The Psychiatric Part of All this
#114095 - 10/19/04 12:38 PM
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I just hit the psychiatric services at my 'ol HMO and sat down with a counselor. He started asking me questions and it turned into a tearful mess. But he says that my fear is rational but that I may be aggravating my symptoms by going through an anxiety/agoraphobic mentality. He admits that he is no expert on IBS but from talking to me, he clearly sees that I have anxiety to work out. He has asked me to join a group focusing on fobias/anxiety/panic disorders.
What do you all think about this?
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I agree with him. I certainly ahve gotten way better since I started my AD. it's helped with whatever surplus anxiety I had.
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i think it's a good idea to join a group....it can't hurt and you may end up feeling way better in the long run!! 
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Hey--The same thing happened to me 3 months ago. Had a major freak out, and called my doc, who told me call my HMO. It was cathartic, me weeping and sniffling that I'm always anxious, always tense. Nothing came of the reference. I never got to see a specialist. They clowned around with giving me a shrink, and I got fed up. Instead I joined the boards here. (And I quit caffiene, it really helped with the anxiety, if you can believe that.)
And you know? It's like a burdon has been lifted off my chest! The compassion here is really refreshing. I don't have to hide my illness anymore. They've all been there! Plus, I've had the opportunity to share my point of view, and even offer advice!
My best friend noticed I was doing better and recently mentioned it to me. It's the first time someoone has told me it looks like I'm doing *better*. I know it's because I've found my voice here. 
Please take care of yourself. Post here a while and let me know what you think. There are people here who've gotten a lot of help from anti-depressants. Maybe they can help you.
Good to have you here!! All my best,
~nelly~
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Yep, my AD and this board have been my Psychiatric team. I think together we have made a major break through!
This is not to say that you should not join a group, that's a decision only you can make.
Hang out with us, there's a lot to learn from these boards.
Good luck.
Lene
--------------------
God never promised life would be easy, but he did promise to provide a way out!
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Holy Mackerel was that fast! That came quicker than an IBS attack! LOL I must admit that I do freak myself out. I am a teacher and I stare at the clock all day long and say to myself, "Oh My! Another hour until this period ends!" Then I start to fixate on it and my stomach starts to feel weird. Usually nothing ever happens but I've had to leave my class a couple of times and that thought lingers in my mind CONSTANTLY! My D doesn't come along that often. And I've never had an accident but I have this constant fear. Especially in traffic, lines and on airplanes. As soon as I start to think about it, I start to freak out a bit. I'm on vacation right now but I go back to work tomorrow. Uh oh! I did quit drinking coffee and that has me worried as well. That was a quick way to empty myself before work but now that I don't have that, I have to figure out how to empty the old tum tum before I get to class. Good luck to me!
Lots of thanks everybody,
Matt
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This afternoon I had a job interview. I haven't had a IBS attack for a long time, but I was careful eating yesterday. When I woke up this morning I had a major attack of D- I ended up taking Immodium to stop it ( I thought it would never stop). It was starting to get me worried that I may have to miss the interview. Finally, it subsided to the point that I could head out. When I got there my body was taunting me (do I have to go? Yes? No? Maybe?) over and over, I was about to leave when I was called back to interview. During the interview my stomach was acting up, but it was a fairly brief interview & it went well. As I began to drive away, a "miracle" happened--my stomach felt completely fine: no gas, no urgency, nothing! This always happens & it makes me mad. I dropped out of school for the semester since I was having problems during class. The last day I went was awful, but again, when I left the registrar's office and headed to my car I "magically" felt better. 
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I had the same problem - they couldn't say for sure that my IBS was caused by anxiety, but long-standing anxiety disorders (since I was a kid!) definitely weren't helping any. I was put on Lexapro (anti-anxiety/antidepressant) and I can't even BELIEVE how much better I feel. I'm not cured, but pretty darn close!
I can't exactly speak for the effectiveness of therapy vs. meds. I was seeing a therapist for my anxiety disorders for a couple months, and really didn't see any improvement until I went on the Lexapro. Then again, a friend who is a psychologist herself, upon hearing my experiences with my therapist, says that she was a pretty lousy therapist, so maybe that was the problem.
Give it a try - it could really help!
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I am thinking about starting Lexapro. I have anxiety problems along with ocd. What side effects did you notice? How much are you taking? How long did it take you to feel some positive effects? Thanks in advance.
