IBS-ANXIETY
Hi everyone just looking for some advice please and too see if anyone can relate to my symptoms (sorry if this is going to be a long post) so I have got IBS had it for years but in the past I didn't suffer that much with it I would be constipated alot and get occasional pains and upper abdomen bloating but that was about it I use too eat a lot of unhealthy foods I was overweight never changed my diet or avoided certain foods but it never really affected me and I've also suffered with mental health for years anyway about a year ago my mental health got really bad and I ended up stopping eating because of it and started losing weight I also then started having a lot of problems with my stomach I had diarrhea for weeks, would wake up feeling so sick had a lot of bile in my stomach, got burning in my stomach, acid reflux, cramps and pains I was sent for some tests and was diagnosed with having a small hiatus hernia anyway where I'm at now is I have a dietitian and they told me I've to eat little and often every 2-3 hours which I've been doing for so many months now but I will only eat the same foods everyday I'm also on some nutrition drinks since I started eating again I suffer lots with bloating, pains, gas, trapped wind, bowels always changing from constipation too loose stools now I've been eating again for many months now so don't know why my stomach still gets so unsettled and why my bowels are always changing my diet is basically porridge, dry toast, oat biscuits and 3 nutrition drinks a day given from the dietitian now I do suffer with mental health and have been told that this could be causing or making my symptoms worse anyway a couple of weeks ago i was under some stress and 1 week ago I woke up feeling sick and had diarrhea since then for the past week I have had loose stools, feeling sick most of the day and night, burning in stomach, very dry mouth, today I've been feeling like something is stuck in my throat, on and off bloating, smelly wind, passing wind a lot, burping more, occasional stomach cramps and I'm able to fall too sleep but keep waking up early so I'm having lack of sleep and the past week my anxiety has been very bad I'm anxious all the time and anxious about the physical symptoms stomach just feels so off the GP and other people think this has all been caused by my anxiety and that it's the anxiety making my stomach symptoms worse and that maybe that's why I'm also not sleeping well I'm so fed up off all this it's like it's all never going to end or improve has anyone gone through anything similar to this or can you relate to any of it (i am sorry for the long post and sorry if I've mentioned stuff that's not appropriate I just wanted to explain everything the best I could)
I'm so sorry that you're going through all this. I can only speak from personal experience, but your story sounds a lot like mine, from eating unhealthy for years, the anxiety, and then developing bad symptoms when my mental health was at its worst.
Anxiety and other mental health issues are quite common triggers for IBS: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/mental-ibs-vicious-cycle, so you're not alone with that. I also get that sick feeling when I'm very anxious, and my IBS-D flares no matter what (and if) I eat.
In my case, working on my mental health (including pretty big lifestyle changes like quitting a stressful job, moving to a small town to avoid dealing with too many people/constant traffic, etc.) helped me get a lot better.
I've also had success with gut-directed hypnotherapy using the app Nerva: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/hypnotherapy-app as well as EFT tapping: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/eft-tapping. There are many videos on YouTube if you'd like to try it.
But diet also plays a big role for many people.
Have you done the Low FODMAP diet with your dietitian, or kept a food diary?
Food triggers are very individual, so it can take a while to figure them out. There are some common ones though, like gluten, dairy, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, fatty foods, onions, garlic, ...
Since you mention having porridge, dry toast, oat biscuits, and nutrition drinks every day and not feeling well, maybe you could instead try a gluten-free (and oat-free) diet? While both gluten and oats can be fine for people with IBS, they can also be triggers. I personally have a terrible reaction to gluten, and while it's not nearly as bad with oats, I still get a lot of discomfort and bloating from them. In my case, it also gets worse the more I eat those foods.
Maybe you could try eating other, usually safe, foods like white rice, chicken, maybe some chicken stock or bone broth? For me, carrots and bananas are also very safe.
I'm also wondering if you've checked the ingredients of those nutrition drinks? Artificial sweeteners can be terrible for IBS, as described here: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/food/sugar, so I would check just in case if they contain any.
I hope you'll get some relief from your symptoms soon. It's terrible to suffer so much all the time, but it can get better.
Big hugs, Karina (team member)Hi Karina thank you message and for the links you sent i have just had a read off them and found it helpful i am going to get the nerva app and give the hypnotherapy a go I'm glad you had success with it I hope I do too it's awful when you have anxiety or mental health problems on top of health conditions it can make you question things and worry about symptoms thinking is this anxiety or is it something bad is there something wrong with me anxiety can give so many physical symptoms it's a horrible thing I'm glad your doing better with your mental health and well done for the steps you took too get too a better place I've not tried the low FODMAP diet I'm still struggling with my diet and worry about trying different foods keep wanting to try white rice and chicken but can't bring myself to do it I'm fearful that it's going to affect my stomach really bad and I worry incase I introduce different food to my diet and I have an allergic reaction to it I know this is mostly caused by my mental health I've heard that white rice is gentle on the stomach where as I thought it caused a lot of bloating yes I checked ingredients in the nutrition drinks there full off vitamins and minerals and lots of other things that I've not heard off but no artificial sweetners there called altraplen energy when I first started having the drinks I got stomach symptoms and diarrhea but I've been on them now for about 3 months or so and I can have them and feel fine no symptoms and sometimes I have them and might feel abit sick and bloated or get wind it's like that with the food I eat I think anxiety definitely messes with your stomach I've been bad for a week and keep having diarrhea and thats cause when we're anxious it will upset or stomach and digestion have you ever suffered with insomnia or sleep problems? The past week my sleep is getting less and less each day it's frustrating because I will fall to sleep but not sleeping for long and I worry so much thinking I'm never going to sleep properly but like I've said 2 or 3 weeks ago there was a lot of stress and people I've spoke to are putting it down to that i just wish my mind would switch off anyway how are you doing? Hope your ok and managing with things
It sounds like you're going through a lot currently, it's no wonder that your stomach is reacting. 🙁 The combination of anxiety and IBS is terrible and the fact that they fuel each other doesn't help... this happens to me all the time.
Since you've mentioned that you haven't tried any other foods and also that the nutrition drinks caused symptoms for you at first, I would personally try to switch up your diet to see if the foods you're having every day might be contributing to your symptoms. Maybe you could mention this to your dietitian?
For what it's worth, many people with IBS-D seem to do well with white rice: https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/forums/white-rice-not-a-bad-choice-so-it-seems-for-ibs-d, https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/food/white-rice, https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/food/alternatives - so I wouldn't worry too much about trying that one. Regarding other foods, it can help to start with very small portions.
Regarding sleep, you're not alone with that. Anxiety makes it very hard to get a good night's sleep and IBS flares really don't help. If you're interested, we have so many articles about sleep and IBS, you can just type "sleep" into the search bar and they should all come up. Or I can link some for you, if you prefer.
It's so hard when other people don't get how hard it is to deal with mental health issues, I'm sorry you're not met with more understanding. What helps me in stressful times is actively focusing on activities I love to get my mind off everything. Hopefully, you'll get a break from all that stress soon.
Wishing you all the best,
Karina (team member)
