# Do you feel edgy and anxious when constipated?



## beach (May 12, 2000)

Ok, I totally notice a correlation between when I am constipated and not. When constipated, I feel edgy, anxious and constantly jumpy. As soon as I go, I am completely different. My boyfriend totally notices this...anyone else notice it?


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Yes, beach this can happen. I know exactly what your talking about.


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## bernard (Jan 4, 2000)

No ... i don't feel anxious.Usually i go once every 1, 2 or max 3 days. When 3 days reach i'm just thinking sometime "am I constipated?" and that's all.


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## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

Well, i get anxious when i have D, but more worried when i dont go. because i know when i do it'll be D.Hmmm...know what you mean.


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## nmwinter (May 31, 2001)

Actually, I'm probably less anxious when I'm constipated. It's the thought of having D that makes me anxious (I alternate between the two). I do start getting anxious on day 4 or so knowing that if it doesn't start righting itself, then a D attack will right it for me (hmmm, I think this is day 3?







nancy


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

People with D on the whole are usally more anxious and have higher anxiety and people with C are usally found to be more depressed and angry. This in part has to do with the neurotransmitter communnication between the gut brain and the brain and back.This is important here:"How the brain region tells the colon what to do: Many IBS patients with diarrhea-predominant bowel habits show enhanced colonic motor activity in the form of so-called high amplitude giant contractions. These are clusters of contractions that start in the right side of the colon and move rapidly towards the rectosigmoid, thereby propelling colonic contents into the rectum. An enhanced number of these contractions, resulting in overfilling of the rectum may be responsible for the severe, and sometimes uncontrollable urgency that patients experience. One of the major signals that tells the colon to generate these contractions are bursts of activity in the vagus nerve. In a recent study, using functional brain imaging to identify specific brain regions activated in anticipation of rectal discomfort, UCLA Neuroenteric Disease Program researchers identified a brain region that is activated in IBS patients, but not in healthy control subjects. This brain region normally regulates the balance between stimulatory (vagal) and inhibitory (sympathetic nerves) signals to the colon. In IBS patients that suffer from diarrhea, only the expectation of discomfort arising from the colon resulted in shift of this balance towards the stimulatory side. These findings demonstrate for the first time a specific abnormality within the nervous system of patients with diarrhea- predominant IBS which may be responsible for the enhanced colonic motor activity. How the brain pays attention to the body The majority of patients with fibromyalgia also suffer from IBS symptoms, while a smaller number of IBS patients have symptoms of fibromyalgia (FM). The cause for the enhanced sensitivity of patients to either visceral (IBS) or somatic (FM) stimuli remains poorly understood. UCLA Neuroenteric Disease Program investigators have studied patients with IBS and those with symptoms of both IBS and FM using functional brain imaging techniques. Patients received both visceral stimuli (rectal distension) and somatic stimuli (localized pressure applied to the body surface) while brain activity was monitored. Activation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was found in IBS patients during visceral stimuli, a brain region which is primarily concerned with the interpretation and modulation of sensory stimuli. This brain region determines which event the person will pay the greatest attention to. This is partly accomplished by assessing the intensity of the stimulus, its relevance for the individual at a given moment, and its previous experience. In contrast to the patients suffering from IBS alone, patients who also had symptoms of FM activated this brain region during somatic stimuli. These findings suggest that an important mechanism underlying the hypersensitivity to visceral and somatic stimuli in patients with IBS and FM is the activation of brain regions which are able to amplify and focus a personï¿½s attention to a particular part of the body." http://www.med.ucla.edu/ndp/Newsletters/Spring98AbRev.htm


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