Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment

Question by RoseLily: Should I seek help for my depression and stress levels or deal with it my self?
Since I started my last two senior year of High School my stress levels have increased dramatically. I sleep irregularly and have developed a case of Irritable Bowel Syndrome which has lead to weight loss and malnutrition and lead to fragility in my health. This has concerned friends. Another point of concern that has developed recently is where I start twitching or convulsing periodically and usually happens when I’m fatigued.

The depression worries me a bit because it’s fired up again since two years ago where it was at its worst. I have a boyfriend now and tend to act impulsively when I’m feeling down. I got drunk in his presence then went into hysterics where I cried, periodically convulsed, then began talking as a collective (three different people) then I tried harming my self with a Stanley Knife, Package knife, shards of glass and pins all of which my boyfriend had to wrestle off me. This as you can imagine scared quiet a bit, and he is now nagging me to see a councillor.

I have planned to take some stress management courses, but fear going to the councillor. What should I do?

Best answer:

Answer by Monkey Lips
Please do not fear seeking professional help. A therapist or counselor can really help you to get things back on track. You would benefit from seeking help from a psychiatrist as well. There are many wonderful medications that can help you feel more in control of your life.

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Question by glassroseheart: How should I go about getting a diagnosis for my intermittent unexplained pain?
I have been having pain in random areas (usually upper arms and legs, usually near joints, neck and back, usually along my spine, various areas on my stomach and ribs, and scalp) for years, but the pain and frequency has recently increased. I get pain in a random place about four times a day, but it can happen more or less frequently depending on stress. There are no bruises or other visible signs of injury in the areas I have pain. I tend to ignore minor pain because of a prior health problem that caused pain in my chest (with a physical cause that could not be easily treated, that has since mostly disappeared), so the actual frequency of pain may be higher than I remember. When someone presses (not too hard, but not a light touch) on certain spots on my body, I have pretty intense pain on that point in my muscle. There are other spots that, when pressed, cause pain in other areas, usually along the same muscle or near the point that is pressed. I get muscle spasms in my back and neck pretty a few times a week. I have also had insomnia for as long as I can remember. Although I am tired almost all the time, I have a really hard time falling asleep. I have also been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, anxiety, and temperamental joint syndrome. I also have allergies, but I really doubt they’re related.

Because the pain has gotten worse over the past few weeks (probably due to stress), I am looking for a solution, or at least a diagnosis. As a result of the research I have done of my symptoms, I suspect that it is fibromyalgia, but I am open to other possibilities. I know that Rheumatologists usually diagnose and treat fibromyalgia and other similar illnesses, but I’m not sure if I should try to go to a specialist immediately or if I should go to my Internist first. What can I do to up my chances of being diagnosed quickly and correctly?
I eat healthy and have a balanced diet. I really like vegetables, especially those high in magnesium and calcium and I eat meat and fish (B12). I am outside without sunscreen for around 30 min per day without sunscreen (less in summer when sun is stronger). I really doubt I have a vitamin D, B12, Calcium, or Magnesium deficiency.

I’m more concerned with getting a diagnosis at the moment than treating blindly, so my main question is about how to get diagnosed. I also do not believe that alternative medicine can help in all cases. Neither can traditional medicine, but at least traditional medicine is scientifically proven more frequently. Treatment without diagnosis is unlikely to work.
The sleep problems can’t have been caused by muscle pain because I have had sleep problems for my whole life. The most prominent random pain I get is in my legs. My muscles are tense in my neck and back, but I can’t see why that would give me pain in my lower leg, which is the pain I’ve been dealing with today. No OTC pain medicine helps much with the pain (even in blocking it), but I remember having slightly less pain when I was on an SSRI for anxiety. I needed to stop taking 2 different ones due to side effects.
I forgot to mention that I also have restless leg syndrome. Also, the pain feels a little like restless leg syndrome at times (more constantly annoying than agonizing), but feels like stabbing, throbbing, or cramping pain at other times.
Douglas, I tried to do those stretches, but pressing in some of the areas you suggest causes the localized pain I mentioned in the original question.
I thought that my count of the number of times I felt random pain was low, so I started recording it. My count was very low. The number of times per day I feel pain is more like 50-100, but it often comes and goes in a few different areas or lasts only 30 seconds, so I’ve just been ignoring most instances of pain.

