I wonder...

[raggamuffin]

Hi all,

So i've had daily stomach pains for months now. One GP said anxiety but IBS was a physical underlying issue. Since there's no vomitting or blood, D or C when going to the toilet they're not concerned it's anything sinister. A lot of IBS can simply be pain she said. So other than a few blood tests which came back negative and feeling around my stomach they've just advised to try 4 different IBS meds over the course of the past 2 months+ I've had these daily pains.

None of the 4 meds worked. Now i'm left thinking about what another GP said when I came to him with severe chest and arm pains a while back. He said pain killers wouldn't work for anxiety based symptoms unless they had a placebo effect.

This has led me to think, might this simply be the case with these current IBS meds? This GP who thinkgs it's IBS based is the best GP in my surgery in my opinion. She is very thorough and did say that there would be an IBS medication out there which would help, but it's just a case of finding it.

I don't like the thought of it though. Living day to day on pills to quieten down my stomach. I know that IBS isn't fully understood but I don't want to have to rely on meds. At the moment I just get by day to day. Sometimes the pain really hurts, most of the time it's just an uncomfortable distraction from work or enjoying my free time.

It's something i'll address with my therapist when I start CBT on Saturday. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I know anxiety can easily cause stomach upset. In fact i'd be happier knowing it was just anxiety as opposed to IBS. Whilst I have changed my diet dramatically i'm wondering if there would be an irritant in my diet. Gluten intolerance was ruled out. maybe trying a lactose free diet for a few weeks could proove to be beneficial.

Ed

[snowdrop]

When I first started with anxiety I was 100% convinced that it was not psychological and that I had something wrong with my stomach - various trips to Gastroenterology and my GP found nothin and it wasn't until I started CBT that I realised that it was actually anxiety causing my stomach pains. Whenever I have a flare up I always feel it in my stomach first. The digestive system is so closely linked to our feelings and emotions - IBS however can still be aggravated by stress so you might have it too

[raggamuffin]

Howdy, thanks for the reply. Also welcome to the forums =) Yeah I think deep down it is anxiety to be fair. The usual idiotic googling of symptoms when I first had a stomach ache lasting more than a few hours brought up everything from IBS to pancreatic cancer. From then on guess what I had? Stomach aches every single day = /

Ed

[lsapphirel]

ED, stop googling, stop wondering, it will worsen the pain, if you dont believe me, try focusing on something else, maybe legs? i have this paiin on my stomach too, had constipation, but the minute my focus goes elsewhere, example, the latest was my legs, my legs gets really painful first thing when anxiety hits. if you think about your head, it will hit the head first lol. this im assuming its really anxiety as you said you test came back negative. give yourself say, a week and focus elsewhere, like maybe fingers, you will see it will hit the fingers as you keep thinking of it.

[dazza]

Ed - in my opinion, anxiety related pains shouldn't be constant. Or at least, they're rarely constant.

I know the stomach has a hard time with anxiety, but I question the continuous state of pain you have.

Are you certain you don't have an ulcer? does the pain worsen when you prod the offending area?

Can I suggest lots of good-bacteria yoghurts, like Actimel. You may have an excess of bad bacteria in there.

Lastly, what is your posture like during work/home? are you constantly slouched over?

[raggamuffin]

You're right lsapphirel... when one symptom comes the stomach pains tend to pass or are at the very least a lot more subdued. The past few days it's been dizziness and stomach pains battling for supremacy. but you're right, a new pain comes, I fixate on it. hey presto it's become a tenant in my body and i'm the landlord. Hah, I wish I was the landlord, i'd have control then :P

Hey Dazza... I have no symptoms relating to an ulcer in all honesty. Several doctors felt around my stomach and didn't have any pains. It causes a lot of gas and bloating. But I've not had anything serious, such as loss of appetite, heartburn, vomitting, bloody or black stools or constipation or diarrhea. The thing is distraction tends to subdue the symptoms, as with most of my other one's. But the stomach pains have been very persistent. My posture is bad, hunched over. At home...eh bit of a weird one to admit but what the hell. I sit on the flor cross legged and sway from side to side for hours...and hours...and hours. Yeah weird I know. Stil lI find it comforting. However I did think that having done that for 5+ hours a day everyday for 20+ years might have caused some issues...

Ed