How to deal with anxiety disorder from IBS??

[Molly_101]

I have an awful anxiety disorder stemed from my IBS and other things but does anyone else have this? I find it so hard to deal with on a daily basis and effects my life horribly. Does anyone else deal with this and how do you deal with it?

[Polly123456]

Yes I do Molly, Being treated for anxiety and depression, It just all gets to much at times.

[Ksheridan]

Yes, over the last 6 months my IBS spiralled out of control, literally had no life and cancelled so many social visits, and became pretty much housebound for a while (bar going to work). However I am going travelling 'round the world' with my partner next week (after agreeing to this and putting events in motion before my IBS got to this stage). As you can imagine I am very anxious, but I have just started the FODMAP diet, and am really hoping this works. I have also started to push myself to start socialising again, and whenever I have a relatively good day I make sure I make the most of it.

In general though I tend to deal with my anxiety by using my car and driving everywhere, I also always have immodium and painkillers on me and stick to bland food when I am at work. I have also recently started a blog (mylifewithibs.com), because I felt myself slipping into depression and having a healthy place to vent and realise I'm not alone is useful. In general though I just keep hoping, that the next diet works, or during bad flare-ups hang onto the hope that 'this too will pass'. I think forums and blogs are great for helping to get things off your chest.

It is a really difficult condition at times, and it is hard for people to understand. My anxieties reduce when my symptoms calm and go up when I have a flare-up, similar to you my IBS causes anxieties. Thats why I'm hoping this new diet gives me enough good days in the week to get through the rest of the week. Best wishes x

[Molly_101 in reply to Ksheridan]

I'm quite the same, I'm pretty much house bound apart from work, but also, I can go out on my bike and do things by myself. I can't get in cars, buses, or walk anyway or be round people in these sort of situations. I think I really need to re think my diet, but it's so hard when I comfort eat all the time,,,, x

[Drummermum]

Hi Molly. Anxiety is horrible and sometimes can take over your life. At the moment, like you, I feel overwhelmed by it all. I have IBSd, and in the last year have had to cope with the sudden death of my father, my mother being ill, my son moving away to Uni and redundancy! As my friend said 'no wonder you are having anxiety symptoms' and when I think about it, it's true. No wonder my body is in a heightened state!

My GP has offered me diazepam (very low dosage) but I'm trying to hang on in there, hoping this 'dip' will pass. As long as I can deal with this in little bites I hope my anxiety will subside.

Hope ths helps

[Molly_101 in reply to Drummermum]

I have IBS D too and it's so hard to cope with, my housemate has IBS C and she has no idea idea what I go through. She tries to understand. One time she took too many laxatives and she didn't want to leave the house incase she couldn't find a toilet. she said "oh I know it sounds silly but.....(what I wrote above) if you understand?" She knows I deal this this every second of my life so it wasn't exactly nice to hear someone you consider a close friend is no good at talking to about this stuff!

[Krazydeb]

Dear Molly

I understand what you are going through!!! I had the same thing last year and am now taking SERTRALINE from the docs which has helped me immensely. I know that everyone is different and does not want to go down that route but it has changed my life immensely. I even missed my cousin's wedding in Italy last year because of it!!! Have you tried SYMPROVE which is a live probiotic. Google it if you can and see the great reviews it has got!!! That helped me so much. There is not much I cant do now!!!!

Debbie

[Molly_101 in reply to Krazydeb]

To be honest I haven't tried any form of drug because I've wanted to try stay clear of it. However it's starting to get so bad and I don't know what else to do, any other ways to get by bar drugs/medication use? x

[Hidden in reply to Molly_101]

Hi Molly. Try self-hypnosis from ibsaudioprogram100.com I did after suffering for 26 years and it certainly helps me and I can also keep referring to it whenever I get a bit down.

[ausems]

My IBS started following the death of my husband after nursing him with cancer 10 years ago. Since then have had the death of my mother-in-law, mother and stepfather to cope with so my IBS was getting worse, to the extent I worried about it all the time, which just made it worse - it became a vicious circle. Have tried lots of different medications, and had lots of different tests but in January started on Alverine Citrate, and also had 4 sessions of Hypnotherapy, and those 2 things have really helped. The hypnotherapist released lots of pent-up anger and guilt from various things in my life, and also taught me to relax and stop worrying and thinking about my stomach constantly. I bought some relaxation C.D's from her which really help me to sleep, and if I have a stressful event coming up I listen to a few tracks before going out and find that helpful. There seems to be no cure for IBS so it's a question of trying different things to control it as much as possible. Hope you've found this helpful - good luck to you!