Best answer:

Answer by ƦєdAиgєℓ
Firstly check your vitamin D, calcium and vitamin B12 levels as a deficiency in all of these cause all your symptoms. Calcium deficiency – muscle cramps, prone to allergies, vitamin D deficiency – bone and joint pain (misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia) and fatigue, and vitamin B12 deficiency (stress eats away at B12 levels) – IBS, anxiety, migranes, insomina/fatigue, bone pain.

Calcium:
http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Ca-De/Calcium.html

Vitamin D:
http://jeffreydach.com/2007/06/10/vitamin-d-deficiency–by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx

Vitamin B12:
http://www.drdach.com/B12_Jeffrey_Dach_drdach.html

¾ of the world is vitamin D deficient…i would check it out just in case.

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Question by nicole h: Should I change my anti depressant due to these side effects?
I have Constipation ,Ongoing Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fatigue , Dry mouth , Sexual dysfunction, Vivid/Abnormal dreams, and Apathy

By the way im currently taking Venlafaxine. Before I was on Prozac, and one other that I forget the name of.

Been on this medication for about 3 or 4 months

Best answer:

Answer by laurarara
That’s quite a list of side effects. If they’re badly affecting your life, then do speak to your doctor. There are many antidepressants out there, and I’m sure you can find one with fewer side effects (for you) than that.

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Question by wolliom: Should I see a doctor about this?
I have recently gone to the doctor about a foot condition I believed to be a foot ulcer. I had this thing on my foot for about five months and would repeatedly look up horrible symptoms through the internet. What finally got me to the doctor was stomach, back and chest pains, thinking it was a part of of an infection from the foot condition. They said it was simple Plantars Warts. (I’ve never had them before, that’s why I worried.) Then about a week later I went to see what was causing my stomach pains; again I was looking up horrible diseases. (I think I may be a hypochondriac.) After blood and urine tests they diagnosed me with IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome caused by stress. They told me to eat more foods with fiber and try to stay calm. Well, at this point my worries had gone down a bit, though I still find myself worrying whether or not it could be misdiagnosed and be something more serious. To make matters worse, about a week ago I started having blurry vision and itchiness in my left eye. Again, I started looking up symptoms and diseases. I was relieved to have only blurry vision due to reading about left eye abnormalities due to irregular stool (IBS). One symptom I read was about halos around lights. It didn’t bother me until one morning while watching tv, I randomly thought about this symptom. I decided to look around the kitchen light to see halos, I saw none, but in my head I thought something was wrong. All of a sudden I could see rainbow halos appear after thinking about them.

Also, I’m a 16 year old male if that helps.

Should I see a doctor, or could this just be stress?

(Sorry about the long message, I’m too scared to talk to anyone around here for advice.)
They also said my urine was normal, though my urine is often orange and sometimes can be painful.

Best answer:

Answer by mom 2-2
Everyone worries about their health but you need to try and calm yourself. I would stop looking up medical problems and try to enjoy being a 16 year old young man, there will be plenty of things to worry about when you get older. Good luck and dont worry.

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Question by ↔ ♥ ɹᴱddᴱd ˙ɹp ʇᴱıp ♥ ↔: Should I go talk to my doctor about fibromyalgia?
These are the symptoms of fibromyalgia:

Anxiety
Concentration and memory problems — known as fibro fog
Depression
Digestive disorders
Discoloration of hands and feet (Raynaud’s phenomenon)
Dryness in mouth, nose, and eyes
Fatigue
Headaches
Irritable bowel syndrome
Morning stiffness
Pain
Painful menstrual cramps
Restless legs syndrome
Sleep problems
Swelling, numbness, and tingling in hands, arms, feet, and legs
Trigger points
Urinary symptoms

These are the symptoms I have:

Anxiety
Concentration problems
Digestive disorders
Dryness in mouth, nose, and eyes
Fatigue
Headaches
Irritable bowel syndrome
Morning stiffness
Pain
Painful menstrual cramps
Sleep problems
Swelling, numbness, and tingling in hands, arms, feet, and legs

The reason I’m looking into it, is because my forearms hurt so much for no reason, and now my inner thighs are hurting today so bad I can’t walk right, but there’s no real reason for it. I’m so confused.
justmeinthisworld- I’m sorry if those aren’t the symptoms you’re familiar with, I got these from WebMD.com. That doesn’t mean they are right, but I still wish you would have just answered the Q.

Thanks to everyone that has, you’ve all been really, really helpful.

Best answer:

Answer by Russ
It’s always good to get a check up when your not feeling well. Good Luck!

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