Is stress bringing back my symptoms?

[chlojonesy]

Hi everyone,

I'm kind of new here and this is my first post. I don't understand ANY of the abbreviations used anywhere in other posts (so sorry if I should have used them anywhere) and I am not even sure I've posted this in the right place but I hope someone can help.

I was diagnosed with crohns 3 years ago and have been in remission apart from the odd day since about 18 months ago when I started fortnightly humira (I also take 25mg 6-mercaptopurine daily).

I am currently sitting my 3rd year university final exams and I have found however for the past about 4 weeks I have been experiencing lots of pain and and an upset stomach after every time I eat. I've taken all of my other university exams since I've been diagnosed and I've been fine- I'm really not a stress kind of person (if I were anymore laid back I'd be dead is a far more accurate description actually). I wouldn't say these exams are worrying me more than the others even with graduation looming.
I've been following what I eat and cut out broccoli (I love broccoli so much but I had to face facts this might be what's causing it) but there's no pattern whatsoever to what I eat. I cook everything myself (I'm definitely not a typical student) so I know what's in all my food.

Can anyone offer me any advice?! I don't want to bother the docs and when I leave uni I'm off to Glastonbury festival so I'm hoping I'll have bounced back by then!

Sorry for the extremely long post I have no idea how thorough I had to be :facepalm:

 

[Cross-stitch gal]

Hi and welcome!!! Don't worry about posting in the wrong place we can always move your threads around if need be. As far as the abbreviations, have you checked out our wiki area? There are a few in there which may help clear up some confusion.

Yes, stress can be a major factor as far as flares go. Many of us do talk quite frequently about the stresses we deal with in our lives. But, you're saying that you're dealing with your school exams right now? If so, I hope things will calm down for you soon once those are over and will go back to normal so to speak. In the meantime, we're here for you to talk to. Good luck

 

[UnXmas]

I've never found stress to be a factor. You hear so often that stress causes or worsens medical conditions, but that's certainly not true for every case of Crohn's. If it doesn't make sense to you, it's something else causing your symptoms. Similarly with diet. The fact is that there are some internal things going on in our bodies that we're unaware of. We can't always control or predict when illness will improve or deteriorate.

Don't worry about bothering doctors, if you're sick they need to see you. Even if diet or stress is triggering your symptoms, they should try and help you.

 

[droopymonthly]

Similarly with diet.

I agree with that. So far, no convincing data proves that either diet or stress causing ibd. Only very limited paper says this kind of food is good but some other paper concludes the other way. The similar thing to stress.
Per my personal research exp(not relevant to ibd or medical), it only means neither diet nor stress is a factor leading to ibd. Otherwise, the researchers will come to an identical result.
It is caused by some reasons we still unknow

 

[InstantCoffee]

I agree with that. So far, no convincing data proves that either diet or stress causing ibd. Only very limited paper says this kind of food is good but some other paper concludes the other way. The similar thing to stress.
Per my personal research exp(not relevant to ibd or medical), it only means neither diet nor stress is a factor leading to ibd. Otherwise, the researchers will come to an identical result.
It is caused by some reasons we still unknow

There's a plethora of information connecting diet with crohn's, I'm not sure what studies you're reading.

There's no evidence that diet strictly -causes- crohn's but it definitely modifies the symptoms in more patients than those that it does not.

As far as stress there's links to hormonal causes of Crohn's disease and stress modifies your hormones. Acutane is believed to be able to cause Crohn's and this is a hormone altering acne medication.

There is some evidence to suggest that serotonin levels are linked to crohn's symptoms. Crohn's patients are shown to have an excessive level of serotonin produced in the gut. Stress can also effect the cortisol levels in the body which can in turn effect hormone balance. While cortisol has anti-inflammatory properties it also has a lot of negative effects on the body as well.

What DO you eat? Just because you change the overarching ingredients doesn't mean the chemistry isn't the same.

