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If anyone has any advice I would be very grateful.

Posted , 7 users are following.

mopsy25938
mopsy25938

Hi smile I'm sorry it's so long I just had a lot to say before I asked my questions. Any help would be so gratefully recieved !!!!

For the past year or so I have been experiencing what I thought to be bouts of a nervous stomach.

 When I got what I thought to be a nervous stomach I lost my appetite, felt ill, my bowel pattern was somewhat erratic and I had a feeling in my stomach like it was full acid( I know that there is acid in my stomach but I can’t think of another way to describe it) and I had a tight knotting feeling almost all the time . (I also had varying anxiety symptoms like fear and dizziness and I would have been fine with them if they didn’t come with the aforementioned physical symptoms). As well as this in a morning my symptoms seemed to be a lot worse and eating breakfast was a pain. I thought that what I was experiencing was a nervous stomach, the thought of which only increased my anxiety and made my symptoms worse. After a couple of months my symptoms somewhat subsided which I thought was the result of me overcoming my anxiety. Though the ‘main’ symptoms seemed to dissipate I was constantly scared that I was going to have another bout of nervous stomach and this time I would not be able to over come it and I would have to live with the symptoms constantly. I did have small bouts of the symptoms now and then but nothing as big and not for as long as it had been before. (Other things also persisted but I had no idea that these were symptoms). I really didn’t like this part of me ,I thought that it was all in my head and that when I got a nervous stomach it was my own fault ; I though I was the only one who could stop it and if I didn’t, it meant that I didn’t want it to stop (which is completely untrue ,obviously). I thought that it was my subconscious’ way of seeking attention (though I told no one but my mother), I thought that I was making myself have these symptoms and if distracted myself from them for long enough they would go. Though I found that distracting my self from my appetite loss did work quite often ,it didn't always work . When it didn't work or even when I found that I was worrying about it I told myself that I was being crazy and stupid and that it was all in my head, this all just made my anxiety worse when I had a bout which in turn increased my symptoms and it became like a viscous cycle.

 

A couple of weeks ago another bout started but this time my previous ‘techniques’ weren’t working ; I couldn’t distract myself from it. For the past week or so I have been experiencing the symptoms which I had before but much worse I have also been sick in the morning and been feeling ill at night( pregnancy is not a possibility). Though I didn’t want to go to the doctors with a nervous stomach I thought that (with the being sick,the nausea, the appetite loss, feeling tired, having acute headaches and with the change in my bowel pattern )I might have a virus. My anxiety has also increased a lot this past week with ( or more precisely after )the increase in my  physical symptoms. 

 

I had my appointment a couple of days ago and my doctor said that I do have a virus which he thinks I might have picked up abroad, he said  that it accounts for my being sick and feeling sick. He also said, as I’m sure you have surmised for you self, that he thought that I have IBS for which he has prescribed me medication.I have now realised that I have had many other symptoms that I didn’t recognise as symptoms such as (sorry to be disgusting) mucus, unexplainable stomach cramps and of course I now realise that what I thought was a nervous stomach was in fact my IBS flaring up which caused me to have anxiety which only worsened my IBS. I am still having a flare up at the moment but I am happy to call it a flare up as a pose me just being crazy. I still have this virus but I will just have to wait it out.

 

I was wondering if there was anything that you could advice because I am a little unsure about where I go from here. For example ; do I need to ensure that I drink lots more water or would an increase in liquid consumption only worsen the flare up ? or is appetite loss actually a symptom or is actually  not and has always really just been in my head ?  I'm just confused about things really.

Sorry it's so long. I'm just sick of feeling like a lunatic and even though I know that I have IBS there is still that little thought that is telling me it is stil all in my head. 

1 like, 26 replies

26 Replies

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  • Loppylugs
    Loppylugs mopsy25938

    Posted

    Hi

    Sorry you're having such a miserable time!  You're not bonkers, for a start. Saying 'it's all in my head' is only fractionally true.... the mind is a powerful influence on the rest of the body; we all get a 'nervous stomach' sometimes, so when some big event is on the horizon we visit the loo rather more often than normal :-) Initially I was worried that I had something much more sinister than IBS; my stressing about that was probably making my symptoms worse but, as I have a typical clinical presentation and no other worrying signs, I am 'happy' with the IBS diagnosis. Now I just get irritated with it and, whenever possible, ignore it. Oddly, since I've started doing that, the symptoms have become much milder.

    I personally think that sometimes IBS can be quite scary, especially in the middle of the night, when everything seems magnified, if you know what I mean, so if you feel bad, you get scared (well I do) and that makes it worse! I try to distract myself sometimes by going for a walk around the garden (the neighbours would think I was mad if they could see me at 4am, traipsing around barefooted!) or reading a book.

