# Sweats



## janetmtt (May 28, 2007)

Does anyone know why I sometimes break out in a sweat and experience a sort of panic attack before having a bowel movement - then once I've been I'm fine - find this really strange. Anyone else have anything similar and is it just associated with constipation sufferers. I have to say I don't get this feeling if I take laxatives like senokot it only tends to happen when I'm trying things like honey or FruitEze. Weird - isn't it - anyone help me on this?


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## guenever (Jan 21, 2008)

yeah, i get like a chill/sweat thing and then i am fine. i have no idea what causes it. but you're not alone.


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## janetmtt (May 28, 2007)

And once you've been you're OK too? That's what I go through and I don't understand it - strange I don't get like this if I take a senokot!


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## SusanD (Jan 22, 2008)

I have had IBS for many years now. (18 I think) When I have an "attack" of IBS I have the following symptoms:1. I get hot. Sometimes just a little warm and other times like I'm on fire. Last night I had a bad attack. It was down in the 40's last night and our house is under construction so the heater isn't keeping up with all the new space so it was cold in the bathroom yet I had to almost strip naked I was so hot.2. I get nauseaus. I feel like I'm going to throw up. I never have but the feeling is overwhelming.3. I feel like I'm going to pass out. Again, I never have but I've passed out after giving blood and I know what it feels like. 4. I shake. Sometimes violently all over. Sometimes the shaking starts before I "go" and sometimes it doesn't start until after I "go". The shaking can last for many hours.5. Once the shaking starts and normally after I "go" then I get cold. Really cold.I can be symptom free for months or even years then for no reason at all I have an attack.I had a really bad attack last night and I still feel miserable. I wake up with a dry mouth and sometimes a sore throat. (I always thought it was caused by the medicine I take but last night I didn't take any medicine and still woke up with the dry mouth.)Sometimes afterwards I feel nauseaus for days. Today I tried to eat a biscuit and drink some tea and I feel horrible. All I want to do is crawl under the covers and stay in bed all day. However having six children makes that impossible.I will add that during pregnancy my symptoms usually subside and I have very little trouble with my IBS. However, during pregnancy I take a stool softener every day which may help keep my IBS under control. When my attacks hit I often feel like I'm going to die. I feel so miserable that I really do think that this thing is going to kill me. I've taken my pillow to the bathroom before and laid almost naked against the cold tile floor to cool me off and keep me closer to the bathroom. It's a horrible feeling. SO, you are not alone in the hot flashes. When they happen in public it's horrible. Sometimes it's a simple thing where I begin to feel warm, find a bathroom, "go" and it passes. Sometimes though I can't "go" and the symptoms last for hours. If anyone else experiences these symptoms, how do you deal with them? Am I the only person who feels like my body is literally on fire?I just turned 42 yesterday and I've often wondered about menopausal hot flashes. Since I've had IBS since I was in my early 20's I can guarantee my hot flashes aren't related to menopause. However, I've wondered if the menopausal hot flashes will even be noticable compared to how I feel with my IBS hot flashes.My IBS has often gone away during pregnancy. However, right before my period it sometimes acts up. Has anyone gone through meopause with IBS. Did you notice any difference? Did it get better or worse?For years my husband told me I was crazy. One night when I was lying on the bathroom floor shaking violently, burning up, and in pain I asked him to take me to the doctor. He refused. He told me I just needed to calm down and that it was all in my head. My parents came over and took me to the emergency room. They were very concerned. During a very stressful time in my husband's life, he was diagnozed with IBS (with diarrhea). He was miserable. On then did he finally begin to understand what my life has been like and has become very sympathetic. For whatever reason my IBS usually affects me at night. I usually wake from a dead sleep because I'm burning up. In the past I was forbidden to bother him. Now, he gets up, gives me a wet wash cloth and often stays with me until it's over.I think it's a lot worse to go through it alone. If you have someone who is sympathetic and will stay by you even if just so you feel if you did pass out they would be there I think it helps. I know when he's home my symptoms subside much quicker than when he's traveling and I have to deal with this alone.


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## janetmtt (May 28, 2007)

Susan,So do you think it's to do with menopause or do you think it's something to do with IBS. I'm puzzled myself actually as I don't get it every day and I never get it when I take senokot so wonder if it's the worry of are you or are you not going to have a decent BM/or will I go. I just don't know but like you would love a solution to it. My attacks aren't as bad as yours but I still don't like them. They freak me out but once I've been to the loo I'm normally fine. So weird!


