New to the group

[Chaika]

I’m new to this forum.

About seven years ago I had a bad episode going on holiday and ever since then I have suffered with anxiety. The anxiety mostly manifests itself with physical symptoms of various sorts, but the most common is tummy problems. A couple of years ago I saw a gastro consultant who said that IBS was the most likely cause of my tummy problems and just to use off the shelf medication to get me through bad days.

Whilst most of the time I can cope, there are certain recurring situations (such as going to work on Monday morning or travel) where my tummy reacts badly and I am loathed to go far from a bathroom. It is starting to make life quite difficult, so I would really like to find ways to control the problem and reduce the symptoms so I can go out without worry.

Last year I tried a fodmap diet but didn’t really find much difference when I cut things out of my diet.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to break this cycle?

[FRreedman]

Remove alcohol and fizzy drinks from your diet, also peanuts, sweetcorn,Brussel sprouts and baked beans, is a fairly good starting point. If you contact your GP and ask for a referral to a dietician, they will start you on the right road.

[asbayford]

Hello

Did the tummy symptoms start on holiday or did you have them before? If on holiday, you may need to be checked for parasites through a stool analysis.

Getting the anxiety addressed too would help it alot, theres antidepressants that can help it and they are thought to help with IBS too, such as amitriptyline and mirtazapine.

You said you did the low fodmap diet, did you do that with a dietitian? It needs to be done 100% and down to a T to work, I tried it alone - didnt work, tried again with a dietitian and it worked!

It would be good to ask your gp for a gastro referral and a dietition referral, aswell as possible look at medication for the anxiety.

I hope this helps, sending you loads of positive thoughts x

[torcol]

Hello Chaika

I too had extreme anxiety that was almost to the point of agoraphobia. I would experience urgent bouts of diarrhea at the thought of going to work, vacation, dining out, almost anything. I had a few “accidents” in public and a few near misses. Gut and brain are connected in that the brain sends the bad signals that we manifest and the gut reacts. I struggled with the idea that I change my whole way of life ( food, start meds, smoking, soda) total lifestyle changes that left me feeling depressed or change the way I’m thinking! So I opted for the latter! I absolutely had to stop the negative “what if” thoughts in an effort to live a normal life. I have IBS and was diagnosed thru blood test a few years ago, I’m in the US so not sure they offer it elsewhere? Knowing this calmed me immensely and eased the (what if) I have cancer or a horrible disease. If I feel I am starting to fall into a negative area I immediately think positive thoughts or I found that dumb things would work to get my mind off whatever the event is that I have to go to. Like name movies that Tom Hanks was in, Julia Roberts, name chocolate bars, types of cookies anything that distracts the brain and really makes you think about something else. Try it sometime, you will realize that for those few minutes you were fine and you didn’t have a problem. I went to a PhD for a few visits on calming techniques too and that helped a great deal. I hope this helps in that you are not alone, you can take back control and you are a normal person suffering from the same thing that thousands and thousands of us suffer from! Best of luck to you!

[IBSNetwork Partner IBS Network]

Do you have a Can't Wait card and RADAR key for when you are out and about?

Have you worked with a registered dietitian? The low FODMAP diet should be done under the supervision of a registered dietitian.