    With regard to your question... YES, you should always drink plenty of water; contrary as it seems, if you get dehydrated it can actually cause diarrhoea! This is the major cause of death of little children in countries that have little or no safe drinking water. As you currently have a virus, it may be a good idea to take some probiotics as well since your usual good bugs may be having a hard time and need replenishing.

    So, and this a very personal view, I would say, try and be positive... IBS is unpleasant but it is not damaging you and is not dangerous. Try not to be scared of it and instead focus on the positive. I have started hypnotherapy, meditation, relaxation etc. I haven't tried any faddy diets or quirky stuff, just tried to be calm and take what comes without anxiety. I'm not telling what you should do; I can only say that it has helped me. Good luck :-)

  • carmel83758
    carmel83758 mopsy25938

    Posted

    Sorry you are feeling so bad and worried. There is a lot of information about ibs online you can just google it and fit the bits that are relevant to your own case. You will find all of your answers there but it takes time. The trouble with asking other people who have similar symptoms or the same illness is that they will you how it is for them and that might be totally different to how it is for you.

    There are so many variations of ibs for example and some can eat things the others cannot. So if someone bangs on about don't eat this that is how it is for them and you might be fine with it. So that is the first thing - everyone with ibs is individual, no two are the same. Some have comstipation, some have stomach aches, some diarrhea, and some of them assume it is the same for all.

    Sometimes someone has been diagnosed with ibs or assume s they have it when they do not.

  • Mr_G
    Mr_G mopsy25938

    Posted

    Mopsy I had a similar set of circumstances relating to a boul condition which after two years turned out to be down to the medication I was taking for a heart condition,  are you on any sort of medication at all things like pain killers, cholesterol tablets etc... 

    • mopsy25938
      mopsy25938 Mr_G

      Posted

      No, nothing at all. In fact the only prescribed medication I have ever been on is the one for my IBS which I only started a couple of days ago. I don't take pain killers very often.

      Thank you for being so nice and helpful- I can't believe I spent nearly two years being told that it was all in my head and believing it myself. 

    • Loppylugs
      Loppylugs mopsy25938

      Posted

      It's certainly 'not all in your head'... even if it was exacerbated by stress and anxiety, IBS is not caused by it; as far as I know; it is often kicked off by a viral or bacterial infection... certainly true in my case as I had Norovirus (winter vomiting bug) earlier in the year. I think the whole delicately balanced system goes haywire and can't correct itself.

      I agree with previous comments... no one method, foodstuff or supplement works for everyone. IBS is called a functional illness because, physically, medics can find nothing organically wrong with our GI systems... nothing is 'broken'; it just doesn't work properly, if that makes sense :-)

      Minimising anxiety and staying hydrated are two things that may well help everyone. Probiotics help me but others will swear on Aloe Vera or digestive enzymes, food elimination etc. The reason that we're all different, I suppose, is because our systems are dysfunctional for different reasons; some people evidently develop food senitivities but it doesn't really matter what I eat... the bad stuff happens anyway :-)

      My GP 'told me off' for overthinking about the causes and cures for IBS; My background is as a post-doctoral scientist; I've spent many years being analytical, expecting to find answers. Sometimes they're not there to be had and I have had to learn to deal with this problem without knowing what caused it in the first place... I find that hard :-)

      So, no it's not in your head. Your system doesn't currently work properly and you may never know quite why that is. All you can do is find out what helps YOU, what makes the symptoms easier or which strategies allow you to get back to as normal a life as is possible... it can be done I am told :-)

    • Mr_G
      Mr_G mopsy25938

      Posted

      Mopsy please don't think you are on your own in all of this. I've cried many a time thinking I was going mad. If you have been diagnosed with ibs there are plenty of good advice on the Internet but it is very hard to have a correct diagnosis. Most things they advise are things like diet changes so even if you have been miss diagnosed it won't cause you any harm if that makes sense. If you don't mind me asking how old are you and where roughly do you live? 

  • helen_90197
    helen_90197 mopsy25938

    Posted

    You say your GP thinks it may be IBS, but he should send you to a Gastroentorologist to confirm this and follow up with other tests and colonoscopy. If it was caused by a virus, then you need to replace the good bacteria in in your bowel by taking multi strain probiotics. This won't hurt until you get properly diagnosed.
  • gallee
    gallee mopsy25938

    Posted

    Just a few bits of info about ibs. For one it's a diagnosis that says we are not sure what's wrong. Unfortunately lots of people are happy to have any sort of diagnosis after years of suffering. My wife has had ibs type symtoms all our married life. I think in her case the cause was a bout of gastroenteritis when she was a girl. I think it messed up her bowel flora and never got better. She controls it by eliminating her trigger foods. Over the years she has had lots of bowel surgery. I recently found out that damage to the vagas nerve can cause digestive system problems. (Look up gastro paresis ). Lack of stomach acid can cause horrendous digestive problems but doctors don't seem to recognise this and proscribe antacids which make things worse. Medication has all sorts of side effects. Poor diet. Stress. Perm that lot and it's not surprising that ibs patients symptoms vary. Keep a diary 
    • carmel83758
      carmel83758 gallee

