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Posted 12/16/2012 1:17 PM (GMT 0)
hello there everyone. I am a 19 year old male. I was recently diagnosed with IBS after a worsening of gut symptoms over the past two months. I have never had a sip of alcohol and do not smoke. Despite being incredibly paranoid and anxious about my IBS diagnosis I tried to get on with my life for a few weeks, and I did not get any relief.

. I was able to get a private referral and have seen a high end private medical consultant who checked me over from top to bottom, and concluded it was probably IBS. I had blood tests done and all of them have come back absolutely fine, so there's nothing there. I have had an abdominal ultrasound done by one of the best abdominal ultrasound guys around and all of my internals were in fantastic condition.

Despite all this I am feeling continuously nauseous and in the past 4 days have vomited not much but just a little fluid (maybe bile) in the morning. I am not bringing up food in vomit, except if it's straight after breakfast but it's more liquid, the second time was clear liquid and what looked like snot (sorry!). When I am feeling ok I am able to stomach a variety of food, but I still retch sometimes at meals.

So despite all the tests coming back normal I am convinced I am not well, anyone with a SERIOUS knowledge able to alleviate my fears and tell me what I should do? 3 medical professionals have evaluated me and said I have nothing wrong except for what sounds like painful episodes of IBS. Shohuld I accept this diagnosis? My stomach will not stop rumbling and cramping up.

However my panic in all of this is indeed getting worse, I am struggling to get to sleep and I have full body tremors, and my anxiety is sky high. My legs and arms shake and I get palpitations, my legs feel weak and I am in constant worry for 80 percent of the day. I am getting crackling the ears, and keep doing cognitive tests on myself to make sure all of this is not caused by a brain tumour. I also feel a pressure in my sinus. I keep sneezing as well. I am terrified of some kind of gastro-disease, brain cancer causing all of my anxiety and screwing up my muscles and therefore causing gut ache, and morning sickness.

I am at my wits end and I really need advice. I had a full blood tests done and everything has come back normal, the abdo scan was fine but now I'm fearful it could all have been caused by something in the brain.
Posted 12/16/2012 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Anon1993 and welcome.

I am sorry to hear about all of the trouble that you are currently experiencing in regards to your health.

It is very common for anxiety and IBS to go hand in hand...the question then becomes one of 'the chicken or the egg'!

Do you treat the IBS, and hope the anxiety subsides..or vice versa?

I believe that treating the anxiety in order to manage the IBS is the smart choice.

Everyone has stress of some kind...no one can avoid it...and some of us have bodies that really react. In my opinion, every person could benefit from doing coping mechanisms for lowering stress levels...and they would be healthier body and mind!

In our Resources (main page, 1st post), we have some great anxiety lowering tools and skills. There are links to breathing and relaxation exercises that are great if practiced daily. There are also interesting sites that educate about anxiety and its managament.

If you and your doctor have not discussed the anxiety factor in your situation, then why not set an appointment to discuss it? You could talk about other treatment options at that time that will help you to manage both the IBS and anxiety.:)

Wishing you the best...and post anytime!

Scaredy Cat
Posted 12/16/2012 8:49 PM (GMT 0)
hi anon,

i am also sorry to hear you are having such problems.

there ARE some things you can do about anxiety. scaredycat's suggestions are very good. check out the methods that are on this site.

your anxiety is real and deserves medical attention. please see your physician and describe all that you are going through. at the very least he may prescribe some anxiety medication (which can help tremendously), or he may refer you to a therapist or psychiatrist.

i hope you find relief soon!

sincerely,
Posted 12/18/2012 6:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hi anonymous1993.
From your post, it seems you are experiencing very high levels of anxiety and this definitely does not help with IBS. It seems you had a lot of tests to check if any possibility of any physical cause of the symptoms you're experiencing. So the next best step is to start to reduce anxiety quite dramatically. Quite often people who come to see me for help with their anxiety levels, are prone to blood sugar level drops. The first step than in helping you to control your anxiety may be to make some adjustments to your diet. A nauseous stomach and anxiety are commonly experienced in the morning because that's when our blood sugar levels are very low. also, mid-afternoon is another time of the day but we are prone to blood sugar level drops. this can be counteracted quite easily simply by making sure you have some protein intake every couple of hours. A handful of almonds will help to keep blood sugar levels on an even keel.
Some relaxation exercises like mindfulness meditation or self hypnosis exercises will definitely help to reduce your anxiety levels. From your post, it also seems that some work with cognitive behavioral therapy will help with your worrying thoughts.
I hope some of this information is helpful for you.
Kind regards Peter.
Posted 12/19/2012 4:11 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, I have IBS also, I just got diagnosed with it about a month ago. I too thought something was horribly wrong with me because I had so much pain in the left side of my abdomen I couldn't hardly move. I went and saw my GI dr and he diagnosed me with IBS, but I couldn't accept that. I went to my other dr and he did an exam and ordered blood work and everything, and it all came back normal, just my nerves getting my IBS all flared up. It is crazy what anxiety can do. I hope you get some relief soon!
Posted 12/20/2012 2:31 AM (GMT 0)
IBS is a mixture of symptoms. And it is different for every person who suffers from IBS. When I first started treating IBS is to treat it almost purely as an anxiety problem. But as I helped more and more people I realized that it was much more of a mixed condition than what I had previously thought.
So now I use a combination of approaches and integrate them in a way that enables people to be free from all of their symptoms of IBS. Anxiety is always a part of the IBS problem. Because IBS is such a multifaceted condition, it needs an approach which attacks it from many different angles also.
Many people who are diagnosed with IBS is difficult to accept; but it can be overcome. Mindfulness Meditation is a great place to start to take control of some of the symptoms of your IBS and anxiety.
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