Tummy Troubles

[Hoolie74]

Anyone found any remedies for the anxious IBSD issues? I feel like I’ve tried everything. It’s an almost every morning thing for me.

[Opportunity]

Hi!! This is the most frustrating thing. I usually recommend being like a nerdy scientist 🤓and looking at the details of your life closely. What are you eating and drinking? How are you feeling? I was flabbergasted to find that, while I can eat scoop upon scoop of ice cream, I couldn’t handle 2 Tbl half-in-half in my coffee each morning. It makes no logical sense, but I cut out the half-and-half. My morning stomach issues ceased. I also hate leaving the house and have stomach issues when I leave - do you have to leave the house in the morning?

And this is just a small aspect of what could be going on...

[b1b1b1 in reply to Opportunity]

Very strange. I am exactly the same. I am lactose intolerant and feel terrible if there is even a little lactose in something, but......I can eat unlimited amounts of regular ice cream with absolutely no ill effects.

[Pugglesworth]

Ginger does wonders on my gut issues. You can use candied; however, I prefer the sushi type.

Pepto Bismol if it's really bad.

[Jeff1943 in reply to Pugglesworth]

When you feel the IBS symptoms first thing in the morning do you feel a flash of fear? Do you respond with a flash of second fear? That second infusion of fear hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) is what keeps the nervous system in your stomach over sensitised - ensuring both future symptoms and that flash of first fear.

The stomach is the organ in the body most sympathetic to anxiety. If you can lose your fear by temporarily accepting your symptoms then your nervous system will desensitise and your IBS will settle. But it must be genuine acceptance and not just 'putting up with'.

Meanwhile follow the usual remedies for relief and follow your doctor's recommendations.

This will pass so long as you lose your fear of it. I hope this happens sooner rather than later but you must be prepared to 'Let time pass'.

[Pugglesworth in reply to Jeff1943]

Thanks.

I'm a big fan of Claire Weekes as well.

Letting time pass with a helping of ginger is fine.

[Jeff1943 in reply to Pugglesworth]

Ginger is good, it's been used to settle tummies for hundreds of years.

[Hoolie74 in reply to Jeff1943]

This is exactly what I’m doing and what is happening to me. I’ve given up dairy, wheat, sugar, but sadly, can’t part with the one thing that makes me slightly happy, my coffee. It never was a problem until the fear/adrenaline/fear cycle.

[Jeff1943 in reply to Hoolie74]

A couple of cups of coffee a day shouldn't be a problem in my opinion. Carbohydrates and sugar are best minimised at the best of times.

I messed up, my message was actually meant for you Hoolie74 but is equally relevant to Pugglesworth. Sorry. About ten years ago I was diagnosed with IBS but it only lasted about 3 weeks, it was a temporary reaction to the unexpected death of a good friend. Grieving affected my stomach. It's still on my medical record that I have IBS though even though it was a one-off 10 years ago.

Clearly IBS can be a symptom of anxiety but can probably have purely physical causes too. I wonder if anyone has done research on the subject?

[Hoolie74 in reply to Jeff1943]

It’s widely researched actually. As long as I am in the fear response, it will continue to be a problem for me. Has to do with the anxiety hormones speeding up the mobility of the digestive track-in some people-in better preparation for flight. It’s part of the animal instinct still left in us to clear our bowels in order to run.

[Midori]

I was diagnosed with IBS some few years back, and later I was also diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

Having lived with it a few years, I have found the IBS diagnosis wrong. As well as having Oesophageal reflux, I have a non coeliac gluten intolerance, resulting in almost all of my symptoms being in the stomach and Oesophagus, rather than the bowel, which behaves perfectly normally.

I get the burps badly with wheat, barley and oats, but less with rye. Some of the Peppers , potatoes and Aubrgines (eggplant) also make my stomach wrench. Sometimes I will hurl, and the reflux is a nuisance which has partially destroyed my voice, leaving me with a gravel toned voice. I also can choke easily on my own saliva.

I find that chewing Candied Ginger root helps, along with Gaviscon Tablets, also a glass of milk.

Cheers, Midori