Not such a good day...

[BettyA]

I honestly don't which is more responsible for causing to feel so tired and sick... Anxiety or IBS... but they DO go well together!

Plus, I am just plain really down and discouraged about it all... I usually can keep looking for a silver lining and know that somehow it will be better, but today there was no way I could convince myself of that.

At my daughter's advice I wrote to my dr and asked if he would be willing to set up more extensive thyroid tests for me... because on a full blood panel...the results are often totally missed or bypassed... SO.... maybe... Its not just IBS symptoms, at least not the 'usual suspects' that are familiar... So who knows... maybe.

Hard sometimes not to get paranoid and tend to feel like a hypochondriac... because my blood tests and CT scan were 'fine.'

Well, thanks for 'being there'... and listening to me go on about this. Hope YOUR days were good ones and have a good rest of week.

Betty

[MaggieJemima]

I find some times it helps to have a sod it day,read my book ,feet up,mug of Horlicks or Ovaltine childhood comforts and a hot water bottle.Today I Say Wallow tomorrow am back in the fray,the day is a gifte and can cope the motto.If it's like that for you,let it be,call it topping up your resources!

[AGood]

Hello BettyA

Sad to hear you feel so tired & sick all of the time. You have my total sympathy as I have "bouts" of this too. I think you're right contacting your Dr for more tests. If they come back clear then that's one less thing to feel anxious about. Something I have found which has helped me a lot is vitamin B12 mouth spray. I have found my energy levels have definitely increased since I started using it. I can't take the usual supplements as the meds I take for Barrets just kill them as soon as they hit my stomach. This mouth spray gets straight into my blood stream. I also have one spray of vitamin D a day too. Apologies if you know about this already but as a sufferer, I would rather have 2 tips the same than none at all.

I send you greetings from sunny Greece where I'm having a beautiful relaxing time with my husband. I was starting to forget what it was like to laugh and have fun. I feeling good for today and I'm grateful for that.

AGood.

[jenny89119 in reply to AGood]

Hi:

Good Morning! Where did you get the sprays for Vitamin B-12, Vitamin D?

Thank you

[BettyA in reply to jenny89119]

Hi Jenny,

Do you live where you have online ordering to a site called VitaCost or one called iHerb??? I know you can get the B12 spray from them... but not sure about the D spray... Good luck!

[AGood in reply to jenny89119]

I'm in the UK and got them from Holland & Barrett. If you're not UK try Amazon. Mine is a brand called BetterYou.

Hope that helps jenny89119

[jenny89119 in reply to AGood]

Thank you! I will check it out.

[BettyA in reply to AGood]

SOOOOO glad you are having a good time!!!! Yippeeeeee!!

[AGood in reply to BettyA]

Thank you BettyA

Wishing you some better days ahead.

AGood.

[BettyA in reply to AGood]

SOOOOOO glad you are having a good time! Yippeeeeee!!

[dachshund]

Hi Betty

What has helped me most with feeling sick and anxiety, is taking 15 mg of Lansoprazole every morning. Also when I saw my Gastro consultant a couple of weeks ago, he recommended me a book called "Irritable Bowel Solutions" by Professor John Hunter, an authority on diseases of the gut from Addenbrooke's in Cambridge. A very good read and one thing he says is that swallowing air contributes to anxiety and IBS, so I have become much more conscious not to swallow air and breathe gently with my mouth closed. Hope this might be helpful.

[tansy-ann8]

So sorry BettyA; You have described the symptoms I have lived with for years. Had all the procedures/tests; Feeling like a raving hypochondriac , the nausea. The Faddy diets that don't work and cost. The good news is that the good days DO get longer eventually and the flare ups do get less (although still unpleasant.) Eat little and often, try not to cut loads of things out of your diet unless you are ABSOLUTELY SURE THEY CAUSE A PROBLEM. I try to eat everything (balanced diet) in moderation. I take Yukult each morning and multivitamins with minerals as my Gastroenterologist suggested.

