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Ok-Cut4890 t1_jamnpv3 wrote

This is exactly how my IBS works. I get wacky anxiety and I know it's a cue to take my viberzi cause my guts are in distress. I can't even feel the discomfort. I just know it's there due to how my inner monologue changes. Goes away within an hour of taking my medication.

Doctors told me for decades my IBS was my own conscious decision. The viberzi taught me that is absolutely not true. Really disgusting the way I was treated.

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runsslow t1_jampsnx wrote

Everyone with bad IBS has this treatment. It’s bs.

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WhisperingShores t1_janqukx wrote

My IBS and GURD is not a result of anxiety. It may be exacerbated by anxiety, but anxiety isn't the cause for everyone. I have been given diet plans, not viberiz, and they help.

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Seraph811 t1_jamvkon wrote

Wait wait wait. IBS as in irritable bowel syndrome? There is a correlation to anxiety? There's a treatment? The comments in this thread are actually giving me a bit of hope. I've been seeing a gastroenterologist for awhile now which has felt like lightning money on fire while the situation gets worse.

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halebounddr OP t1_jan4ytv wrote

I've found that it's critical to treat the cause, and there are a lot of different causes for IBS. Perceived psychological stress and anxiety are the two most common causes that I see. Food intolerances like gluten is up there, too.

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Ok-Cut4890 t1_jamzml2 wrote

Yes, go to a different doctor. Or ask the current one about Viberzi if you have IBS-D. Also look into Yoga and yoga breathing techniques. Yoga is meant to manipulate/calm the vagus nerve, which is a major factor in IBS health.

As unintuitive as it sounds you can try Miralax even for IBS-D. Look up a miralax bowel prep and do the first couple days. It works wonders for me as it actually clears out my colon and I get relief.

2nd opinions are very very important because most doctors are lazy and wildly arrogant. There's not mechanism for correcting these people, it's a broken system in a huge number of ways.

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ramkitty t1_japcjdc wrote

Toe heavy posture and anterior pelvic tilt greatly contribute to vagus tension

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Ok-Cut4890 t1_jaq1seh wrote

My posture issues go away when my intestines are working properly. I will subconsciously bend to compress my upper colon area (where the rib cage ends). I have no problem with my posture when I'm taking my medication. So for me, bad posture is a secondary symptom of the IBS.

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Anticode t1_jao6k7n wrote

I've been collecting microbiome-related studies as of late. The body itself - not just the brain or the mind - absolutely alters or even creates certain psychological states. Anecdotally, I've found that taking a couple of grams of GABA on an empty stomach is a way to evoke the way "body anxiety" feels, likely because the body overzealously pushes out the excess GABA , leaving a momentary shortage (localized to the neuron clusters in the gut because dietary GABA cannot readily pass the blood-brain barrier). The sensation is distinct and can be recognized, helping one overcome it by compartmentalizing it once it's identified.

Here's a relevant study relating to IBS specifically posted here a couple of days ago:

>New research establishes a link between irritable bowel syndrome and mental health challenges, such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation --

>https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11845-022-03258-6

And semi-related:

>Regular use of laxatives is associated with more than a 50% increased risk of developing dementia --

>https://www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/5048

Pinging /u/Ok-Cut4890 too.

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Gloomy-Hour-9852 t1_jaosy12 wrote

100%. They can be correlated, try an elimination diet. Let go of allergens like gluten, soy, corn, dairy. Then slowly implement them one by one and see if any make a difference to your levels of anxiety. I’d suggest to do it for at least 10 days of none then 1 week add, one then see if you feel any difference.

Also, the brain and the gut are connected by the vagus nerve. What you eat makes a huge difference to what you think/feel.

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haux_haux t1_jaok9o9 wrote

Dude, the UK care commissioning body recommends hypnosis for IBS. It's absolutely treatable for many people. You don't have to go that route.

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MRSN4P t1_jasnk74 wrote

> Stress increases intestinal permeability and is involved in the pathogeny of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

> Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) can improve intestinal permeability. Targeting the intestinal barrier through VNS opens new therapeutic avenues in IBD and IBS.