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I so agree
#114129 - 10/19/04 02:16 PM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Once I realsied I was letting anxiety make me go to the loo even more than I needed to, I got so much more control. If you need help with this, get it.
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I'm taking 10mg now. I was started out on 5mg for the first week, then stepped up to 10.
I had a LOT of side effects. I was extremely drowsy and very dizzy - I could hardly sit up, much less drive or even do anything around the house. It was a non-issue for me, because I'm currently unemployed and I don't live alone. I probably made the drowsiness worse by taking Dramamine for the dizziness. Anyway, I also had diarrhea and cramping. However... the side effects all wore off completely within 10-14 days. The worst of it (including the dizziness and drowsiness) was gone by the time I increased my dosage from 5mg to 10mg.
The other good news is that I felt positive effects within 4-5 days of starting to take it. I felt a LOT calmer, even that early on. By the time the side effects had worn off, I was really starting to feel good - like my old self again. I'm calmer, happier, I don't have panic attacks, my appetite is back... I feel like a whole new person! I also haven't had any of the effects that I was afraid of with antidepressants - namely loss of libido, and feeling like an emotionless zombie.
I can't speak for the effects on OCD. I have PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder, and Lexapro has definitely helped with that.
Good luck!
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I can hear you on this! I often will just take Immodium when I have to present to a group just so I don't have to worry about it. Will anxiety control methods help with that? I can't take a med that will give me diarrhea. I'm a teacher. If I left my class for a long time, the whole place would be in shambles. It's already in shambles and I'm there most of the time. I get like that when I'm in a long line.
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Are you kidding? I've learned more from this website than from anywhere else? I have so many damn questions though. LOL I don't know where to start. I guess I'll just ask them and see what you people have to say. Thanks!
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wellllllllll, I have Crohn's and not IBS but there are some similarities here ......
Back in February in the hospital when I was first diagnosed with Crohn's, I had a bad enough reaction to the trauma of the hospital thing (3 weeks in hospital, 2 emergency surgeries, 5 days on a ventilator in ICU, coupla blood transfusions, etc.) that my surgeon sent a shrink in to see me. I was on 24-hour heavy morphine and pretty much outta there, but I did grasp what she said and remembered it. She told me chances were about 99 percent that in the next 6 months or year when it all soaked in what I was faced with, I'd go through a Major Grief Thing.
I kinda shrugged that off, but when it did happen, I was prepared for it. So I survived it okay.
However, without Jill's book on Crohn's, and without this message board, I probably would have done a major face-plant like the shrink said. (And FWIW i'm not using the term shrink in a derogatory way, it's a term of endearment.)
Whether you should or need to or want to join a group thing is up to you and how you operate. Personally, that would NOT work for me. Far as I'm concerned, these boards (thank you Heather!!!) are FAR more useful for that. If you do a crash-and-burn (or feel one coming on) then by all means get yourself to a specialist and pick an option.
But don't pretend it's not an issue. It is.
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--------------------
Formerly known as Ruchie
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One more question, has it effected your ibs at all?
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It is an SSRI, used to treat OCD and anxiety, can help in depression.
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I'm nearly halfway through the hypnotherapy CDs for IBS (see the "Hypnosis for IBS" link on the left) and I think they've helped by IBS anxiety. It's not totally gone, but I can actually break the "I'm gonna have an attack" mindset rather than my previous state of realizing it is a mindset that doesn't really have any basis in reality...but not being able to change it.
I hope that once I finish the 100 days, I'll be getting into that mode less and less often.
--AC
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I can totally relate to all of that, i get the same way. Especially in traffic. The morning is the absolute worst for me. I find myself stopping at a rest stop before i get on the highway in the morning. I get nervous before i go out to eat, that is the worst for me. My wife always wants to eat out and i don't, she doesnt understand what kind of physical pain i am in after i eat. It is not enjoyable for me to eat out and it sucks. Half the time i eat out i find myself on the toilet half way through the dinner anyway, it is so embaressing. I am at the point where friends and family ask us to go out to eat and i usually wont. If i do i will not ride with them because i am usually making a pit stop on the road. And it is even worse as you are sitting there waiting to get home. The gurgling of the stomach, but when i get home it is gone. It is just messing with my head.
I tried taking anxiety medicine but they all give me the trotts. I thought i had a stomach virus for a month till i realized it was the anxiety medicine doing it to me.
Immodium seems to help me. For some reason when i take immodium i can ignore the ibs diet because i am ok. And usually i am ok for about 5 days after the immodium. But then i usually crash for a day where i am in severe pain.
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