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Panic symptoms before bowel movement

Posted , 117 users are following.

sasical72
sasical72

Hi there

For a couple of years now I have been having a very strange happen to me, it used to happen occasionally but now it is every time I go for a bowel movement.

I will be happily going about my business or working or whatever when suddenly out of the blue I get this horrible feeling which is hard to describe, like a sinking feeling or impending doom. My fingers go tingly, I have difficulty breathing, shaky, fast heart rate...and then I need a bowel movement immediately. If I go I start to feel better after while, if for whatever reason I can't go right away it feels as if I will die.

anybody else with anything similar?

12 likes, 302 replies

302 Replies

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  • JimMc
    JimMc sasical72

    Edited

    I have been suffering from the same thing for approximately 1 year now.

    Been to A&E 3 times as the pressure in my chest was so severe after a bowel movement i thought something was going to rupture.

    It usually comes on after a BM but occassionally will come on prior.

    I get an ice block sensation in my stomach, bloating, racing heart, pressure in my chest, tight throat, severe dizziness and a panic sensation. It is bloody awful. As soon as i am able to pass wind or go to the toilet again it subsides.

    I am of the opinion that as mention by the previous contributor that there is a trapped nerve or a growth pressing on a nerve which is causing this. I have had multiple blood tests, a contrast CT and a gastroscopy and ultrasound. The doctors cant find anything wrong with me.

    38 y/o male, in the UK. Im slightly overweight at 95kg and 5'11, so my goal is to drop a few kg and see if that helps, although i find any jostling of my intestines causes the onset of symptoms, however i tend to feel ok by about midday so as long as i excercise in the evenings im ok.

    Doctor put me onto PPIs and these seem to stop the extreme episodes but i found they were making me very tired. I found that Paracetamol also helps calm things down, but can take an hour or more to take effect. I have found that taking a tea spoonful of Manuka honey in the mornings helps settle my stomach and actually is controlling the attacks. I find if i stop taking the honey it comes back on.

    I have no history of anxiety or any mental issue, this is extremely frustrating as my doctor is assuming it's anxiety and basically cant seem to do anything for me.

    Regarding the honey its known to be antimicrobial, someone mentioned they were taking oregano oil which has similar properties, so i do wonder if its an infection or bacterial overgrowth. Someone else mentioned having sugar helps, so maybe theres a connection there? Really dont know, but the honey does seem to settle things for me.

    • sasical72
      sasical72 JimMc

      Posted

      I'm sorry that you're going through the same because it's bloody awful but it's always strangely reassuring to hear that someone else has the same.

      Yes, it was me who took the oil of oregano and me who feels better with sugar. I continue my investigations.

      Sorry in advance for TMI, but I have found for a long time now that my poop is soft but also sticky which makes it difficult to pass, the doctor told me to try a product that is similar to Metamucil which apparently adds bulk to the stool and so far since I started taking it I (touch wood) seem to be a bit better.

    • JimMc
      JimMc sasical72

      Edited

      I know what you mean about the reassuring part since all these tests have come back negative, the doctor treats me like a nut case.

      I must admit I hadn't made the connection with the sticky stool consistency and the severe symptoms due to having a wide variety of types of stool, but i definitely have the same issue as yourself in that its often sticky and claggy and takes a long time to clean off.

      When i'm particularly bad, what i've noticed is that the BM symptoms will get progressively worse over a period of about 3 days, and then will culminate in a bad case of diarrhea, after which i feel a lot better again for a period of days. The worst was when the diarrhea was bright yellow and contained mucus.

      I went out yesterday and bought some Psyllium Husk capsules based on your advice above, thank you for that i'd not heard of it before. It's too early to tell, but i took 1g yesterday evening and was able to have a normal BM which was considerably more compact and cleaner, apart from some minor dull stomach ache i had no other symptoms.

      This morning i had a bit of an episode again, but had not taken the Psyllium until after i went for BM, so i've taken some now at midday and will try to monitor it over the next few days.

      If it works it suggests it's a malnutrition issue and i'm just lacking in dietary fibre. Fingers crossed!

    • sasical72
      sasical72 JimMc

      Posted

      I will keep my fingers crossed for you too! keep us informed on how you go on

  • JimMc
    JimMc sasical72

    Edited

    Hi all,

    Its been 8 days now since i've started using the Psyllium Husk.

    The capsules are 500mg each and i'm taking 3g a day now, two in the morning, two in mid afternoon and two in the evening which seems adequate. The box says i can go up to 6g per day if required.

    I wouldn't say it's a miracle cure, as i still have the occasional bad day. On Saturday i had fish and chips and i guess the grease set me off as i had quite a bad episode during my Sunday BM, but it didnt develop into a

    full blown attack.

    i am seeing good general improvement with the Psyllium, however, so i will continue to use it and see how it goes. I cant seem to quite get it right, as if i take it before bed, when i get up in the morning my BM is sticky, so it's almost like i should setup an alarm clock a few hours prior and have some in the early hours. I am definitely seeing the pattern between sticky BM and the onset of symptoms.

    The psyllium is great if i have a BM later in the day as it's extremely easy to clean up afterwards, no fuss. Im also seeing some benefit with my skin as my eczema has been calmer since i've started using it.

    I still feel like there's some latent issue going on with innards however, today i've been a bit light headed again. So would be keen to hear if any of you make any progress with your doctors.

