Anxiety Out of Control, What Is Wrong With Me! Posted: 03-05-07 21:32pm
Here is a little back ground....A month
ago I thought I was constipated, but that
wasn't the case....The stool was to wide
to pass...I did pass it thought it hurt
worse than the 3x's I gave birth. About a
week later I had got waken up by horrible
cramps and ran to the bathroom with
diarrhea.
4 weeks (yes 4 weeks) back I started
getting an odd pain in my lower right
abdomen, not painful but enough to let me
know somethings up. Well I didn't know if
maybe it was due to my oncoming
cycle....My cycle came but pain didnt go
away.
I went to the er and they took blood, no
urine test cause of my cycle. Did physical
exam, had me do things, they looked for a
lump near my right hip and pressed up and
down all over my stomach....Which I had
zero pain or discomfort from this.....They
sent me home they said they have no idea
what it is....Ran no other tests.
Followed up with my dr 2 days
later......He suspects ibs not
appendicitis, he has me scheduled for a
colonoscopy march 13 and a sonogram march
15. I did go today and have a uti test
done which I wont know the results til
later this week.
He's leaning toward colon, i'm going
appendix....But im no Dr.
Would and can an inflamed appendix last 4
weeks ???? I haven't thrown up, yes I get
nauseated but that may be from my anxiety
disorder which this is throwing me into a
spiral.
What are your thoughts?
Lisa
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ocdengineer
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Posts: 48 Location: SA, TX
Ibs Posted: 03-06-07 08:11am
Sounds to me like IBS. Anxiety disorders
are usually linked it IBS. The mind gut
connection is very strong. I can tell
when I am anxious because I can feel my
stomach start to turn and I usually end up
in the bathroom within minutes. other
days it is the exact opposite. This has
all kinda relaxed a little since I started
taking Xanax for the anxiety, but I still
have my days. I would be willing to be
that all the tests will come back negative
and that you will probably be diagnosed
with IBS which is another way of saying,
"we don't know what is wrong with you?" I
would suggest eating regular meals
throughout the day lay off caffeine,
booze, and nicotine as these all cause
problems with anxiety and IBS. Practice
some sort of Cognitive Therapy whether it
be in a group through a counselor or
simply meditation at home. Both work.
Also consider seeing an anxiety disorder
specialist to help you with that. I would
be willing to bet again that the anxiety
disorder is the underlying cause.
Hope you feel better,
OE
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Lisa68
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 27
Posted: 03-06-07 08:24am
Thanks for your response, I have xanax and
have been taking it. I know I haven't
taken it in a looooong time, because I
learned to control my anxiety.
But if it is anxiety related, then all I
can figure is the odd bowel movements
started me worrying then I got this pain
and my anxiety went full blown.
Reading other message boards for
reassurance was the WRONG thing to do,
because it did the opposite.
Uggh I need slapped if I did this to
myself.
Thanks
Lisa
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Stan
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Posted: 03-06-07 09:37am
I suppose an inflamed appendix could last
that long, but it would be dangerous and
you'd be in some serious, serious pain.
Be careful of any IBS diagnoses, it's
starting to become another dustbin
diagnosis for doctors that could give a
caca about figuring out what's causing the
problem. The most common reason people
have digestive problems is, obviously,
their crappy diets, so you might want to
start there.
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Lisa68
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 27
Posted: 03-06-07 11:17am
well 2 weeks into this when I went to the
ER my cbc was normal no sign of
infection.
No my pain is not horrible, it comes and
goes and moves all around where your colon
is. Its just discomfort and sometimes a
twinge of pain, whether its on my right
side, upper ab or left side. And
besides being nauseated I'm not sick as a
dog, just more anxious than anything.
I already have fibromyalgia and
oesteoarthritis.....I guess I'll find out
after my 2 tests.
Everyone on the IBS board feels that IBS
is the reason. But if nothing shows on
the 2 tests I will ask for the CTscan to
make sure.
Lisa
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Stan
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Posted: 03-06-07 12:23pm
Don't be so quick to assume IBS, because
in most cases no one ever cares to figure
out why it's happening, they just
blah blah IBS there you go out the door
take this. Sadly, most people are happy
having a name for what they're
experiencing and could care less about
getting to the root of it. In my
experiences, I would say at least 85% of
so-called IBS cases are all due to poor
diets that lead to improper bacterial
balances in the intestines, that's it.
