# What Comes First Anxiety or IBS



## WebWiz

I got my IBS at age 48. It got to the point that I was sick all year around every week. From nausea, bloating and bad mood (no pain thank God). I started getting anxieties, because of the divorce and stress with my Mom (very controlling woman). I was given attivan, and later on Paxil. It did help my IBS. 4 months feeling OK was a big improvement I even thought that I was cured. But after getting off the pill, and constant stress I feel that IBS has come back. I have worries, and anxieties about small things at work. Little stress can trigger my anxiety or IBS. I am waking up with fear, not knowing what to expect.Its horrible feeling. What I noticed that in 5 minutes I could have 100 good feelings and feel better and 100 negative thoughts that would make me depressed and sick. I feel that my mind is playing tricks with me.I just wonder if anyone had the same experience.Thanks.(Corrected typo in Subject line)


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## 14416

That's a very good question, and when I read this thread, it made me to start to ponder and ask myself the same thing.The more and more I thought about it, the more and more I realized that my IBS DEFINITELY came first.I was shy as a kid, but never had as bad of anxiety as I do now.When my IBS started to get really bad about 6 years ago, I started to develop more anxiety symptoms... Fearing leaving the house because I didn't want to have an accident, avoided eating because I was afraid of IBS symptoms, and avoided hanging out with friends because I didn't think they'd understand.I think it's normal for us IBS'ers to develop psychological problems. Who wouldn't get anxious with IBS when they leave the house? Who wouldn't show signs of depression when they're in so much pain everyday? It would be hard not to.Thanks for starting this thread.


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## hope*

Hi WebWiz and welcome







Since my early 20's i had what i know now was very mild ibs, it didnt affect my life what so ever, i had issues with spicy foods but not enough to stop me eating them.Then september 04, i had a very bad accident in work, my left foot was crushed, my mother was taken ill, and during that time my ibs got severe. My anxiety started the day i went shopping on my cruthches and had what i now know was my first ibs attack. I was food shopping, and went very dizzy and my tum started to cramp, i had to leave the shopping and get to a loo, which was the other side of the shopping center and being on crutches you can image what that was like. I did get to the loo in time, but had to ring my hubby to come and get me, i then spent the next 4 months inside.I have gone back to that shop, but only if my husband is with me and even then i get what i need and im out of there!I now food shop some where else which has a loo there in the shop, and only once have i had to use it, just knowing it's there is enough for me.So im not sure in my case what came first


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## WebWiz

Thank you people for some feedback. I agree with silent... because I never, never had anxieties before. I think having IBS and not knowing what to expect I developed a fear. which turns into anxieties. We try to avoid stress that affects our IBS. Even small things, like not finding your favorite book in the house, or little computer problems become a major thing.


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## 17176

hello webwiz


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## 20250

Add me to the list. IBS caused my anxiety to progress into total fear of going anywhere outside.


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## kitkat17 Lady of the Loo

Count me in too. Panic/anxiety/the big D all go together. Which comes first hum??????? not sure. I viscous cirle. Makes me a wreck.Welcome tooKAt


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## cookies4marilyn

Me too - IBS came first. Had plenty of stress stuff in my life as a kid, etc. with NO IBS, and never had a worry that way. Was outgoing and went everywhere, then turned into a recluse when the IBS came more and more often and more severe... the viscious cycle to be sure. (And 4 colonoscopies, trip to Mayo, and all the testing revealed nothing else but IBS.)But there is hope...


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## WebWiz

The next step of feeling worse is waking up depressed. And I know this is the sign that today I will have nosea and bloating. I am trying to avoid any little stress releated thoughts which make me more depressed and more bloated and depressed. Sounds familiar?All we need is patience...


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## 20358

I think I may be the opposite. I've always been an emotional person. Even as a child. I can think back in high school and remember telling the nurse my stomach was bothering me, and I was shakey and sweaty. It may have been the beginning of the IBS, but I doubt it. My doctor at the time would always say it was "stress". But I've always had a problem with my stomach. I was about 20 when I had my first upper GI done. Sometimes I think my anxiety and stress brought on my IBS. But I have family members with IBS, so I'm sure it's not from stress.


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## 17176

For me it was anxiety 1st i have suffered from this for more years than i care to remember..i should have seen a child councellor yrs ago, never mind im getting it now, so better late than never


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## 20745

Definetly the anxiety forst I have been anxious all my life It started when I was abused as a kid.I have been on every anti anxiety and anti seizure med right now atttivan is my best friendWhen I start to have a IBS attack I reach for my IBS meds and then for the attivanIt s a miracle worker but like my doc says it only works unless you take itI could be hyperventilating and my heart is ready to breakk open the chest wall and I take a few attivan and I start calming doen within 20 minutesKaren


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## 16032

I have been suffering from UBS for th elast 5 years. At one point it vanished completely, but in the last 9 months it's come back with a vengence.Up until recently I always thought I had anxiety caused by IBS, but after going through councelling and being put on Citalopram for Anxiety, I have come to realise that most of the time, I suffer from IBS brought on by Anxiety.I've only been on the medication for 9 weeks and have made an improvement, but it's still in the early days yet so it's still very up and down.


