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Originally posted by Shan:
Deep breathing. Visualize something that makes you feel safe or comforted. If you pray or meditate, try that. Have you checked in with your doc?

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Quite a bit. I need to have an endoscopy or something, but I'll need an escort.

Perhaps it would help if I didn't drink Pepsi Throwback either. I definitely need to relax and chill and visualize Dir en grey concerts.
 

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Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
 
It sounds like it's really bothering you and you shouldn't have to just put up with it...go to the doctor. And good luck!
 

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Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
I have been several times. I'm going next month.
But urg, sometimes the pain is really BAD!
Like now! Then other stuff happens, terrible stuff.
 

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Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
 
Caffeine is definitely supposed to contribute to panic attacks, it's good to avoid it if you can.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
And caffeine can be either good or bad for IBS. Depends on the person and how your, ahem, system works.

It's actually good for mine, but I have a good friend who has to avoid it altogether, and chocolate as well, as they are severe triggers.
 

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Posted by DarkKnight (Member # 7536) on :
 
Sometimes charcoal tablets can help. Dicyclomine can also be prescribed by a doctor
 

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Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
 
Are you sure you have IBS? Are you sure it's not Crohn's disease?

Doctors are *really* bad about Crohn's. I've heard multiple stories of doctors going through every other diagnosis possible (including Lymphoma!) before finally figuring out what it was. One person I know had her gall bladder removed, but whoops! that wasn't it.

Do you have crippling pain and vomiting?
 

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Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
 
If it is Crohn's then getting scoped will help determine that. That's how it was diagnosed for my wife.

Also, the symptoms vary from person to person. Vomiting is rare for her, though severe stomach cramps are more common.

Make sure you see a specialist - a gastrointerologist - for your best chance at a correct diagnosis.
 

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Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
 
I was once diagnosed with IBS. I went to another doctor who was furious that a dr would prescribe drugs for that without doing a whole bunch of tests. Turns out, I had endometriosis (determined by laproscopy so pretty certain on that diagnosis). But if you haven't been at the very least scoped, the IBS diagnosis was likely premature.

[ June 16, 2009, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: scholarette ]
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
There's a syndrome that includes both IBS and panic attacks. It's called dysautonomia. Read that article and see if any of the rest of it fits you. It's a problem with the autonomic nervous system not working right.

Are your hands and/or feet icy cold a lot?

Do you ever feel dizzy when you stand up from a seated position, or sit up from a lying down position?

Other symptoms include the following:
# Excessive fatigue
# Excessive thirst
# Lightheadedness, dizziness or vertigo
# Feelings of anxiety or panic (not mentally induced)
# Rapid heart rate or slow heart rate

Check it out. When you said IBS and panic together, it made me think of this.

Regardless of what it is, I hope you figure it out and get to feeling better.
 

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Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
Could be a possibility. I tend to fall asleep at a job when ever I'm sitting down. It's annoying, but I think the stupid medicine might make me thirsty. I'll ask the doctor about it.

I wish there was some sort of CURE for this affliction.
 

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Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
 
You can't whine about not having a cure for something you don't definitively know you have. Get to a doctor, do the endoscopy or colonoscopy and find out exactly what you are suffering from. Then you will know how to go about treating it.
 

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Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
I'm kind of doing that. Mostly they say it's IBS. I think it's caused by way too much stress but I have no idea how to get rid of that stuff.

If I can get an escort home, I can get the endoscopy but a colonoscopy sounds kind of...eeeeeeeee
 

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Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
 
Colonoscopies are easy, painless,and no trouble at all once you get past the prep the night before. And, if you use the right kind of prep, even that is not so bad. Drink some Gatorade with some stuff in it, and two hours later you're done.

Since you're sedated for both procedures, someone will have to drive you. Can't a family member take you?
 

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Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
 

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If I can get an escort home

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a colonoscopy sounds kind of...eeeeeeeee

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It is, but your goal should be to get an accurate diagnosis, not to avoid icky stuff.
 

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Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
 
Unfortunately, IBS has become a default diagnosis for a lot of doctors who don't have the motivation to rule out other possibilities. If you haven't done it already, you real need to see a good GI specialist who will test you for other possibilities.


For example, I have Celiac disease (Gluten intolerance) and it is very frequently misdiagnosed as IBS. Since Celiac disease causes maladsorption of nutrients, it can be accompanied by a very wide range of symptoms arising from malnutrition including nervous disorders and fatigue. While following a Gluten free diet isn't easy, it does have a lot to say for it over taking a medication. For one, if you have Celiac disease a strict gluten free diet will eliminate all the symptoms without any annoying side effects (except perhaps a bit of paranoia about what's in your food )
 

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Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
 

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If I can get an escort home, I can get the endoscopy but a colonoscopy sounds kind of...eeeeeeeee

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quote:

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Originally posted by Belle:
Colonoscopies are easy, painless,and no trouble at all once you get past the prep the night before. And, if you use the right kind of prep, even that is not so bad. Drink some Gatorade with some stuff in it, and two hours later you're done.

