Panic symptoms before bowel movement

OCD form of anxiety disorder

hi sasical, any change in symptoms since your last reply? I'm still struggling badly unfortunately. Got some more bloodwork done but everything shows up fine, as expected. One time I tried to ignore it but it's just unbearable, after I went i felt an uneasy feeling in my stomach area for about hour, as if something is irritating a nerve, accompanied by mild shaking/shivering. Does that sound familiar, to not have all symptoms disappear immediately after going to the bathroom?

My doctor mentioned amitriptyline, originally an anti depressant but later found to be working well for nerve pain (especially IBS) in lower doses. Have you tried this by any chance? I'm thinking about giving it a go.

Which brings me to my final point, if medication like that works, perhaps this has something to do with the parasympathetic nervous system (calming the mind/body) not being strong enough in our case to win from the sympathetic nervous system (meant to induce fight/flight) . Chronic stress might have messed up the balance. You mentioned going to on osteopath seemed to have helped, correct? Have they ever mentioned anything like that to you?

I have been experiencing this for a few years. I wake up with terrible anxiety, needing to go to the bathroom.. I have researched it and this is the first time I have seen someone who experiences the anxiety due to having to go to the bathroom instead of the other way around. I had a colonoscopy, and there was no indication that there is a problem. When this first started for me, before the colonoscopy, it was so bad that my body would shiver from the anxiety. After the colonoscopy, it was less severe, so I think part if it was being impacted, and it got a little better once it cleared.

After trying so many things with my diet and lifestyle, I have come across some information on the Vagus nerve and how it might be involved in this. I am still exploring this. I have had anxiety issues my whole life, so it will probably take a significant amount if time for me to explore this.

I keep wondering if, during the time I was impacted, my colon was damaged and the nerves are damaged or something. I wish we could find an answer!

tl;dr: I am a front sleeper. Didn't realise this was abnormal/uncommon. Believe my bodyweight pressing on my stomach was causing a hiatus hernia. Slept on my back for 4 days, feeling a lot better.

Hello, me again.

Last time I thought I had a peptic ulcer, I think I probably did, I spoke with my Gastro Enterologist and he didn't think it was Peptic Ulcer Disease, he said it was more likely Gastric Dyspepsia caused by the IBS. However I took the gaviscon and lansoprazole 15mg and after 5 weeks that specific pain (while bending forwards) reduced, but the other issues persisted. I think I possibly developed an Ulcer as a result of all of the stomach acid and pain.

Have ended up having bad episodes again twice recently with really chronic discomfort. Severe bloating, chest pressure and tightness, tight throat, inability to swallow, and having to sip water. BM seems to precipitate the symptoms, but they were not going away like the used to, they were going on all day, lasting hours from 10am until 8pm one time. I was taking Paracetamol to manage the pain, but struggling to even swallow it, and having to let it dissolve in my mouth to even swallow it down, choking on the water.

I've had this for 2 years now and have been suffering greatly. It's exhausting feeling so bad for so long, and knowing it will come back every day.

I spoke with a new GP, he seemed really switched on, he thinks I've got two issues. He thinks I do have IBS, but he thinks I have it in combination with a Sliding Hiatus Hernia. The stomach travels up through the diaphragm, around the oesophagus, and puts pressure on the lungs and heart. It can cause bloating and excessive gas, dizziness and elevated heart rate and bowel symptoms and he said it could have been compounded by IBS. He explained that when sleeping that gravity can assist the stomach moving up through the diaphragm and that's why the symptoms come on in the morning. He has lots of patients with the issue and typically they take a PPI (Lansoprazole in my case) combined with an anti-sickness drug for a month, and it will go away for 6-9 months.

I tried the anti-sickness drug. It seemed to work ok on day 1, and I felt somewhat better that evening, but I was taking it with Paracetamol. The drug seems to encourage your bowels to empty and on day 2, I had a horrible attack again, and ended up going to the local Hospital for help. The Dr. there said stop the anti-sickness, try Buscopan IBS. Again I was trying it with Painkillers, and that evening I felt good, but the next day, back to square one, feeling terrible, and getting some side-effects from the Buscopan causing blurred vision so I decided to stop taking that as well. Blurred vision, feeling dizzy and generally terrible, walking alone to try and relax my innards and get some fresh air, Paracetamol kind of working, but as you can imagine it was grim.

I think I might finally have found the cause. Its been 4 days now -- so it's still too early to really tell -- but I am feeling progressively better. Energy has returned, I'm BMing normally again without pain or anxiety and I have only a slight twinge of pain around my midrift after toileting which seems to be steadily reducing as the days progress.

I discovered through talking to my relatives that I sleep on my front, and they thought this was strange. I find it quite comfortable and have always done it, but I have typically been fit and athletic, and slim. Now I'm a bit older and have a pot belly, I think putting my full bodyweight on my stomach is possibly causing some constriction overnight and also forcing my stomach up through the diaphragm causing a hiatus hernia. I've been forcing myself to lie on my back, and I really feel a lot better as a result, almost back to normal. I'm still getting some bloating oddly mostly while showering, but I'm not getting any of the discomfort or pain during BMs, a little bit of belly pain afterwards but it seems to be reducing day-by-day. I'm hopeful that this is the solution and within a couple of weeks I might be back to my normal self. While it seems possible I could still suffer from a hiatus hernia if I get extremely bloated, it seems like with the back sleeping all of the symptoms are subsiding.

Hope this clicks with someone else and perhaps helps? Anyway will let you know how I am in a couple of weeks and best of luck with your own experiences, hope you all improve.

I have just recently started to see the trend very similar to this......but mine is a little different it NEVER happens during the day it happens only within an hour of me falling asleep. I wake up for no apparent reason and within 10 seconds my heart is pounding so loud and so hard I can't hear anything but it. I shake, I sweat and I feel like I can't get a deep breath. this can last anywhere from 1 min to 10 but if I burp or have a BM which I usually do the symptoms resolve. I work in the medical field and am quite knowledgeable so I also thought vagus nerve could be an issue. I did find a condition that most drs don't know about or acknowledge as an actual thing called Roemheld syndrome but that doesn't explain why it only happens to me in the first hour of sleep. my heart rate gets up to 130 beats per min which at night when you just wake up and for no reason is quite scary. my dr has me taking a xanax every night now before bed to see if that helps. I do have a history of panic attacks but this is totally different this is a symptom that then gives me anxiety not panic for no apparent reason.