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## 17176

hello to webwiz and arclite







welcome


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## JudithB

Webwiz - if you are female then I would suggest that your changing hormones could be behind your recent problems. I am 53 and have just finished with all that but I would say that my ibs was much worse during that time.I think my ibs came first (probably born with it I think) and out of living with ibs comes great anxiety for most of us and then us females have the dreaded hormones which can cause major difficulties.


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## 17176

LTNC judith nice to see you posting again..


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## WebWiz

I strongly believe that people who never had anxieties, like me for example, gets them from IBS. I developed a fear or you can call it anxiety do to not feeling well for long period of time. I have a fear that it would get worse. I became so hypersensitive that TV news (always bad), arguments triggers my IBS in seconds. That's when IBS is active. When I feel OK, I feel confident and I even think that I cured my IBS.Until next time, when the stress wakes the "Monster" up. I wish I new the answer how to control it. My gastro doctor said: "If you feel stress, take Attivan and that would quite the spasms of your gut. Because once it starts than it's like a vicious cycle.


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## 23392

I definitely got the IBS first. I was *never* anxious before. I worked in more than one field full of unscrupulous people, hectic schedules, etc., handled it, and at most got cranky. [Probably made others anxious instead.  Like my Great-great-Aunt. ] Did public presentations. Yadda yadda. Got IBS in June--didn't know what it was [and got brushed off by the first doc--just as well, she turned out not to know diddly and was badly, badly wrong on one med]. It took till end of January for the first anxiety *attack* to develop, though I spent a lot of the time before I found a GI doc, really worried about what was going on with me and how I would manage. There were a number of symptoms that would come and go. I finally have a diagnosis, btw! What I have are classic 'nocturnal anxiety attacks,' wake up with a heartbeat that *feels* faster than it is, out of negative--but not nightmare--dream content. Finally reached my former counselor, what a Godsend! It's great to know some *other* system is not falling apart... Whew.But yeah...NO sign of anxiety before IBS. Not a trace.


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## eric

In Post infectious IBS studies, stressors can contribute to the development of IBS in some people.Something I learned after over thrity some years of IBS and learning as much as possible, is It really doesn't matter which came first.Both the brain and the gut are operational in IBS to cause the symptoms and both can be targets for treatments.Which is part of the reason HT has the high success rate it does in IBS.also in the UNC chat with the experts."psychophysiological arousal is the core of treating functional gi disorders. There is so much distress, anxiety, antisipatory anxiety, and negative reaction to symptoms, that calming the mind and body often makes a significant difference to symptoms."You can look at IBS as a problem between the communication of the gut to the brain and back.This is also an excellent article from a top Neurogastroenterolgist that heads a top IBS research center in the US.The Neurobiology of Stress and EmotionsBy: Emeran A. Mayer, M.D., UCLA Mind Body Collaborative Research Center, UCLA School of Medicine, California http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/stress.htmlwho also wrote thisVisceral Sensations and Brain-Gut MechanismsBy: Emeran A. Mayer, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Psychiatry; Director, Center for Neurovisceral Sciences & Women's Health, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLAhttp://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/VisceralSensations.htmlThere is also a link in IBS between serotonin release in the gut and signaling to the brain.Irritable Bowel SyndromeClinical Issues Adapted from a radio interview conducted by Bob Enteen, host of Living Without Limits, with Douglas Drossman, MD, UNC Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders at Chapel Hill North Carolina "What would be an example of new understanding?Well one example is that we're starting to understand how the brain is responding to the pain in IBS. There have been some studies done where they've artificially created a kind of an irritable bowel by placing a balloon to stretch the bowel, and that produces pain. Then they've compared people with IBS to non-IBS, or "normal" individuals. And what they've found is that when you stretch the bowel-and use PET scans to monitor the response-in normal individuals, certain areas of the brain that register pain respond and release chemicals called neurotransmitters that suppress and lower the pain. But it seems that doesn't happen as well in people with IBS. In fact, in people with IBS another area of the brain responds that is associated with anxiety. So what we find is that people with IBS, aside from having a bowel problem, may have some difficulty in terms of the way their brain is regulating the pain."http://www.aboutibs.org/Publications/clinicalIssues.html


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## WebWiz

I am not a female. My general doctor says to take Lexapro to help my IBS. It's been already a month that I don't feel good. A small problem at work or at the computer brings the fear or enxiety back.Why...? I think because your mind is so scared that stress will effect your IBS. I get upset from a small negative conversations with family. What a life. The surprising thing that the second half of the day I feel 99% better. My life is based on 12 hours of good quality of life 12 hours of suffering.I wish there was a cure, It's not easy to cure you head and react to thinks less emotionally.


