IBS Stress and Health Anxiety
Hello Everyone,
I've suffered from unexplained health symptoms for years. Early childhood trauma, an emotionally abusive church that withheld medical care etc.
My health anxiety comes and goes and typically centers around heart, bowel and nervous system concerns. recently I've had multiple stressors. My mom passed away in a traumatic nursing home incident, I'm faced with job stressors and I am now faced with leaving my stressful but secure job and moving across the country due to my partner getting a job in a different state.
Recently, I've started having spasms and tightness in my chest, particularly under the lower left quadrant closest to the center of my chest.. I've had muscle spasms in various places for years and have seen doctors who tell me it's anxiety. But I made the mistake of googling it and learning about the "MS hug" Now I'm again convinced that I have MS and the problem persists.
The one thing that I have been "diagnosed" with is IBS. I'm wondering if anyone has experienced these types of symptoms related to their IBS. It doesn't "feel" like a bowel or stomach issue but I know sometimes that can be really deceptive because of how the nerves are laid out.
Ugh I'm a mess. I have an appointment with my GP in early March but fully expect she'll just say that it is all in my head as usual.
Hey
, I hear your frustration. You know your body better than anyone else and I believe you when you say these symptoms are real. It sounds really scary. I hope you get some answers when you see the doctor. I don't personally have experience with this, but I think you might find this article helpful. The author also got spams in their abdomen as part of their stress and IBS symptoms, and the article talks about how they managed this with topical treatments. https://irritablebowelsyndrome.net/living/topical-treatments.
I hope this helps! Please keep us updated, especially after you see your doctor. I'd like to hear what she says! - Kat (Team Member)A history of abuse and or traumas at any point in life, can often be linked to problems like IBS, and I should imagine, health anxiety or other anxieties, including PTSD too.
I do get various symptoms which can be generated by my IBS, and there is sometimes what's called "referred pain" (where a different part of the body can feel sudden pain or discomfort).
And like you say, the nerves link to each other, so some symptoms can come via the Vagus nerve. Some of those can be a bit scary indeed, though not life threatening, and will usually stabilise and go.
I have had a handful of "vagal spasms" which have felt quite doom-laden! Yet they did pass fairly quickly, and didn't actually have any serious health threatening meaning.
Even instances of trapped wind can cause vagal spasms.
Are you with any kind of therapist? I wonder if that might help you? I don't know.
If you find it difficult to find a therapist I have heard a few people give good feedback about "Better Help". I have not tried that myself, though, so can't personally recommend them. But it does sound quite good.
