Really struggling… I feel like I constantly feel poorly and exhausted. Health anxiety really doesn’t help, panic worry and Google until it drives me crazy🥺.
I’ve had Ibs for the longest but it seems to have all gotten worse recently. Morning - the second I open my eyes, I get the feeling in my tummy, back and fourth to the loo, but I’m part constipated, sometimes it’s comes sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes I get the pain really lower part of my tummy ( practically lady area ) like period pains. Then feel like dioreah is coming, I sit on the loo and it just doesn’t.
I think the pain worries me because it’s period like, I need to stop over thinking!!! The nausea doesn’t help either I just don’t want to go down a bad path again. Anyone else get the same symptoms? My anxiety is so high I can’t stop it when I get like this on the verge of tears again. I feel so selfish because I know people have got it worse than me it’s just my anxiety and Ibs
Funny how writing this has helped a little too, it’s like a little journal
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Babyelxxx
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Hi I struggle with health anxiety and google a lot too, I get a lot of abdo pain as soon as I open my eyes in a morning most days right upper/middle but can be left side and lower too.
I have constipation sit there on Loo for agars nothing comes then sometimes feel urge to go get to the toilet and nothing. My stomach makes lots of popping sounds which I think is not normal they are so loud and hate thinking people can hear it.
When I do go to the loo my stools are soft and thin then again I think not normal so Dr google comes out and makes me worse again. I also have piles which are hard and painful which again I think are they normal.
Having IBS is awful but having health anxiety on top it affects ur life.
Since my flare up started in November I have gradually become more and more down, I can’t concentrate at work and all I want to do is get my PJ’s o. And go to bed am so low.
Hi I am 72 year old male and I have IBS…and feel exactly the same I wake up with pains and they only go if I go properly. However regularly constipated and have bad piles ….I just want to cry and get worried although I have had all the tests which were clear. Going on a cruise in March and wondering how I will cope….. spoke to doc today going back on Laxido! Will I ever feel good again,,,.. x
I feel like I get a little improvement for the morning from not eating a couple of hours before bed?! Not too sure, still feel the same but not as bad ? 🤞🏻 Hopefully.
I know how you feel I have health anxiety & IBS. I am obsessed with my toilet issues if I go to toilet & motions are not normal either loose or like pellets I think I have a cancer or something nasty. I have had digestive issues for a long time and my life us ruled by what I can eat abd this makes me miserable & anxious. I take membrevine & low dose of ampitrylene.
I can really identify with what you are going through as I have horrible health anxiety and my IBS has flared up and down for years now. This current bout started last October and even though my constipation has improved using laxido over the past couple of weeks, I'm still getting that general lower abdominal ache which feels like a sore, inflamed gut or indeed period pain. I've also just started taking a low dose of an SSRI (escitalopram) to see if that will help. I had a totally clear colonoscopy in 2020 and my recent bloods are all normal. I've also recently tried CBT although this was the locally provided online self guided version which I thought was pretty useless. I hate this anxiety as it makes dealing with IBS or any other chronic pain condition so much worse. Hope you are feeling better very soon.
I have had lots of different therapies over the years for my Anxieties nothing has really helped. All Anxiety is bad to live with but with health anxiety like you said every pain is not just a “normal pain” I really wish I could get away from it. I hate being a pest at the doctors, I can go to see the GP walk out feel reassured but it is short lived and then I need to see a different doctor I do this for every element they must be sick of me. However only seen 2 doctors this time for my IBS I really feel I need to go back just to my abdo pain and painful piles but scared this time that they think am crying wolf.
Am glad am not the only person that thinks this way.
Could I also ask about laxido, is it ok to take daily and how many do you talk I was thinking of taking it to help me.
I have stopped taking all the medication I bought as I ve spent so much money on different medications/supplements etc but all cause me more issues. I have decided to take nothing but try and find a mild laxative to keep me regular.
I take bisacodyl (1 tablet but do cut it in half before taking it) or cascara sagrada (900mg), 3 to 4 times a day. Also approved by the gastroenterologist.
