I feel *n a lot, what might be wrong with me? IBS? Please help!

[Kvetchnik]

Hello fellow sufferers!

Sorry if wierd expressions, english is a second language to me (I'm Swedish)

Ok, my situation is I'm quite emetophobic but try to ignore it. Lately my emetophobia has been worse than usual, it's getting close to winter and winter's v* disease is rampant here in Sweden, this year's prognosis is that it's going to be worse than usual. 20-30 % get it. I think I'm sort of resistant or Immune, but I have kids who get it which always scares the shisszle out of me. I get other things still, though.

The problem is I've had a lot of stomach problems for a few years, something like Colon Irritable or IBS, not diagnozed because they want to do colonoscopy and the symtpoms from the "cleaning out" you have to do beforehand is extreme d* and sometimes v*, so it's hard to diagnose. Usually the problems connected to my IBS comes and goes, some days I don't feel emetophobic or n* at all and can eat completelt normally.

These last weeks have been horrible though, almost consant discomfort, swelling, feeling n*, rumbling, a bit of d*. I've had a cold and a lot of n* and discomfort, no v* off course (I never do anymore) but I felt I had to. I got terrible d* one day for maybe 20 mins and then felt better, but not good. Now I feel like I still have a cold, a lot of snot, wierd taste and feeling in my throat, and even more stomach discomfort then usual.

So my first question is: Have you had the same symptoms when you had a cold?

The other is: Are there other people with IBS who recognizes my symptoms? Can it be something else, like Crohns disease or some damage or fault with my intestines? I hate the feeling of food going through my intestines, I almost always feel n* and discomfort when I've eaten or drunk anything, especially fatty foods and if I drink a lot, sometimes when I eat a lot, sometimes when I eat meat too. I've tried diets but they don't seem to work at least not short term.
Being emetophobic and having constant stomach issues is quite hard and makes me feel sad and depressed. I can never be truly happy or enjoy food or fully relax. Both work, social life and especially sleep are hard for me.

I feel constantly sick, which gives me angst. I almost always feel sort of sick, and now when I have a cold it has gotten way worse. Also these last weeks have been extra hard as I said, don't know why. Do I have to get that IBS diagnosis? How? Anyone gotten it? What are your symptoms?

Please share your tips and ideas. Help me emetophobiacs, you are my only hope :-)

[shivela1036]

Having a cold or other respiratory infection can definitely make you have a lot of drainage, coughing, sore throat, etc. Your stomach could be feeling worse due to anxiety, lots of drainage getting into your stomach and making it more upset, or just because of whatever infection you have in general (or a combination of those things).

IBS is a tough thing to diagnose sometimes because it can be a "diagnosis of exclusion" (meaning they can't find anything else wrong with you, so it's likely IBS). IBS has a huge range of symptoms...some people get d* only, some are constipated, some have both in cycles.

Personally, I have had stomach issues since I was a kid. I've been tested for just about everything in the book, and have been ruled to have IBS. I also have battled with OCD and anxiety for many years. OCD, IBS, and anxiety all work together in an unfortunate feedback mechanism if you let them...feeling anxious/worried about getting sick can make you feel like you're actually sick, which makes the anxiety and IBS symptoms flare up, making it hard to tell if you're ACTUALLY sick or not vs just anxious...it's tough sometimes.

You really, really should get checked out though. Your stomach symptoms could be something as "simple" as IBS (which there is no actual treatment for, but you can do a lot of different things to help the symptoms) or it could be something more serious that could lead to lasting damage if you don't get treatment (Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis, gallbladder disease, etc.).

To hopefully help with your colonoscopy fears...I've had a handful of colonoscopies in my life, and while the "cleaning out" procedure is DEFINITELY something I hate, I have NEVER v*d. Yes, there is a lot of d* because that's how you get cleaned out, but the fortunate thing is that you know it will be over as soon as they do the colonoscopy, and once you get the test done you can know for sure what is going on in there instead of spending weeks/months/years worrying about the unknown. Also, you are sedated during the colonoscopy, so you don't know what's going on.

I hope that helps!

[Kvetchnik]

Having a cold or other respiratory infection can definitely make you have a lot of drainage, coughing, sore throat, etc. Your stomach could be feeling worse due to anxiety, lots of drainage getting into your stomach and making it more upset, or just because of whatever infection you have in general (or a combination of those things).

IBS is a tough thing to diagnose sometimes because it can be a "diagnosis of exclusion" (meaning they can't find anything else wrong with you, so it's likely IBS). IBS has a huge range of symptoms...some people get d* only, some are constipated, some have both in cycles.

Personally, I have had stomach issues since I was a kid. I've been tested for just about everything in the book, and have been ruled to have IBS. I also have battled with OCD and anxiety for many years. OCD, IBS, and anxiety all work together in an unfortunate feedback mechanism if you let them...feeling anxious/worried about getting sick can make you feel like you're actually sick, which makes the anxiety and IBS symptoms flare up, making it hard to tell if you're ACTUALLY sick or not vs just anxious...it's tough sometimes.

You really, really should get checked out though. Your stomach symptoms could be something as "simple" as IBS (which there is no actual treatment for, but you can do a lot of different things to help the symptoms) or it could be something more serious that could lead to lasting damage if you don't get treatment (Crohn's, Ulcerative Colitis, gallbladder disease, etc.).

To hopefully help with your colonoscopy fears...I've had a handful of colonoscopies in my life, and while the "cleaning out" procedure is DEFINITELY something I hate, I have NEVER v*d. Yes, there is a lot of d* because that's how you get cleaned out, but the fortunate thing is that you know it will be over as soon as they do the colonoscopy, and once you get the test done you can know for sure what is going on in there instead of spending weeks/months/years worrying about the unknown. Also, you are sedated during the colonoscopy, so you don't know what's going on.

I hope that helps!

Thank you so much for your answer. I have started a check up-process, and test results are on the way. I will request for the process to continue if the tests show nothing so I can get a diagnosis. I got the same answer from my doctor who was concerned for me and recomended KBT-therapy.

It helped! it feels good to know other people have been in the same situations and are still alive :-) The cycles you mentioned really fits my behaviour as well. I get anxious because of n*, which gives me more stomach issues, etc etc. I have to break that cycle somehow, de-program myself. I will try the therapy and see how that goes.

What can you do to ease the rumblings and swelling in my stomach? Is there a way to ease IBS?

Regards / Richard Brorsson