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crohns and anxiety

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 4/22/2010 12:15 AM (GMT 0)
  I feel crazy.  Has anyone seen a connection between crohns and anxiety?  Ever since I was dx with cd I feel like my anxiety was high.  For the last 3mth I have been feeling dizzy, lighheaded, my heart will race, and my blood pressure goes up.  This has been happening about 3-4x a day and starting to happen more.  Today I was at work... not a stressful environment and felt these symptoms at there worse.  My blood pressure was really high and I ended up going to ER.  When I got there they did some tests and told me its anxiety/panic.  I have been to my dr when this all started he did many test and all came back normal.  Im am starting to believe it is anxiety even though nothing is that stressful in my life.  As I look at other post I do see that people do have anxiety with there crohns any relation?  I do have an apt with my gast. next week... I do plan on asking him but would like any input!  Thanks so much for reading my post.
Posted 4/22/2010 12:41 AM (GMT 0)

  I felt like this for a over year before being dx w/ Crohns.  I was on zanex and had the heart flutters-- couldn't concentrate- always felt panic was coming on-- it was horrible.  I went to a neurologist-- psycho-therapist-- I was convinced I was depressed w/ anxiety.  I was dx w/ ADD.  I went on meds-- didn't help-- after  I had emergency surgery ( resection) and got the Crohns dx last June I still had the feeling of anxiety..   Only until recently after 2nd time in hospital for severe flare and on prednisone is my mind clear.. I think the flare is under contol and I am clear headed w/ no anxiety..  I haven't taken any zanex or add meds in over 6 months..   I defintely think there was a connection to my problems and the crohns

Posted 4/22/2010 1:02 AM (GMT 0)
I think there is a relation. Certainly my own anxiety has enormously increased in the past year; at the same time my Crohn's was a lot worse than previously - coincidence? Doubt it, at least not entirely.

That said, you should examine the situation as thoroughly as possible. Is your Crohn's in a state of flux at the moment, or is it stable and under control? Could a med be contributing to your anxiety? (In my case I firmly believed tryclics - twice - caused my anxiety levels to go through the roof.) Did you ever suffer from anxiety pre-Crohn's? Would you say you had an anxious personality in general?

You don't have to answer any of this. Just considerations for you to ponder and, maybe, rationalise the anxiety a little. Finally, the "what ifs" about Crohn's disease will drive you up the wall if you let them. I'm the last one to be lecturing on this subject, but if that is what is bugging you try not to let it.
Posted 4/22/2010 1:30 AM (GMT 0)
Goodness, please cut yourself some slack. Not only do you have a serious chronic illness, it's an illness that effects your digestion ie. your entire well-being. Especially if you are missing some key nutrients, you are going to have anxiety--in my opinion, that is. If you are anemic, low on protein, low on some electrolytes, of course your body is going to reach a panic zone and tire easily. I was diagnosed with Crohn's 25 years ago. There are times that I am well and times where I am very unwell. While this disease is just my reality (there's no me without it) there are days when even the smallest thing is difficult to face/do.

I am on a small dose of xanax as needed. My doc convinced to use it a good year ago. It is a world of difference. I take just half a pill-- that's .125 mgs-- or up to two pills---that's .5 mgs as I need it. And Lord I do! My doc offered a short term of wellbutrin and some others. Please ask your doc for some ideas and some help. In my opinion the world of medicine has advanced much in the area of chronic illness and anxiety. There's a lot out there to help us manage things. Best of luck to you!!
Posted 4/22/2010 2:24 AM (GMT 0)
Also, keep a watch on your blood pressure. Is it high when you are not having anxiety? I had an attack similar to yours about a year ago and after they put me on BP meds, I felt a lot better. I had slightly high BP even when not having anxiety, like 140/90. I think the antidepressant I was on was contributing to the anxiety and high BP but I had to take it. Good luck to you. Anxiety sucks and in my experience, docs don't like giving on xanax. They gave me 5 when my heart kept pounding and wouldn't stop. Just taking 1/2 made me feel a lot better and stopped the heart pounding.
Posted 4/22/2010 2:32 PM (GMT 0)
Boy do I understand your problem with anxiety. I have had this disease for nearly 35 years and about 2-3 years ago I developed anxiety associated with my Crohns. Its very understandable. You worry about if you travel will you get sick, if you go to dinner at someone elses house, will I be able to eat what they are preparing. Its alot of what if's with this darn disease. Its called anticipatory anxiety. And I think you will find alot of us suffer with some form of anxiety. I now take a low dose of Xanax as needed when I am feeling anxious and it really helps. Good luck!
Posted 4/22/2010 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all so much! It comforting knowing I have "friends" that understand me. I go to the doctor tomorrow and hopfully will start some anxiety medication. I havent had a flaireup in almost 2 yrs! I just hope this will get under controll, Im worried that it will cause a flaire up!
Posted 4/22/2010 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
I too hv crohns and with that anxiety /panic n depression
yes i believe there def is correlation..take care
lyn
Posted 4/23/2010 6:24 AM (GMT 0)
In my experience, it may be of some help to take GABA (amino acid) as a supplement. It's generally superior to, and far less dependency-forming than, increasing your GABA levels by taking benzodiazepines, Lyrica or Neurontin. Not as effective for acute panic attacks, but works quite well for chronic/periodic anxiety. I know it's already helped me with worries about my fully sedated (propofol) dual-scoping procedure in a couple of weeks. With all my other conditions, and tendency for my body to react severely to the slightest inflammation, I have any number of worries about biopsy sites becoming inflamed or even infected....and plenty of other things. GABA supplementation has helped, as have Vit. D supplementation and a few other things.

Next on my list for treating my anxiety without tolerance/dependence-forming pharmaceuticals is DL-Phenylalanine, which is the precursor to Phenylethylamine, the body's "love chemical" and well proven to help with pain as well as anxiety and depression.
Posted 4/23/2010 12:56 PM (GMT 0)
Whenever I am stressed or anxious with whatever life throws my way and I fret and worry it goes straight to my bowels and I'm heading for the toilet.

Mindfulness techniques work to some extent and may help you. :-)
Posted 4/23/2010 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
Same happens to me:  if I hear something bad, I'm off to the toilet.  Then I can deal with everything.  That means the mind and the body are connected in a "perfect" way.  So it only makes sense, that when you are stressed, you get various symptoms: loose stools, racing heartbeat, high blood pressure etc.  Unfortunately stress is very difficult to deal with... 

Posted 4/23/2010 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
Ditto
i have to run for the ...bowl n quick like it always causes me to have severe D
drink plenty of fluids so you do not become dehydrated on top of it all
take care
lyn
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