[twisted]

i have always had stomache problems since i was young.as a young teen i was diagnosed with ocd and panic attacks.as of recently(last year) i have been having spouts of diarrhea with heavy crapms and a very hot sweaty feeling,almost like a panic attack..when i get these episodes my stomach keeps pushing even though iam done.with heavy "attacks" like these i somtimes get mucas the next day in my stool.i have had a very small amount of blood with the mucas twice(family doctor thinks it s from straining).somties the D goes away and is followed by very hard stools.no pain,almost regualr except for the very hard stools.when that happens i go somtimes two days without a bowel movement.my family doctor did some blood work and said all came back good.he put me on metimucil and told me if the symptoms get worste that i would have to go to a gi doc.having these problems has made me more panicy.any help would be great.thank you.

 

[Kathleen M.]

So far it sounds consistant with IBS. The alternating stool consistancy, the mucus, etc. all are fairly typical presentation for IBS, especially if your blood work is all normal.Having IBS and panic issues can be a problem as one tends to feed off the other. If you can keep one or the other under better control that should help prevent the vicious cycle that can occur in people with both.Learning relaxation techniques could help a lot. I would check with the doctor that treats your OCD and panic to see if one of the techniques like hypnotherapy or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy that is specific for IBS might be helpful as well. Some of them do seem to help a lot of people who have both anxiety and IBS and break the cycle, but it may depend on where you are with those issues if it is appropriate at this time. Some of the SSRI's used to treat anxiety and OCD (and the anti-anxiety Buspar) can also be used to treat IBS, so it may be worth checking with the doctor to see if something might be able to be tried that would help with both, if adding fiber to the diet does not help the IBS.You might also try www....com, Heather has a diet that helps a lot of people ease the symptoms of IBS.K.

 

[twisted]

thanks for your help.