I know stress still effects us non-colon people in a negative way - but sometimes it is so hard to control. I can really feel it - I am crampy, I go more, How much does stress really effect our pouches. I have upped my xanax dose, but that is only a temp fix and I am afraid as my tolerance is building up again. I excercise and try the guided imagery and medition time, but don't do it often enough. Is stress on the pouch something that can permanetly cause issues?

Chronic stress affects your entire body, not just your pouch, so you really shouldn't focus on it in that way. You cannot control much of the stress your body is exposed to, but you can help reduce it by avoiding unnecessary stress. This means not overextending yourself by volunteering for things you really do not have the time for, and similar things that you can control. If you have to take time away from rest and meditation for something, you don't have time for it. For the stress you cannot control, meditation and other relaxation techniques help control your response to stress. I am a big supporter of vacations, even if it is just a day trip on a weekend to get away from your rut and refresh your soul.

This is not being selfish because you can only perform at your best when you are most healthy. Chronic stress increases cortisol levels and just like prednisone, long term effects on all your organs can result. It can be hard to learn to say no, but if you can, there are great benefits.

Jan

I agree with all that. Stress really can damage every and any part of your body - not to mention probably trigger new autoimmune diseases. Although some stress in unavoidable - I think it best to avoid major stressors like you'd avoid the plague. If you've got to take a pill once in a while to bring yourself down when you feel yourself excalating - by all means do it! Better to veg out for a while then let the adrenaline eat away at your body. If you use xanax to take the edge off at those stressful times and you're worried about tolerance, try having your doc switch you to lorazapam or something for a while. Anyway, bottom line in my opinion is we need to do whatever it takes to stay relaxed to protect our health.

Thanks - that makes sense. But I am just a very high strung person even when I am not stressed to the max. Am I setting myself up for more major health problems?

I did not intend to give you something new to obsess about, but to give you pause to think about what you do and why you do it. Stress all by itself is not a killer, but is just part of a package. People who respond poorly to stress and ignore it set themselves up for long term disease and premature aging.

You cannot alter your basic chemistry and if you tend to just naturally be tightly wound, it is up to you how to handle it. Use the tools you are given to minimize the effect of stress. I am a perfectionist and like everything to be orderly. It took many years (and raising two boys) to really be able to prioritize so that I have enough order in my life to relax, but not so much that I obsessed about it. Another thing I had to learn how to do was to get out of the competition mindset.

The main thing is not to just toss up your hands and say, "I'm very high strung," as a reason that you cannot cope with stress. Much of the stress we experience is self induced and you need to deal with it rationally. I do not mean to imply that your personality is not an issue, but it does not make it impossible to deal with stress.

http://www.ehow.com/how_3830_reduce-stress-life.html

Jan

Jan - Your comments on stress were great!
I was born in L. A. and lived in the rat race there for 40 years. 3 Years ago we moved the family(wife and 2 kids) to Indy and the stress level has dropped to a very low level. When we go back to visit, people can't beleive how much younger we look and how relaxed we are.
Funny how my Pancolitis didn't start until 2 years ago...1 year after I left stressful L.A.
I don't think I could handle the UC as well with all the added stress we had in L.A.
Any little stress now sends me right to the restroom so I try to let nothing bother me anymore...I just give it to God to handle
Thanks for the advice on stress!
2 weeks to go until I get rid of my useless
colon.

Hi LoraH...

I tell you what....I can feel stress in my pouch! Stress and anxiety were were huge problems when I had UC, and they still are even without a colon. A few weeks ago, I was doing really good, I attributed it to not having dairy. Well guess what? I was also on vacation! No stress! I got home, stayed off dairy, and my BB came back. I'm sure it stress related. I used to be a big meditator. I need to revisit that, I was definately on a different, more peaceful plane. Good luck...and mellow out man...