I BELIEVE STRESS HAS A MAJOR ROLE TO PLAY IN IBS AS THE ...

Hello.

I absolutely agree as my symptoms appeared about 6 weeks after losing my baby grandson. :cry:

Although I dont yet have an official diagnosis ( have told gp once last week, but will go again as symptoms are still bad).

I know they need to rule out anything more serious but I'm almost certain it is ibs.

The shock and grief of losing my grandson has kick started it all off.

Take care.

Lazy_Days

x

I have recently been prescribed with anti depressants as my doctor strongly believes that you can get into a 'Cycle' of stress.

I get upset and stressed out by the problems, pain and embarrasment attached with IBS therefore i make my symptoms worse, i therefore get more upset and stressed out and so on and so forth.

I'm sceptical myself and seem to have been lumbered with a whole heap of new problems because of the new medication - but hey, that's a different forum! BUT i can see where the doc is coming from.

Until i was diagnosed with IBS my syptoms were unbearable. Once i knew what it was they seemed to ease off and i had very few attacks. Slowly all symptoms returned as i when i did have an attack they seemed so much worse than before. i suppose subconciously i was coming to realisation that just because i knew what it was didn't mean it was going to go away.

Hopefully, according to the docs theory if we can rule out the depression and my IBS is still bad then its and IBS problem that will need looking at but if my tummy symptoms get better then it's a strong suggestion that i'm making myself worse - apparently!

xx

Hi im only 13 and as u know hormones go crazy my mum and dad divorced and my dad is remarried and got a new baby and now im getting depressed and stuff about whole situation and this i think flared it up so yh i agree i do think stress and depression flares it up///

Erm sorry be negative but i'm a psychology student and your brain is connected to every organ but your heart (has its own 'brain' the SA node). I understand most of us with IBS are stressed in some way, i am but mainly because of my IBS. If i didn't have IBS i would be a lot happier than i am now.

Stress does cause your IBS to worsten but not because your brain is connected, because naturally when you get stressed less blood is supplied to your gut and this leads to malabsorption, causing constipation or loose stools.

The problem with IBS is just that, it is a syndrome, which means the doctors and researchers can find no common cause and no cure. I got IBS from the sickness bug, Rotavirus, it lowered my immune system and caused and inbalance of the bad and good bacteria in my gut, which i have not been able to put right for the last year (no matter how many probiotic yoghurts i eat).

So, basically, it could be stress for some, but for most... probably not. I think the only thing IBS sufferers have the most in common is there wish that one day it will go away.

[i:7c36248916]'Stress does cause your IBS to worsten but not because your brain is connected, because naturally when you get stressed less blood is supplied to your gut and this leads to malabsorption, causing constipation or loose stools.'[/i:7c36248916]

It was very interesting to know what the actual physical explanation is for the constipation/diarrhoea. I know for a fact my IBS is caused by stress, as I only get it during 'challenging' times of my life! I've kept a diary for a year and the only link between attacks is stress. Sometimes it's not even one major thing, but lots of little worries coming at one time.

[i:7c36248916]'I have recently been prescribed with anti depressants as my doctor strongly believes that you can get into a 'Cycle' of stress.'[/i:7c36248916]

One thing I've realised is that I CAN unwittingly get into a pattern of behaviour that makes my symptoms worse. For example, because sometimes in the past I've had days of feeling nauseous and retching through stress-induced IBS, if I get a slight tummy-twinge now, I immediately get an anxiety attack (I suppose I'm expecting the days of nausea and retching to happen again). This instantly puts me right off food and makes my IBS much worse. A vicious circle.

I've found distraction is the best cure for this - doing something active (walking, cleaning etc) burns up the excess adrenalin, and doing something that occupies your mind at the same time is even better (eg listening to some soothing or cheerful music at the same time).

My sister was prescribed fluoxetine (an anti-depressant) for her IBS and anxiety, even though she swore she wasn't depressed. She now says her anxiety is much better, and therefore so is her IBS. I am considering this route.

One last thing - at the start of a sudden anxiety attack, has anyone ever experienced a feeling like cold liquid rushing through the inside of your head? I know it sounds far-fetched, but I wondered if I was actually 'feeling' whatever chemical it is that is released into my system that causes the anxiety!