I need your help...can anxiety/stress cause chronic diarrhea?

hello!

good day!

i surf the net to find answers from what i experience.then i found out that it is called IBS. to other,its that easy to face but to those who suffer it isnt...i have this since august this year.i m training in my job..i dont know why all of a sudden it goes like this and till now...i still have it...the company's clinic doctor told me that its due to stress...last tuesday,i went to the doctor and he said the same thing but he didnt gave me any medicine.he told me that hyosine and loperamides would do..only myself could cure myself..maybe he's right in some points but its hard to rely on such words when ur tummy starts to rock n roll whatever ur doin...i really dont know what to do!my stomach aches.i went to the toilet thrice.my mom wants me to quit the job.she keeps on blaming my job coz i only have such disease when i started working.i even have my own water coz she worries that i drink water there but truth i dont.well,hope u guys could help me!having this kind of sickness is really embarrassing if ever it happens in front of people..many people!i love u all!

hi how are you i think i can help you out first of all i am only 16 and i no alot about anxiety and these conditions, let me say somthing to all of you, anxiety is not a sikness nor disorder nor diseas or chemical imbalance it is just there. every one in there life time goes through a stage of anxiety whether you no it or not it is an every day part of life. but its when anxiety gets out of control thats when it is bad its still not a diseas or anything in this stage. and yes D does take a big role in anxiety, i am still an anxiety sufferer right now, i do not take medication as i think medication is a waiste of time, the reason i think meds are a waist of time is because anxiety IS NOT a chemical imbalance in the braine many people think anxiety is a chemical imbalance when accually no its not. if it were a chemical imbalance wudnt u feel the anxiety and panic stage 24/7 no but you dnt do you, well not many do any way, skitzophrenia is a chemcal imbalance not anxiety. if it were a chemical imbalance in the brain then you wud hav it constantly but no most people hav it in places that makes them uncomfortable and some have it when they arte in confined places. NO it is not a chemical imbalance doctors just prescribe you with medicine so they look they are doing sumthing not all of them do but most of them o just to get you off there back, i beleive anti - anxiety or anti-depresants are just placebo's with means if you dont no id you make ur body think they work so they your mind thinks it works and your body will react to wat ur mind is saying and your mind is saying these are making me feel better so there for you feel better.

Edit:  Removed email from post.  Please read the rules and regulations of HW.

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 3/10/2009 5:46:40 AM (GMT-6)

I have lived with a/p for over 40 plus yrs and it is a disorder a real one
There are those that need meds to help with the proper BALANCE of chemicals
Meds are not a waste to all
I know I would be in Hades if I were not on mine
Each of us is different
You are yong still and I agree you dont have to take meds yourself
BUT there is no shame in having too if needed
I am so glad to see the new members you included coming aboard
I do hope you will stay with us
ANXIETY N PANIC ATTACKS ARE REAL N REAL DISORDER /
By the way just google Anxiety and panic/depression and you will find what I am talking about

Take care
LYN

Hi, my name is Rose. I just turned 30. Im sorry you or going threw this. It can be scary, not knowing. But, its sounds like you are going threw alot of what im going threw. i know my symptoms have alot to do with my acute anxiety disorder. I wake even wake up with the runs. And i lose weight so fast. I also suffer from panic attacks. And when my anxiety is high, and for a long period of time. My hair starts falling out, And i lose weight from constantly going to the bathroom. But on the bright side, it all stops when your nerves get back in place. I hope this helped a little.. Have a good day

Hiya,

sorry to chime in so late! I have IBS and I believe it is a direct result of my anxiety. I take 20mg of endep to reduce cramps, pellagrino to regulate and creon to help break up the enzymes in my food...a lot of pills but they are helping!! I would really reccomend seeing a gastroentonologist (sp?) and get this looked over by a professional. It has helped me so much. You shouldn't have to live life worrying about where the nearest toilet is!

Good Morning Edar

Welcome to HealingWell and the A & P Forum. We are glad you found our site and your post was right on. Thank you for responding to the questions in this post.

Please feel free to start a thread of your own so we all get a chance to know you better.

Again, thank you,

Kitt

I know exactly what you are talking about.  It is nice to know others share something so similiar.  Right now I am totally suffering from IBS-D and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia.  I have been off work since May. 