If you have a FODMAP sensitivity you could eat 3 different things and all have high fodmaps and give the same reaction. Same with salicylates, amines, grains etc.

 

[UnXmas]

But I think the important thing here is that chlojonesy says he/she (sorry I'm not sure which!) isn't experiencing stress and diet doesn't seem to be a factor.... except for broccoli? chlojonesy, do you mean you cut out broccoli because you've heard it can be a problem food, not because you noticed it affecting you?

So it doesn't seem like stress reduction or diet changes are going to be much help, and even if diet is having some effect, it will need time to figure out exactly how, which means it's not going to get symptoms under control in time for Glastonbury. (And I think this is in line with what droopymonthly means; that information about diet and Crohn's is contradictory and inconclusive, not non-existent?? Not sure though.)

So I do think the best thing to do would be to see a doctor. When did you last have tests done, chlojonesy? When you're done with exams and everything it may be worth seeing if you need some tests since your symptoms have changed, and this may mean you need medication changes. But seeing a doctor right away for help with symptom management I think would be a good idea.

 

[InstantCoffee]

I don't disagree with seeing a doctor being a first line, but in the mean time trying to look at environmental factors can help.

Maybe I'm a little too Dr. House but people are not always terribly good at realizing they are stressed when they are. I nearly had an anxiety attack and passed out while getting a pic-line IV and I felt completely relaxed.

There's also often patterns where they don't see them. He said he gets them every time he eats. Just because the food changes doesn't mean the ingredients / chemicals in them changed. I chew gum one day and get sick, the next day I have coffee and get sick, maybe it's unrelated, or maybe there was 0 calorie sweeteners in both and I reacted to them.

What exactly have you been eating, give us some more details.

 

[kikig]

When I was in the middle of my flare in August, I got terribly stressed everytime it was time to eat. Imho, it was because of my unpredictable reaction to food caused by my IBD flare. It happened regardless of the actual food to be eaten (whether stickng to my diet or not)and caused me pain, which was catch22 as I couldn't eat.

i had to to go een for a while (just amino acids etc in drink format) and other IVs. Once it calmed down and my levels recovered a bit, eating didn't stress me.

So my stress was due to my reaction to food because I was mid flare.

One has to deal with a certain amount of stress anyway, and you are very aware of your diet which is great! Have you had your levels checked with the doctor?

 

[tots]

Stress and diet do not"cause" Crohns but, both can cause symptoms that
Differ from person to person. And at different times in our lives. There is no
Doubt in my mind certain foods and spices will set me off.
It's learning to learn where your balance is.

Good luck with your exams and hope you feel better soon

Lauren

 

[MissCadenza]

Stress sets me off big time, if I have a row with my housemates my gut starts to hurt and if I'm seriously pressured at work, it's the same. I also get reflux when I'm stressed and there can't be a correlation with food because my diet is same old same old. I know my trigger foods and avoid them.

Thing with this disease is it affects people in different ways. I for instance can't chew gum because it makes my gut hurt. Not my stomach, my gut. I also can't drink alcohol as that's a huge trigger for pain for me. Ditto milk (although thank the stars I can still eat cheese in small amounts). There is no 'typical' crohn's sufferer. We're all different and what is true for one of us won't be true for someone else.

 

[InstantCoffee]

Stress sets me off big time, if I have a row with my housemates my gut starts to hurt and if I'm seriously pressured at work, it's the same. I also get reflux when I'm stressed and there can't be a correlation with food because my diet is same old same old. I know my trigger foods and avoid them.

Thing with this disease is it affects people in different ways. I for instance can't chew gum because it makes my gut hurt. Not my stomach, my gut. I also can't drink alcohol as that's a huge trigger for pain for me. Ditto milk (although thank the stars I can still eat cheese in small amounts). There is no 'typical' crohn's sufferer. We're all different and what is true for one of us won't be true for someone else.

Gum could likely be sorbitol / xylitol which are both FODMAPS or it could be mint / salicylates.

