Stress?

It's individual but even my colon/rectum surgeon told me decades ago when I first got DX, to try and keep my life as stress-free as possible so even back then it was known that stress can have a negative impact on our disease.

Do you know what part of your body has the most active nervous system? Hint: it is not your brain.

The gut is full of nerve cells and receptors that react to stress. There is no doubt in my mind that stress affects the way digestion works - it would be hard to imagine our bodies evolving in any other way. Our ancient ancestors had to deal with a lot of existential stressors that might have required them to flee at a moment's notice, never mind that they just ate half a deer.

As to whether stress can result in an inflammatory response in your gut, I think there is ample evidence that stress can result in inflammatory responses anywhere, so why not your gut?

Here's an example: one of my mentors was a man who never drank, or smoked, or stayed out late partying. He had a wife and four kids and a good job. Sadly, one of his kids developed a terminal illness as a teen and died when he was in his early 20s. My friend was devastated. Ten years after that he developed a complete blockage of several coronary arteries and had to have stints put in. He was never overweight, never had high blood pressure and had exactly zero family history of heart disease. And yet, he was nearly killed by a very serious case of arterial sclerosis.

From my own personal life: my house burned down in 2009. It took us 18 months to rebuild. about 6 months into that process my apetite disappeared and the fatigue set in...I found this forum and worked my way through the flare, but it wasn't until 6 months after we'd moved back into our house that I started to feel better.

it does make me feel worse. even when i was pregnant the first time i wasn't officially dx with anything but i refused to even watched a scary movie because i could feel my stomach tighten when i jump or get startled. When i'm stressed my stomach goes crazy. Sometimes you can even hear it moving so much. Like an i'm starving sound. So i just have to look at everything like it could be worse. Its very hard to upset me now. LOL

It's really important to find some way--any way that works for you--to minimize your stress. I take a warm bath every night and read while I'm in it, which seems to relax me (and make my perpetually sore rear feel better). I go to Barnes & Noble at least once a week to have a snack and something warm and comforting to drink, while I browse magazines. I wander aimlessly in shops every so often, I go to lots of movies, I read good books, and I watch TV shows that transport me from the realities of my live to someplace else. And I make sure that I talk with friends, children, and grandkids regularly, since those interactions are always a tonic. That's all I have, but it really helps. I'm good at dealing with disasters (my own and other people's), but serious stress can make me seriously ill. And I think that's true for all of us in this species.

I agree with pb4, exercise really helps diffuse stress.