Does Anxiety & Stress Affect Your Digestive System? Posted: 08-20-07 15:44pm
For the last few months I have been having
a few problems, I've been basically
diagnosed as having Anxiety, by my PCP
& Neurologist.It all started with me
feeling off balance, like with vertigo. I
went to the ER they said it was a nasal
problem. I was prescribed meds, that did
not help the dizziness. I went to the ER a
second time, they said it may be my ear,
because I had a little fluid. I took an
antiveritgo med. That didn't really help.
I went to my pcp, she ran a CBC with
differential, Rheumatology Fact, TSH, I
think she also did Amylase & Lipids.
They all came back normal. I had a CT Scan
of my head, that was normal. That weekend,
I started having diarrhea, and a lot of
nausea, I was making myself vomit. I
wasn't really eating because, I didn't
want to deal with the diarrhea. The
diarrhea lasted one and off for about 2
weeks,plus from not eating I lost about
6-7lbs within July. I haven't lost anymore
weight. I went to my PCP, and she
prescribed me Cipro just in case it's
bacteria and had a stool culture done. The
stool culture was negative. The Cipro
cleared up the diarrhea. Now, I am having
funny stools, it looks like food particles
in it. It's funny colors sometimes and it
smells different at times. Sometimes after
I eat, I start burping, like air is coming
up. At times I will have heart burn. Prior
to all of these symptoms a few years ago,
I was diagnosed with Acid Reflux, and as a
child I was almost hospitalized because of
gas problems. I also have a history of
being constipated. But I don't have that
problem now. I usually go 2 times a day
now, and it's not hard or painful like it
used to be. I know that anxiety can cause
lots of symptoms, can it affect your
stomach? I notice when I get nervous my
stomach starts to hurt and I feel like I'm
going to have diarrhea, but when I go it's
not. It's just my stools look a little
different now. I was on the Special K
diet a few weeks before this happened,
which is replacing 2 meals with a bowl of
cereal. I wanted to lose like 10-15lbs. I
started the diet and then I guess from
eating so little, I lost my appetite. What
do you guys think is going on? My docs are
saying anxiety can affect my stomach
|
sucraloser
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 12 Location: San Francisco, CA
Posted: 08-29-07 13:45pm
Anxiety can definitely affect your
digestive system, and loose stools
(diarrhea), an urgent need to go to the
bathroom, loss of appetite, and stomach
upset are all pretty common side effects
of anxiety.
Any time I get a rush of adrenaline or
anxiety, or if I feel a panic attack
coming on, I immediately feel my stomach
ramp up and head to the bathroom. I've
also felt nauseated and dizzy because of
anxiety.
However, if you are having semi-frequent
diarrhea, you should make sure to drink
extra water. Dehydration will make you
feel even worse, and if you're anxious,
you don't want to give yourself any more
symptoms to obsess about.
If your stools look different, it could be
for a number of reasons. Eating cereal
more frequently often means more fiber in
your diet, which results in bulkier, more
fibrous stools. And if anxiety is
affecting your GI system, you may also
notice that your stools are lighter in
color than usual. This often just means
that the stool has passed more quickly
than usual through your system and has not
had time to stain properly (stool
undergoes a process where it turns from
greenish yellow to darker brown as it
passes through your system). Anxiety can
also kill your appetite-- I also have
trouble eating when I feel anxious, and
food will sometimes make me feel ill or
nauseated.
Have you considered treatment for your
anxiety? Medication, therapy, and even
massage can help mitigate these kinds of
symptoms.
At any rate, I wish you the best, and I
hope you are able to relax a bit.
|
goldiestar
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 124
Posted: 09-11-07 13:02pm
Stress can definately affect your system.
Try some yoga or meditation as well. I
also use a cleanse each year to help with
my system and get things moving along. I
use drnatura's colonix program and have
had great success with it. I am sure you
will find what works for you. Good luck
and keep us posted.
