Hi guys. I am in the middle of a massive stress / anxiety flare up. I also have IBS. I have groin pain , joint and muscle pains and feel like I've had a good kicking. Anyone else dealing with this on a daily basis ? Cheers
Stress / anxiety issues: Hi guys. I am in the... - IBS Network
Stress / anxiety issues
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Codfather
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Yes, I do. But this is not a flare up or down to stress or anxiety. It is daily occurrence for me these day. I believe after 35 years of IBS, I now have fibromayalgia and TMJ!
Glad am not alone. I have tmj also ! In the last 4 month I've had back ache ( lower ) pain down my spine , pain below shoulder blade in 2 places , pain under front rib , masses of gas passing in my colon different aches in the groin , a wheezy cough , very tired , aching shoulder oh and the trots , wot an infliction ,!!!
Sounds very familiar! How old are you if you don't mind me asking?
I'm 58. Got IBS at 28 . Had anxiety 3 times in the past few years but can't shake this yet !
I'm almost 64 had IBS since 27/28. The IBS has been daily since my son was born 29 years ago, before that it was about every other day. But I don't think mine has been due to anxiety, but it does make you anxious.
I know my certainly is. It's a pain ! So do u suffer stress or anxiety or depression ,?
I don't really know, I get a bit scared sometimes when I don't understand what my body is telling me or what to do about it and I get pissed off about it. I feel robbed of my life, or the life I could maybe have had. But I wouldn't say I suffer with stress, anxiety or depression as a condition in it's own right!
Im right with you, i have rib ache left side, shoulder and hip, i get shivery and tired and panic about every symptom as if it was new and yet i have had IBS since my late teens 57 now with some good times some not so good, i have just had my bloods checked and a FIT stool test all normal so the doc is trying me on low dose citalopram 10mg 3weeks in and some side affects are getting better but im hoping it helps the symptoms of stress that come hand in hand with IBS …. Hope you soon feel a little better
Yep. That's me also. I'm on 150mg of sertralene for anxiety . I have inflamation I'm my body now so imperative that these levels come down ! Hope it goes well for u
I have just stated having hip pain didn’t think it was connected, I also get shoulder pain too. My main concern is trapped wind which gets me down.
I have had blood test, stool sample test all normal they only thing struggled to do is the Fit test I have the kit but was told to not let Bowel movement go in to the water of the toilet therefore I might be stupid but unsure how to get the sample. I really need to do ot to rule anything out. Any advice how to do it correctly?
Hello Bassem .I have found the best way is to get a wad of toilet paper to catch stool as it comes out.You can then put the sample stick into it and put in test tube.It is all a bit unpleasant but has to be done.Good luck with it.
I get trapped wind too , it’s awful & exhausting trying to get rid of it as it builds up after every meal . I’ve been using Zengest for a while also started on Avrantil about 10 days ago both help with bloating , to a certain extent
I have been looking at Atrantil lately and put it on my maybe list, do you think it's worth a try!
Hi Maureen ,Yes I think it’s worth a try , I’ve got IBS-C and also Methane Sibo , it’s highly recommended for that type of Sibo that’s why I started taking it
I usually use a old margarine pot or a disposable plate and catch it in that and put it to one side until I get cleaned up!
I lined the toilet with lots of loo roll so it caught the poop, i have done that twice and it worked , the other option is use a bucket or container in the loo
Aww Maureen you always make me feel reassured when im in yet another panic over my symptoms thank you for sharing
Hi Maureen
Hope all is well.
What is TMJ ?
Thank you
Please let me know what TMJ is too.
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction. It's the thing that connects your jaw to your skull. It can get out of joint and cause pain.
That's interesting. My jaw has clicked with every bite for the last 10 years or so.
We learn something everyday. Thank you
See my reply to guitarman49.
It's basically jaw/facial pain. I have pain all over my head and face and down into my neck. It moves around a lot. But I have this awful feeling in my right ear like something is trying to get out. I try to ignore it but sometimes I just want to scream! But the pain can be in my head, or my eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, cheeks, basically anywhere in the head. I can't think what else it can be. I am going to go back to another GP at some point but at the same time I don't think there is anything they can do. I think it's more or less like IBS and fibromayalgia, which I also think I have. It would be nice to have a diagnosis but I am not sure that I will get one! My theory is that after 35 years of chronic IBS (everyday for the last 29 years and about every other day before that), this has lead to fibromyalgia which has then gone into the head and caused TMJ symptoms.