When I was in the middle of my flare in August, I got terribly stressed everytime it was time to eat. Imho, it was because of my unpredictable reaction to food caused by my IBD flare. It happened regardless of the actual food to be eaten (whether stickng to my diet or not)and caused me pain, which was catch22 as I couldn't eat.

i had to to go een for a while (just amino acids etc in drink format) and other IVs. Once it calmed down and my levels recovered a bit, eating didn't stress me.

So my stress was due to my reaction to food because I was mid flare.

One has to deal with a certain amount of stress anyway, and you are very aware of your diet which is great! Have you had your levels checked with the doctor?

You reminded me of something

I forgot to mention, I don't know how scientifically valid this is, but another thing on stress:

I've heard rumblings in some food sensitivity forums about a theory that when you have a food sensitivity your body responds to the antagonist food as well as the resulting 'starvation' effect that a flare has on your body with a chemical cascade, this cascade includes adrenaline as well as other catecholamines.

Adrenaline gives your body a high, and this high becomes addictive which can cause cravings for more of the food that caused this high. We know adrenaline highs are a thing as well as addictions to this high (adrenaline junkies?)

Adrenaline causes symptoms like anxiety and stress and the cascade of catecholamines could potentially cause other mood problems. This could be a cyclical process.

 

[kikig]

I forgot to mention, I don't know how scientifically valid this is, but another thing on stress:

I've heard rumblings in some food sensitivity forums about a theory that when you have a food sensitivity your body responds to the antagonist food as well as the resulting 'starvation' effect that a flare has on your body with a chemical cascade, this cascade includes adrenaline as well as other catecholamines.

Adrenaline gives your body a high, and this high becomes addictive which can cause cravings for more of the food that caused this high. We know adrenaline highs are a thing as well as addictions to this high (adrenaline junkies?)

Adrenaline causes symptoms like anxiety and stress and the cascade of catecholamines could potentially cause other mood problems. This could be a cyclical process.

Sorry, don't get me wrong but the response I had is human nature - it hurts and one tries to avoid the hurt again.

 

[UnXmas]

Maybe I'm a little too Dr. House but people are not always terribly good at realizing they are stressed when they are. I nearly had an anxiety attack and passed out while getting a pic-line IV and I felt completely relaxed.

How can you know people are stressed but don't know it?

 

[InstantCoffee]

How can you know people are stressed but don't know it?

Where did I say I know he's stressed?

All I'm saying is he has environmental factors conducive to stress (IBD and finals), and he's gone out of his way to mention stress as a possibility. It's possible it's stress, and just because you don't 'feel' stressed doesn't mean you aren't. It doesn't always manifest itself the way we expect.

Can't rule it out that easily.

 

[UnXmas]

You said people are not always good at realising when they are stressed. How can you know this? Stress is a feeling, it sort of defines itself. Unless it's physical stress (but that wouldn't be a result of exams).

 

[InstantCoffee]

You said people are not always good at realising when they are stressed. How can you know this? Stress is a feeling, it sort of defines itself. Unless it's physical stress (but that wouldn't be a result of exams).

Stress is a chemical response, we're used to an emotional manifestation of it, usually in the form of anxiety, but it doesn't always manifest that way, or we become good at not noticing it.

You drive to and from work every day and sit an hour of heavy traffic, you're tired, you're hungry, and you don't want to be there. You're not anxious because you do this every day, but you're still being mentally stressed by the situation.

If someone asked you next Saturday when you're home relaxing, "Are you experiencing a lot of stress in your life?" you might tell them no, because you think about how, in the grand scheme of things, you feel fine and things are going good, meanwhile 5 days a week, 2 hours a day you're experiencing heavy loads of stress which has hormonal response in your body.

Like I said in my own story, I thought I was perfectly relaxed and calm right before I had an anxiety attack. We learn to ignore stress when it becomes a frequent part of our every day life because it's the only way we keep going.

