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Struggling with possible ibs, seen the gi numerous times but still worried

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gregory91508
gregory91508

Hey all, just a little insight until I get into my recent issues; I'm an 18 year old male who has OCD/ anxiety for years. My possible ibs started about 1 1/2 ago. For a while now I've been worried about my constant stool changing patterns (constipation, diarrhea) and the look of my stools (mucus, slimey, mud looking) and you would imagine with OCD and anxiety that I'm a HUGE WORRIER. 10 minutes ago I had a stomach ache and I had a bowel movement and it's the same kind of story.. mud looking, mucus, food in it, and slimey. I literally spent a few minutes moving it around with a cotton swab.(embarrassing I know). Thinking it's cancer or some underlying disease I have. plus I've been to the gastronolegeist about 4 times. I did the blood test and stool sample once. And I'm currently waiting for the results to my second blood test and I'm delivering my stool samples tomorrow. Each time I've been to the gi, the doctor I see gives me the same story, "try the low fodmap diet" "probiotics" and I've been cleaning my diet up recently, but I'm left with the same worries as before. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I don't feel like I'm being diagnosed and treated correctly. Although I have gained weight from an unhealthy 120 pound nauseous 17 year old with no appetite to a 150 pound 18 year old. I still find myself with the same worrys. I'm also on 200mg of Zoloft for my OCD, anxiety, and depression. Which I believe has helped. I was in a really bad place a year ago and I have improved but I'm still concerned with what's going on now . I've heard that people are given anti depressants for ibs (not the reason I was put on Zoloft). So what does anyone think; is it ibs? did anxiety cause ibs? Are these symptoms normal? and I want to get some insight from other ibs sufferers or anyone who has advice for me. Thanks for taking your time out to help.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • diane79126
    diane79126 gregory91508

    Posted

    Hi there,

    I have always been OCD when it comes to academics. As a result I must have gotten

    IBS at young age because mom always gave me prune juice in the am. I was diagnosed with spastic colon while in the military. It was because of the medical

    Internship I did while in the service. So yes I firmly am convinc d that it was due to stress.

  • pippa58442
    pippa58442 gregory91508

    Posted

    IBS and anxiety are linked because of the gut-brain connection. I would try the Fodmap diet and probiotics as your GI suggested to see if you feel any better.  Your GI is suggesting this because your symptoms sound very like IBS.  If all your tests come back normal, then IBS can be diagnosed.  Sometimes a low anti depressant can help IBS.  The key is to get your anxiety and OCD under control and this will help your symptoms to calm down.

    Try distraction techniques like exercise or a hobby.  I am very anxious person and this triggered my IBS.  It can take time to diagnose IBS brcause other causes have to be ruled out first and this causes more worry.  It took three and a half months for me to get an IBS diagnosis and my panic was through the roof and it seemed for a while that I was never going to get answers.  When my symptoms were finally identified as IBS, I was astonished because I had given up.  My doctor recognised my symptoms when he asked about my stress levels and I told him the build up of stress I had gone through in the months before my symptoms appeared.

    • gregory91508
      gregory91508 pippa58442

      Posted

      Thanks for taking time out to help. And yes the worry really gets to me and a lot of the time I just find myself to be extremely frustrated with all of this. I do have all the help I need, I'm in therapy I have a psychiatrist and I regularly see the gi. I'm also thinking about seeing a nutrionist. But anyways, what I'm really trying to figure out is if my OCD and anxiety started all of this, or did it just trigger my stomach issues. The Zoloft has helped with my anxiety and my stomach has gotten a bit better from before, but it might be anxiety causing me to think I'm stuck through all this. Let me know how things are with you in the long run. Thanks so much for the reply

    • pippa58442
      pippa58442 gregory91508

      Posted

       If your symptoms start or feel worse when you are anxious, then anxiety/OCD is likely to be the trigger.  My stomach starts hurting immediately after stress or can take a day or so to react.  I wouldn't  concentrate too much on what started it off, because it will make your symptoms worse. If your medication helps to reduce your anxiety, then this will help your symptoms.

      Once I got my diagnosis, my health worries disappeared and my stomach settled down.

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