worrying about my tummy!

[debs180]

im suffering quite bad with my ibs at the moment, sometimes im not convinced its ibs because the pain is quite bad at times as it is at the moment. im just wondering if anybody else who suffers ibs along with health anxiety ever feels like "is it really ibs"? ive had alot of panic attacks this week worrying about my tummy troubles. its just so hard to get my head around all of it sometimes. thanks for any advice or support. :) debs. xx

[NoPoet]

Hi, if the pains are the same as always, then there is no change to your actual condition: the difference is your anxiety has become heightened. The increase in anxiety makes everything else seem scarier, as you interpret your pain in a different way, making it seem new and dangerous.

In my experience IBS pain is more severe at some times than others. Maybe you have eaten or drunk something that does not agree with you. Or maybe your increased anxiety is simply stimulating the pain, making it feel worse.

[debs180]

hi thank you 4 replying, that makes alot of sense. i havent eaten or drunk anything different, so perhaps it is just my heighten anxiety feeding my pains more. thank you again xxx

[col410]

i completely understand what you are feeling. i have really bad health-related anxiety and suffer from IBS too. last year, when my anxiety was awful, i had recurring head pain in the same spot and was convinced that i had a brain tumor (MRI scan came back normal).

my anxiety was under control for almost a year, but in the last month or so it has been bad again, and now, instead of believing that my IBS is just that, i'm starting to believe that i have colon cancer or some other bad disease. it gets really bad the week before my period, which is where i am now, and the anxiety literally makes me sick.

i know this might not make you feel any better, but just know that i have the same concerns as you. take care.