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[fedup]

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hi, i don't know whether i'm actually making my ibs worse with my anxiety or if the ibs is making my ibs worse.For a year now my ibs and anxiety has been a problem for me. I'm having my anxiety treated with cbt and i'm improving more and more each day. My ibs is more settled but i still have bad days.Today i had a normal bm in the morning, then 4 hours later i felt a slight urge to go again, just quite small stools. Then approx an hour later had a slight urge and managed anothe few small stools.I know that due to my anxiety i'm hypervigilant about any little sensation in my body, so i don't know if i'm misreading the signals.and maybe i'm not really needing to go at all. But if that is the case then why am i always able to pass a stool when i try?Anyone experience this or have any thoughts on this?

[fedup]

*or if the ibs is making my anxiety worse

[megz123]

hi, i don't know whether i'm actually making my ibs worse with my anxiety or if the ibs is making my ibs worse.For a year now my ibs and anxiety has been a problem for me. I'm having my anxiety treated with cbt and i'm improving more and more each day. My ibs is more settled but i still have bad days.Today i had a normal bm in the morning, then 4 hours later i felt a slight urge to go again, just quite small stools. Then approx an hour later had a slight urge and managed anothe few small stools.I know that due to my anxiety i'm hypervigilant about any little sensation in my body, so i don't know if i'm misreading the signals.and maybe i'm not really needing to go at all. But if that is the case then why am i always able to pass a stool when i try?Anyone experience this or have any thoughts on this?

Hi ive just recently been diagnosed with this and seem to have the same sort of problem as you. When i get up in the morning i feel the need to go but it is very small and very soft BM i have, i then feel unfinished and try to go again and it happens to me again. This happens with me everyday and i have changed my diet to more healthy foods etc... Seems not to be working, i was looking online to see if there was anything that would help to make BM's more "formed" but i have found nothing so far. IBS can get worse the more you think about it, which is very hard not to because it is more psychological than anything.

[Cheryl1967]

No this is NOT all in your head!! Even the anxiety issue. From what I read about IBS, ppl with IBS have an elevated level of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine which is what causes the spasms. Then our bodies release another neurotransmitter called epinephrine to calm the bowel back down. Epinephrine is what triggers the "fight or flight" mechanism resulting in anxiety. Acetylcholine helps your body fall asleep and it also helps wake you up which is why we all seem to have symptoms in the morning. When I try to fall asleep at night apparently when the acetylcholine "kicks in" I then have these surges of epinephrine and wake up with my heart racing and this happens every time I try to fall asleep!! I have been taking melatonin for this. If you are actually passing stool each time you feel the need to then you obviously have to go. The spasms, my Dr explained to me, is what causes it to only be small amounts @ times because it prevents you from having a complete bowel movement and if I were you I wouldn't ignore the urge other wise you will end up being constipated. Try not to worry about things and what is "normal", my husband would always say, "Define "normal"....what is normal for some people is not normal for others. I hope this explained some things for you. Please don't ever ignore your body. Take care

[Cheryl1967]

Sorry...I wanted to add that drinking chamomile tea has helped me a lot with the IBS and it helps with anxiety also. It is all I drink. You can find it in the coffee/tea isle at any grocery store. I use Bigelow cozy chamomille it's in a yellow box with a picure of the chamomile flowers (they look like daisies) and a butterfly and I also like Celestial Seasonings Sleeptime tea it's in a green and cream colored box w/ a bear sitting in a chair w/ a nightgown on. Try this it really helps. http://www.homeremed...th_benefits.php

[BQ]

Today i had a normal bm in the morning, then 4 hours later i felt a slight urge to go again, just quite small stools. Then approx an hour later had a slight urge and managed anothe few small stools.

This realy isn't all that abnormal to me... not sure why you would be concerned with this.

I know that due to my anxiety i'm hypervigilant about any little sensation in my body

This could be the cause for your concern.....Try not to overthink things if possible and ........ not sure you should even be on here...... right???

[fedup]

hi thanks for the replies,I just seem to be thinking of my bowels every minute of every day. Its not every day that this happens but usually 2 times a week or so. I really think sometimes i'm going when i don't really need to.I am determined that i'm not going to let this ibs/anxiety get the better of me.

[fedup]

hi BQ,Yeah you're right, i'm not meant to be on here. My therapist knows i still come on occasionally and with her guidance i'm cutting back on the amount of time i come on here.

[kaminari]

This is exactly what I'm going through but I guess you probably won't see this then.It is normal to go up to 3 times a day or every 3 days, so the fact that you feel like you constantly need to go throughout some days calls for concern. For me I have to go around 10 times a day and I'm not provoking it at all. Usually loose stool.I don't think BQ understood what you meant. To constantly have the urge to go isn't normal. Why can't you be on here? You're learning more about what's happening. Anxiety definitely plays a huge part in this. Always passing a stool when you try - it makes sense. In order to pass everything you ate completely from the previous day at one time would be quite a spectacle in your toilet. Perhaps if you went many times throughout the day in large amounts you would be able to. If you didn't pass all the food you ate the day before it remains and therefore surely you would always be able to pass stool if you really tried. The fact is it doesn't need to come out especially if it isn't formed. If you're getting spasms like me, always when I'm nervous, it's another bad sign and usually when that happens not much comes out anyway. I think in some ways it's the body's way of giving itself instant relief from the nervousness. I notice I do feel calm after some amount comes out, even though shortly after it could start rumbling again.I would look into medications for anxiety or a small dosage of Imodium here and there to aid you. Imodium helped me when I needed it, no uncomfortable side effects.

[fedup]

hi kaminari,I have to say your post has actually made me more anxious. This is the reason i'm supposed to stay off these forums. I suffer from health anxiety and when i read your post it scared me.

[BQ]

kaminari Someone with health anxiety should not really be checking the internet about health topics too frequently.Also:

I don't think BQ understood what you meant. To constantly have the urge to go isn't normal. Why can't you be on here? You're learning more about what's happening. Anxiety definitely plays a huge part in this.

I meant "normal" for IBS.

[kaminari]

hi kaminari,I have to say your post has actually made me more anxious. This is the reason i'm supposed to stay off these forums. I suffer from health anxiety and when i read your post it scared me.

Wow then don't check this anymore then.

[matt1234]

Hi, I can feel your pain, I have exactly the same thing, Sometime I feel something in my stomach rush to the toilet and nothing except mucus come out!! Very frustrating! I too have health anxiety issues, when this is added to IBS its never good!

[fedup]

thanks for all the good advice i've received on here. Gonna take my therapists advice and stay away from now on.

[AmericanPatriot]

Never let anyone tell you IBS is all in your head, because it isn't. We suffer from a real, physiological problem that can be observed by measuring the gut motility after meals and comparing it to that of a person without IBS. Those without IBS will have almost a straight line, and it will look like a richter scale reading on the IBS side.I've been dealing with IBS since as far back as I can remember, so I definitely know what you're going through.While IBS is not "all in your head", anxiety can certainly make the symptoms worse or even cause flares. People without IBS still experience physical reactions from anxiety, but they're not as terribly painful (or noticeable) as the intestinal cramps of IBS are.Getting control of anxiety is definitely something that can help alleviate IBS symptoms, so it's good you're getting help for that.Anyway, back to the point: It is definitely not "all in your head". IBS is a real condition with a real physiological impairment.