Are most people with IBS anxious people?

[rubynoodles]

I have become completely obsessed about my IBS for the last 14 years and its getting worse. I have read every book, newspaper article and info on the internet regarding it and have convinced myself over the years that its either caused by illness, food intolerance (now REALLY fussy about food), parasites, allergies etc etc.

But the 'rational' side of my thinking (which most often gets overcome by my irrational side!!) tells me that really its all down to my very anxious personality.

When I think about it the people I know who suffer from IBS all have some sort of anxiety problem or are 'nervy' people and most of the people who I would class as relaxed don't suffer at all and if they do experience any tummy upsets they just put it down to one of those things and forget about it.

Does anyone else think IBS and anxiety are very interwoven?

[Horse]

I for one believe that most people with IBS are anxious, or suffer from some form of anxiety, even if they won't admit it. I also believe that it's root originates from our subconscious (as does most of our anxiety in the first place). Therefore, we don't necessarily have to be worrying about something at a particular time in order for IBS to 'kick off.'

It does amaze me that many GPs will state that they don't really know what causes IBS, but do know that stress makes it worse! Surely it is obvious that the vast majority of sufferers are anxious people in the first place and will have had some record of stress or other stress related symptoms in the past. Therefore, I will stick my neck out here and state that although I'm no doctor, I have suffered anxiety for over 40 years and studied Psychology for 10 of those and will adamantly state that IBS is caused by anxiety/stress or bad nerves! I know there have been cases whereby some sufferers say that their IBS started after being on a course of antibiotics, but I will still stand firm and say I believe otherwise.

Our subconscious is a very complex part of the mind, and as an old expert once said to me, 'What ever happens above the eyebrows, is responsible for whatever happens below the eyebrows', in my opinion, never was a truer word said!

I will also add that I believe once we are 'inflicted' with IBS, it never goes away but lies dormant in our system just waiting for a trigger. Consequently, we can be IBS free so to speak for several years if we are lucky, only to have a flare up again once something affects us emotionally. May I also point out that the effect doesn't have to be immediate but can take effect some time after the cause before it manifests itself, although this can depend on the individual.

In a nutshell, we bring it on ourselves! At the end of the day it is a self induced illness which is controlled by our autonomic nervous system as a result of our emotional response to whatever stress we have to endure. This is why people who are very self centered, arrogant, aggresive and who never basically give a damn about anything or anyone normally will never suffer IBS or any other stress related illness (sadly of course they have another form of 'disorder').

It is of course possible to 'reprogramme' our subconscious as we do a computer. This can be done by various forms of either hypnosis or CBT or self help as in regular relaxation/positive thinking and other means. The problem is that all of these methods can and will take time and self discipline and a sometimes tremendous amount of work and effort on our part, all of which can be exhaustive and to some people pointless. Most of us don't have the time or money or our anxiety just makes us so depressed we think what's the point! Also, every one of us is different and our degree of emotional turmoil over the years obviously varies from person to person. Therefore, some forms of therapy will take a very long time. For example, my past 40 years of anxiety is not going to be cured in a couple or weeks or even months.

If only the doctors would concentrate more on the psychological causes of IBS and anxiety in general rather than relying on the multi - million pound drug industry which is only too happy to pump us full of their products (and their side effects), I feel we would all benefit tremendously, but like I said, we can do it ourselves. All we need is patience, determination, the ability to believe in ourselves to succeed and to fight to the end!

Phew, now I'm off for a lay down.

PS. In answer to your question..............Yes.

Take care

Horse.

[rubynoodles]

Thank you Horse I agree with everything you have written.

I really do believe that IBS is initially formed by psychological issues (most of my family are very anxious people and they have or have had digestive issues along with many other physical problems!).

I have long since given up going to my gp for help, I have a draw full of prescriptions for ibs/anxiety meds. (I have no intention of collecting the actual tablets as I believe they only mask the problem without tackling the real issue). So I just smile politely and take said prescription when the gp says that is all he can offer me!?

[Horse]

Well, at least that's two of us who know what we're talking about. Now all we have to do is convince the whole of the NHS!

It's a sad fact that if you take away your GPs prescription pad, they are at a lose as to what to do or help you, frightening isn't it? Incidentally, do not forget that we pay for this service of course!

I too have a cupboard full of medication and so called remedies that will apparently help my symptoms, sadly none of them will address the cause of my symptoms!

One interesting point I would like to make is that I am currently undergoing CBT which is also under the supervision of a Psychiatrist. Occasionally, I am required to visit my Psychiatrist for an update on the progression of my therapy. When I told him that my stomach issues are a main point of my life and that it makes me very depressed at times, he's first concern was that I should be on an antidepressant! When I said that the reason for the depression was due to my abdominal discomfort, he informed me that depression was a form of an anxiety symptom anyway! In other words he was only too happy to prescribe me drugs to alleviate depression (but cause various unpleasant side effects) rather than address the cause of my stomach ailment in the first place!

Over the years I have lost count of the so called professionals I have seen ranging from Psychiatrist down to Psychiatric Nurses. I have even paid privately in some cases in order to be cured. In some cases, I knew more about the cause and effect of symptoms rather than the consultant I was seeing. One even labelled me as an 'attention seeker'..............that was a good £100 spent!!!

As I said. I know we can do it. But it is hard.....very hard.

May God bless you.

Horse.

[unspoken]

Hmmm I think there is a link, certainly with the continuation of symptoms and with flare ups due to anxiety. But I developed IBS when I was 18 and got sick with a routine stomach bug. It wasn't as bad as something like norovirus but after that I got bloating after eating. I mean I would blow up like a balloon within 20 minutes and it'd last 30 minutes to an hour. I saw a GP who told me that something like 2% of stomach bugs go on to cause IBS symptoms afterwards but that it should go away in 6-8 weeks. It didn't.ISo pretty much over night I lost the ability to digest a lot of different foods and I've seen my symptoms get better or worse depending on factors such as stress, tiredness and hormone changes, but it's very much still there. So although I was prone to anxiety before, I think a physical trigger tipped me over into suffering IBS.

I used to suffer from bloating and pain every evening but since I've been taking Sertraline I rarely get the bloating and pain any more. I don't know if that's due to increased serotonin or the mild laxative effect of the drug making me not retain gas so much. But either way, it's a useful side effect which means that my IBS is a lot more manageable than it was before, providing I am careful with my diet.

[JOHN55]

IBS and anxiety should get married, in my opinion anxiety is a major cause of IBS.
I can go months feeling brilliant then the slighest trigger and IBS appears almost laughing at me as if to say " got you again " - my latest bout came earlier this week and the sickly feeling etc .... and I am try to carry om but its difficult think previous post is spot on once you have suffered once it kinda lingers......

[Emphyrio]

IBS seems to be closely linked with serotonin levels - hence they sometimes give people with IBS an SSRI drug.

In my case, I believe that being on an SSRI actually made my IBS worse. I'd never had IBS beforehand, and haven't had it since coming off it - but who knows? Maybe it was a short term spell caused by something like a vitamin deficiency or something which has now been corrected (I now take multivitamins and magnesium). So I don't want to attribute it to the SSRI drug, but I have my suspicions...

I used to think it was food sensitivities, parasites, coeliac disease etc, but in the last few months I can pretty much eat what I want without issues with bloating, wind and a constant need to 'go'.