Diarrhea Troubles

[Baseball56]

Hello everyone --

I am glad that such a forum as this exists for those who want to ask preliminary questions before seeking professional help and have them answered by such helpful people! Thank you in advance!

My troubles with diarrhea started the day before my senior year of high school. I woke up feeling extremely nervous for the new year, and after 10 minutes of being awake, I felt the extreme need to use the bathroom. I used the bathroom and it was pure liquid diarrhea. I then got to my first class of the day and fought my way through the intense stomach pains and I did not have to go anymore.

Ever since then, whenever I am out to eat with friends or out in a public place with friends and I eat even the slightest bit, I immediately get hit with the fear of not being able to find a toilet in time. This increases my urge to have diarrhea and I need to find a bathroom very shortly. I also seem to get urges to use the bathroom shortly before all of my classes. Once I use the bathroom, however, I am fine.

When I am in a comfortable environment such as my house, I can eat anything and everything and have normal bowel movements. However, I always have to take Imodium before I go out to eat with friends and every time I leave the house.

Something leads me to believe that my anxiety for being caught short is causing my bathroom troubles. If I had IBS, I figure that I would have diarrhea every time I eat, but the thing is, when I'm at home or not in a stressful situation, I can eat the same foods I would when I am out and not have as much trouble!

This is something that no college student should have to live with, as I have pretty much been confined to my dorm room and I haven't gone out to eat with a big group of people for fear of needing a toilet after I eat. I believe my anxieties have all just built up that going out to eat with people automatically makes me think of having to figure out possible bathroom situations, which then leads me to being anxious about having an accident, which leads me to being anxious about being embarrassed, etc.

I plan on making a trip to my doctor soon to ask him about how I feel, but I wanted to ask, here in the forum, if anybody else has had similar trouble. Was your problem solved by medication (which I would prefer not to take)?

I try to take my mother's advice to not think about it, but I find myself avoiding social situations all together to avoid the problem. I also plan to exercise more once winter break is over, but I'm not sure if this is the answer. My anxieties only lie with my bathroom problems, and nothing else. Besides worrying about having diarrhea, I feel perfectly calm about everything else and do not have any other troubles, thank goodness!

Thanks again to any help any of you can offer.

[isis2383]

Anxiety, stress, and nerves can affect the way our digestive system functions. I once had IBS and now I have colonic inertia (a very slow moving colon) its weird how it flipped from constant diarrhea to me not being able to go at all. It seems that throughout the years once I started experiencing nerves, major stress, depression, and anxiety my system started to change up a bit. I have seen a GI many times (had many colonoscopies and endoscopies)... It's well worth going... Discuss this idea with your primary doctor to rule out any digestive issues that may be present. There are medications and diet that can help with your situation but my best suggestion is to seek advice from your doctor first. Im wishing you the best of luck and let us know how your appointment goes.

[Baseball56]

Thanks for the reply!

I do know that I have had a stool sample taken, and everything was perfectly normal. I have yet to have further tests run, but my gut still tells me it's more of an anxiety issue than a digestive issue.

[smbkrn]

You are definitely not alone Baseball. I too experience very similar situations often when I eat out. For me, I am in my late 30's and have frequent business lunches and if my anxiety levels are high, it hits me. I am all too often trying to be strategic in making sure I will be close to a bathroom. It sucks!

[SyracuseNP]

You'll hear some doctors say there's no such thing as IBS.... When I was about 13, I was diagnosed with "spastic colon" and stress related. I had periodic "rumblings" of my intestines, pain and diarrhea. The diarrhea relieved the pain.

GI issues seem to be a taboo subject, just like anxiety. :oops: I've learned over the years, after had colonoscopy, EGD (to rule out potentially life-threatening problems) to use deep relaxation (or whatever can help you), a better diet, and an SSRI - Effexor XR. They help. It's a combo effort for me. I would rather use alternatives to pills to control my IBS - which has also been labeled as a symptom of anxiety.

I can tell you one thing... I'd rather have the constipation form than diarrhea form. As others have stated, it's embarrasing to have to find a bathroom quickly. If I'm really stressed, I used maxi-pads (like for periods) to catch any loose stool before finding a bathroom.

Most of all, for anyone with questionable IBS, like Baseball56, make sure your provider does a complete workup. IBS is a diagnosis by exclusion. ;)

[joey9]

I used to get what was eventually diagnosed by x-ray as a bowel spasm which caused intense pain and vomitting for 12-24 hours at a time. In hindsight I realise this was related to stress. These episodes carried on for about 2 years until i was told I would have to have a barium meal to find out what was wrong. I was so horrifed at the thought of undergoing such a hideous test that i completely recovered and it has never once happened again. Amazing what the mind can do.