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## SusanD (Jan 22, 2008)

No. I don't think it has anything to do with menopause since I've been having the same reaction for 18 years and I've had six chilren in that time frame. Since my last child is now 1 year old I don't think I'm even in pre-menopause yet.What I wonder is if I get these bad hot flashes just because of my stomach what are menopausal hot flashes going to be like? Either they'll be so bad I'll actually catch fire and burn up or I won't even notice them because they will be nothing compared to IBS.I don't worry about pooping. I've never been regular. If I can go once a week I'm good. Since I have 6 children I don't even have time to think about the fact that it's been two weeks and I haven't gone. I realize some people could work themselves up into a panic worrying about what will happen if they don't "go" but I don't worry about it.In fact what puzzles me the most is that often my attacks occur in the middle of the night while I'm sound asleep. I could understand if I were upset when I went to bed but this last one I went to bed happy and contented and woke up burning up and needing to "go". I just wish someone would explain WHY these things occur. I mean does the average person feel violently ill just because they need to poop? My husband poops three times a day. Some of our kids poop more than that. They all seem to just do it naturally. Ocasionally someone will complain of a minor stomach ache then poop and be fine but so far (thank the Lord) no one has had anything like I've had. (However, I never had it until I was an adult.)I mean what actually happens when our bowels start to move that make us burn up, feel dizzy, nauseus, etc. Is it some chemical we're secreting? I'd like to know more about the WHY this occurs and doctors don't seem to know or even care. They never done anything but say I have IBS. They don't study my symptoms and look for causes. Sure, it could be some food I ate but like most I can eat anything I want some days and other days I can't. What concerns me most is the future. We all know our bodies get worse with age. I cannot imagine being 80 years old and still doing this. I'm 42 now and I feel miserable at times. I can't imagine trying to deal with this when my body is more aged and it becomes more difficult to function over all.Sometimes I get mild attacks and I have gone years with no attack then out of the blue I'll have a really bad attack. If I could predict them coming maybe I could avoid them altogether but I have no warning signs until it's too late.


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## bbrussie (Jan 19, 2008)

I too break into a sweat before a bowel movement. I am 47 and was surgically menopaused at 45. I have had hot flashes and they are different. They usually start in the chest and neck area and radiate outward. They never made me feel faint.With my IBS symptoms (I have not officially been diagnosed but have been home with symptoms for 2 months now) the sweats affect my entire body. I too feel faint (and I've never fainted) and like I'm going to die when it's a bad attack. This mostly happens when I'm going to have D. When it's hard to go I get nauseous. I also get chilled afterward and have to wrap up in a blanket.I found a new GI who says there's a 95% chance he can "fix" me over the next two months. I am hopeful for a diagnosis (finally!) and a course of treatment. He says there are many treatment options now, and they have a clinical trial available as well. If you've been living with this for a long time, there might be something new out there you haven't tried. My symptoms only started after stomach surgery 10 months ago, so this is all new to me.He also convinced my husband that it's not in my head although these debilitating symptoms ARE affecting my mental health and he is treating those as well. It is very difficult to go through this alone. Please find a new doc or support group. Also try Heather Van Vorous diet, it has helped my D, ../diet/Default.asp. She has lots of tips that have helped me.


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## SusanD (Jan 22, 2008)

Thank you for the post.So I can expect hot flashes NOT to be as bad as IBS hot flashes. That's good news.I need to go back to my GI.The trouble is when I'm pregnant I can't/don't go to see him. Just no point. He can't treat me while I'm pregnant. Since I have 6 kids I've been pregnant or nursing for years now.I had a check up last year. We talked about my IBS and we discussed Celiac disease. We have a son that may have Celiac disease and the GI said that it HAS to be inherited and if he has it then I have it and if I have it then possibly half our kids have it. I did the testing for it. ONE of the several tests came back questionable which means now I have to have a biopsy done to determine whether I do or do not have Celiac disease.Anyway while talking to him I asked some questions and he said everything had changed in the last X years. Before he told me NEVER to take laxatives that it caused you to become dependent on them. Now, he says they've changed their minds on that. He said there are a lot more options out there now but at the time I hadn't had any problems in years so I didn't pursue anything further.That's the other thing. I can go several years with no attack. I don't want to be medicated for no reason. Currently I take Levisin when I have an attack. It helps but doesn't prevent the attack just helps it stop sooner. From what I know about the new drugs you take them all the time. I just haven't decided it's bad enough or frequent enough to be medicated all the time. Every medicine has side effects and new medicines always scare me. They claim to be safe then months or years later they're pulled off the shelves because of some serious problem that they "neglected" to tell us about when we started taking them.So, I've just been suffering.Has anyone tried the new meds? Seen any improvements, side effects?What is the frequency of symptoms for everyone? As I said, I can be fine for years then have an attack and not another one for months or years. I do need to revisit my GI though. I opted NOT to have the Celiac biopsy done. I figured I would wait 6 months, have the tests done again. If a 2nd round of testing indicated a problem then I may have the biopsy done.Thanks for the information. Have you found your IBS to be better or worse since menopause or no different? I'm sure at 42 that's the next major medical change that will be in my life. Maybe it will be like pregnancy and all my IBS will go away!