 

[MissCadenza]

Gum could likely be sorbitol / xylitol which are both FODMAPS or it could be mint / salicylates.

I don't think so, I've asked my consultant before about the fact chewing gum sets me off and we have this theory that because chewing starts off the digestive process, my body thinks 'oh yay food' and starts to digest. My system is confused anyway with more problems than just crohn's, including an autoimmune disease in my stomach, so I wouldn't be surprised if it got a bit baffled now and again.

I can have other foods and drinks that have sorbitol, xylitol, salicylates and mint (god I love mint) without issue so I think our chewing theory might be right. Anyway, I avoid anything that will set me off. I don't tend to look for Reasons, I just know I can't have it. It's not like not having gum is the end of the world.

Not being able to have milk sucks though. No more midnight bowls of Sugar Puffs and milk for me

 

[kikig]

I don't think so, I've asked my consultant before about the fact chewing gum sets me off and we have this theory that because chewing starts off the digestive process, my body thinks 'oh yay food' and starts to digest.

Agree with you on this one, I'm careful about chewing gum, especially when I am hungry! Don't want to give my body false hope :ylol:

I don't tend to look for Reasons, I just know I can't have it. It's not like not having gum is the end of the world.

Absolutely agree!

Not being able to have milk sucks though. No more midnight bowls of Sugar Puffs and milk for me

This does suck! I used to love fresh cold (low fat) milk and Frosties. I can still have a bowl every once and a while but not as often as I did as milk tends to be a tad of a irritant - I'm not lactose intolerant but I've noticed at certain times of the day, milk is a no-go product

 

[UnXmas]

I don't think so, I've asked my consultant before about the fact chewing gum sets me off and we have this theory that because chewing starts off the digestive process, my body thinks 'oh yay food' and starts to digest. My system is confused anyway with more problems than just crohn's, including an autoimmune disease in my stomach, so I wouldn't be surprised if it got a bit baffled now and again.

I can have other foods and drinks that have sorbitol, xylitol, salicylates and mint (god I love mint) without issue so I think our chewing theory might be right. Anyway, I avoid anything that will set me off. I don't tend to look for Reasons, I just know I can't have it. It's not like not having gum is the end of the world.

Not being able to have milk sucks though. No more midnight bowls of Sugar Puffs and milk for me

I agree about the chewing gum: in hospital nurses and doctors tell you to chew gum when they want to get your digestion going but without burdening your system with real food. This is used after surgery, or other times when the bowel has to heal. It's especially helpful when you have ileus, and I know I've come across articles about research into chewing gum with ileus. So it makes sense to me that chewing gum could get your digestive system working, and of course with Crohn's "working" just means more symptoms.

 

[UnXmas]

Stress is a chemical response, we're used to an emotional manifestation of it, usually in the form of anxiety, but it doesn't always manifest that way, or we become good at not noticing it.

You drive to and from work every day and sit an hour of heavy traffic, you're tired, you're hungry, and you don't want to be there. You're not anxious because you do this every day, but you're still being mentally stressed by the situation.

If someone asked you next Saturday when you're home relaxing, "Are you experiencing a lot of stress in your life?" you might tell them no, because you think about how, in the grand scheme of things, you feel fine and things are going good, meanwhile 5 days a week, 2 hours a day you're experiencing heavy loads of stress which has hormonal response in your body.

Like I said in my own story, I thought I was perfectly relaxed and calm right before I had an anxiety attack. We learn to ignore stress when it becomes a frequent part of our every day life because it's the only way we keep going.

Ok, but I still don't understand how you'd know. How would someone measure their chemicals? I've not heard of anyone feeling calm before an anxiety attack before, so if it were true that you can be stressed while feeling calm, most people are not going to have an obvious sign. I just feel stressed when I'm stressed and calm when I'm calm.