It helped me reading this although you are suffering too. This describes me to a t. I am solely dependent on saline enemas right now and am supposed to get biofeedback therapy. The only way I can relieve the pain I'm in from the minute my eyes open is to take it as long as I can and then do an enema and lay down. Heating pad and husband massaging my colon of massaging pillow. I've tried everything to make my stools loose or bulked or god nose. It all makes things more insufferable. I have sever bathroom anxiety now so I even stopped taking magnesium because you feel your going to go any second but you cant. I know my colon affects my bladder and vice versa. I'm in pain 24/7 with either. Gastro just says ibs c. I have severe interstitial cystitis as well and severe periods. The the copious mental issues which make everything worse. PTSD, ocd,major depression mood disorder. Quality of life is terrible for us. People walk around and say, my tummy hurts. If they only knew.
I do understand I also have the constipation issue. Have to use a micro enema every day to move the hard stools. Leaves me with a discomfort and feel numb. What I would do for one normal day. Had this flare up for over a year now. I too have the bladder problem, so painful, paracetamol and buscopan do help.
Do you eat enough fiber? I make sure I eat at least four pieces of wholemead brad and 2 pears a day., plus different types of veg, except gas producing ones!
Interesting you say about bladder and gut going hand in hand... my gastro says it is possible and the urologist I saw recently also said the same. I have IBS (20 years plus, colitis diagnosed also last Oct). Was diagnosed with IC 3 years ago but it settled, yet since my bad gut flare in Sept, the bladder issues are back starting with a UTI and now being told over active bladder etc..
I too have extreme anxiety and have found that the ibs goes hand in hand. It’s along the line of “ if you think you’ll have a bad day you will”!
I have to rise and immediately think positive thoughts. It’s another day, I can be thankful for that, If my stomach acts up, oh well, it’s nothing new to me and I know it’s nothing more serious than another ibs day, After soooo many years of this I decided that it’s not worth depriving myself. I still smoke, drink Pepsi, eat the good stuff and if my stomach acts up I take an antacid and get on with it. I once was so bad that I quit a great job, wouldn’t leave unless it was a close run somewhere, isolated myself from family and friends, etc…….
I decided to retrain my brain. If my negativity could be so strong as to ruin my life I just knew that my positivity had to be as strong if not stronger.
I now refuse to let the thought of an “accident “ in public or the opinions of complete strangers that I most likely will never see again be my reason for a lost life.
I slowly started going places ALONE, which was a huge step for me. Close places at first, couple miles from home until gradually I could go further and further. I obtained another great job, I go out to eat and am enjoying each day!
If anyone knew me before they would be amazed. So I am living proof that this can be overcome. Ibs Pain is real, bloating, nausea, gas, constipation, diarrhea, headaches, back pain, all real but I have found that the more you dwell on it the worse you feel! I chose to say “I got this, I’m going to take some aspirin and get on with a good day!
Hopefully this helps somewhat, a light at the end of the tunnel maybe. My best to you and I hope tomorrow is a better day!
Hello Babyelxxx, I have had IBS-C since the age of four. All of my life I have had health anxiety and bouts of depression. I have been on the low FODMAP diet for 5 years now and take a probiotic, they have certainly helped with the IBS symtoms as well as the anxiety and depression, but it is a very boring diet and I struggle to get enough calories to keep my weight up. It doesn't help having unsympathetic GPs who keep giving me the evil eye over my BMI, obviously assuming that I have an eating disorder. If you haven't tried it yet, try eliminating FODMAP foods one at a time to see which ones affect you most. I've found that the best I can hope for is to reduce the severity of the symptoms. The worst triggers for me are gluten, casein and every kind of sugar, they will be different for everyone. I've found that just trying to take back some degree of control over my rogue digestive system helps with my mental state.
