Psychosymatic symptoms?

[lda]

Hi There,

I have been on this forum on and off for a few months now but never posted.

I am currently going through what i hope is the biggest anxiety attach i have had and not the health problem i fear...I have managed to convince myself that i have some form of bowel/colon cancer due to the symptoms i have been getting.

These are painful constipation & diarrhoea, along with severe unbearable bottom/lower back pain. Abdo pain from over production of acid. Now i do believe that this has come on when i changed my diet to be healthy and low calorie to get in shape after about three yrs of eating lots of take out and minimal veg...so my logical side says this goes hand in hand, but my irrational side says no you have abused your body for so long that just as try to change it you will see the damage is done.

My GP who has send me for bloods and stool sample (which freaks me out even more) has said she feels it is a manifestation of my symptoms in the area i feel i have the issues...these symptoms are so strong that painkillers do not knock it out and they are there the whole time along with low appetite now i have commenced diet, plus nausea and dizziness etc.

My question is has anyone else experience these specific symptoms or fears before? Or if not then similar?

Some context around my health anxiety, always been a hypochondriac as a child but back in 2009 i lost my mum to lung cancer which was diagnosed 3 months after deciding to quit. I didn't grieve other than numbness and now i believe it is coming as a full blown mental health disorder.

I have had a number of attacks from feeling it is my heart to breast cancer and another episode of bowel cancer fear about two yrs ago which the gp cleared up without having to test.

Any advice/reassurance would be great!

Cheers

[trinidiva]

Its really hard to say, but many people with anxiety issues also suffer from gerd or IBS...irritable bowl syndrome. Have you already investigated that?

[alankay]

Anxiety and GI issues can go hand it hand for some. At your age it makes allot of sense that it's all anxiety related and certainly not cancer at all. Alankay

[vic]

Hi There, I have been on this forum on and off for a few months now but never posted. I am currently going through what i hope is the biggest anxiety attach i have had and not the health problem i fear...I have managed to convince myself that i have some form of bowel/colon cancer due to the symptoms i have been getting. These are painful constipation & diarrhoea, along with severe unbearable bottom/lower back pain. Abdo pain from over production of acid. Now i do believe that this has come on when i changed my diet to be healthy and low calorie to get in shape after about three yrs of eating lots of take out and minimal veg...so my logical side says this goes hand in hand, but my irrational side says no you have abused your body for so long that just as try to change it you will see the damage is done. My GP who has send me for bloods and stool sample (which freaks me out even more) has said she feels it is a manifestation of my symptoms in the area i feel i have the issues...these symptoms are so strong that painkillers do not knock it out and they are there the whole time along with low appetite now i have commenced diet, plus nausea and dizziness etc. My question is has anyone else experience these specific symptoms or fears before? Or if not then similar? Some context around my health anxiety, always been a hypochondriac as a child but back in 2009 i lost my mum to lung cancer which was diagnosed 3 months after deciding to quit. I didn't grieve other than numbness and now i believe it is coming as a full blown mental health disorder. I have had a number of attacks from feeling it is my heart to breast cancer and another episode of bowel cancer fear about two yrs ago which the gp cleared up without having to test. Any advice/reassurance would be great! Cheers I suffer ibs but wen my anxiety is at a high it's far worse I have hot sweats the pain can get that bad and it takes my breath away I've had 3 children without pain relief so I do have very strong pain threshold but wen this starts I have to curl up it's horrible and I eat very healthy as if I have fatty foods I'm in agony for days so I rarely eat bad. I also get very bad acid as well. When u have a panic attack u lose fuilds as all the water in our bodies go to our muscles but our digestive system also slows down so if u have attacks a lot like I do at times then ur digestive system will be very slow eat health and drink plenty of water and try and not stress or worry as much ;)

[lda]

Thank you vics, alankay and trinidiva. Your response is really valued. Hopefully when the test results come through I can put this episode to bed and really get to work on resolving the root causes of the anxiety!

I just really hate that little bad voice that tells you each time "ahhhh but no, this time it is real". The power of the mind to be able to create these crazily strong symptoms is incredible, i just need to put that power to positive use.

Thanks again and a welcome anyone else's experiences or coping mechanisms!

[vic]

Thank you vics, alankay and trinidiva. Your response is really valued. Hopefully when the test results come through I can put this episode to bed and really get to work on resolving the root causes of the anxiety! I just really hate that little bad voice that tells you each time "ahhhh but no, this time it is real". The power of the mind to be able to create these crazily strong symptoms is incredible, i just need to put that power to positive use. Thanks again and a welcome anyone else's experiences or coping mechanisms! our mind can produce symptoms and make alsorts appear that are not ther I'm sure u will be fine ibs is very common in anxiety and it most certainly does feel bad wen in high anxiety mode mine does my belly swells I have horrible pain sometimes I even get sharp shooting pains up my bottom that wake me in my sleep :( but worry defo makes it worse. Think of it this way even a person without anxiety they are ready to take a driving test and they feel nervous normal everyday nerves wher do they feel it first??? There stomach they may have runs belly ache or wee a lot because ur nervous effect ur stomach chin up all will be well