# IBS and Birth Control



## s4brina (Jul 14, 2015)

New poster here, have never posted on an internet forum before and looking forward to some good feedback.

Hi, I'm a 24 year old female currently almost 3 weeks into a severe IBS episode.

I have IBS that fluctuates from diarrhea to constipation and is exacerbated by anxiety and certain trigger foods. I've been dealing with this on and off for what seems like my whole life.

I have a severe phobia of vomiting, so anytime I feel remotely nauseated, I become very anxious and am essentially perpetuating my symptoms.

This most current episode has been the most severe I have ever encounted. I was two months off of my birth control when I started having severe anxiety symptoms, then nausea to the point of going to the emergency room. All tests came back negative and I even had a pelvic ultrasound that was normal. My assumption is that my IBS kicked up again because my hormones were not being regulated any more. The nausea gives me anxiety and the feelings of being hypoglycemic from not eating well also give me anxiety.

I have been taking quarter pills of Zofran and Ativan and I started my birth control and a 2.5 mg dose of Lexapro once again.
I have good and bad days, but it doesn't seem like there is an end in sight. I have scheduled appointments with a registered dietician and a therapist, but my anxiety and stomach are so bad I haven't really left the house for 2 weeks. On top of that, I am 5'9 and usually weight about 120 pounds. Because of this episode, I have lost 4 pounds and am feeling extremely discouraged about my weight and appearance.

For treatment, I take Zofran and drink an assortment of teas (ginger, peppermint, chamomille, stomach ease). I take Ativan as needed and also listen to meditation Youtube videos. I'm trying to eat foods like eggs, avacado, and quinoa. These things somewhat help, but I am missing out on a lot of activities with my friends and family. Also, I start going to school for my BSN come September and I am so worried that I won't have this managed by then.

Any suggestions or feedback is welcome. Hope you are all having better days than me.


----------



## Amanda Nicole (Jul 14, 2013)

So sorry for everything you're going through!

Anxiety is a tricky thing... and it's often exacerbated when the gut is out of whack. There are TONS of things that can alter the health of the digestive tract, including birth control, stress, and inflammation (among others).

Birth control can throw your microbiome off by creating an environment that is more hospitable to bad bacteria. Birth control also isn't necessarily helpful for balancing hormones... it essentially tricks the body into thinking it's already pregnant. Unfortunately, during pregnancy, the immune system is in a more weakened state (due to the changes in hormones during pregnancy), making it easier to get sick. Pregnancy also has a way of 'blunting' some inflammatory symptoms, which isn't necessarily a good thing (this may be why you experienced a worsening of symptoms when you went off birth control). If your hormones (while off birth control) are out of whack, there are ways to help bring better balance to hormones through diet and lifestyle alterations (inflammation and endocrine disruptors are a couple of things that can affect hormones... more on inflammation below).

Stress can affect the gut in several ways. When you're stressed, your body launches into 'fight or flight' mode. During fight or flight, digestion (as well as the immune system, reproductive system, and other systems) can basically be 'turned off' because the body's resources are being allocated to other areas in order to prepare to fight or flee from whatever threat you're facing. Fight or flight is activated more times throughout the day than you would think because the body doesn't really know the difference between stressful thoughts (stress over bills or deadlines, or in your case, fear of vomiting) vs stress from a mountain lion that's about to eat you (your body goes through the same reponse either way). Stress can also alter the health of your microbiome (studies have shown that stress can lead to less diversity in the microbiome and as well as a higher concentration of bad bacteria). Like you mentioned, meditation is a good start to help deal with stress. You may also want to look into Emotional Freedom Technique (a.k.a. 'Tapping') and perhaps start with focusing on your anxieties surrounding nausea/vomiting. There are also tons of other activities that can help with stress - yoga, aromatherapy, gratitude journals, massage, etc.

Inflammation can affect any area of the body (and inflammation is really more of a form of stress on a cellular level). Inflammation results from the white blood cells trying to fend off threats (they release chemical 'weapons' against these threats, which you can actually feel in the form of symptoms). Inflammation plays a role in most ongoing health issues, including IBS (inflammation can also be felt as migraines, aches/pains, blood sugar imbalances, mood swings, or many others... and the symptoms that are experienced will depend on where in the body this 'fighting' is taking place and which cells are involved). Food can be a major trigger of inflammation (which is understandable since roughly 80% of the immune system is located in the gut). When foods that trigger inflammation are removed, symptoms improve (or resolve completely).

My approach with clients is pretty unique (I've had specialized training in inflammation and functional medicine, which most other dietitians don't have). I utilize a specific blood test that measures each client's inflammatory responses to various foods and chemicals, then build an eating plan off of that. Testing is extremely important if you really want to decrease inflammation (symptoms) quickly and effectively, especially since virutally any food/chemical can cause inflammation (even 'healthy' ones). I also address other environmental and lifestyle factors that negatively affect health. As you can probably tell, I use a more holistic approach with my clients and aim at tackling the root cause of the issues vs. just covering up symptoms (this is important if you truly want to get better). Clients have seen very good results with my guidance... in most cases, symptoms are reduced by 50-80% within the first 2 weeks of launching into their eating plan (with continued improvement over several weeks).

Sorry for the novel (lol), but hopefully this gives you a little more insight into what may be going on with your body.

If you'd like to learn more, my website is listed in my profile (I also offer a free initial phone consult if you'd like to chat). 

Amanda


----------



## Tami Romeo (Jul 9, 2015)

When I took lexapro it only took 2 or 3 days and my intestines hurt and had diarrhea. My primary care doctor told me he has a lot of patients who don't deal with lexapro well it's worth looking into


----------



## s4brina (Jul 14, 2015)

Thank you so much for your reply Tami. I hadn't ever experienced symptoms with Lexapro before, but our bodies are always changing so I should probably look into that.


----------