Since you're sedated for both procedures, someone will have to drive you. Can't a family member take you?

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It's just the idea of a tube being put there that makes me go EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I don't have anyone to drive me home afterwards, no family members nearby and I don't want to torment my neighbour, but I do need to schedule at least an endoscopy.

I'm happy that at this moment I am NOT in pain. *happy*
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
I had a different experience from the other commenters on colonoscopy. My uncle had one and they punctured his colon. They either didn't realize they had, or else they just didn't consider it bad enough to mention or something. Anyway, 3 days later he had to go to the emergency room with severe peritonitis and nearly died. He apparently coded several times and they were able to save him. However, he lived the rest of his life with a colostomy bag.

A friend's father had a similar incident with colonoscopy except he died from peritonitis.

I had a colon cancer scare a few years back and my doctor told me "they save more people than they kill", so he convinced me to get one. It was anything but easy and painless. The entire day before was spent in severe abdominal pain due to the prep. I believe it may have been caused by the interaction with another drug I was taking then. I'm not sure. But it was nightmarish, and gave me the worst stomach pain of my life to date.

Then during the procedure itself, I kept waking up. This happens to me for some reason. I was awake during parts of all 3 endoscopies I've had. This was much worse, though. I was screaming and they were shoving really hard like 1-2-3-push, and it was so painful despite the anesthetic. It was horrible and traumatic, and I will never do it again.

So, while cases like mine might not be the norm, they're still not at all unheard of, and I would disagree with medical people who say it's nothing. It's most definitely not nothing.

So, if you think they may find out something really worthwhile, then it might be worth the risk and pain and expense to have it done. But I would be very sure there's something really worthwhile to be learned before I would risk it. In fact, I can't see myself ever having one again. Hopefully if you do go ahead with it, you won't have a bad experience like mine, or my uncle's, or my friend's father's.
 

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Posted by MattP (Member # 10495) on :
 
My wife and brother-in-law both had colonoscopies related to Chron's. My boss had one for undiagnosed stomach pain. They were all essentially uneventful.

The complications of some GI diseases can be fatal. My brother-in-law had severe necrosis in his intestines which required emergency surgery. My boss had a strangulated intestine that also required emergency surgery. Of the three people that I know who have been scoped, two had their lives saved by it and for the third it resulted in a diagnosis and effective treatment of a painful disease. If a GI doctor recommends the scope, I'd get the scope.

There are horror stories for many procedures, but this isn't like laser eye surgery where you can decide you're OK with slightly blurry vision rather than taking a small risk of blindness. Depending on the specific situation, the risk of avoiding the procedure could be substantially higher than the risk of getting it.
 

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Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
 
Worse stomach pain ever? Eeeek...

Well, if I could get a ride home maybe I'll start with the upper endoscopy.
 

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Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
 
I am a colon cancer survivor. Trust me...even if the thought of the colonoscopy makes you squeamish - it's worth it. If you have gi problems of unknown cause then you will probably need a colonoscopy eventually to diagnose it.

Do not let scare stories from an isolated incident prevent you from doing what is best for your health.
 

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Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
 
I had a colonoscopy. I wasn't asleep exactly but sort of vague and don't really remember it except for watching the pink pictures on the monitor. It didn't hurt at all. By far the worst part was drinking the gallon of nasty gatorade like stuff before hand. Next time I am taking the mix and chasing it with a gallon of water! It was almost fun to see how hast different colours of jello would go through my system (12 minutes).

My endoscopy wasn't bad either except I kept forgetting I wasn't supposed to talk.
 

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Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
 
I had both scopes done at the same time. And I got to be a total spoiled brat since my mom works at the endoscopy section in the hospital.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
I had a colonoscopy when I was 12 (under general anesthesia because I have a paradoxical reaction to the sedative they used the first time-- it took 2 tries) and I was a little sore after, but mostly because the enemas hadn't done their job and they had to clean me out on the table. The pain was manageable with a Tylenol and went away within a day. Not as bad as what I have after giving birth, and that's not that bad.

I wouldn't be scared if I were you. It's important. Just choose to not think about it too much. You know you have to do it, so do it, think of other things instead. At least try.
 

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Posted by karasulas (Member # 12097) on :
 
Hi Synesthesia. I've got digestive issues myself that I've just recently been medicating with acidophilus and bifidus tablets. I've found them to be very effective.
As for panicky stuff, it's a problem with your emotional responses, and you should find relief by getting into something called EFT (emotional freedom techniques). Many people (including myself) have found it to be very useful in clearing unhelpful reaction habits from your mind. Depending on your cash situation you can approach a therapist that practises EFT, or you can learn it yourself - which will take longer, but for me has been a great opportunity to become more familiar with the workings of my mind.
Go to emofree.com to find out more about it and see a list of EFT practitioners.
Good luck!
 

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