Do I still have some underlying anxiety which is contributing to my physical symptoms?
Posted , 4 users are following.
I have been through a rollercoaster of a year. To cut a long story short I developed some horrible stomach problems (I then got treated for an H pylori infection and an ulcer). conincidentally I had a root filling at the same time and the stress from the nerve pain after caused me to tense up and damage my jaw.
The two things caused me to not be able to work properly and I ultimately had to give up my job (which I loved). I was since put on some sertraline for 6 months, which worked but made seemed to make me stomach worse. I came off it about 2 months ago.
im not working and still trying to get better. According to a recently gastroscopy and ulcer has cleared up but I still get bloating and abdominal pain after most meals. I also have to wear a mouth guard while my jaw heals and go for physio.
Thing is, I'm living on the healthiest diet ever now, no drinking, no wheat, grains dairy, mostly healthy veg and meat, and occasional potatoes. There's no reason I should still be bloating out. I've had loads of tests done to see if I'm allergic to stuff and have SIBO etc. There was nothing wrong with my stomach this time last year.
I don't feel stressed at all now, just fed up of not getting well. Im not on any mess. I feel pretty calm, but could there be some underlying thing I'm unaware of that's contributing to me stomach woes? I don't get it. I was mega mega stressed 10 months ago to the point where it started causing anxiety attacks etc with everything that was going on. I'm not going back on any medication as I don't feel it's necessary at the moment. However, if there's something I need to deal with by a professional it would be good to know about it. It's totally subconscious now if that's the case. What do you all think?
0 likes, 11 replies
jan34534 dave84609
Posted
Anxiety gets us thinking worst case scenario. Your body has been through a lot!!
As long as you are getting your regular check ups by your doctor, you should be fine.
Did your doctor ever say why you may be having bloating and pains?
Any special diet to follow?
Sometimes what you went through takes a while to get better. You probably have to be really careful with your diet.
Talk to your doctor and ask questions. Like about diet, bloating etc. That's their job.
Take it easy. You'll be ok. The body needs time to heal.
dave84609 jan34534
Posted
Thanks for your reply Jan. I've just had an MRI and SIBO test. The gastroenterologist suggested trying this low fibre IBS reset diet. Didn't seem to do any good though. I don't know whether something like hypnotherapy would be usefu. they do this thing called 'faecal microbiota transplants' on clinical trials for those that are desperate with unexplained stomach problems. I need to explore all avenues.
I wonder if some residual anxiety is causing something to stay tense in my stomach and bowels or something when I'm trying to digest? Or does that sound stupid?
heather52246 dave84609
Posted
My anxiety all started with stomach troubles and stayed with me even when a got the all clear, was just inflammation. It could just be mixture of all the stress of the stomach issues and giving up a job you love. A was also put on those sertraline and it made everything worse a wanted to die on them ,so came off them quickly and still been suffering.. I think after a really long time with stress on the body it takes a really long time to get over. It's a case of taking each day as it comes now as much as that sucks.. I now have a occupational therapist and occasional still have to go see the doctor just for peace of mind as this has now turned into health anxiety for me. A have no clue how life was great 8 months prior. I'd love to get back there. Hope you feel better soon.
heather52246 dave84609
Posted
Anxiety does so funny stuff to the body.. so even before the stomach issue where you under any stress or trauma did anything significant happen.. sometimes that's the route cause
dave84609 heather52246
Posted
Thanks heather. Thinking back, it all started with some acid flowing up into my throat from my stomach, which led did to shortness of breath, which in turn led to panic attacks. I was scared because I didn't understand what was happening. Then I bloated out and the root canal thing happened while I was trying to do a responsible job at the same time. I think it kind of tipped me over a bit. It all became to much eventually. So yeah, there was a lot of stress involved.
before that... ummm, I'd just come back from a trip to America and I'd only been at the job a short amount of time. I suppose that can have underlying stresses you aren't aware of. I wasn't aware of them at the time though. I (Was) a fairly energetic person with a lot of adrenaline anyway, but I used to use it in a positive way because I used to be quite a happy person optimistic person really. Probably that adraline when used in the opposite way can lead to high anxiety, which it did.
heather52246 dave84609
Posted
hopefully you can get to bottom of it all and get some peace. I know how frustrating it is. Especially when you've never been this way beforehand.
heather52246 dave84609
Posted
Your right we worry about things and sometimes even when we think we have dealt with it it's in the background festering up a panic attack and anxiety. Things will get better tho, keep the faith
see for peace of mind a do check in with my doctor but that's just cause this has lead to Health anxiety never dealt with anything like it before just the re assurance can help me move forward sometimes.. your bodies prob so used to the symptoms that it keeps putting you in the cycle of feeling them.. brain likes to torture us !
dave84609 heather52246
Posted
how does the doctor help you cope with the health anxiety, if you don't mind me asking? Is it mainly reassurance?
heather52246 dave84609
Posted
Yeah it helped me in the sense that when the symptoms came I could tell myself there is nothing physically wrong with you it's all mental and a might still feel the symptoms but it doesn't mean there's something seriously wrong and with that I can calm down quicker now where as before I'd be ill to the point a couldn't eat a lost a lot of weight in short space of time in beginning.. so just that re assurance for some reason helped me.. they're sending me for ecg as I kept hearing my heart again they're saying anxiety and it probably is but my doctor knows me to well and before it gets out of hand she'd rather show me that it's nothing.
heather52246 dave84609
Posted
Am really hoping after this I can finally move on with my life.. I have my faith as well ,it's really gave me the strength to get by too.
carly47534 dave84609
Posted
Hi Dave,
I can definitely relate when you say you've had a rollercoaster year. I've had anxiety off and on for a couple of years now and it's terrible. However, I do have moments where I'm better than others. My anxiety also has created stomach problems, including having an upset stomach a lot of the time, and not eating a lot, causing me to lose a lot of weight.
I've found that this all has made me unable to work full shifts sometimes and I hate it, because it makes me look bad. I am currently in a position where I need to work 2 jobs, so that makes things a little worse, because I feel like I can never catch much of a break.
I've been dating someone for a little while now but me explaining this all to him goes in one ear and out the other. I feel bad if I need to just cry and vent because he simply doesn't understand it because he's never been affected by anxiety in his life. Lucky him. I've been trying to talk with someone about how I'm feeling but it's difficult with really being able to meet just one day a week for one hour (working two jobs doesn't leave me much room to try and get help).
It helps more, knowing that I'm not the only person out there who is struggling. I'm glad that I found this forum to know I'm not alone. Keep your head up.....things will get better.
- Carly