ibs with panick attacks????????

There are several people here who seem to have developed panic attacks and IBS at the same time. Have you been having panic attacks for very long before you also started having bowel problems? I assume when you get urgent like that, you end up having diarrhea? I think for some people the IBS causes the panic attacks and for some the panic attacks cause the IBS (technically you have to have bowel problems like that for 12 weeks before you can officially be diagnosed with IBS, though).

Stress--including panic attacks--can definitely upset the intestines and cause them to become dysfunctional. Getting the stress under control, either with medicine or therapy(ies) can improve the IBS, but it generally doesn't go away. But, if your panic attacks cause IBS rather than having IBS that causes panic attacks, getting your attacks under control and staying de-stressed for a while might completely eliminate your bowel problems. And, of course, being out in public and feeling the need to go to the bathroom can throw you into a panic attack rather than the other way around.

Did your doctor give you any advice on coping with the onset of a panic attack, like deep breathing exercises or stretching or anything like that? You may need to see a therapist to learn ways to deal with sudden attacks so that you don't trigger the diarrhea or make it worse.

We're all big users of Imodium and Pepto Bismol around here; unless those interact with meds you are on now, you have had reactions to them in the past or your doctor told you not to take them, then you can always take either one to quell the diarrhea. Many of us here have found that Caltrate 600 w/vitamin D works wonders on diarrhea (and even on my related pain), because that formula of calcium is constipating, but if you only have diarrhea some of the time and normal poops the rest of the time, then you probably don't want to take it on a regular basis because it can constipate you when you would otherwise be having normal poops.

WOW!  I am starting to feel better.

I have been dealing with panic attacks for a few years now and my poor husband doesn't understand this stuff.  I have been on paxil for years and I hate this stuff.  I have tried to come off it with my doctors help but NO SUCCESS!.

I have never had this bathroom thing before so i was truly freaked out.  My father suffers from IBS and the poor man doesn't go anywhere.  I don't want that. 

The panic attacks hit and then a few seconds later i get the cramp. It happened a few weeks apart.  So at first i thought it was this new tea I was drinking and the second time i got really scared and now I just don't know when and if it will happen again.

Breathing technique's what are those.  I wanted to ask my doctor about alternative therapy but he had me in and out so fast I only had 2 or 3 questions and bang i was out the door.

Does anyone know of herbal treaments or anything else taht could help out.

Thanks for the responses I am truly thankful.

kariokey

I will check it out.  Thanks!

I was using this Bach Rescue Remedy and I found it to work but then I talked tot he doctor and he said its a placebo affect. ????

This whole IBS thing is so new to me.  Is it normal not to want to go anywhere.  How will I know it won't happen again. ARGH!

Hollistic or acupuncture HMMMMM I will look here in Canada to see if there is anything close.  Thanks again!

Any info is greatly appreicated.

Kariokey

Hey, if a placebo effect works, then keep going with it! I mean, what is a panic attack? It's my understanding that it's your body suddenly deciding that something's very wrong and that you need to react right now to save your own life--as Blondie pointed out, the fight-or-flight syndrome. You get that rush of adreneline, the heart races, you get short of breath, you feel the need to do something right now, etc. But in reality, there is nothing wrong with you at all--nothing to make you need to flee, at any rate.

I seem to recall a long time ago, on a nature program, them explaining that when animals get nervous--like when lions are stalking the herd--many of them will suddenly defecate. They're not really sure why they do this--is this a warning sign to the other animals, an attempt to lighten them up to run faster, a way of confusing the predator about their scent trail as they flee? Animals have a much better sense of smell than we do and it is thought that their droppings can convey to others how they were feeling, whether or not they were sick, etc. So dropping some droppings when they are agitated may warn other animals moving through there later that hey, something scared the you-know-what out of me here yesterday. Beware!

So, I guess it makes sense that when you get a panic attack and your body is saying, hey we need to get out of here right now, having your bowels suddenly dump out is natural. Happens in animals, anyways.

Unfortunately for you, you get these attacks when you're not under any stress or life-threatening situation. So something's triggering the brain when it shouldn't. I guess that's what anxiety meds do--they try to block those false signals to the brain. The thing about placebos is they work only because you believe that they work. But then, you're not really under any duress, your brain just thinks that you are, so what does it matter if a bath product doesn't actually have any physical effect on you if thinking it works makes that false signal turn off? Basically, it's all in your head. I don't mean that you are hallucinating these problems or lying about them or even causing yourself to have them. I mean that literally your problem is being caused by some brain signal dysfunction. If some product allows you to send a different message to your brain--a better message--just by thinking about it, then so what? I say get back into your bathtub. Stress usually causes panic attacks so if having a nice soak in the tub while getting some nice aromatherapy makes you feel less stressed and makes you have less attacks, then more power to the Bath Rescue Remedy!

You may want to look into Tai Chi or yoga classes (I think classes are better than tapes, since you can get feedback--but tapes are good once you know the basic postures and moves). They can be very relaxing and destressing. There are meditation groups around too that could help you calm your mind. You'd be surprised at how worrying a little bit over one little thing can cause you to have an attack, even when you're not in the middle of worrying about it. It's like it hangs out in the back of your mind and nags at you until your body freaks out over it. So you may want to examine all aspects of your life and see if there is something that bothers you pretty frequently--parents, spouse, children, money problems. The least little thing, left to fester for a while, can mess you up. Getting rid of the problem usually gets rid of the panic. At the very least, if you can't get rid of it, recognizing it and getting some counseling about it will often destress a person enough to make them feel better. I have read in numerous articles about people who, once they get over some small problem in their life say that they feel instantly better; they didn't even realize that one problems was weighing them down so much that they felt depressed or angry all the time.

Basically anything that calms you down, lets you relax, destresses you, should help you have less severe and less frequent panic attacks. If you can find out what's stressing you, and deal with it or get rid of it, that might get rid of the attacks. And, of course, there is always medication to help block those signals to the brain to panic, but you mention you don't like being on them (can't blame you there). And have you ever had your thyroid gland tested? I think--but I'm not real sure--that the thyroid is what generally makes adreniline, which is what you probably are getting too much of when you get these attacks. If the thyroid is not funcitoning properly, maybe that's why you get these sudden attacks when you're just walking along, minding your own business, being cool with the world. Worth looking into, at any rate. I hear a dysfunctional thyroid can cause all sorts of odd problems all over the body. Any gland that's not functioning properly, for that matter, can cause you problems everywhere.

I hope you feel better and get groovy!

I am so happy I found this website.

My goodness I feel like I have friends with the same problems.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

Now that my paxil is up I am starting to feel normal again.  And yes once I go I am fine.  I just wish I knew ahead of time.  But i guess that is the whole thing you don't plan attacks.

I never thought of the women doctor. hmmmmm that is not a bad idea.  I asked about herbal and my doctor said well there aren't any real studies.  WHat did people do way back when.  I realize times have changed and we are more stressed and in high gear but what did they do.

I am amazed that there are so many people with the same problems.  anxiety attacks, ibs.  Thanks goodness for the internet.

Kariokey

That's what my doctor told me.  He said like a diabetic you need to be on these. These attacks go in waves so times you have your high's and sometimes you have your low's.  I was fine for 1 year and now BAM its back.

I tried to come off paxil August of 2004 and I was fine for about 2 months then i had one here and then one there and then 10 to 15 a day. I was a mes.  I missed a week of work and I never want to be like that.

Also, My husband and I don't want kids now cause of the stories we are hearing about heart problems.

This IBS thing is new.

Kariokey