Digestive Disorders & Anxiety

Hi Mfwilliams2000...

I am sorry for what you are going through. So far I have not experienced this though I do get anxious at times.

I think others will chime in. I hope it gets better soon.

Welcome to the depression forum.

Hugs, Karen...

I have UC--which does get worse at difficult times. However, it is a separate disease which would impact me regardless. I take a prescription medication that, more or less, manages the disease.

IS this triggered by food and anxiety together or by anxiety alone? Have you been checked for any underlying medical conditions?

Anxiety and stress can do strange things. Physical ailments.

Have you been taught any deep breathing or mindfulness. mindful.org is a good place to start. I do mindfulness the best that I can and meditate too. The breathing helps with anxiety.

I hope that things get better.

Hugs, Karen...

Hi Mf

Unfortunately I have extensive experience of digestive issues from anxiety and depression. It is such a viscous circle as well, because digestive problems themselves cause you to feel anxious and depressed. I never felt more down and suicidal than when I got that burning pain in my stomach

I have had it all - functional dyspesia, constant nausea, constant heartburn, debilitating bowel cramps. So so many tests, endoscopy, colonoscopy, MRIs etc and all say I have minor things here and there but nothing to cause pain. The gastritis-like pain is the worst in my experience, not in terms of pain level but the effect it has on my mood and anxiety.

Anyway, so what can you do about it? Well the first thing I would tell you is that things change. You have a symptom now but it will probably be different in a few years. I have been going through this for 6 years and over that time I have ranged from curling up in a ball in bed wanting to die, to being out in the gym, drinking way too much alcohol and feeling more care free. For me it seems that I have one digestive problem for a while and then something happens and something else starts to hurt instead.

For stomach pain and nausea, the best thing I ever found was cabbage juice. If you search it on google you will see plenty of claims of it being a miracle cure for stomach ulcers etc. Well when I had lots of stomach pain and nausea but only mild to no gastritis, cabbage juice made it significantly better in a matter of days. I drank it 3x a day. Well worth a try.

Also be careful what you eat. Don't have things like raw onions, or anything acidic. Stick to mild foods that have a gentle texture.

I presume you are on a PPI? Make sure you take it correctly, 30 mins before food on an empty stomach. It really makes a difference. Also I found the tablet PPIs just didn't work, but capsules did. No idea why.

In terms of drugs, I found nortriptyline to be very good for visceral pain. Some of my pain it eliminated, some it just improved. My pain is now mainly in my bowels and was quite severe though so I still deal with it even on medication. Pregabalin also seemed really helpful to me in terms of anxiety, pain and general sense of wellbeing.

I hope things improve for you. I've been where you are, and now I can honestly say I haven't had a pain in my stomach for a few years. I have many other problems dont get me wrong, but you won't be this way forever.

Aw that sucks. Have you ever tried Carafate? It's not a drug, just something to help line the stomach. It didn't help me really but everyone's different.

Can't advise much else really other than it helps to have patience. Things seem to improve for me over time even without changes to medication. The medication helps but doesn't seem to be instant most of the time. It can help slowly get on the road to recovery, but it's often been very slow for me, but things do improve so I have that to keep me going.

Yeh, I really struggle with anxiety too. I have a cupboard full of herbs and remedies that I tried and that made me feel worse, but I was desperate to find something to take the pain away. Took me a lot of years to finally accept what the doctors were telling me and that there was nothing wrong with my body, it was part of a mental illness and I was feeling pain from things that should not have been painful.

My mood and anxiety are a lot better on meds at least so I feel able to cope with it well.

Another thing that helps my stomach is a hot bath with epsom salts. Still not really figured out why, as oral magnesium doesn't seem to help at all, but at least it helps a bit.