Anyone get immediate stress - gut reaction?!

[vickyoddsocks]

Hi all!
(Im just gonna have a bit of a rant) Ive mentioned before about the possibility that I have IBS and Crohns.
Well over the past few months ive noticed, whenever i get nervous, apprehensive, edgy, all that kinda stuff.....well the next day im always immediatewly really ill: Massive stomache cramps, D, weak, temp, the whole lot. Its absolutetly horrendous and is a bad as my worst flare ups, ive gone to A+E with it before.
The weird thing is within 24-48 hours it goes away, and im back to my 'normal' self!
Ive been seeing my boyfriend for nearly 5 months, and i was supposed to be meeting a massive group of his family tonight - which of course i get nervous about coz i really like him and want to make a good impression. So about 3.00pm i start to get these familiar stomach cramps.
I spoke to my mum and we decided it was best (for my health) that i dont go, because i know that tomo i will be in incredable ammounts of pain, and its not worth it. I rang my boyfriend and explained, and he was his usual fantastic self about it (he knows about this whole 'nervous' issue, and was with me when it began) But now i feel like ive let him down, and his family, i dont think they will fully understand and will probably wonder why im not there. (Ive cancelled before, becasue it was too soon for me ans i was WAY too nervous!!) I feel like such a baby, but im well and truely stuck on a vicous circle now.....i dont want to avoid situations, but im getting more nervous about getting the pain than the situation itself!
I mentioned it to my doc, and he just said 'sounds like you have IBS aswell' and offered no treatment or resolution.
ARGH!

 

[Jeff D.]

If I get annoyed then I get a gut reaction. I hope you start getting better soon.

Best of luck

 

[Kittee]

I do.

My GI doc also has suggest I might have IBS and IBD and yes I get immediate reaction. When that happens, I do my deep breathing and sometimes that helps stop the cramping/stabbing pains immediately.

 

[BWS1982]

I think stress can make this disease worse, and I'm pretty sure that's the general concesus (stress aggravating Crohns), stress and anxiety can make any conditions worse though too, asthma, headaches, fever, etc...

As for the drastic difference of night and day like you speak of, I haven't had that, I get up and down like that but there's no link to the stress of it all that I can notice, it's all over the place. My condition goes up and down so much hour to hour that I can't discern any patterns, except that when I feel really bad, I often feel better after making a productive bathroom trip.

 

[Digits]

ive noticed, that whenever i cry, or get really upset i get horrible stomach pains, then i throw up, and then it just hurts for a few more hours.

 

[Kev]

Well, I believe... skip that.. know.. that stress aggravates ANYTHING, despite the so called studies that haven't been able to establish a 'direct' link to this disease.
I also experience my worst pains, often my worst symptoms otherwise, at night!

I don't know why this happens, how it works, what makes it seem that any illness is worst at nite... but that has always been my personal experience.

 

[katiesue1506]

If I get really nervous or upset, I get almost immediate stomach flutters and cramps.

 

[Gary Mason]

I always have my worst days with this illness when i'm very stressed. No doubt it's linked in my mind.

 

[soupdragon69]

Vicky,

Have you thought about meeting less of them over a period of time? Would be less stressful surely and you could actually build up friend/relationships then with them? Just a thought...

And yes I agree with everyone else that stress is an aggravator. I have been under immense stress with my current boss since last October and have nosedived gut and chest wise as a result despite trying everything I can think of. Time will sort it out for me as I change jobs again at the start of April.

Juggling IBS and IBD too can be a pain but it is possible over time once you know your triggers and accept when you have to ease up on yourself so you are doing a good thing Vicky by calling a halt even though understandably you are not happy about it.

Thinking of you. Hope you are on the upturn.

 

[Keara07]

Oh for sure! Stress is a HUGE aggravator as I can very easily coincide three flares with HUGE stresses that occured in the last 2 years. Newly, dx'd but hindsight being what it was, the correlation is painfully hit-you-in-the-gut apparent.

So I am def trying to de stress as much as possible these days, and taking time for me, and R&R in the house, even with everything going on medically.

I can't imagine having both IBD and IBS - my aunt has IBS and has a rough time, and although I wish I didn't have CD, I have mostly avoided the big D and blood loss she has. Then again, many days go by and I wish I could *go*.....*sigh*.

 

[amor151]

yep like everyone else here i think stress really does make crohns worse. whenever something aggrivates me or makes me mad i find myself in serious pain which often makes me even more annoyed and stressed! i dont no why, or if its just in my head but whenever i get really bad stomach cramps i get a hot water bottle and put it on my stomach. more often than not this really helps the cramps stop. dont ask me how or why cus i havent got a clue but all i know is it works well for me.

the only thing i can really recomend is simply trying to chill out! much easier said than done i know but until the brainboxes trying to help us crohnies out come up with something that can help i dont no what else to recomend.

 

[Kev]

Hey Keara... not to sound false alarms, but if your Aunt is having significant blood loss, AND it isn't from complications like hemmerhoids, then she may have been mis-diagnosed. The ulcerations from the inflammation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease is one of the principal delineators from Irritable Bowel Syndrome. There apparently CAN be blood loss from that, but it's typically (purportedly) not much as it stems from areas irritated by the loss of mucosa in the tract from repeated bouts of 'D'. If she has significant bleeding, it's far more likely to be a colitis... really large amounts of bleeding usually ulcerative,
(just a rule of thumb). Thing of it is, if it is IBD, she needs the right treatment.

 

[Keara07]

Ah crap.....typo Kev, thanks for the pointer. The aunt I spoke have has IBD (specifically ulcerative colitis!), but not CD, and my other one without blood loss has IBS and does well most of the time but has her days....
You are very correct and thanks for the clarification!