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## janetmtt (May 28, 2007)

Well I think I'm starting to go into meno as I've missed three periods now - I'm 52 this year but I only get this hot flush thing and sweat when I need to poop - not getting them any other times so that's why I think is it related to the bowels. All i came up with was perhaps it's a need to get the toxins out of our body hence that is why we have bowel movements. But I find it weird that I don't get this sweat/weird feeling when I take senokot. I've been using FruitEze but have found this week I'm having to use hardly any of it to have a BM so maybe my constipation issues are getting better (she says hopefully!).BBrussie - will be interested to hear how your Dr says he can cure these feelings in two months - let us know what he prescribes.SusanD - runny honey is certainly a good cure for constipation. I couldn't not go for two weeks - that happened to me last year and I was so backed up and bloated I looked 9 months pregnant and ended up doing a bowel wash - that got rid of it all so now I make sure that if I haven't had a decent poop for a few days to take senokot. My GP told me that as it's all natural it is safe to take all the time.Let us know how it goes.


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## SusanD (Jan 22, 2008)

I've never tried Senokot.I usually take a stool softener every day when I'm pregnant because the vitamins usually mess me up. When I keep taking them after the baby's born I usually do much better then when I don't take them. I believe it's Ducolax but I'm not sure. I can't find it on the shelves any longer so we have to get the generic. Basically it's Ducosate Calcium I think. They make a Ducosate Sodium and I have no idea what the difference is. But anything that says "sodium" I always wonder about taking. What are the ingredients in Senokot? I have regular BMs (well regular meaning once maybe twice a week) when I'm on the stool softeners. When I'm doing that I usually have no symptoms at all. But it's no guarantee. I can be cleaned out and still have an attack if I eat Mexican food and get really stressed out. But typically, taking stool softeners regularly keeps me semi-regular. I'll never be a once a day type. If I can maintain once or twice a week then I'm usually doing good.I'll be interested to know if someone can cure this in two months as well! Personally I've come to believe this is just like anything else, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. If you eat right, exercise and know your body you can manage it to where it isn't a problem but if you let things go, eat junk, don't exercise and don't pay attention to how long it's been then you can be extremely miserable.I've also found that it's different for everyone and I've known other women who come down with it only for a short time while they're going through something stresssful and they think they're seriously ill. They get diagnozed with IBS and in a few months when their stress reduces it goes away and they are "normal" again. I am also beginning to believe it has a lot to do with the American diet of processed foods, fast foods and lack of exercise. If I would do all those thinsg I'm supposed to be doing, I would probably be "cured".


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## postmortem (Nov 11, 2006)

i get all sweaty and nauseous before a bm too. but i'm 16.5 so i'm pretty sure it's not hot flash for me. i get incomplete evacuation as well so even after i finish a bm i get this wave of nausea from the stool that hasn't left yet and i feel so sick and dizzy like i have to vomit or just lie down for an hour. do you guys get incomplete evacuation as well?


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## janetmtt (May 28, 2007)

Senokot contains senna and is supposed to be all natural.Postmortem - I've certainly had IE but at the moment I'm not doing too bad but I've been taking FruitEze - honey I've also found is quite good and both of these products certainly soften the stool.Susan - I'm certainly interested in the 2 month cure so I hope they'll keep posting and let us know how it goes.