[Molly_101 in reply to ausems]

I know I've had anxiety for nearly as long as I can remember, over at least 7 years and I'm only 21. It's so hard thinking I can live any other way than I do. I was diagnosed with IBS about 2 years ago when I was at what I thought was my worst for anxiety but now I can barely do anything.

[hazelwh]

I believe my IBS symptoms are as a direct result of anxiety. Whenever I go through a period of stress and anxiety, shortly thereafter I have an IBS attack. It lasts at least 6 weeks. I read my Bible which gives me peace from my anxiety.

[Molly_101 in reply to hazelwh]

A friend of mine kind of has the same thing, after her mother died it triggered a lot of anxiety and she had IBS for a summer. and then it went away! x

[PatV]

mine is related too. I was not able to fly to visit my mom for a year. When I finally got pain under control with diet and physical therapy including breathing and exercise and praying ( i am a buddhist ), I made a reservation to visit mom. 2 days later she had a stroke. I just got back from second visit and the pain on the plane was incredible. ANxiety and stress way up there !

[Molly_101 in reply to PatV]

My parents recently invited me to go to Germany with them and the first thing I thought was "My mum knows how bad my anxiety is, why would she invite me? She knows I can't handle this" I would have ruined their holiday. Thankfully I can't get the time off of work anyway but I didn't realise I would react like that!

[Diamondchick]

My IBS is also directly relate to anxiety, stress and pressures of everydaylife. I have started taking quite bad and scary panick attacks as a result of the ibs and anxiety. At 22 I am now on a very low dose of diazepam to try and combat this and I am also on tabs for depression. At the minute my IBS has really flared up due to my anxiety over my impending move to england for a job as a new teacher. Embarassing when for at least a week nothing I have ate has stayed in for any length of time. Easier said than done to try and find ways to cope and overcome anxiety

[Molly_101 in reply to Diamondchick]

I'm 21 and have had anixety for as long as I can remember. But I find it so hard to deal with my deit because I think I might be on the verge of depression, My moods are so low all the time at the moment and I am an awful comfort eater and eat a lot of my trigger foods when I do. I use these as an excuse not to do things that scare me. "Oh I can't do that, not cause of anxiety but I really have bad IBS today..."" x

[Krazydeb in reply to Diamondchick]

Dear Molly

If you dont want to go down the medication route why dont you try Probiotics. As I said previously Symprove is a marvellous one (doesnt work for everyone though!!!!). Quite expensive too!!! Google the reviews from the Daily Mail (attached) and a doctor on thisThis Morning programme and positive feedback from Kings College Hospital!!

dailymail.co.uk/health/arti...

Good luck!

Debbie x

[Ksheridan]

I've tried hypnotherapy and acupuncture to help with the stress/ anxiety side of things, but it didnt really work for me, but they might be worth looking into. I tend to end up in a vicious circle as I have a flare-up with IBS-D then I get anxious about work/leaving the house, then that probably causes the IBS to be worse and so it goes on.

Only trouble with the alternative therapies, if you go ahead, is the cost. I probably could have given them longer but at £30 a time, as a student it just wasnt viable to keep going. Think I had about 5 acupuncture sessions, then stopped as I didnt see any results. I read results of a trial once which saw results from having at least 2 acupuncture sessions a week till things calm down then 1 a week after that, but there is no way I could ever afford that.

When anxieties get really bad, I set myself goals, so I would go for a walk with my partner, even if I drove there and back (to the lake we walked around), just so I was getting out of the house. Its hard though because sometimes you are physically too ill to go out. I would suggest you speak to your Doctor if things get really bad or even ask for a referral to a dietitian and maybe go down that road first with your diet. Until your symptoms of IBS-D are more under control, it may be harder to control your anxiety, well it is for me anyway.

Hope things get on track for you x

[Hidden in reply to Ksheridan]

You could try the self-hypnosis tapes which from memory cost around £60 for a 100 day course and available from ibsaudioprogram100.com. You do it every day and you always have them thereafter to repeat as and when you want. They deal with relaxation and IBS together.