For me I have always had stomach problems including IBS-D and GERD.  about 4 years ago my sickness reached its peak.  I took a trip to Cuba and got sick while I was away.  When I came back I was so nauseous, had diarrhea and bad reflux.  I forced myself every day to go to work becuase that the kind of person I was.  The doctor could not find what was wrong.  I was sent to a GI specialist who did some blood work and I found out I had H.Pylori.    Six months of me being sick had passed until I got this diagnosis.  By this time I developed severe anxiety and started to have panic attacks while travelling back and forth from work until I just could not even get my foot out the door and I was trapped inside for 5 weeks.  I took 300mg of Wellbutrin and Ativan at night for sleep.  I had to take a triple cocktail of antibiotics for the H.Pylori.  I thought I was going to die in those to weeks.  I just stared at the bathroom floor tiles for two weeks straight.  I got myself together with some therapy and was able to get back to work.  I still had diarrhea most mornings but slowly it was more manageable. 

Then last year I got married.  Big stressful wedding like the usual for most.  We went on our honeymoon to Nicaragua where my hubby is from.  I came back sick like a dog.  Nausea and diarrhea.  I went back to work but only lasted a week because of the crazy panic attacks and random urgent diarrhea attacks.  I was off from last July until January.  I tried so many meds to control the anxiety.  I finally reverted to what I took the first time and with therapy and time and I got back to work.  All was well.  I still had diarrhea every morning but I could manage it since I made a two routine in the morning to get around  it and my work understood if I was late.    All was well until the end of April I went to Mexico and picked up a bug and had crazy nausea and diarrhea.  The worse was the panic attacks and having diarrhea on the plane ride 3 times.  I think the guy beside me thought I was nuts.  When I got home the diarrhea had blood and mucous so I knew it was more than anxiety.  I took antibiotics which made me feel worse and ended up being off work again now since May.  I am so ashamed to be sick again from work. 

I know one thing the GI specialist told me is that the two work on each other anxiety and diarrhea.  Until my mental is while my IBS will keep acting up.  Anyways that is my long sob story. 

I am barely hanging on here some days are okay but I can tell you being trapped in your house and feeling sick all the time is no joy.  

Something I have tried that were good were Florastor for IBS, Iberogast for GERD.  I take gravol like candy for the nausea.  I am on 150 of Wellbutrin but I think it just makes me more anxious but I am so sensitive to meds that it is the only AD I can take.  I also take Ativan for sleep and panic.  I take Pariet for GERD which seems to help. 

I really want to add a new AD or different anxiety med to help this since I feel like I am on a sinking ship.  I know some AD work for panic and IBS-D.  I was thinking to try Trazodone since insomnia is a problem for me to.  Anyone with any advice on meds would be great.  I tried adding Lexapro but it made me too sick and I do not think it is good for IBS-D.  I was thinking for Celexa or Effexor but I am scared of the withdrawal effects for Effexor.  I just want my life back.  I want to be normal and do simple things like walk across the street.  IBS-D and Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia can really cause a severe depression.  Any advice would be appreciated. 

Thanks and I send all well wishes to you all in hopes for a speedy recovery and an end to your troubles.

Chela

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 9/9/2009 2:16:33 PM (GMT-6)

i seem to be experiencing the same symptoms as you.. i was wondering, do you suffer from crazy headaches, migraines.. ive been suffering with having migraines for the past 9 years, as well, have been having really soft to diareaha stools during this time.. ive just had a colonoscopy, nothing came up . so now im wondering, could it be stress.. .. anyways.. this is my first time writing in this.. hoping to find a cure.. thanks

Hi Truley,

I suffer almost exactly the same symptoms as you. I am fine when I'm at home, but as soon as I go out shopping, to the beach, playing golf, or anywhere I know I can't use a bathroom, I am busting to go to the toilet and have D for the rest of the day, usually until I get home and have a bathroom a few feet away.

I have always had this, but before it wasn't so bad, it only happened like once a month. Now it's every day. I moved to the UK from Australia about 2 weeks ago. I am getting really upset because I can't go sightseeing with my boyfriend, can't go for walks, nothing. My boyfriend is wonderful but is starting to get frustrated with me because we both know it's a psychological thing. But I dont know what to do. I am new here, so I dont know whether to see a doctor, or a therapist or whatever.

