Hey, I was kind of inspired by an infomercial I saw last night, but anyways, I was wondering what you guys think about my condition. Currently I'm a junior in college and have been experiencing what I've been told by doctors was IBS since probably 6th grade. But unfortunately all the info they'd ever been able to give me was that eating a lot of fiber should work (yeah right!) and gave me some stupid over the counter samples that did absolutely nothing. So I've been living with this for a while, and it hasn't gotten better at all. But I think there may be a chance that what I have isn't IBS, and that's where I'd love to hear what you guys think. So here's a small description....

First of all, the thing that made me wonder was that I usually don't have long, drawn out spells of diarrhea. Basically what happens is that when I'm put in a situation where there isn't a bathroom, or a situation where having to use the bathroom would be really embarrassing, I get nervous and the diarrhea just comes on itself. It's frusterating too because I realize that it's my own self panicing that brings it about, but I've come to terms that this is a disorder and not something that I can solve all on my own. But yeah, that's the extent of it. So that's why I'm starting to think that what I have might be more along the lines of anxiety with a dash of IBS? I really don't know, but I just read a bunch of personal stories from people and didn't notice a single one about just being away from a bathroom causing people problems, which is definitely the case with me. I can be in a class, feeling great, and then 2 minutes later it can all go down the tubes. But in the same, I can sit home all day and have one bowel movement. So if anybody with any knowledge out there of IBS (which I imagine most reading this board would) has any clue if what I have is IBS, I would really appreciate it. This is something that I need to get a handle on, and I would love for nothing more than to be able to come back for school over the summer as a new person. Thank you so much for any replies.

Hi there. If you do some research on IBS, you'll see that anxiety can worsen symptoms. It sounds like your stress/anxiety bring on diarrhea (if I'm understanding you correctly), which can be a component of IBS. However, IBS is diagnosed by a process of elimination (no pun intended), and since you don't have any other digestive disorder symptoms, the docs don't feel it's anything more serious than IBS. In someone with IBS, the mind/gut reaction of stress/anxiety/worrying about the bathroom can create distress and diarrhea. Maybe you need to talk to your doc about anti-anxiety or low doses of antidepressants to help you.

Just a thought. Good luck and keep us posted,
Katie G

I have to say that there are lots more natural ways of dealing with anxiety than taking antidepressants. I would not suggest that you do this.

Firstly, there are lots of good homeopathic remedies out there that do work along with herbal medicine and acupuncture. Go and consult an ND (Nautopathic Doc) who can help you naturally with these problems rather than starting down the path of antidepressants. It really is not worth it and some SSRI's such as Seroxat are addictive and have nasty side effects when prescribed in the wrong circumstances.

Doesn't sound like IBS... sounds more like you get anxious/ stressed out. If you have ever noticed that when you get stressed out your bowel habits change (like before a big test for school etc.). The stress is causing the diarrhea...if it was IBS you would have it ahppen at other times too and haev abdominal pain. Try to just relax in those situations and NOT think about it.