[becca7]

I developed anxiety at the age of 18 due to suffering with a bad stomach but the doctors didnt know why. After a year of tests and deferring from uni, my anxiety totally took over. I didnt leave the house for weeks on end and simple things like going to a supermarket was an impossible task.

I signed upto MIND for therapy. Although I hated it at the beginning and it was so hard to even just get myself to the building, they helped me overcome most of my anxiety. You may not think you need therapy but its just good to talk to someone and they help with breathing and contolling your anxiety in difficult situations. They also put me on to a hypnotherapist to help with my IBS. The wait is about 6 weeks I think but its worth it.

I was also on citalopram for my anxiety but managed to get myself off it once I felt better. I also now take a small dose of codine phosphate to help me stop going to the toilet as much as I also suffer with IBSd.

Most of the time it just takes you to do something that seems impossible and it helps battle the anxiety. Mine was when I had to come and finally go to uni. I have never looked back since. Even on bad days when I feel I cant travel or go somewhere because my mind is saying 'what if this happens', I still use the techniques from MIND.

I dont believe my ibs is anxiety related as i have really bad diahorrea everyday no matter what I eat or how stressed I am. Its just being able to manage it and overcome the demons in your head.

So I would suggest for your anxiety sign upto MIND as that what will help you overcome your anxiety and hopefully in turn ease your ibs. Also get referred to a dietetian and sort out a diet plan as this will play a major part in easing your symptoms.

Hope everything works out for you.

[hurricane2]

I have tried to walk a little and rest is best for me

[Bennybean]

I have ibs and anxiety life is so hard I hate each day.I have tried different things but nothing seems to work. I wish with all my heart someone could help me ,please.

[Gurgles]

I'm really struggling with this too. I'm finding it's a vicious cycle with the anxiety making my IBS worse but then the IBS makes me really anxious!! My partner tries to help and be understanding but he gets frustrated with it too. I saw the doctor last week and he recommended anti-depressants but I don't want to go down that route yet as I'm worried I might become dependent on them. I've been looking into herbal alternatives for anti-anxiety and I've just ordered a few different things - Kalms, Stressless and a passion flower tea. Has anyone tried any of these? I'm going to give each of them a go for a week each and see how I get on! Hopefully one of them will help. When the pain is really bad I find taking soluble co-codamol really helps. I save it for when nothing else is working but it usually sorts the pain out for a few hours and that combined with immodium usually means I can get on with my day. Still doesn't help with the anxiety though!

[annie-w in reply to Gurgles]

I use Kalms to help me get to sleep as I sleep very badly and also have some anxiety. They are pretty good for me but quite mild so don't affect you too much in other ways. For you maybe better to do as the directions say and take them with meals. Good luck

[Socialite]

Dear Molly, so sorry to hear you are suffering so much. I had similar problems when doing my PhD course and going through the menopause which set off continual IBS and all the stress sent me into anxiety disorder and depression illness.

the IBS audio 100 cd course set was good to help me with relaxation, HRT helped with other symptoms but CBT was really good for me.

I have posted elsewhere on this site about it and copy what i said here for you. with best wishes foir your recovery.

"i think all the things we have to deal with and the trouble with social situations can definietely affect our mood levels. if we have had issues in the past then they can be triggered off with the added stress. I used the IBS 100 but bought it as a set of CDs. i found it helpful. I also recommend people to have cognitive behaviorual therapy because it links our emotions to behaviours, physiological responses, thoughts and actions. I have had CBT myself - wish id known about it years ago. I also took a course in CBT and also cognitive behavioural coaching to add to my psychology and coaching practice work. look u p both on the internet - research indicates that medication plus CBT/CBC is the most effective form of dealing with anxiety/depression and also helps with chronic illnesses like IBS. it certainly has helped me!!"

Oh yes, check out Dr Claire Weekes on the web - i have two of her books and a set of her tapes which are constantly on loan to people with anxiety, panics etc. it is old material from the 1970/80 s but it is still effective and relevant today.

my daughter listened to the tapes going to and from work and it helped her with her anxiety and panics about work.

[swapnil2221]

I am also suffering from IBS D, since last 8 years but Whenever something important I need to do( either related to my personal life or social life), my IBS reached to its height. Can anyone help me what can i do overcome this problem. I always lost any opportunity i got in my life due to this IBS

[thehealthygut]

Hey Molly, Have you found relief yet. I would like to have an input. x