Since being diagnosed with IBS around six years ago I have experienced a number of different symptoms and sensations within my body, some of which are ongoing, others come and go as they please!
Having recently joined the IBS network and having read other people's stories, I think my IBS is quite mild but no less frustrating.
Over the coming weeks I plan to share 'the players' on my team sheet with you, explaining the experiences I have had and how I have tried to deal with them in the hope it will help you manage your IBS.
PLEASE NOTE: I am not a doctor, but I do live and will continue to live with IBS so there may be something that will help you.
TEAM SHEET:
(No particular order)
1. Muscular pain in chest
2. Haemorrhoids
3. Nightmares/weird dreams
4. Numb hands
5. Lower back pain
6. Sciatica
7. Anxiety – General, Health and Social
8. Depression
9. Loose stools (diarrhoea)
10. Excess wind
11. Stress
Always here if you want to chat about how you are feeling and what you can do to make things better!
Take care.
Written by
MountainHare1
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That's very interesting as I too have several of those conditions too definitely 2 3 4 7 8 9 10 and 11.I do also have hypothyroidism which can trigger depression and anxiety also when thyroid levels are out of line
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my post. I am so sorry to hear about the additional conditions that you have to manage and completely understand how it can trigger depression and anxiety. I hope that you are able to enjoy some good days despite having this challenging condition. Take care x
I have them all except depression , thinking back at the start I probably started with the odd grumble ( wind ) then diarrhoea, but gave it little thought, I used to say I had a sensitive stomach which Iv had for years , but this last 2 years yip definitely got 99%of your team , iv had the tests the procedures the magic pills , I’m now with a dietitian, early days but by far the best results, hopefully in 2024 I can get get rid of my players 👊😂
Hi Johny. Thank you for taking the time to comment on my post – I really appreciate it, as there is some comfort in know that I am not the only one who is suffering from IBS in a similar way.
Since being diagnosed with IBS six years ago, I have tried to lead a healthier lifestyle and looked into more about what I eat and choosing healthier options so I would be really interested to hear how you get on with your dietitian. I am certain you will feel loads better! Good luck!
I can relate with what you have put on the Team Sheet! There are a few I haven't got, though.
1. I sometimes get muscular pain in the chest. Sometimes it wakes me up in the night and can feel like a knife through me. I'd be dead by now if it was my heart, so I reckon it's a muscular spasm.
2. I don't have haemorrhoids, no.
3, Weird dreams...well...I always used to dream certain types of dreams with lots of landscapes, woodlands, adventures, going under fences, finding different fields, etc etc, Some places were recurring dreams but places I only ever went to in dreams. The atmosphere of the dream was interesting and pleasant, Since IBS I have had dreams that just don't "feel like me" at all. Not nightmares (those are rare) but just too busy, haven't the right atmosphere with them, feel like someone else's dream! And always LOTS of people in them. Wake up wondering where the heck I've been and where are my "own feelings"?
Either that, or shortened sleep and no memory of dreams at all. Shortened sleep duration has been a feature of my IBS. Plus waking up feeling flat and mindless and can't connect with my heartfelt self, which I attribute to tiredness..
4. Numb hands, not really...except two tingly slightly numb fingers which are an old wound from a huge nerve inflammation 12 years ago.
5. Yes, lower back pain. The back pain started after successful gynaecological surgery in 1997. It never went away. A chiropractor told me I have a marked pelvic slant and twist, plus some amount of saggital scoliosis of the spine. That was all well before I got IBS.
6. Yes, sciatica. But the last time I got that was in winter 2012 and was severe. I haven't really had it since, though nothing in my pelvic area and upper legs is "right" really.
7. I was never an anxious person but either it's aging or to do with constantly being hit with IBS problems, but I now get anxious....when a flare up is happening....travel anxiety....and driving in unfamiliar places anxiety (really should buy myself a SatNav!!) Also I have become extremely routine-oriented, and can hardly cope if anyone visits me outside of certain times I can behave normally. So that causes something a bit like social anxiety? Wanting to be alone a lot more.
It makes me anxious if I only have to go to a physical shop or drive to find a bank branch open, or to go to any appointment...etc. I start to shake. I want to stay in my own environment. I was never like this.
8. Depression....not sure. I have long term grief for a couple of very dear loved ones and my dog. Sometimes I cry still over them and cry after eating which is uncontrollable sometimes. Not sure if that's natural for me, or "depression" or what. But I snap out of it after a short time, count my blessings and carry on. So much of the time I don't feel depressed. But can sometimes wake up in the morning with a sinking feeling until I get going and snap out of it.
9. Yes, chronic looser-than-normal stools alternating with periods when all is normal. Occasional flare ups of diarrhea, but rarer recently.
Even eating "binding" foods when in a bad phase, will result in looser than normal stools next morning. Then suddenly my body will switch to normal.
10, Excess wind. Welll....not sure. I only pass wind twice a day, and considering everything, I don't think I pass more than average. It's just that it ONLY comes out twice a day: after waking up, getting up, and after my early evening meal. It seems a lot comes out, but I hear normal people fart up to about 20 times a day! I do about 5!! So it may be a normal amount of (completely scent-less and air-like gas) which happens to all store up to be passed only twice a day?
11. Stress....a weird one with me. Some stress, like sudden extremely cold freezing weather or even a heatwave has a positive effect on my IBS and I often feel better. Travel stress has a bad negative effect. So do any duties or obligations when I am dreading them. Stress of being in crowds too.
Thank you so so much for taking the time share your story and what you experience with having IBS. For me it is really helpful to know that l am not alone.
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