Vitamins like St Johns Wort tend to help a little bit, and I never leave home without Imodium, but I don't want to go on like this. I want to have the confidence and ease that I used to.

omg, I have the same things! I have alot of allergies and It causes severe anxiety because I also have a fear of being sick. I would rather die than throw up! My hair also comes out is handfuls in the shower. I get "D" about every other day and I have been told that I have GERD. I couldnt have anything with a pretty name, but ok. A little about myself, I have a long history or anxiety in my family, we are talking at least 5 generations now. My 2 bio children have it as well. I was married for 15 years to an alcoholic who mentally abused me for years and mady my anxiety worse. I took my 2 kids and left. I am now remarried to a wonderful man who desperatly tries to understand my issues and we have 13 children and a grandbaby. Only 11 kids live at home (lol, only!!!!) but all of my issues have gotten worse. See we do foster care and we take the "BAD" hard to place kids and have adopted 7 and working on the 8th. They range from ages 3mo (grandbaby) to 3 all the way to 21. I dont eat right and i dont exercise, this could also cause the "D" but I am just looking for someone to talk to that has similar experiences as myself with the anxiety and runs lol... some days i feel like im going crazy!!!!

Hi everyone,
I'm mid 40s old (male) and I'm so glad I found this forum. After years of suffering, it's only just occurred to me to Google all the symptoms together and that brought me here where I've read through this thread with eyes wide open. Thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences - I know it's not an easy topic - so I'm going to reciprocate and share my experience in the hope it may help someone else.

My D started when I left university. I'd had a nice safe time (relatively speaking) all through childhood (parents separated when I was a baby but that didn't bother me).  It became an alternate reality for me (a safe haven) and I even spent the days before my finals "escaping" rather than revising/working. Net result was failed exams and booted back to the real world. I think that's when the problems began. I soon found that I had something similar to agoraphobia - I found that going out with friends in at night became a nightmare. I felt that I was horribly exposed to a world that I no longer felt entirely connected to (I'd stopped using marijuana by this time - probably owing to unavailability - but it had already taken its toll I guess). Somehow I found that I would start needing the loo - quickly - and endless bouts of D would ensue.

This then started that old vicious circle (which it appears most people on here also have experienced) of using my imagination to worry about what might happen if I don't get to a loo in time. That increased the A/P (I'm using shorthand terms that I've just picked up on this forum - if you're reading this and don't know what A/P is then just read from the start of this thread - there's more to learn in there!) and so that increased the frequency and strength of the D. My closest friends were patient with me - but I could be a real bore - with them waiting for ages outside some public loo for me.

The worse time came when I had to travel back to uni for my graduation (this is a year later - I'd since managed to hide away and study and was allowed to retake the finals). My emotions during the trip swung wildly between A/P and the need to stop to go to the loo (including painful, sweaty "close shaves") and something akin to euphoria (when the bad attacks were over). I almost missed the graduation ceremony by being on the loo.

This continued for some years until I sort of settled down with a girlfriend and my life started to take on a "normal" routine (work, socialising with close friends etc.) but I would still get jittery going on holidays etc. - in fact I think I hated any sort of free time away from home (I preferred the safety of a known routine).

That relationship stopped after a few years (I was about 28 by then and sort of growing up) and because the symptoms had mostly disappeared by then I managed to have a normal life - moving to London, enjoying new challenges at work etc. (although I would still get D and A/P if I had to give a standup presentation to people). It may be worth me mentioning that this pre-presentation A/P was a complete nightmare for me professionally - and in the end I combatted it as follows... First I decided that I had to beat it. Then I decided that to beat it then I would have to understand it and to do that I would have to go through it repeatedly whilst trying difference ways of dealing with it. Therefore I decided that each new presentation (or public appearance) would be "a challenge" - it became an opportunity to test out a new theory. Almost instantly, this helped lower the A/P and D - probably because the situation was no longer purely negative, there was something positive in there for me. I wanted/needed to do the presentation to help me get to the bottom (no pun intended) of things quicker and get cured. Bit by bit the symptoms started to disappear until I started actually feeling confident with myself in that situation. My self confidence increased and I was on the mend...

OK - so here there's a gap of 12 years or so - I found a new girlfriend, got married, had kids, bought a house etc. - a new life of relative safety and virtually no symptoms during that time.

Then I started my own business in a new country. All went well for a year or two but then, all of a sudden, I felt that old feeling come back. I felt out of place (the proverbial fish out of water) and I felt that agoraphobia feeling and, sure enough, back came the A/P and D. Lucky me!

