Anxiety/IBS and nausea

[Ansumpasty]

Hello,
Just wondering if anyone can give me any advice!
I'm having a bad IBS flare up at the moment caused by a period of prolonged stress. This has now triggered my anxiety (health anxiety) badly.
My newest symptom is nausea. I'm waking up in the morning with that same feeling you get when you hear a bang and realise your child has fallen out of bed or you hear the dreaded sound of one vomiting. It's the electric shock feeling that zaps through your body and straight to my stomach, where I can feel my pulse bouncing in my stomach and bad nausea.
The nausea then continues off and on all day, with a brief reprieve after eating or when I'm really busy in other people's company. I'm a SAHM so by myself much of the day, which isn't helping.
I cannot stop burping and now keep swallowing which is turning into an anxious habit and obviously causing wind in my tummy. I'm producing so much salvia which again, is worse when I think about it and goes away when I'm busy.

I have a terrible phobia of doctors and tests which I think is making everything so much worse. My health anxiety is getting increasingly worse the worse my nausea gets and it's not helping my IBS settle down.

Any words of wisdom for me? Only positive please, nothing scary or 'my neighbour had that and it was a terminal disease' type comments as my health anxiety really can't take it.
Thank you

Get Help for your anxiety.

A friend with IBS has stopped drinking coffee as she found that made her nausea worse. Can you try and change things around in your diet? Do rennies or other antiacids help?

So you have a generalised anxiety disorder? In that you feel anxious all the time rather than at anything specific?

Have a look at CBT, it's very good for treating GAD. I don't think there is anything wrong with you physically, but you need to try and get treatment for the anxiety as you don't need to live like this

I had those exact symptoms and was put on citalopram. I was on that for two years which really helped. I'm now off the tablets and have been for three years with no relapse!

Sorry to be clear, I was diagnosed with anxiety which was causing IBS like symptoms

The therapy that would treat both your generalised anxiety and your IBS is hypnotherapy. Be sure to find a therapist who is well qualified, though. Google Peter Whorwell and hypnotherapy for IBS to see how successful it can be. Good luck!

Thanks for your help, everyone

I constantly swallow air and have a permanently distended stomach as a 24/7 anxious habit. It's called aerophagia.

H pylori?? Ask to get tested at gp