of D when I was a teenager, but it never was a concern (cos it was very infrequent and nobody in my family knew what it was then) until about 3 years ago when I was under a lot of stress. So that triggered everything and it's become a daily struggle. While dr.s have yet to find a cure, there surely are ways to manage well.Like Lillett said, the CBT and the Hypnotherapy tapes are definitely worth a try -- Marilyn and Eric post very often in there and are very knowledgeable about these two techniques. The forum is here: http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/index.php?showforum=9. I'd encourage you to go there and read some stuff and if you'd like to, ask some questions.Please do keep in touch and let us know how you are doing,Cherrie


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2007)

Shimo - sorry, have only just read this - you have had loads of good advice and support from my mate Cherrie - who is a total star by the way!!!!I think the trouble with the symptoms you describe, is how isolated you feel. I do not suffer from IBS=D - and my IBS symptoms are very mild but I have battled with depression, just about all my adult life which culminated in a lengthy stay in hospital during the early part of 2006. The most important first step is to seek some proper help - now this may be CBT (though I'm not sure how easy that is to come by wherever you live - certainly rare as rocking horse ###### in the UK!!!!) or other help but you need an approachable, empathetic family doctor as a first port of call.What you also have to realise, is that you are NOT alone - many feel as you do - the cruelest aspect of your condition is how it can compromise your life so drastically. You need to do plenty of research as to how best to manage your symptoms. I'm no expert but have a look at other forums - particularly under "Products and Services" (I think its called???) - there may be ways to manage your D symptoms and more importantly your anxiety too. I know how crippling severe anxiety can be - and I know how dangerously fast negative feelings and low self-esteem can spiral out of control - I really, really do!!!!!A very warm welcome to the boards, we are a very friendly and I like to think, supportive community - so welcome aboard and hope things ease up for you soon.Sue (from Manchester, UK)


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## rhonalomey (Aug 15, 2005)

HiYou dont become immune to anti spasmodics they dont work that way. Some people say they become immune to immodium but most dont. Even if you do just take less it will give you some relief better than nothing for when you want to go out.You are lucky in a way to be so young because there is a good chance some new med will be on the market in a few years so why worry about becoming immune, it may never happen. Fodd allergys do not affect the stomach, they cause rashes, breatingm prob;ems toxic shock and sre mainly from shellfish and nuts, so that at theory is not right.


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