# I have reasons to believe ibs is psychological



## kjh498 (Jun 27, 2002)

I am a 22 year old girl who is doing teacher training in september. (just what an ibs person needs!) well I have had ibs for 3 years and at the bad end I lost 2 stone, thought i was a freak and nearly commited suicide. at this point i was prescribed seroxat peroxetine anti depressent medication which they give to children (not as strong) this was prescribed for my ibs. I took 5ml s at night and i took it for 5 months and for 4 months I didn't have the diahrear once nor did I have lose stools. wow i thought, but the last month i started to creep back into my normal stomach routine. I am wondering if this could back up the psch theory? could anything longterm be devised from this medication? I think this illness is more psychological than we think! x uk kellyhabgood###hotmail.com


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## kinetic (Oct 19, 2001)

there are psycological aspects to IBS... things like depression, anxiety, nervousness, emotional stress, etc. have always made my symptoms flare up... I also took anti-depressants for a short period of time when my symptoms were fairly bad... and yes, it helped... because the depression and whatnot was the trigger that was setting off my attacks... I don't think anyone has said that there isn't a psycological aspect to IBS, in fact I've seen quite a few references.... however... I don't believe it's a psycological problem... it's just affected by psycological aspects.


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## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

No, i wouldn't say it is just a psychological problem. In fact, if someone said that to me i would probably bite their head off. Depression and stuff can effect it as can stress, but it is certainly not all in your head. To me, that seems like you are just going back to a very old way of thinking about IBS.


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## kinetic (Oct 19, 2001)

that's pretty much what I was thinking spliff







GMTA! (great minds think alike)


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## fustratedandtired (Jul 2, 2002)

I am new to this whole IBS thing but I can tell you that everyone and every article I read states that your psychological state can affect things just as it can any illness. Note those who have positive attitudes have been show to have better sucess rates with cancer treatments. This is an illness that is very common from what I understand yet little is known about it. I didn't even know it existed until I was diagnosed. Some research says it's neurological in nature. The nerves don't fire to the intestines correctly. This could tie in with dizziness and other things.


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## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

well, i do believe that your state of mind can effect your IBS, like if you are very stressed it can effect your IBS. Or when you are nervous you get the trots. But i do not think it is purely this that effects it.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

The problem is definately in the gut and probably in the gut cells and how they communicate to the brain and back to the gut. The brain in the gut is called the enteric nervous system. But the cells release serotonin which does a lot and effects a lot of the body and is used in the brain also, but its imporrtant to IBS, however there are some other important aspects of IBS, but thats a big one.some info I highly suggest reading.The wisdom of the gut http://www.ibsgroup.org/other/usnews000403.htm Gut Feelings: The Surprising Link Between Mood and Digestion http://www.ahealthyme.com/article/primer/101186767 The Use of Antidepressants in the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Other Functional GI Disorders http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/anti...sentsandibs.htm How Relaxation Can Help Kenneth R. Jones, PhD & Steve Heymen, MS http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/relax.htm Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adolescents http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/ibsandadolescents.htm The Effects of Hypnosis on Gastrointestinal Problems Olafur S. Palsson, Psy. D. http://www.med.unc.edu/medicine/fgidc/hypnosis.htm


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