When the IBS started in my late twenties, I remember having pains in my legs and was on the (contraceptive) pill at the time. There were warnings of taking the pill and having leg pain, so I mentioned it to my GP and she just shrugged and said it was probably arthritis. I thought I was a bit young for it but my mum had it so I didn't take any notice. I was just concerned that I could continue taking the pill at the time! But I did have these pains, which were not bad, just there some of the time.
But as the IBS developed, and took over my life more and more, so did these pains! In the end they went all the way down my legs into my toes. Then I started having pain down my arms and in my fingers. I put it all down to referred pain from the IBS. But more recently I have been having these facial pains which seem to be just a continuation of the other pains in my body. They come up through my chest into my neck and up into my head! So the only conclusion I can come up with is that the IBS caused fibro and went on to give me TMJ symptoms.
Well that's my theory anyway. I did run is past my doctor about 3 years ago before COVID started but she was not interested. She said there was nothing they could do because I won't take vitamin D. I won't take vitamin D because it makes me constipated and that doesn't help my IBS!
Any thoughts!
Yep. I have tmj. No real remedy so just live with it !
I'm sorry to hear that but it does makes me feel less alone and that there is definately a link between the two, especially having IBS as long as we have!
Yes. It's all stress ,/ anxiety , emotions related
Are you saying that you have all these things because you are an anxious, emotional person that can't cope with stress. Chicken and egg comes to mind! I don't think so!
It may make you anxious, but it's not because you are an anxious person. It could perhaps be because you go through a stressful time, but surely when the stress ceases the IBS should go away. Mine started when my first husband decided he didn't think he wanted to be married to me anymore. I didn't fall apart, I got on with buying myself a little flat, no way was I going back home to my parents. He did me a favour, my second husband is honest and reliable, my ex was a manipulative, cheating, lying, bastard.
Think about it, were you anxious before all this started?
Yep. I am and always have had high anxiety , stress just adds to the problems . The pain I have in my groin has come and gone a few times in the past but only when life is calm ! Totally stress related !
Stress for me too!
The Dental Distress Syndrome Quantified. Dr. A.C. Fonder.
Google the above, really interesting how TMJ can affect the body, whole list of symptoms, many of which you have mentioned.
I have been battling tmj, long before I got Ibs and diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I think mine all kicked off with all the emotional stress I have had for years.
Any way have a look, it's a pdf so you will have to download it, not many pages.
Maureen, my theory is my TMJD caused my IBS rather than the other way round. My first dental injury that I think caused the start of the TMJD was when I was 11 years old and got punched in the mouth by a kid. I had to have a few dental surgeries on the damaged front tooth after that so I'm not sure if it was the initial trauma or one of the surgeries that caused it, but I can remember a couple of symptoms going back to when I was a teenager or young adult that I now suspect were from the TMJD but at the time I thought were nothing important. One was bad sore throats that would come in the mornings and just disappear after a few hours, the other was what I thought was an ingrown toenail but am now pretty confident was actually pressure from a lump of connective tissue in my big toe near the nail which was caused by the problems in the connective tissue above the damaged tooth. I also used to get throbbing in the area right above the damaged tooth for years, but I thought it was just normal like phantom pain when you lose a limb.
Once I started working on freeing up my connective tissue it became obvious that the area where I had been getting the throbbing was an area where the connective tissue was very tight and causing discomfort. And that was - in terms of the way my connective tissue is connected in paths round my body - relatively closely connected to the place where the "ingrown toenail" was. With the work I've been doing on my connective tissue over the last few years, the "ingrown toenail" is mostly better; there's still a tiny bit of pain if I push on it hard now, but it's so much less than the pain and numbness that used to be there.
I'm still optimistic that what I'm doing with my connective tissue will fix it eventually but it's been around 4 years now so largely to make my partner happy, I'm finally trying to get a doctor to confirm my self-diagnosis of TMJD and see if they have anything helpful to say. I'm going to see a rheumatologist in a couple of weeks' time; my GP thinks what I have is fibromyalgia but I don't think that's an accurate diagnosis - I don't disagree I get pains all over my body but it fails to account for what I experience internally and interpret as my connective tissue moving around and causing the discomfort to move around and alter, as I relax and work my muscles in various parts of my body. And it doesn't account for the visible lumps I have in my ankles and behind my ear, which I think are caused by distorted connective tissue. At one point I also had some in my windpipe area which I could literally feel through my skin moving and changing as I worked my jaw muscles, and which are now gone.
