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Sudden flushed feeling before urgency in public

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 3/6/2022 3:31 AM (GMT 0)
I feel like I've been dealing with this issue for about the last year. I am still wearing a mask when indoors in public as I am on two immune suppressants and I'm not 100% comfortable going without it yet. Anyway, I'm not sure if wearing the mask contributes to the sudden hot flash/flushed feeling or not, but lowering it doesn't magically make the flushed feeling go away either. It's like everything is perfectly fine and then all of sudden I start get that flushed feeling and then I start to feel like an urgent BM is coming. I try to breathe through it and/or walk it off, but 9 times out of 10 I will have to end up using the restroom. Does anyone else ever experience something like this?

Ever since my last flare in 2018, where I experienced a lot of urgency, I've had to deal with random and unexpected urgency (happens most often in public) ever since that flare. I am in remission, but the anxiety and sometimes panic that comes with this "symptom" can take it's toll. I used to have bad bathroom access anxiety every time I would get in a car, but then I started taking L-theanine last year and I don't really get that anymore. It has switched to mild anxiety about having an attack in a public store (which gets worse if there isn't a public bathroom or it's one you have to ask for a key for). But when I get that hot flash / flushed feeling, the more panicky feelings come on because "what if I can't make it to the toilet" or "what if it's a single stall and someone's in there."

Interested in what others do when you feel anxious or panicky about IBD related stuff in public situations. If I know there could be a triggering situation I'll take Imodium the night before, but most of my urgency comes unexpectedly.
Posted 3/6/2022 11:32 AM (GMT 0)
I remember when Covid had initially started and our government was still figuring out rules they would put in place, they had initially said that people with anxiety issues would be exempted from wearing a mask (if they didn’t want to) because for some the idea of being masked up could trigger feelings of claustrophobia or panic. In case this offers any perspective to you around your hot flushed feeling.
I think by now most people have gotten used to the idea of a mask though having worn them for so long but if it is anxiety could you talk your doctor about it? I know I do feel hot under a mask sometimes especially if the weather is not very favorable . I wear an N95. I have found the blue surgical ones are more breathable , so maybe also consider the type of mask you are wearing?

If you can’t stay home and have to be out perhaps you could ensure you are only around places that have good, clean , easy to access facilities in times when your body is unsettled ? That might reduce the panic.

And if essential oils are helpful for you, try this - add a drop or two of a calming essential oil to your mask. Like lavender or ylang ylang perhaps. You might find it helps keep your feelings of panic at bay and that you feel much calmer under a mask. Sometimes I like to crush a leaf from a lemon tree on my walks and put it into
my mask. So invigorating it is to breathe that into the head.

And if all this is tried and dusted and you still have to risk some place that might just not have a toilet to reach to in time, maybe an adult pamper would be a good idea?

Oh and if you are female and anywhere near peri menopause/menopause that could be the hot flushed feeling too.

And I meant to add there is a direct connection between stress and anxiety and this condition. So having the feelings of urgency follow from the anxiety would make sense . You will have to find ways to calm the anxiety and see if that does away with the feelings of urgency. Could be a sign the disease is acting up too.

Post Edited (Seeker275) : 3/6/2022 5:16:50 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 3/7/2022 9:50 PM (GMT 0)
With UC there are many different kinds of pro-inflammatory cytokines and prostaglandins involved in driving the disease. Not to mention the nervous system itself is involved. It's hard to say exactly what is making you feel flushed before urgency, but I've had that before myself, and I'm male. I don't think it has to do with menopause or hormones, but the body reacting to injury. During my worst flares, I could sense when urgency was coming because I would suddenly get weak and hot before it even happened.
Posted 3/8/2022 1:12 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, similar thing used to happen to me before I started biologics and achieved remission (for some time).

I read that its a vasovagal reaction (like fainting at the sight of blood). Once when I was really dehydrated I did actually collapse in the bathroom, but usually I'd just feel flushed and light headed and a little panicked. I was never totally sure if the vasovagal reaction was purely physical from the connection of the Vagas nerve to the gut, or if it was a learned panic/anxiety of urgency without bathroom access.
Posted 3/9/2022 3:26 PM (GMT 0)
I've had something similar happen to me a few times, but it was when I was at home (luckily). Both times I thought I was about to pass out and lied on the floor. It was incredibly scary. Shortly afterwards, I remember having to have a BM. So for me, the flushed/lightheaded feeling comes first. I never was able to find a satisfying answer to why that has happened to me a few times.
Posted 3/9/2022 4:20 PM (GMT 0)
This has happened to me many times. Like someone said above, I was told it’s connected to vasovagal reaction. I would get flushed and feel a little faint but as soon as I had a bowel movement the feeling went away.
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