Conversation about anxiety and digestive tract

[Crystal74]

Replied to a question about panic-like attacks and anxiety that would occur concurrently with bowel movements/BMs that would begin almost always when I was laying down. healthunlocked.com/anxietys...

Does this happen to you? I thought for a few years that it was a heart issue, or then or was just gerd or my hiatal hernia. I also developed food sensitivities or allergies increasingly during this time. I realized that I was becoming bloated and that was creating pressure on my hernia and heart area, but I also became more intuned that this happened as the stool (I guess at that point?) was entering my lower digestive tract. It become clearer that the pressure or movement was triggering the anxiety. Physically. Like it touched a switch. Not that I detected the movement and mentally or emotionaly became anxious. I observed it very detached, yet felt the physical senation of anxiety. It’s hard to not get swept in and “feel” anxious and I didn’t always succeed but I knew this was mechanical. This didn’t happen every BM, only some, almost always lying down. Was there a nerve that was involved, activated and causing the anxiety? I've had some procedures that might or might not be involved.

A BM and a small amount of antianxiety meds have both helped, which seems consistent to me.

Why am I writing all this? ... Has anyone else experienced this? I need more clues. Every doctor I mention it to thinks it’s interesting but has never heard it before, even the gastroenterologist. I have seen one person who has said the same on a health board, but too many years had passed and I couldn’t find them,and they didn’t respond. HealthLine? I’d have to search my saved files for the name.

I am wondering what causes this trigger. A nerve? Is it damaged? What??

[HannaPixie]

Hello, it's been two yrs since I started to suffer from dyspnea and noticed it gets better avoiding certain groups of food. The doctor is skeptic about the fact it may be connected with some allergies and ibs and thinks it's only a matter of anxiety. I know for sure my problem it is connected with the digestive track because I feel okay with breathing until I eat something that apparently it's bad for my body (food which I am allergic/intollerant tI guess, or just not good for ibs??) so I'm trying to resolve by myself, taking probiotics and eating fodmap... drinking vinegar mitigates the symptoms. I followed a fodmap diet for months and things went better for a bit of time... then I started to reintroduce something, sometimes chocolate, legumes, etc and the problem with breathing (manifesting at the inspiration) came back. Now almost everything I eat cause me this horrible feeling somewhere in the area of my diaphragm and I don't know what to do anymore. I experience constant bloating, sometimes diahrrea and mainly this horrible dyspnea that nearly never leaves me alone. Is your experience similar to mine? I am so tired to feel sick and restricting all the foods. Also... I am reading about hiatal hernia. Could it be? Thank you in advance.

[Sasical]

Hi Crystal, I replied to you on the other thread, but when I came to find this one it is amazing to me as it's the same baffling symptoms as mine. And I always explain it to doctors like a feel as if a switch inside my bowels somewhere activates something, can you let me know your investigations into this please.

So far I have been to two gastro docs and one neurologist. The latest gastro is sending me for a pelvic scan.

I tell everyone I can about it LOL in case someone has any ideas.

I told my hairdresser about it, she wasn't having the exact same problem but a few similar issues, she had been to loads of docs and finally they have come up with rectal prolapse. I have uterus prolapse, so wondering if that may have something to do with it...