Does this sound like Ibs?
So for about a year I’ve suffered bad anxiety and every time my anxiety is on a high my stools have always been loose and I had more urgency to go this was always temporary.
But then in March most of my stools went from a normal type 3 to mushy/more loose, I wouldn’t say to the point of diarrhoea but more loose then my usual anyway, on a couple occasions I also noticed mucus in my stool and undigested food (tomato skins, pepper skins, carrot, beetroot etc.)
I would say this happened on and off I went to the doctor who told me anxiety induced ibs and it’s very common in my age (I’m 25) she told me to keep a food diary to try work out my triggers I did this for a good few weeks and couldn’t work out my triggers.
I’ve also had mixed consistency stool for example sorry for tmi but one side of my stool would be soft but formed and the other side was type 3 and 2 different shades of brown.
I did do a gluten/dairy free diet for a couple weeks which helped a lot and my stool went back to normal-ish I was also doing a lot of exercise which seemed to help but still to this day I can’t help but think I have bowel cancer.
Be sure to continue to communicate with your doctor about your symptoms, as well as anything new, changing or concerning, if you haven't already. It may be helpful to see a GI specialist to discuss possible food intolerances or imbalances in your gut bacteria as well. Here's a great article on stress and anxiety and how it can impact IBS symptoms: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/treatment/stress-mangement-improve-ibs-symptoms. Keep us posted on how you're doing, if you'd like. Best, Kelly, Irritablebowelsyndrome.net Team Member I have the same thing. And i have bad health anxiety. I also have abdomen pain sometimes and gas build up? I have only had mucus a couple times. I have yet to go to doctor because I'm pretty sure it's just my health anxiety kicking in and causing it. I have notice that when my anxiety is lowest I don't have as much of a problem and I have also noticed that when I think about it the worse it gets.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Anxiety is a powerful trigger for a lot of people. A specific diet, as well as the right probiotics or even medication, can help lessen the symptoms of anxiety-induced flares though, so I would definitely look into that! And of course, the stress management techniques that Kelly shared.
Hugs, Karina (team member)
