Does anyone here also have IBS??

[ktacserv]

I suffer quite a bit from IBS. I have a hard time distinguishing between my IBS symptoms (which are heavily triggered by extreme anxiety ) and a true virus. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you cope?

I have either a virus or a very bad case of IBS today and I am currently freaking out that irs a virus and that is not making me feel better. I hope it is not TMI but id like advice because that will help me determine how to treat it.

I woke up this morning feeling some intestinal discomfort, nothing new. I had skipped dinner last night so I thought maybe my cramping was hunger related, as it can sometimes be. I ate my usual breakfast and went to work. I started to feel better after I ate so I figured I would be fine. Around lunch time, I started getting some more intense intestinal cramping. I thought maybe I needed to eat again, so I went to get something simple - a bowl of soup and some bread. I ate and returned to my car. No sooner than I returned to my car did I start to feel really bad, lots of intense cramping and dizziness, sweats/chills, trembling. I felt like I was going to have a bad case of D. I sat for a few mins with the windows down doing some deep breathing and in ten minutes the cool air had helped me to feel better. I had to attend a meeting right after lunch so I went ahead and started driving. Driving has a tendency to be soothing and calming to me so I was happy for the drive thinking maybe I was having a panic attack. I made it about 40 minutes into ky drive when all of the symptoms reappeared with a vengeance, when I was in the middle of a six lane highway with no exits of course. I know that stretch of highway well and knew there was a rest stop several miles ahead, so I drove like a psycho as fast as I could to make it to that rest stop. Scariest drive ever. I swerved into a parking space and ran into the bathroom with a bad case of D. I almost didn't make it to the bathroom in time.

I got myself back into the car and felt really awful, intense cramps, sweats/chills, panicking. Stomach gurgling. I instantly called into work with an excuse - said my kids were suddenly ill and I had to take off to get them from daycare - and thought to myself how the heck I was going to get home feeling that way. I did it, the drove was extremely unpleasant hour long ride of torture but I did it. As soon as I got home another bout of really awful D, and lots of cramping and pain and sweats/chills. I got myself onto the couch and was able to go to sleep for a couple of hours. I woke up still having cramps and the urge for D, but nowhere near as bad. I have been fighting the urge for a few hours now and the longer I go without D, the better I feel.

Id like to eat dinner tonight but I am afraid. I haven't eaten or drank anything since lunch when everything went down hill. I usually take Meds when I know for sure it's IBS, but when I have reason ti believe its a virus I don't take anything in fear my stomach wont be able to handle it and it will make me V. I also pray that whatever it is this is not contagious to anyone else. I would not want my kids to get it. The thing that's throwing me is that I have only had a few really bad IBS flares like this and all of my past flares I can tell you something stupid I ate or drank to trigger it - spicy food, alcohol, antibiotics for example. This time I did nothing out of the ordinary. That is what has me a bit panicked.

[pretendworld_]

This sounds like an IBS attack to me. I used to have them until I started taking probiotics and now I very rarely get d* or cramping. I guess if it were a virus then you wouldn't have felt like eating anything and you would probably be n* too. One way I always test myself is to see whether I'm hungry or not; if the thought of food repulses you then something might be wrong...but if your appetite is still there (and it seems to be with you) then it's def. not a virus. What meds do you take for IBS?

[Paisley]

I have IBS. The way that I can tell the difference between a flare-up and a virus or food poisoning is if I feel nauseated and without an appetite. When it's the IBS, I don't feel like I'm going to throw up and I can still eat. When it's something else, there is no way I can even look at food and I feel very nauseated even if I don't actually vomit. Chills aren't something I get with IBS but everyone's different. I usually feel very hot but that's most likely because IBS triggers my anxiety and my anxiety triggers IBS. It's a vicious cycle.

I try to watch what I eat. Dairy bothers me horribly so I stay away from that, so does gluten so I stay away from wheat products. And I'm careful not to overeat because I'\ve noticed if I stuff myself, I'll for sure have a bout of diarrhea within a few hours or the next day. Maybe because it overworks an already sensitive bowel.

Sipping on chamomile or peppermint tea is very soothing for IBS.

I hope you're feeling better.

[ktacserv]

So I thought I would come back and update you all. It turns out my horrible IBS episodes were not IBS at all. Yesterday morning after having terrible IBS intestinal cramping and D, my symptoms changed to extreme pain in my back and extreme burning pain when I pee. When I did pee, I was peeing blood. It was so scary, I had no idea what was happening. Within an hour of seeing blood I was curled on the floor crying in pain, then I passed a kidney stone...no mistaking it. As soon as it passed I felt a lot better. I have bern doing a lot of research since then and found that all those symptoms are common for kidney stones. I had no clue that is what I was going through.

[heydani]

Oh man that sounds extremely painful, I am so sorry for you ! i hope you are feeling better now though. I have been getting those similar symptoms you were describing, was that all you experienced and how long did it last ?