I've been battling it for about a year and although I'm using the "challenge" strategy I think I'm more worried about the "what if" situation because of a couple of "close shaves" (do I have to define that to anyone here?) and the worry that maybe I'd disgrace myself.

It may be worth mentioning here that I suspect that things started again because of an emotional response. Despite being married (and completely faithful) I had managed to fall for a girl at work. So I started to question "everything" and this could have had the effect of pulling the safety rug from under my feet. Strangely enough, I do seem to remember my original "bout" back at university to have started around the same time I fell for a girl there. There are similarities between these girls (sorry, can't define this better) so perhaps there's some sort of subconscious thing going on.

Please don't judge me on the above bit of info - it's something I have to work out. But I will say that I'm just as determined to beat this now as I was before - and I did manage to beat it before. It's a matter of finding a positive aspect - no matter how small - to reduce the A/P and to help break the vicious circle of emotions. I like the idea of keeping a journal (recommended by someone else in this thread) but I suspect that may not be such a good idea given the current circumstances.

Anyway, I've beaten it before and will do so again - just got to get my feet firmly back on the ground.
Just wanted to put back some of what I got out of reading this thread.

Final comments/notes which may help spark more discussion (sorry this gets a bit detailed in places)...
- I often get a runny nose when the A/P starts coming on - anyone else get that? (I found that swallowing the mucus made things worse/quicker so always have tissues to hand)
- I find that drinking water and staying hydrated reduces the effects and duration of the A/P and D attack. This means peeing more often - but that's a lot better than the alternative.
- My attacks are almost always in the morning and usually when I'm away from the comfort zone of home (away from a known loo!)
- Very rarely will I get attacks in the afternoon - that seems to be a safe haven time for me.
- I find that a humid/steamy environment can trigger the A/P and D - going into the bathroom after my wife has showered almost always brings it on (as does public swimming baths).

Hope that helps.

Edit per rule # 1.  No dicussions of  illicit drug use.

 

Welcome to HealingWell's Anxiety and Panic  forum.  We're glad you joined.  We ask that you take the time to introduce yourself in a new thread before you begin responding to the topics already in progress.  This is easily done.  Simply click on the "New Topic" button and the program will open a box for you to post your intro. This will help members see your first post and extend a hand to you. You are always welcome to post responses directly to members but please just avoid tagging your first posts on someone else's  thread. 

Kindly,

Kitt

Post Edited By Moderator (stkitt) : 6/13/2010 6:57:27 AM (GMT-6)

 I deal with the same problem every single day, except mine is also accompanied by vomiting or dry-heaving in the morning since I don't actually have any food to throw up. I have been dealing with this since I was 15 years old and I am now 20. I too thought that I had some sort of terrible stomach problem and went in for blood tests, stool samples, you name it, but my doctor never found anything except for a little excessive stomach acid. For some reason, I was able to overcome it for a few years and then it started to happen in the middle of the school year while I was away at college. I wake up every morning around 3:30 or 4 with a terrible sinking feeling and then I have diarrhea/gag myself over the toilet until I can't breathe. It's a scary feeling and I can sympathize because it scares the crap out of me (literally...). I can also sympathize with the stress it puts on your relationship, my boyfriend of two years had never seen me panic before and now that I have this problem all the time, I know it frustrates him because he doesn't know how to help me. I imagine this is probably the case with your husband. My mom has been on anxiety and depression medication for as long as I can remember and it has been very stressful having to deal with her different medications growing up. This is why I have never wanted to be on medication for my anxiety and I have just always tried to deal with it the best I can, until now. I recently got a medical marijuana card for my chronic nausea, and it has honestly freed me from this for the most part. I understand that you're a teacher and I respect that you might not have the same political/religious views, but I also understand what it feels like to wake up in misery every day. I don't even have to use very much marijuana at all and it calms my stomach almost immediately, while still allowing me to function normally. I am an English Literature major at a very credible university and I have been on the dean's list for my entire college career, and I accept the stigma that comes with smoking the stuff with open arms because it really has been the only thing that helps. I recommend it to you because I have been going to therapy for my anxiety for months now and you sound just like I did when I told my therapist all of the ugly things that this does to my life. I really hope this helps you because it helps me so much.

Magnesium! American diets lack a lot of Magnesium, which is one of the main causes of anxiety and depression in individuals. Do what you are doing with meds and so on, but start taking magnesium supplements, it's worth a try!