 

[InstantCoffee]

Ok, but I still don't understand how you'd know. How would someone measure their chemicals? I've not heard of anyone feeling calm before an anxiety attack before, so if it were true that you can be stressed while feeling calm, most people are not going to have an obvious sign. I just feel stressed when I'm stressed and calm when I'm calm.

You wouldn't really be able to know unless you are super in touch with your body.

I can basically sedate myself of stress so I don't appear to manifest it but I found out that it manifests itself as neurotic muscle contractions, primarily in the stomach.

When I get nervous my gut would clench up and this does something to my blood pressure / blood supply which causes chest pains, faintness, shortness of breath, light headedness and if I don't stop I'll black out.

Since learning about this I can control it and when I notice it happening I puff out my gut and relax the muscles.

It's hard to really explain how you can be stressed but not feel it.

 

[UnXmas]

In that case I think most people know when they're stressed because they feel stressed, I think it's straightforward for most people.

 

[24601]

Hi chlojonesy! Welcome to the forum!

I think it would be sensible to proceed for now as others have suggested with the most obvious conclusion that if you don't feel stressed then you are not stressed - and therefore there could well be another factor causing your increased symptoms.

I'd see your doctor to get some tests run to see if you have active disease and check your Humira levels and antibody levels as it could be that you need more frequent doses of Humira or that you are no longer responding.

I think it's better to get those tests run sooner and discuss possible treatments with your doctor in case you don't bounce back. The information will be useful to have and if you need it then you can get another treatment in place faster so that you are feeling well and able to enjoy Glastonbury and the rest of the summer.

And I think your doctors will/should want to know that you are not feeling as well as you have been so don't think of it as bothering them - think of it as helping them! I'm sure it's better for them to be able to help you now rather than wait and potentially have you get worse.

Good luck! Keep us updated!

 

[leber]

Hi!

I think the stress is one of the biggest cause of the disease. Since I don't stress on everything, I don't have any symptom.

My disease revealed in 2010, when I was a student in a University. After the final exam, my disease gone. And now I live with my medicines of course(Imuran,pentasa) but without any symptom.

 

[nitty]

I believe stress is exactly what triggered my Crohn's.

I had never had any bowel issues for the first 40 years of my life. Then I had a period of acute stress due to the medical condition of a close family member, and a couple of weeks later I started with slight rectal bleeding which resolved by itself over a few weeks. Six months later the same cause of intense stress recurred and again the bleeding started, but this time it carried on getting worse and worse until I was sent to hospital for tests = Crohn's colitis.

Even now I can pretty much guarantee that symptoms will happen if I get stressed about things, but often that's unavoidable.

Diet plays a pretty insignificant role in the disease for me.

 

[Gutsii]

Hey,

Stress is a major problem that most people don't deal with. If you are constantly stressed, uptight and have tons of hormones going through your body, naturally it strains other health issues you are currently dealing with.

Have you tried yoga or meditation?

Those two were instrumental for me getting my health back (on top of the fundamentals such as diets, exercise and lifestyle changes).

I believe stress is exactly what triggered my Crohn's.

I had never had any bowel issues for the first 40 years of my life. Then I had a period of acute stress due to the medical condition of a close family member, and a couple of weeks later I started with slight rectal bleeding which resolved by itself over a few weeks. Six months later the same cause of intense stress recurred and again the bleeding started, but this time it carried on getting worse and worse until I was sent to hospital for tests = Crohn's colitis.

Even now I can pretty much guarantee that symptoms will happen if I get stressed about things, but often that's unavoidable.

Diet plays a pretty insignificant role in the disease for me.

I would love to know what your diet consists of if you are open to sharing? I have seen major improvements within peoples GI tract when diet was altered.

 

[nitty]

I suppose I'm really saying that my diet has not really changed over the years, but that the one factor that did change just before I got ill was the stress.

I now have a couple of foods which were never a problem for me before, but now I have to avoid any significant quantity of them, such as rocket leaves and popcorn, which are pretty obvious candidates for irritating the gut anyway.