Regarding anxiety. As I said, I've been doing this body-work where I relax and work particular muscles and the places where the connective tissue is exerting pressure change, like retensioning a very complex device. When the pressure moves somewhere new or releases, it happens quite quickly; so that makes me very aware that pressure in certain parts of my gut seems to literally cause anxiety. The anxiety then seems to make my brain thrash around looking for what I'm worried about, throwing up ideas what it might be. If it finds anything I might need to worry about, it fixates on it. This is a really bad feedback loop to get into as it can get worse and worse; so I have strategies for dealing with it, like thinking deliberately "the weather is anxious right now" or "there is pressure in my gut" or "everything is ok right now" instead of allowing my brain to bring up anxious thoughts.
As we all know, anxiety can on its own cause IBS, so if your connective tissue in your gut is exerting pressure which you experience as anxiety, even if your initial cause of your IBS was something other than TMJ, the TMJ might be making the IBS worse.
Hi, just to let you know, I am not ignoring you, I am just having a bit of trouble getting my head around all what you are saying. I'll get back to you when I have done a bit more googling.
I have sent a reply on our Chat messages.
The Dental Distress Syndrome Quantified. Dr. A.C. Fonder.
Google the above, really interesting how TMJ can affect the body, whole list of symptoms, many of which you have mentioned.
I have been battling tmj, long before I got Ibs and diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I think mine all kicked off with all the emotional stress I have had for years.
Any way have a look, it's a pdf so you will have to download it, not many pages.
Thanks, I've had a quick look and will look at it more later. It looks like it's advocating Alexander Technique as a treatment - which, interestingly, I had considered quite a while back and read a little and experimented a little with, but decided to go another route, which I'm still on. It's possible Alexander Technique is more complex than my understanding of it - I had two (healthy) friends who used it to improve their posture by learning new ways of moving and holding themselves. What I have feels like being tied up by strong elasticated threads inside that have gotten all tangled. They're pulling me into positions that aren't "good" posture, and I think I need to untangle them so that natural good posture becomes an option, rather than try and force my body into something mimicking good posture in the state it's currently in. Maybe that's not what Alexander technique would advocate anyhow, it's more about using minimal effort to balance in what is the natural optimal position from what I read.
Hi,Interesting you should mention sore throats that came and went, that's exactly how mine started, then headaches, felling sickly, dizzy, I was clenching my jaw at night so bad my teeth hurt in the morning. I searched for answers everywhere, teaching hospital in London, they told me to put a hot water bottle on my jaw! 🙄 I drove all the way to Spalding to see a Neuromuscular dentist, but he only recommended sleep therapy, gave up in the end.
I was leading a stressful life with travelling for work etc, but I'm also a very anxious person and a worrier.
So anyway my jaw pains developed to other aches and pains, and fibromyalgia was mentioned, but my cause was stress, I know it... And then the proverbial stomach symptoms started and been on going ever since and the worry about it is keeping it going. I have suffered ibsd waking up anxious, but now suffer ibsc and have tenderness in my right side with it. I've had all the investigations, but it's all still there.
I think I just need to switch my brain off and maybe my body would settle down! 😊
Apologies for the long response.
Best Wishes
It's interesting comparing your story and mine, I've read about jaw clenching being a cause of TMJD but it's not something I do, mine is from dental injury. Also, I can be anxious and a worrier - I get social anxiety, and I had an incident years ago that resulted in lasting anxieties around food safety - but I can be very chilled when nothing's immediately bothering me or weighing on my mind. So I did consider whether anxiety could have caused my IBS, but it never made sense to me, particularly since my IBS didn't seem to get worse during or after days when I was more stressed. But these chronic health problems I've had in recent years have definitely made me more anxious, not because I'm worried about them or about the difficulties they cause me, but simply because physical health affects the emotions.
I hope you can find something that helps with your anxiety, and also something that can help with the jaw clenching if it's become a habit rather than a stress response.
That's my problem. The anxiety caused by the health conditions now. But anxiety definitely started this flare up .
Ps what health problems did you get ??
