IBS + Anxiety + Hypothyroidism = BM Issues??

Thanks for this post.

Hi Mcnheri,

I'm not a doctor but I do have IBS and have suffered from Anxiety too.  The not knowing what's causing your symptoms makes the anxiety worse and feeds back into the IBS symptoms creating a vicious circle which is difficult to escape I know.  For me the turning point was having a full blown anxiety attack in the middle of a doctors surgery which mimicked a heart attack.  It wasn't until they linked me up to a heart rate monitor in the middle of this and showed me it was normal that I was able to accept I didn't have a heart problem.  It was only after this that I was able to work through each of my other symptoms and work out that I had IBS which was later confirmed by the doctor.

Your doctor has done a test on you which is clear and at 16 the odds of you getting cancer are very low.  Very little will change in a week or two of being away on holiday so do whatever helps you to relax and switch of that internal dialogue that increases anxiety.  

As for the IBS type symptoms, try switching to foods which are easier to digest and eating smaller portions but more often, e.g. fish and chicken instead of meet, avoid beans, eat rice instead of wheat and try to eat sweet potatoe instead of ordinary potatoe.  But don't get obsessed with it just do what you can on holiday, the more important thing is finding ways to distract your brain so that you don't think about your symptoms and reduce your anxiety and stress.  

I don't know if that has helped, I know it's hard but please believe life will get better.

You should go see a GI doctor my Thyroid is low too but just slight I go to the Doc Monday about it did they put you on Meds for that I also am tired and have the chills a lot but you should push for tests like a endoscopy and colonoscopy for your cancer fears

mcncheri sad to hear abut your symptoms-----i have been passing it from almost year or so----i have been visited to many doctors and i have done lot of tests----my problem is i have lot of gas and i feel scary alot of burps and some time feel i have a heart attack---done8 ecgs ,Echo,while in ecgs i feel my heart escape a beat but the result of ecgs is clear it happens with me 4+times in ecgs so it means that if it heart problem ecg will show but its not i think----come to the point i have sum time thin stool some time loose stool some time fine som time soft--i removed my gall bladder 6 years ago bcoz of polyps biopsy of gall bladder is clear-----test i have done till now i will mention----almost all of the blood test 2 times when i am donating my blood clear------i donate blood 2 times----when i donate blood to my nephew in emergency they do test for my blood and after donating my blood to my nephew they have done almost every test for him bcoz he has problem of kidney he pass blood in urine for that docs test alot for him cancer,many other tests daily  if there is sum problem in my blood my nephew has my blood bcz i donate to him so it will show-------personally tests for me hepatites b,c,liver function test,Cbc test,thyroid test,billurbin test,typhoid test 2 times,stool test 2 times,ultra sound 3 times,chest x ray ,ecgs 8+ times echo of heart now recently one month ago i have done endoscopy no thing shown in it------------the doctors i visited till now---2 cardiologist===6 physcian===4 medical specialist====4 gastroenterologist======2 ent doctors bcoz i have allergy====4 times i rush to emergency that may be i have an heart attack----thats what i remember all of them think i am fine i am damn Psycho ------some time i am totaly fine but on the 2nd day i have abnormal stool like some time undigested food,some time change colour of stool lot of dramas----may be it will be because of stress don,t know done alot today i visited to another doctor he give me medicine for 7 days he say me come back after 7 days but i insist him to do colonscopy for me so on august 7 i have colonscopy------sorry my message is to long but the thing i wanna say it to you is that just push your doctor for more test---actually we are facing a problem for your self satisfaction test is very important may be we have the problem because of the fear------or may be there is some other problem and by doing test on time treatment will start and by doing that we will become fine------we have a problem what it is e have to face it----we can not change it the only thing is to do be brave and face it and go for lot tests endscopy and colonscopy--i am affraid of colonscopy i think may be i have cancer in my family members no one have but still i am afraid---one day all will have to die i am not brave i feel afraid but the truth is that we all have to die one day if not now after 50 years but we have============just go for test and think positive your are still young it will be only because of ibs-------by the way i am 30 year healthy man------sorry for long msg 

I feel sorry for you, for you are too young to worry this sort of things. It is anxiety attack that causes you stomatch ache and those sort of symptoms. Go to psychologist talk to him to find out the REAL CAUSE instead running after blood test and dr appointments. What is your real worry? Should you do anything to releive your symptoms of anxiety? I hope you will find the real problem. Modern society give us more anxiety especially with the young ones, higher compettions, high expectations, fear of failures etc.. can cause those attack. Take a deep breath when you feel pain. Doing exercise helps but not get rid of anxiety. It comes back so diet elimination to avoid aggravetion of anxiety is also helps, fully rest and reading is helpful too. In my case for I had those attacks before, I went to Psychologist a lot which helps me to releive my frustration, anxiety and sometimes, they can help directly in issues that bother you. Hope you get well soon. 