Good luck and keep looking for the Silver Lining ....it's there x

[tigerann56]

Hi Betty, sorry you're having a bad day. I know what it's like to feel sick all day as well as everything else! Anxiety plays a big part in how I'm feeling and its not easy to calm down even if you try. I try to keep saying to myself "what's the worst that can happen?" It dies help a bit haha. I take a yakult type probiotic and a sachet of Bimuno probiotic which does seem to settle my stomach. Which in turn seems to settle the anxiety a little too. Don't know if you are supposed to take both but hey it seems to be working. I also always have a good book on the go! Hope you have a better day tomorrow. Xx

[Hidden]

Have you had a gastroscopy and a colonsocopy because these will determine if there is any other problem with your gut

[bburzycki]

I have many a day where there is nothing you can do but just say - (oh well) - thou discouraging when you compare how most people feel daily with how chronically ill people can feel all the time - sometimes a day off is what you need. Not that you will enjoy the day off, but as mentioned below you should and can at least try to make it what it is and give yourself a bit of time to recover.

The first thing to master about IBS and chronic illness is how to stop feeling guilty, it is something no medication can fix and its totally normal to feel guilty that you cannot do things etc.

[BettyA in reply to bburzycki]

You really nailed it when you spoke about GUILT... I am continuously (OK...SEMI-continuously! ) doing this to myself... With both my IBS and Anxiety... I should do this, I should do that, or 'shouldn't' ... which usually results in my eventually giving myself a mental break with "Oh who CARES!"... but then its up and att'm again.... sheesh....

[bburzycki in reply to BettyA]

Totally normal, and you are not alone - my gut causes anxiety, anxiety causes more gut issues and the snowball grows. Used under prescription some anxiety meds can help with gut issues, but I always look to fix the cause and not mask it with drugs, then you never really know how the heck you are supposed to feel.

This also totally depends on how serious your symptoms are and where you are at with diagnosis and treatment.

[jenny89119]

Sorry Betty that you are feeling pain. Sometimes, Fennel or Peppermint teas help.

[Hidden]

Hi Betty,it's been a long time since I've been on this forum,but here we go.

I've suffered chronic IBS now for about 10-11 yrs,I've had every test,diet,even hypnotherapy,plus no end of Gastrologist. Now I was told years ago there was a connection between the thyroid and the digestive tract,so I have found out I have a underactive thyroid,ok take thyroxine then someone picked me up on this site and tells me in this country they don't do a full thyroid test. Well this is all new to me,so I asked her what I should ask my GP for. She told me to get Iron- Folate- Ferritin- B12

Vitamin D- TSH-FT4- FT3 thyroid antibodies Anti- TPO-Anti-TG. When you get the results back ask for a copy,and put them on the Thyroid Forum and someone will read them for you. I did this it didn't help me because I've got to many complications,but it may help you,and hopefully it will be one more thing you can cross out.

Take care x

[BettyA in reply to Hidden]

I am grateful you got back on this site, Gemini!!...and addressed this thyroid business! Thank you... I'll post the results. With Kaiser Permanente Insurance, if you request it, they automatically send you your test results back (online) of all tests that have to do with blood testing... SO... I will post those. Again, thank you, and take care!

[Hidden in reply to BettyA]

Betty post on Thyroid UK forum, they are really good and helpful.

If you get any good advice pass it on I'd be interested to know.

Take care.

[OrionOrion]

I've been encouraged by you all replying to a fellow sufferer having a bad day. I spoke to a nurse on the IBS network helpline last night, and she asked me: "have you given up all fruit and vegetables?". Do the rest of you find it's best to elinimate just the ones you test and find upset you, or blanket cut them all out like this? I'm a vegetarian, so cutting out even potatoes and carrots, and banana, which don't seem to upset me would be hard to get a balanced diet. Also, she was keen for me to give up Dairy. I'm going to test this by getting some dairy-free alternatives, but although I'm willing to try anything to get some quality of life back, how do you all feel about cutting out things that we aren't sure are upsetting our bowels?

[BettyA in reply to OrionOrion]

Hi Orion! Sorry this reply is so late. Anyway, what I think is that 90% of it is all bullpucky... about 'giving everything up!'.. The HECK I would give up all fruits and vegetables. That's just plain stupid... What are you supposed to EAT!!! Good grief, Charlie Brown!

Its all individual. Period. I would only give up what you KNOW in your heart (and stomach and bowels) is not working for you. Period. I wish you good luck and I KNOW you will find your own way. We all have to! I also believe that the reason that some certain diets WORK for people is because of their total BELIEF ...not questioning...in them. Ok... spouted off enough... You have a great day.