    • sasical72
      sasical72 JimMc

      Edited

      Some improvement, however little, is great.

      My doctor has now put me on a special diet which I have to follow for 2 weeks and if no improvement, he wants me to try antispasmodics, I will keep you all posted.

      Plus going to osteopath at the end of the month because another feeling I have is that something in my spine or bowels may be putting pressure on a nerve, maybe the vagus nerve.

    • sasical72
      sasical72

      Posted

      Trying to keep this thread alive in case anybody has more suggestions. I have had some improvement, I'm not as bad as I once was, but still not fully recovered by any means. If it used to happen 4 times a day maybe now it's 1 or 2.

    • jason82
      jason82 sasical72

      Edited

      Hi sasical72,

      Have you ever had your potassium levels checked? I've had a lot of GI problems including the symptoms you described. Turns out my potassium was low and I've been taking supplements and potassium rich foods for a couple of months now. Nearly all of my symptoms are now gone or have at least improved significantly!

    • sasical72
      sasical72 jason82

      Posted

      Hi Jason,

      Thank you so much for your reply. I just checked my latest lab results and my potassium is not low.

      What a shame! when I saw your reply I was hoping it was that.

      I'm glad to hear your symptoms have improved significantly. This gives me hope. Anything else you have changed aside from increasing your potassium intake?

      Thanks (I'm desperate)

  • mekayla98872
    mekayla98872 sasical72

    Edited

    Hi, I'm a 23 year old female. Been having the same symptoms that came on about a month ago after a very stressful family fallout. My blood sugar would drop suddenly and quickly (I've NEVER had issues like that before) and I would need to eat something sweet and some peanut butter to get me better. Even called the ambulance and went to the ER cause the symptoms were so bad. They couldn't find anything wrong. They recommended me to go to a cardiologist, but I haven't gone. It's so awful and the fear of it coming on again just makes it worse. For me, it's the worst at night. Seems I can get by fine in the day. The family event also happened at night, too, so maybe I'm making the connection? From then to now I've been on a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement and it seemed to help and so did taking some apple cider vinegar daily. It helped to regulate me and I wouldn't have to strain which made the feeling worse. My blood sugar hasn't dropped near as bad as when this first started, but it's like I'm having mini low blood sugar attacks each time I gotta go and it's really taking a toll on my mental health... I can't put it into words, but it's pretty just as everyone else has described it. Don't know how to talk to a doctor about this and this is the first I've told anyone besides my husband, who has no idea what I'm talking about. Also maybe worth noting is that I had my second child almost 4 months ago and I believe I've bruised or otherwise hurt my tailbone and I haven't been able to sit comfortably on it since. Maybe it's pressing on something?? But if it is, why did it only start to bother me directly after the negative event I experienced? I feel better that there are at least others going through this as well!

  • aurora86047
    aurora86047 sasical72

    Edited

    You can experience these symptoms when you have digestion related issues. I would recommend seeing a gastroenterologist.

    • sasical72
      sasical72 aurora86047

      Edited

      Thank you Aurora, I have seen 2 gastroenterologists, had tests, nothing found \o/

  • JimMc
    JimMc sasical72

    Edited

    Hi, absolutely any improvement is a benefit. I did have a pretty bad turn on Friday which came on just prior to a second BM and ended as soon as i was able to pass. I hadnt taken honey on that day, so i wonder if this is the result of a blood sugar drop. Beyond that its been managable so the psyllium is definitely offering some benefit.

    Regarding the anti spasmodics, peppermint oil is an anti spasmodic which is recommended for IBS and is available over the counter but i found i had fairly limited success with it being able to stop the attacks.

    Reading around the area of IBS and panic attacks, they seem to suggest its based off past experiences of needing the toilet and panicing, and trying relaxation techniques. What an absolute load of nonsense it all is, it seems to be a really poorly understood area. I dont know about you but when i go through the episodes there's literally nothing i can do, i just have to ride it out, to me it's entirely induced by some physical reaction.

    • sasical72
      sasical72 JimMc

      Posted

      I totally agree with you!!! I can breathe through other things in life, but this, no way, it's totally physical and out of my control.

      I think in general I have noticed that if I, for example, have 3 bowel movements in a day, the first is not as bad as the 2 others.

  • jojoach
    jojoach sasical72

    Edited

    I have been having this too, only my anxiety symptoms stay with me for a couple of hours afterwards.i feel great when i wake up then when i have a bowel movement my insides feel terrible, nervous symptoms. shaky inside, doom. i am at my wits end with it, feel like im going mad. has anyone had any success with any treatments

    • sasical72
      sasical72 jojoach

      Edited

      Hi jojoach,

      Sorry you are going through this, it truly is horrible isn't it. No success as of yet, slight improvements with certain things, but only short lived improvements.

      Going from one doc to another trying to find, if not a solution, at least an explanation to what it could be, but no luck yet.

      And you? have you been to docs? tried anything?

    • jojoach
      jojoach sasical72

      Edited

      thanks im so glad to have found this forum, i thought i was going mad. i definitely think it has something to do with pressure on my nerves coupled with blood sugar possibly. how did you get on with the osteopath? i saw a neurologist last week and am going for a mri of lower back and head in a fortnight.

    • sasical72
      sasical72 jojoach

      Posted

      Hi

      Not great at the osteopath, but to be honest I don't think this one is great.

      Good luck with your MRI !!! and please come back and let us know how you got on.

      Take care x

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