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## 16016

I read an article recently which suggested that certain personalities are more prone to getting IBS. I was always a shy and sensetive person even before i had IBS and i wonder if this could be true. Probably in the same way that some people are more prone to becoming addicted to things or being depressed.


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## WebWiz

I used to have IBS for 2 weeks and one month feeling OK. Lately I have been sick with IBS simptomps, bloating moody, anxious for 2 months. Not even one day, good day. Does any one have a similar story, IBS that last that long?Thanks.


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## 21943

> quote:Reply


Well for me I have generalized anxiety disorder. they both work hand in hand LOL.. everytime I am worked up, my stomach bothers me and I have to run right to the bathroom.... it sucks... but hey it could always be worse.....


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## Wmtand

For me the anxiety definatly came first. While I have had tummy problems since I was a child it was never effected my activitie unitl I was 21, newly married and out at an Auction sale with 1 Bathroom. I had cramps, bathroom was busy, finally got it, but as you all know, going once doesn't always do it, so we ended up going home. My wife drove because I was convinced that I was going to pass out. following this episode, everytime I stepped out of our home I would go into spasms. Convinced I had cancer or something equally as bad, I went to a series of doctors, was hospitalized twice and had countless tests. Finally a few years later diagnosed with IBS. I have learned how to cope over the years (30 +) and it has not controlled my life too too much, but still at the first cramp, I get anxious if I feel trapped, or not in control. I have this year started on "Mikes Tapes", currently on day 70 and truly believe they are helping my anxiety considerably. Yesterday for the first time in about 3 years I went to church because I did not have to worry about embarassing myself in the middle of the service by going to the bathroom (Which is at the front of our church) So for me the tapes have been a godsend.


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## WebWiz

Is any one taking Lexapro? And how are the results? I used to take Paxil, and it helped me in the past. THe doctor recommended to try Lexapro instead.


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## mxwe

For me anxiety comes first.


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## Tiss

Anxiety for me 1st for sure. I really didn't start getting anxious and obsessed about my bowels until later. I am on lexapro webwiz. I am only on a very small amount since I don't tolterate SSRIs well at all. I do think it helps me sleep a little better and not obsess quite as much.


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## 18059

I was told alot of times it runs in families, my grandmother had it I remember having lots of stomach aches when I was little and now I think my kids are starting to get it.my is totally stress related.I got my first real bad attack the first week after my husband lost his really good paying job and it had just gotten worse. we have gone downhill fast since then we had to declare bankruptcy, and I lose my good car this week and have to look for any old junker to drive.he got a new job but the pay is barely going to cover the house payment.so yes stress is a big factor.and since the president changed the medicare stuff i got kicked off of my therapy since I will not get better or worse just stay the same. oh lucky me.


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## miranda

I honestly can't say for sure which came first, but I would lean towards the IBS first, then developed anxiety, then HUGE anxiety over my symptoms. For my whole life I have been very concerned about how I appear to others, very nervous about being embarassed or laughed at or teased. Now twinges, or slight bowel disturbances worry me and set off an anxiety cycle.Cognitive behavioral therapy has helped alot, as have the hypno tapes and meds when I needed a quick fix...M


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## 16331

I definately believe hormones have a lot to do with it, as JudithB eluded to, in a previous email. I've also always been sensitive, but I started really having IBS symptoms and Anxiety when I started going thru Menopause. I am now on HRT, and still have the Heart Palps, body aches, stomach problems as well.


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## 19754

Hi WebWiz,For me, it was IBS first, then anxiety. About ten years ago, I sustained a severe head injury. I've dealt with depression ever sense then, but it wasn't until two years ago when I was diagnosed with IBS that I noticed any real problems with anxiety.


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## WebWiz

In order to diminish the IBS symptoms we need to lower the STRESS, because it's #1 reason to get the spasmodic colon. It's connected to our brains direct and causes anxiety or depression. I think since we have 95% serotonin around our gut is "IBS infected" which causes its deficiency. Exercise, hypnosis, meditation should be tried first and if this doesn't help we need to go to medicine.One way to increase the serotonin level is to take Lexapro, Paxil or any other agents. I met a few people who are on medicine and have very seldom any IBS symptoms.Lexapro has lesser side effects than Paxil. It does lower the libido, but you have to choose what you rather have miserable life or less sexual desires. Please don't pay attention to people's posts about how horrible the medicine is. It's their anxiety talking. You need patience and time... than your anxiety and IBS will be under control.You were OK in the past, and there is no reason why you should not be like you were before. IBS IS NOT GOING TO KILL YOU, AND NEITHER WILL ANXIETY!


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