Oh mcncheri, please try not to worry. I am 57 years old, and have had IBS and anxiety and hypochondria for many years. A few years ago I was also diagnosed with a severely underactive thyroid. I understand how you feel, believe me. You worry, so you search the internet (in my day I went to every book store and searched the health books section) for reassurance, only to find something to do with your own symptoms which makes you convinced you've got cancer, or something equally fatal. Your whole body goes into a state of numb fear, from your head down to your toes. You feel frozen to the spot. A bit like cotton wool. Fuzzy legs. You feel like you're going to throw up. Your heart races. You taste blood. Everything suddenly looks and feels different. You feel nauseated in the very pit of your stomach. Your hands go clammy and that awful creeping paralysis devours you. Awful, awful feeling of a panic attack. You felt bad enough before. You only looked for reassurance, but now you just feel more anxious. What you have read is exactly what you are experiencing, therefore it stands to reason you must have the dreadful disease they are describing. I've been there. It's horrible. It takes over every thought, robs you of your happiness. If you do find yourself feeling a bit better - or actually forget about it for a few moments - it taps you on the shoulder and reminds you that you should be worrying. I used to think of it as my horrible goblin, which was always there, always waiting to plague me with worry at any moment. You seek reassurance by going to the doctor, who may perform tests you don't actually need, just to try to put your mind at rest. You worry anout the tests. Then you worry about getting the results. Then you get the results - everything is reassuring! Phew! What a relief! But then, you're barely out of the doctor's surgery when your goblin starts on you. What if they've missed something? What if the results are wrong? What if? What if? What if? Does any of this sound familiar? Then what I will say to you is this. As an older woman who is way ahead of you on this path, I will tell you some facts that are meant to reassure you. Firstly, as a 16 year old, you are VERY unlikely to have anything seriously wrong with you. If you do have anything wrong, it will be something minor and not something life threatening. The fact that your grandmother has bowel cancer, (as awful as that is for her and your family), does NOT mean you will get it, and as you don't have her genes, there is no possibility that you will develop anything she has through a genetic link. You have had some tests. Trust me, if the doctor genuinely thought there was the remotest possibilty that you have bowel cancer, you would have been sent for more tests. You haven't been sent for more tests, and the results of the ones you have had don't show anything life threatening or worrying, which is great. You've had ribbon like stools? So have I, at various times over the years. I have bowel cancer screening every two years to check tgat everything is fine. I've had occasional short spells of ribbon like stools for many years. IBS can squeeze your intestines as it causes cramp and colic type pains - hence your bowel is squeezed thinner temporarily, causing the thinner stools. Pardon the pun, but it will pass! The yrouble is, the more you worry, the more you perpetuate the anxiety which is causing so many of the symptoms, and it has become a worry-worry cycle. It's like being on a roundabout with no way of getting off. You just go round and round and round. It's mentally and physically exhausting. Constant worry releases adrenalin into our bloodstream. Adrenalin is the hormone responsible for giving us the extra boost of energy for a quick getaway if we are in immediate danger - like for instance, if you met a lion. You would run. Adrenalin would help you to run faster. It is calked the 'fight ir flight' response. Very handy if you need to run away quickly or protect yourself from danger. But when you are in a constant state of anxiety, there is a constant, steady release of adremalin going into your body, all the time. Think about it. If you've ever had a fright, afterwards, your heart can still keep pounding and your legs can still feel like jelly. This us the excess adrenalin in your system. So when you worry, the constant adrenalin makes you have weak legs, or shaky hands, or a feeling of being off balance or light headed, or have colicky pains in your tummy, or diarrhoea, or you get all bunged up and can't go to the loo - so you get filled with gas and your stomach swells up, or you feel sick - the list of symptoms caused by adrenalin goes on and on. None of these are caused by anything life threatening. They are caused hy adtenalin, which is caused by worry. What you must do is try NOT to add 'second fear' to these symptoms. So, if you feel them, instead of letting that goblin convince you that it is something awful, try accepting how you feel, welcoming those feelings - as uncomfortable as they are - and let them float through you and out the other side. Don't add more fear by questioning what they could be a sign of. They are a symptom of too much adrenalin. Nothing more. Let them come. THEY WILL PASS. The more you do this, the less power you will give to your anxiety. Eventually, the adrenalin will lessen, which will in time reduce your symptoms, and you will begin to feel better, I promise you. In the meantime, try relaxation, guided meditation and having faith that you WILL be okay! Drinking plenty of water helps with the constipation, by the way, and worrying can bung you up. Nothing more sinister than that. You will be fine. Xxx