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## Doodle Bug (Jan 24, 2008)

Hi, new to this. I have had IBS for 30 yrs. I am 52 and going through almost past menopause. With me there is a difference in the hot flash of IBS and menopause. The hot flash with IBS attacks happens so sudden, I will get hot while my stomach is blowing up. Then the painful cramping and pressure of feeling like I better run to the bathroom. Once I begin the diarrhea then the shakes come on and the chills. So I think it sounds like you are pretty much doing the same as others. The hot flashes of menopause for me doesn't seem to come on as fast. You start to feel hot in the face like your flushing and it gradually flows through where ever in the body. It doesn't make you feel like your going to pass out, at least it hasn't felt like that for me yet. I have no ideal what will bring on a n attack for me. I have mostly noticed that it happen if I am very upset about something, or over tired, or over worked. For me it is almost like a muscle tensing type of thing. I am a control freak so I tend to have times of tightening up my muscles inside, get tense. Then once I relax like go to sleep and settle down, or the problem has been settle, that is when the attack will come. I have also noticed certain foods that if I eat more often than others will bring it on. I stay completely away from Caffeine, sweetener, fried foods. I can eat a little red meat once in a while. But if I decide to let go and eat these items more than once a week I am guaranteed to have an attack. I also have Crohn's disease so that too will encourage me to stay away from these foods. At 52 yrs. old and having this for 30yrs. I am now starting to have different symptoms of IBS according to my GI. I am still trying to do some searching on my symptoms, to assure me that it is IBS symptoms. Because what I am feeling now is nothing at all like what I have done in the past. None of my research so far has told me anything about my symptoms. So it could be that going through menopause may change your IBS symptoms. That's what I am being told now by my physician.


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## SusanD (Jan 22, 2008)

So does anyone but me feel so miserable at times that you'd just like to quit eating altogether?My husband LOVES food. For me I eat because I have to but I don't really enjoy eating. And when you feel so miserable when you have to poop it just makes me really hate food altogether. If I could survive NOT eating I would.Once I've had a bad attack it may be a day or two before I really eat much at all because I know putting more food in is just going to make more wanting to come out. Has anyone ever tried just drinking their food, Ensure or some other complete nutrition suplement? If you have, did it make things better or worse?I know my doctor has always pushed me to take fiber but when I have it just makes the problem worse. Basically it just packs more in on top of what was already there.The other thing is that "salad" is supposed to be so healthy but if I eat leafy greens then I am miserable for days. Not only the IBS but I get really bad bloating and gas. It seems to me if my body reacts so badly to the green stuff that is supposed to be good for me, what am I supposed to do?I often wonder how "normal" people feel. I mean they just go without any problems all the time? They don't have all this miserableness when they aren't going, when they need to go, while they are going and after they go? That must be SO NICE! I can't even imagine it. I wonder if "normal" people know how lucky they are that they can just "go" whenver they need to without all this other stuff we deal with.


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## janetmtt (May 28, 2007)

SusanHave you tried FruitEze that is good at making you have BM's. And I can assure you - you get them every day. It's expensive and available from USA - check out their website. Take a look and let me know your thoughts. But if you do go down that route take the amount slowly at first as you can get some side effects - not everyone does but I know a few other people who did so just take one teaspoon and build up gradually.Another thing I found that helped was runny honey - teaspoon morning and night and that will make you have a BM - give it a couple of days to get in the system though. Hope this helps.


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## TammyB (Jan 28, 2008)

Hi SusanD, I just wanted to let you know that your IBS experience sounds EXACTLY like mine. It's at least somewhat comforting to know I'm not insane and that someone else is having the same problems with IBS as me! I totally agree with you regarding the "why"...I feel like most doctors I talk to just pass is off as: "you have IBS, it comes and goes, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it, there's not much we can do to help". My most recent doctor did tell me that sometimes you can go for years with no problems and then it will flare up again. She actually has IBS problems as well, and said she's never really found any helpful answers for herself either. It seems like some things work for some people and not for others, so I guess you just have to be lucky enough to find what works for you. As for me, I haven't found the solution yet!


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## janetmtt (May 28, 2007)

Susan DI too often wonder what it would be like to just get up every day and have a daily BM without having to think about it. At the moment I have to make sure that I've either had senokot, FruitEze, honey or All Bran to go - oh just to be normal like everyone else and just go. I walk around town looking at people thinking "do they have a problem" or are they "normal" and just go every day. I'd love to be like this.Last week I was having to go every morning as soon as I got out of bed - but that only lasted until Saturday and it's back to my usual self. What I don't understand is I didn't do anything different last week so how come I was going without any problems?The only thing I can think of is that someone sent me some Reiki healing (don't ask me how this works but it's done from a distance) and I think that had some part to play in moving the bowels along quite nicely!


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