      Posted

      Really enjoyed reading this. So true. Most people are looking for that magic pill or cure and run around like headless chickens asking thousands of people for the answer. They have to find the answer in themselves because no two people are the same. It is not one of those cut and dried things where you can just do this or that and all is well. Someone I spoke to months ago said she used to have ibs and then she was fine beause she took melatonin. She kept urging me to take it too. Yet she failed to see that this only helps in people where the cramp is caused by anxiety and really it is a cure for anxiety not ibs. Many people could rush out and use this and it would not help them one bit.-----
    • Loppylugs
      Loppylugs carmel83758

      Posted

      Another factor to consider is the power of the placebo effect; if someone strongly believes that something will make them better then it occasionally does. I imagine that if one burst the bubble the magic would wear off.

      My PhD was in neuroendocrinology, specifically brain hormones and the stress response... unless the science has radically changed, melatonin does not alleviate stress, nor does it help the sleepless (it may make them drowsy by depressing some bodily systems but melatonin is really all about regulating the circadian rhythm and could be potentially dangerous if taken for all the wrong reasons).

      The placebo effect is a brilliant and powerful demonstration of mind over matter. Some folk experience worse IBS symptoms for psychological reasons, regardless of the initial trigger. When I was a child my parents were constantly on the move and my mother had several long spells in hospital. This meant that we would spend only months at each of our rented flats and I lost count of all the different schools I attended and strangers with whom I would be left. As a child this lack of stability was immensely stressful and I would get sick whenever we moved. I realise now that my IBS symptoms are ALWAYS worse when I have to leave home, even if it's just for a day out or a holiday, visiting friends etc. Subconsciously I am reacting like I did as a child, which is reflected as a physical response (this from a clinical psychologist I have been seeing). So, anxiety and stress can certainly affect MY IBS experience. That being the case, relaxation, yoga etc may be my way forward. Although I appear to be visiting this 'illness' on myself I still wouldn't say that it isn't ALL in my mind. This is an interesting conversation :-)

    • carmel83758
      carmel83758 Loppylugs

      Posted

      Yes loppy. There are lots of things to take into consideration. Some wear their illness like a badge of honour and it becomes their persona. They become "the one who is anxious" or "the one with ibs" who only ever thinks about that and talks about that. And deep down they need it or they would not have a persona without it. Those who are busy and have a lot of responsibility helping clients or running a business have other things on their mind and find it hard to get on with them but those with no responsibilities can wallow in it all day and this makes them worse. Anyone who gets into this syndrome is on a slippery slope. We are all other things as well as an unwell person. Some of us are also doctors, teachers, mothers, girlfriends, wives, husbands and we must never forget that and do our best with that too otherwise it is not long before everyone around you is bored to tears with you and with some of them you never ese them for dust. When I see my friends or go out I don't go on about how bad I feel because they want to have a good time not be dragged down and I want them to remember having a good time with me, not wanting to avoid me next time. For all I know they are feeling ill too but being polite enough not to go on about it. Yoga etc is great if you have the will power but how many people will stick with it? Most of them prefer the idea that if they eat this or that it is a magic cure (or maybe if they avoid this or that).

      One lady I

    • carmel83758
      carmel83758 Loppylugs

      Posted

      One lady I know reads a bit about this food and that food and says she eats healthily but gets it all wrong because in her case she knows very little about it. She eats yoghurt because it is healthy but she eats the heat treated ones full of sugar - which are bad for you and have no active biotics.. and so on. To educate yourself on how to be well and stay well takes a long time and there are no short cuts.
    • Loppylugs
      Loppylugs carmel83758

      Posted

      I learnt very quickly, when I had breast cancer back in 2009, not to be defined by the condition OR to be a complete bore about it with friends or family. This way I found the whole experience more tolerable and as positive as it could be for the long duration of the treatment. Dwelling on how bad you feel, in my experience, only makes you feel worse :-)

      As for the IBS, I am practising mindfulness and have been seeing a clinical psychologist/hypnotherapist. I don't want (or need) this condition; it irritates me that my body thinks it is in charge when I have other ideas :-)

    • carmel83758
      carmel83758 Loppylugs

      Posted

      You certainly have a positive smart attitude and are quite amazing. Most of the women I know, usually older than me, just moan and go on about their medication, doctor or operation for the whole time you are speaking to them.

      Taking a tablet in exactly one hour and three minutes time is their news. It is sad isnt it.

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