I’m glad I read this thread! I really empathise with the health anxiety thing- you have tests…doc says good news- your tests are all clear, but you continue to feel ghastly most days. I wake up in the morning and feel like a horrible blackness is inside me… I have to actively stop those thoughts and try and think of positive things. Health anxiety is more debilitating than a real diagnosis in my view because it is worse to fear the unknown than deal with a reality, however grim. I also tried the online CBT but it’s so cliched and patronising. You need a real person to help you change stuck thought patterns, not a pre recorded video. I had a consult with a nutritionist- NHS- she pointed me to a video about the Low fodmap diet. She wasn’t very helpful as I was left to do it on my own and I struggled. The follow up call was with a different nutritionist who was great- she was much more willing to offer help and suggested I try digestive enzymes. I think these have really helped with some aspects of awful guts ache, gas and loo visits, but I get days of feeling nauseas and tired and nothing seems to change that. I am also frequently contacting dr Google as I feel afraid to keep going back to the doc. Also it makes you reluctant to ask for help with other things because you feel as though you’ve used up your quota of doc visits. Anyway, thanks for the post- it’s good to write it down, and also reassuring to know others are in the same boat.
Thank you so much for all of your comments. This page is really helping. Hearing that you all feel the same, it really helps to calm the mind. It’s like a little journal, it really does help!! Thank you all for taking your time to reply to me xxx
Reading this and all the replies ... A lot familiar. Probably my pain/discomfort is better than it was, and it seems to have changed form over the last few months, but in there is copious gas and being able to get it out. I did not find anything to sort the gas.
I have tried senokot, laxido, ducolax (three ways) in order to keep things moving but without the stop (constipation C) start (D). Problem is that all these meds have a delay before action. Now settling on one 5mg dulcolax tablet around noon which is counter intuitive, as guts still feel unstable then, to prevent the evening C so I can have a chance to sleep with minimal discomfort. It's like a control system with a delay -e.g. your house thermostat waiting 6+ hours after it gets cold to turn the boiler on.
I use paracetamol (takes edge off discomfort) and low-dose codeine (seems to sort the gut pain fast but risks C). Windeeze and buscopan don't see to do anything for me.
Sleep is now the killer, with anxiety amping it up (immediate feedback!), and for that there seem to be non-pharmaceutical tricks to lower the dial, but for when that fails there are pills -with care.
It's good to hear all these experiences of medications (inc. my own). There is a lot of stuff from medical agencies and pharma on simple Google on how these drugs work, but one suggestion is to use 'Google Scholar' to narrow searches down to 'peer-reviewed' and bias-minimised scientific literature, often available free as pdfs.
Torcol has good points; tomorrow is/should be/must be a better day!
This thread is so helpful. It is good to know you are not alone! I find the worst time is early morning when I wake up with pain and the world seems a lonely place! Although I have had colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy and liver and bowel scan I still worry about the pain. The lockdowns and the pandemic have not helped and I just hope I will feel up to going out on a regular basis as I did pre Covid
I know exactly how you feel. As soon as l wake l get bad pains and feel l want to go to the toilet but nothing happens. I have several social gatherings coming up and so worried that l can't go if l feel like this. Never know what the day is going to bring. Just wish l could feel normal and then l think there are a lot if people worse than me with a terminal illness and l try to get on with it but it isn't easy is it. You know exactly how l feel and l wish l could find a solution. I spend a fortune on different products but as yet nothing has helped. Take care you are not alone. Janet
Well I have also got health anxiety and I feed it with lots of dr Google until I’m worried about every twinge… I had a really good run for 12 months really in control but suddenly in September and November I had a bout of IBS after meals it wind pain upper left side, went to the GP blood tests normal FIT test normal GP was happy but put me in citalopram 10mg I’m 3 weeks in on 5 mg but left side still got a grip of me I’m sure I’m in a vicious cycle Thanks everyone for sharing your soul it really helps
You sound like me. The same symptoms and pain In that area. Which is new to me. I've googled it too 😔. It must be IBS but I've never had it this bad before either. Been to drs. I'm constipated with overflow runs from time to time . But as we have the same symptoms I'm assuming it's IBS and it's comforting to know I'm not alone with these new weird symptoms. But don't be shy to see your Dr . Mine ordered blood tests to rule other stuff out . Hugs ❣️
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I just don’t want to go down a bad path again. Anyone else get the same symptoms? My anxiety is so high I can’t stop it when I get like this 
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