Burning/hot sensation on face and neck. Is it IBS, anxiety, depression, or something else?.

How are you feeling by the way.

Thank you very much pippa. Do you have dry mouth along with it? I dont have the redness in my face. And correction on my post above, I meant to say I don't sweat at all when I'm having the warm sensation.

I did got stressed a bit at work yesterday and I noticed that it got a bit worse too after eating some spicy food.

But the thing is, even at times when I'm not stressed or ate spicy food I would still get the warm sensation. And then it would drive me into anxiety.

Re dry mouth do you also have dry eyes?

That's good for you.

No, I don't have dry eyes.

So far I think I have these:

Depression

Anxiety

Insomnia

IBS

And I hope the list will end with IBS. But as long as I have this heat sensation I cannot rest well. So still hoping I can figure out what's causing it exactly and how to make it go away.

Oh I did. He just said to drink lots of water and that it is part of my anxiety symptoms.

I will go back today to find out some test result that he ran. So we'll see

Sometimes, extremely spicy food can cause you to feel hot and sometimes sweat even without IBS.

I wonder what tests your doc is doing? Dry mouth ibs and flushing can all be symptoms of Sjrogrens. With Sjogrens you don't produce enough saliva. Often eyes are dry too but not always. Symptoms can be mild or more severe. Your doctor really should know this. Ask him:her about your dry mouth again and ask if you can have Sjogrens ruled put. Good luck.

That's quite a few ailments you're throwing at me to ask my doc. It'll make him think I'm just having health anxiety. Plus all these are general symptoms. I've looked up the symptoms of the Sjogren and the only symptom I have in common is the dry mouth.

Btw do you have any of these?

I didn't make it to my doc visit today but I'll go tomorrow.

The real point of it is your doctor should be asking you about the health issues you have and then following up on that....unfortunately a lot of doctors don't do that.

I was diagnosed with ibs 20 years ago. I knew I didn't have IBS. My symptoms were completely unrelated to diet. I was also told I was anxious. Of course if you feel unwell a lot you are anxious. However I was not terribly anxious and knew anxiety was not making me feel unwell. 13 years ago I was then diagnosed with auto immune disease. I have symptoms completely under control. Work full time and lead a very noral life now. I have no ibs or other symptoms.

I mentioned Lupus after reading your post because of the flushing and ibs symptoms you have. When you then mentioned problems with dry mouth it sounds more like Sjogrens. It may indeed be neither of these and just be ibs. But doctors treating anyone with this range of vague symptoms should be asking the questions I am asking.

Good luck with your investigations.

You are absolutely right. And I'm glad you found what you actually have.I will ask my doctor tomorrow about the conditions you mentioned.

And thank you very much for your concern.

This heat is my biggest problem right now. I've actually did some research and the one thing I found was carcinoma cancer. But the thing is I don't have a flushy face or noticeable veins on my face. Other than that haven't really found much that would click to what I'm feeling. I only started this last month.

My doctor is running some tests to see if I'm experience premature menapouse, but I'm only 33.

Anyways,thank you again for taking the time to reply to my post.

Hi. It was recently suggested to me about carcinoma. I don't have it either. After 3 years of great treatment for my auto immube disorder I had to stop my med for unrelated issues. I have the same symptoms as you currently with bowel symptoms flaring first time in 3 years. Mild but beginning.

Best if you are quite specific with your doc and just ask about Sjogrens. To be honest, all the illnesses we are mentioning are similar overlapping symptoms. Focus on one thing. With dry mouth he should be following that up. Just remember you have a right to be interested in what is going on. The telling you you are stressed reaction just gets under my skin. I had it so many times from a previous gp that I finally said to him "i am not stressed snd that is not a diagnosis". He wasn't terribly happy with me but really?? Who cares. I had an auto immune disorder and was being continually fobbed off. Best thing in the world is being diagnosed so you can het treatment and get on with your life. X

And knowing what I know now....if I could turn the clock back I would pay to see a doc myself as a one off. They will see you privately within a week and follow up on nhs. It totally bypasses your gp. Cost would be around £250 and I realise not everyone could do that. But sometimes the lack of knowledge of gps in this area is mystifying. I have one at my surgery who is great. Totally understands and has one other patient with the same condition. I always see her even if I have to wait.