Oh sorry if wasn't clear earlier Codfather - in my previous reply it was Funkyfairy's story I was comparing with mine. Anyhow, I was diagnosed around 5 years ago with IBS but I think the underlying cause for me was TMJD; the symptoms have varied over time because the IBS is pretty much cleared up now, but my symptoms have included chronic fatigue, back pain, gut discomfort, discomfort in jaw or throat, headaches, stiffness, stuffiness in ears, congested feeling in nasal passages, soreness in one toe, toes bent out of shape, dry skin, oedema in ankles, big lumps in feet, one knee joint popping in and out of position and painful when out of position, coloured spots or blank spots in field of vision, difficulty absorbing information quickly (or at all), poor short-term memory, protruding veins in hands like an elderly person, brittle nails, occasional sudden dizziness, vulnerability to anxiety and sometimes to sadness. Some of those are rare, most of the time I'm just dealing with fatigue and discomfort and lack of mental and emotional resources.
Hi Thanks for the reply , you certainly have a lot to cope with.I can relate to some of them when I became B12 deficient due to IBS and reflux and lost over 2 stone . As time moved on anxiety ruled and just made the symptoms and situation worse and continues to do so. I have been referred to the Psychology Wellbeing Service.
12 years ago my wife became very ill with Ovarian Cancer and subsequently died 10 years ago. I think this was the start of all my medical issues and just continues with no let up. Still find it very difficult to cope.
Sorry I can't offer you any fixes but I would suggest you have your Vit levels checked including B12 , D and folate although you have difficulty with Vit D . Correcting the deficiency certainly reduced pains in the jaw and other areas of the body.
Good luck Stay safe
Hi, thanks for your reply, I'm so sorry to hear about your wife.
I'm okay for vitamin B, not sure about folate, but yes, I am deficient in vitamin D but not hugely. When I take it, it just makes me constipated and I am used to diarrhoea and know where I stand with that better. That probably sounds stupid, but devil you know and all that!
The Dental Distress Syndrome Quantified. Dr. A.C. Fonder.
Maureen,
Google the above, really interesting how TMJ can affect the body, whole list of symptoms, many of which you have mentioned.
I have been battling tmj, long before I got Ibs and diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I think mine all kicked off with all the emotional stress I have had for years.
Any way have a look, it's a pdf so you will have to download it, not many pages.
I get that all the time. That said, I also have vasculitis. Hard to tell which is which sometimes. If one doesn't get me, the other one will.
I had all symptoms for 20 plus years . IBS , joint pain especially knee and foot, . After numerous tests it turned out to be hypothyroidism.
Did you get any other symptoms from your hypothyroidism
It sounds we both have the same problems i have suffed for 62 years so i know what you are going through .I live by what my Granny used to say to me No matter how bad you are there ia always sme poor bugger worse then you.Take care and all the bst
Hi Codfather, yes, me! I am in a similar situation, massive stress and anxiety that is taking over my body! I wake with an anxious stomach early in the morning with feelings of nausea. I wake in the night anxious and I have developed IBS in later life (I am 64). I convinced myself I had cancer and have had just about every test you can think of along with a CT virtual colonoscopy. Nothing significant found but still suffer loose motions, sometimes pain sometimes not, inconsistent stools and colour. Feel like I am going mad too. Pain in neck, shoulders and back and feel like I have been in a boxing match, particularly in a morning. Told that my body is constantly in 'fight and flight' mode and that the anxiety, chronic stress and tension is causing it all. You have my sympathy. I have started CBT and having private 1-2-1 yoga starting next Friday, want to overcome this as it takes over my life!
Yep. That sounds very much like me. I'm stuck in fight or flight. Therapy hasn't worked for me so far but getting next level up soon so fingers x
Codfather, we are in this together and together we can overcome this x
Yes. Theres no two minute fix or pop a pill. Time and positive mental attitude ( I kno it's hard ) that's what will overcome it . I've had it in the past and it took months to get under control . Good luck
You too, I know it's going to be tough! I said to my partner today, I just don't feel right but can't explain why! I am on a very short fuse and very irritable! Everything is annoying me and it's written on my face apparently. Still convinced I have some horrible disease like cancer then again mental illness is a horrible disease!
Yes. Pains in my lower left after an anxious morning soon makes me ratty ! All this caused by stress / anxiety ! Am moving house at moment so stress levels are off-the- scale !
I have this issue for many yearsER, Urgent care doctor’s visits many tests , nothing found.
Is a silent anxiety, is controlled now
I’m taking Zoloft and Xanax to sleep I’m vey good for a few years including IBS digestion , I take mint Fennel and ginger
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My ibs is caused by stress and anxiety. Not always due to your diet. 
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