From a 2022 article Anti-inflammatory effects of vagal nerve stimulation with a special attention to intestinal barrier dysfunction.
Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nmo.14456#:~:text=The%20vagus%20nerve%20is%20also,irritable%20bowel%20syndrome%20(IBS).

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DrageLid t1_jav81my wrote

Do you have anxiety? If you have anxiety and your IBS is caused by your anxiety then you should try out The Linden Method. It cures anxiety and if you get rid of anxiety, then IBS should disappear too.

www.thelindenmethod.direct

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coffee_and_cats18 t1_jbnrvmh wrote

Interesting. Have you done this yourself?

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DrageLid t1_jc8y9ff wrote

I haven’t done it, but I’m a member and everything they’ve said and told me about about anxiety, how it works, how it affects us, how to cure it, etc. makes perfect sense and is totally right. They just aren’t very big and can’t reach everyone around the world that needs help. I really want everyone to know about it, to know the truth, to know that that they don’t have to suffer, to get the help they need to recover from this awful condition and live fulfilling lives free from pain.

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[deleted] t1_jan0ofk wrote

Take a xanax. Seriously.

I’ve been having crazy high blood pressure, and figured out totally connected to anxiety and stress.

Got a script for low dose of Ativan. I take that now and I’m 110/60

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NoNumbersAtTheEnding t1_jaob8tf wrote

Yeah let’s not encourage people that we don’t know to take benzodiazepines. They are overprescribed as it is and we are on the verge of an epidemic.

I know you’re just trying to help, but I don’t know if this is the move

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[deleted] t1_jazddec wrote

Very very low dose. Sorry. Like .125 twice a day.

Sorry not a doctor, not medical advice just personal experience but I would say don’t use propranolol for anxiety

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ToldYouTrumpSucked t1_jamr7xn wrote

This is how it works for me but with alcohol. Been drinking less lately but I always used to use the “it’s been a long day at work, I need a drink to unwind” excuse to grab a few beers after work but now that I don’t drink much during the week, I can feel my body create stress and anxiety even on easy/short days at work in order to get me to justify buying a 6 pack on the way home. Anecdotal I know but glad to see that I’m not crazy.

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Georgie___Best t1_jamznab wrote

This sounds more like self medication.

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NoNumbersAtTheEnding t1_jaobjqz wrote

Actually it sounds like withdrawal. Alcohol relieves anxiety, your body adjusts and now requires alcohol to handle anxiety when it didn’t before.

Self-medication implies the problem was there before the drinking go started. A lot of people get addicted to things like weed and alcohol by mistaking withdrawal symptoms for personal symptoms that the drug is actually helping.

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halebounddr OP t1_jan4lka wrote

Now we're talking about the gut-brain connection which is obviously important, too. Do you treat the IBS symptoms or treat the cause of the symptoms ie anxiety?

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supermaja t1_japaa8d wrote

I would argue that another mechanism involves the uncertainty of gut problems in IBS causes anxiety, and perhaps anxiety provokes or sustains attacks. Perhaps better control of IBS can decrease anxiety, and the decreased anxiety in turn reduces attacks.

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Ok-Cut4890 t1_jaq23fg wrote

The anxiety is a secondary symptom of the IBS. I am a naturally very happy person. I have never done the beat myself up internal monologue. The anxiety I get is always very odd and difficult to understand why I suddenly got anxious. My life has always been very easy. I always finish tests first. Writing papers and math were always easy for me. I am always the golden boy at wherever I work. I've been offered free rides to grad school for my work performance. I easily command any conversation I care to.

Anxiety, insomnia, depression. These are things that should be obviously understood as a secondary symptom of something else.

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MostStudiousMom t1_japjysk wrote

I have IBD and I completely feel the same. I will get kind of a sinking feeling in my stomach like when you drop during a roller coaster ride, and then my heart rate will speed up and I'll start to sweat. I know that my stomach is about to show out and its time to pull out the antispasmodics.

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Ok-Cut4890 t1_jaq1hfa wrote

I discovered that I get insanely high blood pressure when I have some episodes, too. The IBS has only gotten more intense/severe as I've gotten older.

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