Auto immune and carcinoid symptoms are very very similar. X

Thank you. I did mean carcinoid. I tend to get these two mixed up, carcinoma and carcinoid.

Ive noticed that this heat is also coming up from my stomach, middle abdomen. And it's like when you eat something spicy, that kind of heat. It's so annoying as it's been with me all day long. I have no idea what to do to eleviate this sensation.

hi, yes I know what you mean. I get it too. I think the only things which have ever worked for me in a temporary way to bring relief are lemon and ginger tea and buscopan which comes over the counter and omeprazole which may be prescription. They don't work for everyone I know but they do work for me to a certain extent. 

The flushing and sweating I have no solution for sorry. But obviously staying as cool as you can is a good idea and wearing things which cool you down. I never wear woollens or anything too warm. I wear lightweight thermal t shirts under clothes in the winter to keep me warm without making me sweat too much. These are just minor things which alleviate your symptoms and make you more comfortable.

Early menopause can cause very similar symptoms of course. So sensible to test for that. If it's negative look for other causes.  

Obviously drinking plenty of fluids is good...isn't it alway. And for the dry mouth I do think something like frozen pineapple pieces is good. Also you can probably get good things from your chemist for that over the counter (it is not a problem for me). Eating small and not overloading the stomach helps. Low fat and low sugar diet is I think important for everyone but more important for anyone with these issues.  Large meals make everything worse! 

Does your stomach get very bloated and gassy during these flares? 

Oh yes I am constantly bloated with alternating lose bowel movement and very narrow stool. And then I would also feel so weak with empty/like stomach as if I haven't eaten in days(but im always hungry)and out of breath, as if I need to keep catching my breath or else I will stop breathing. So these are all confusing me because I'm not sure whether I'm having anxiety or IBS symptoms or because of my insomnia. Some days I'm totally fine and then some days I feel like I need to be hospitalized. Lol. I'm out whack now.

Oh and I don't sweat. So it feels like this heat is trapped in my body and I need to punch open a hole some where to let it out.

yes i get the breathing thing too. It is a very confusing area and so many symptoms going on. Think that's why docs are a bit baffled by it all. lol x 

But I think underneath all of this you know yourself whether there is something going on in your system. For me I have a history of this going back to age zero really. I was born unwell with a lot of symptoms until age 7. I got a long remission from it until early 20's and it came back mildly. Got worse with each decade. Very slow moving symptoms. All a bit general and non specific. Stayed that way til early 30s, got worse. In early 40's worse again. New symptoms started to show up. 

I was diagnosed early 40's. What got me diagnosed was that I progressed to having joint pain along with all these other symptoms. I was also terribly fatigued. My gp was going to diagnose chronic fatigue but said she wanted to rule out everything else before doing that. Because of joint pain I was referred to a rheumatologist. That's how I got on the road to diagnosis. But my symptoms before that were very non specific. Joint pain only started at that time. 

I never really had much of a problem with flushing in the face neck and upper torso until probably late to mid 40's. It can be a very slow moving illness. 

I suffer from insomnia when I am at my worst. 

What is significant....with treatment all of these symptoms went. Eerything. Didn't have to worry once in 3 years about what I ate. Barely had an illness in that time. Symptom free and normal. x

I am 33 and from past 8 - 9 months i underwent anxieties due to some personal issues. And from 3-4 months, i m facing all these problems you have mentioned. My situation worsens even if a small thought grips me.

I am from India. Since you have posted all these 9 months ago.. I just wanted to know if you have started feeling any better or have undergone any kinds of treatments to improve your situation. I am lot worried about this situation of mine and want to get rid of it as soon as possible and want to live a life i used to.. Please reply

Hi there,

Yes it has been a while. 

Unfortunately, i am still having the same problem. I've done several tests already and all came back negative. 

I am seeing a psychologist once a week for two months now. He reassures me that it is all from my anxiety. I have been having bad anxiety since last year so i am trying my best to alleviate it and see if that'll get rid of the heat. 

I hope we can find what is going on with us.