Hi Gang!

I was just diagnosed with GAD (General Anxiety Disorder), and after talking to my doctor he mentioned that many of his patients who suffer from this are also GI patients, but he did know what the possible link could be. I've been suffering from this rotten illness for years now, but never saw a connection until I noticed that the symptoms never began until I started the treatment for my UC. Do any of you also suffer from GAD or panic attacks, and if so, do you know of any link bewteen the 2 illness. Thanks!

Cheers!
Eric

I know there is a definite link between functional bowel disorders (like IBS) and anxiety disorders. Not sure what the progression is, but it just makes sense that having issues that could cause you to become incontinent of stool can make you pretty anxious.

Plus, chronic illness, especially if there is traumatic surgery involved, can lead to PTSD, of which, GAD can be a component. It is all intertwined, since how we are wired to cope with things is put to the full test with IBD.

But, other than that, I don't know. Good luck with it Eric. I know that it can be quite disabling. But, just identifying it gets you half way home with proper management. My husband developed anxiety attacks after developing UC and diabetes. Very frustrating until he understood it and was able to anticipate triggering events and take a Xanax first.

Jan

Been struggling with anxiety since just shortly after I got sick. I think like Jan said, just knowing you could poop your pants at any moment makes you freak a little. And then perhaps it becomes something else or something more down the line...
My anxiety still lingers to this day. Never been able to shed it completely but I rarely need xanax unless something really unpleasant comes up...

Eric,

I'm in the same boat as you and I agree with the above posts. I also have read that with Crohn's, and probably UC too, they have found neurological symptoms like depression to be present, similar to the IBD-related arthritis a lot of us have. So perhaps it's just an extra-intestinal systemic process that comes with IBD. I have often suspected this connection, but no doubt our experiences have made us scared and paranoid. I had horrible anxiety after being diagnosed with Crohn's, having multiple surgeries to correct my twisted J-pouch, etc. I finally had a near break-down in the ER one night when my pouch twisted for the 2nd time. There were just so many bizarre things that happened to me, I felt like a ticking time bomb, and even my doctors started to joke w/ me about my bad luck. So, I started taking Lexapro, which helped a lot coupled w/ therapy. I recently switched to Celexa (my insurance co's choice, not mine) and I think it helps my anxiety, but not so much the depression. I'm really fascinated with this connection and plan to return to school to become an mental health nurse practitioner and help those suffering with chronic illnesses. I think it's very telling that your doctor has a lot of GI patients. It's really rough that once we get through the physical challenges of this, we have the anxiety/depression issues to deal with, which can cause plenty of physical symptoms. I feel like I am always exhausted for no reason, my Crohn's is in remission-proven by a recent scope, so I know it's not that. I've just been really "blah" and unmotivated lately. I have trouble sleeping, focusing, you name it. I have never handled stress well either. So you are definitely not alone.

quote:

...just knowing you could poop your pants at any moment makes you freak a little.

Concisely profound.

I remember reading somewhere that our guts are our second brains. . .which can explain why pain/discomfort can put us in such awful, depressed, anxious moods. I will have to look into this and find the article or source that I found it in. I will post back later.

I'd be interested in reading that. Please post it if you find it. I think I once read something about lyme disease, the gut, and the brain, but that was in the context of lyme disease.

you may want to get your magnesium levels tested. Magnesium levels are known to be low in those that have IBD, and chronic diarrhea can also heavily deplete magnesium levels. I personally have found great benefits from magnesium supplementation.

What part of the intestine processess magnesium?
Julie

UPDATE!

Just got my test results (from a 24 hour urine collection) My Adrenal function is so out of wack! the highest level should be 60, mine is 145! So, off to the endocrinologist I go, stay tuned for updates, but chances are it's pheochromocytoma (tumors on the adrenal gland)..

Is that an easily fixable thing? It sounds sorta scary. Everything is crossed for a very good outcome!!!

kathy

Eric, no sweat on the pheochromo...They should repeat the 24 hour urine for catecholemines to make sure this is what it is, then you will need a CT scan to look for a tumor. They thought I had this, although my levels were only modestly elevated. Anyway, once they saw the tumor on the CT, then surgery was planned. It was an easy overnight stay and the adrenalectomy was done laparoscopicly. As it turned out, it was not a pheochromocytoma, but a neuroganglioma (which can also secrete adrenaline).

I didn't have anxiety attacks, but was having bouts of serious tachycardia. As it turned out, I had a reentry tachycardia on top of the elevated catecholemines, so it made it more confusing. But all is good now. Got the heart fixed first, then the adrenal gland out.

There are some tricky things about adrenalectomy, but not a big deal when they know what they are dealing with. For me, the worst part was having to take an alpha blocker for a number of weeks before surgery. Dried my nose and mouth out something awful!

Jan

Oh yes.... most people with moderate to severe forms of IBD suffer from GAD. I would say that more then 1/2 of people I talk to with active symptoms fall within that catagory.