# Is my IBS starting up again? Is that even possible?



## Katie Dillabough (Feb 22, 2014)

Hey all!

I'll try to keep this short, because I could probably fill up a few pages if I wanted to. I have had a panic disorder since I was around 8 years old (now 20). I was so deathly afraid of being sick that I always felt sick. After a few years, I started having symptoms such as sudden diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating, and some pretty bad cramping. I had a lot of tests done, including a colonoscopy, endoscopy, barium swallow, some sort of heartburn test where I had a tube in my noes and down into my stomach for a few days, blood tests, and probably an x-ray or two. The tests showed nothing, and I was told I had IBS around the age of 10-12.

Now my battle with panic and anxiety has always had it's ups and down, but for the past few years I was practically IBS symptom free. I wasn't sure if this was something that could go away and come back, but I didn't ask questions.

For the past few months, my anxiety has taken a turn for the worse. It has been absolutely atrocious. I've collapsed a few times from hyperventilation and tension, and have had panic attacks that seem to last from hours to a day or two. Early in the new anxiety, I started developing stomach issues again. It started where I would feel fine one second, and have explosive diarrhea the next. Then I would be constipated for a few days, then go right back to diarrhea. I found that things like coffee make it worse, so I no longer drink it. One day when my cramps and diarrhea were bad (and also my anxiety) I drove myself to the Emergency room (this was a little less than a month ago). I had been trying to get into my regular doctor for weeks, but I was either put on hold or sent to an answering machine. I was in pain and I was scared, and I wanted some answers. I got blood work and x-rays, all which came back perfect. This calmed me down a bit, and whatever was going on in my tummy seemed to calm down for a bit too. I had a lot of gas still, but was having normal bowel movements.

Now for the past week, not only have I been having debilitating panic attacks, but diarrhea, urgency, and stomach pain. My abdomen is also very sensitive; it hurts worse when I press on it. When I have diarrhea, however, it's only a small amount at a time. I have a lot of pain and pressure, constantly feeling like I need to either pass gas or find a bathroom. The more I try to go to the bathroom or pass gas, the more pain I am in. Since the cramping has started tonight, I have had one normal bowel movement, and a...drop here or too (hahaha I couldn't think of another way to say it. Because that's literally all it's been. A drop.)

Question time: can IBS go away and come back, even with years in between? I've been trying to get into see a doctor, but they don't seem to be concerned. They are more concerned with my panic attacks. The tests at the er came up negative, but I'm sure there are more tests that could be done. But should I bother? I had all these tests done when I was little, but 10 years have passed since then. The pain has a tendency to subside the more I calm down, but not always. Could this just be a bad case of a nervous stomach? I just don't remember this much pain when I was younger.

Besides these problems, I am a pretty healthy lady.

OH! My dad (age 50) for the past year was having such bad cramping and diarrhea that he was losing weight. Some nights, he was in too much pain too sleep. He just got a series of tests done, and he was told he had IBS. Is IBS something that can be passed down?


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Just becasue it fades doesn't mean you are now incapable of ever having it triggered again. So it can fade for awhile then come back.

It may depend on what triggered it initially, but in known cases of post-infectious IBS it seems more likely than not that in 2-5 years it will be mostly gone. Not for everyone, but for a substantial portion of people.

And if it tends to come and go with your panic, then when your panic comes back (as that can come and go) the IBS may come and go.

A tendency to get IBS may be genetic, but it isn't a this gene means you always must have it kind of thing.


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