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Lisa68
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 27
Posted: 03-06-07 14:08pm
Well I won't accept IBS until they do the
CTscan, IF my insurance will allow that.
I will also start taking my
probiotics(acidiolophoulis) pills again,
and yes my diet stinks!!!!
I have fibro and as soon as I find out
what all my problems are I'm going the way
of homeopathic medicin and diet. For
Fibro they just want to shove pills down
your throat or they want to give you
cortizone shots...I will not take a
cortizone shot!
I will also make sure they take biopsies
of all parts of my colon, could be
something there they cannot see unless its
under the microscope!
Hope
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Stan
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Posted: 03-06-07 16:14pm
You need something better than that. Look
for Primal Defense by Garden of Life.
Problem is, if you're eating like crap
these supplements will do little, if
anything, to help your problem. They're
meant to fix things, not allow you to eat
twenty pizzas and cake and then think it
will keep things going.
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Lisa68
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 27
Posted: 03-06-07 18:42pm
I don't eat that bad!!! I barely
eat.....I only eat when Im hungry, I don't
eat pizza,cake and all the other junk
foods.
I have quaker instant oatmeal for
breakfast....dinners are normally like
roast/meatloaf/chicken with sides and
vegies.
Yes some of food may not be right for me,
but I'm 5'4 and weigh 110pds. So Im not
totally unhealthy.
Lisa
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Stan
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Posted: 03-06-07 18:54pm
Hhahah, I hope you know I was
exaggerating. Anyway, that doesn't sound
too bad, so long as you're telling the
truth... I recommend a good pro-biotic
better than just acidophilus.
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Lisa68
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 27
Posted: 03-06-07 19:24pm
I think im going to get the ones that dont
dissolve until they get to where they are
suppose to go.
No Im not lying, sadly I don't eat
enough....I don't live to eat, I eat to
live.
Yes once in a blue moon I get the munchies
and have bad things.....but not on a
daily/weekly or even monthly basis.
When I see the holistic Dr I will ask him
what I should take for my digestive
tract.
Lisa
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ocdengineer
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Mar 2007 Posts: 48 Location: SA, TX
Ibs Posted: 03-06-07 20:30pm
I agree that IBS is a doctors "cop out".
It is diagnosed when the doctor has no
clue what is wrong with you. The thing
is, IBS is almost always related to
anxiety. If I have a rough morning from a
hard day at work the night before I will
wake up nauseous and sick and end up
running for the bathroom. It is the
anxiety that causes the sickness.
Also, eating bad can also be a problem,
but from what you have said, it doesn't
sound like you eat too horribly bad. I
eat three pretty balanced meals a day and
take a multi-vitamin to round it out and I
still have problems with digestion. When
you are anxious your digestive tract
starts going haywire and does one of two
things. It either says everybody out, or
it freezes and you have discovered the
problem there. I know for a fact the
Xanax will relax you digestive tract, but
other things should be considered as well
such as diet. Do you drink, smoke, or
drink a lot of caffeine? If so, you
really should stop. That will help a lot.
Also, I can't stress enough how helpful
meditation and mindfulness meditation have
been for me. If nothing else, it gives
you 15-30 minutes to you in the morning
where you can just practice relaxation.
At its best it can help you learn to
control your thoughts and anxiety so you
can function even in the midst of a panic
attack.
I take Prilosec in the morning and it
helps my stomach and gas-x as needed. I
also take Xanax 2 mg per day and that
helps a lot with the anxiety. Plus all of
the above lifestyle changes. It has
helped a lot. I still have rough days
though. Try not to be hard on yourself
about bad days. We all have 'em and we
all hate 'em.
Take care,
OE
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Lisa68
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Feb 2007 Posts: 27
Posted: 03-07-07 09:43am
Ive been doing really well with my anxiety
for a couple of years, I think the pain
put me into an anxiety spiral....one that
is hard to recover from due to the "What
Ifs".
I drink coffee in the morning 3cups, 1
soda and the rest of the time water or
cranberry juice. Yes I do smoke....hard
habit to kick...tried but guess I didn't
try hard enough.
The Fibro doesn't help either, that alone
stresses me out.
Yes when I get upset or anxious, I get the
runs....always have....never needed a
label for it.
Sadly if a Dr believes in IBS, how do you
get him/her to keep searching?
