Can health anxiety cause bowel problems? Worried.

[Hins]

I want to start this post by saying that I have seen my GP and she has referred me for an abdominal and transvaginal scan, she said the letter should come through in a couple of weeks. Till then I just need a space to release my worries. I have family but can’t talk to them because they think I’m always over catastrophising.

I’m 31 and have 2 young DC. I have been a worrier since I was a child and it’s always been about different things but since the birth of DC2 last year, I’ve started to experience periodic episodes of immense worry about health issues.

The problem is I can feel fine and all of a sudden start experiencing some symptoms and niggles which definitely are very real and then it just makes me think that’s it’s not health anxiety at all but an actual health problem.

Recently in the last 6 months or so I’ve experienced symptoms and been checked out for heart and chest issues, headaches and tingling in joints, floaters in eyes, skin cancers, etc. I had a blood test a few months ago which showed ESR level at 24 and low ferritin at 12. Been prescribed ferrous fumarate and have taken this previously during pregnancies without any side effects.

Now it’s the turn of my bowels and stomach. As with all the other occasions I have been feeling fine and getting on with life and from nowhere start feeling unwell. TMI warning:

• Last month it started off with feeling flutters and movements like when you’re 4/5 months pregnant. Been having regular periods and using condoms but took a hpt anyway and it was negative.
• 2 days before last period was due, I had spotting which lasted the full 2 days and I never have spotting.
• After period finished I have had constant bloating. Upper abdomen is swollen and tight. Lower abdomen feels heavy with occasional sharp stabbing pains.
• Bowel movements were normal (1x a day) until the last few days where I have been alternating between diarrhoea and constipation and this is what’s really scaring me tbh.
• So for the last 2 days I have had diarrhoea first thing in the morning and I don’t know if it’s because I’m nervous because as soon as I get up I start thinking about it all and start Googling stories about bowel cancer and ovarian cancer and that’s it, I feel sick to the pit of my stomach, get all clammy and sweaty and have to rush to the bathroom
• The days when I was constipated I was still able to pass stools but had to strain.
• Gurgling noises coming from stomach
• Excessive burping (but silent burps iykwim)
• Constant feeling of pressure in my lower abdomen and towards my bum, and I have to keep double checking whether I need to go the bathroom or not

I can’t stop googling, reading stories about people with no symptoms or no bleeding when passing stools who still ended up with cancer. This time it’s really affecting me because I constantly feel discomfort and occasional pain when I get the stabbing sensations.

My mum has had cysts on her ovaries which sort of then went away on their own, my dad has a stomach ulcer and my grandmother passed away from bowel related issues which terrifies me when I think about it all.

Every day I wake up nervous thinking what’s going to happen today? I don’t have any food allergies that I know of and it doesn’t matter what I seem to have eaten in the last 2 weeks, the bloating and pressure is still there.

I just don’t know what to do myself.

Stop googling, find something else to do every time you’re tempted.

Get some actual help for your anxiety - even simple CBT would work if you don’t want to commit to longer term therapy

Yes you need to deal with the anxiety. Unless you do you’ll always find something new to worry about.

Thank you, you’re right. I keep thinking I’m not going to Google and lo and behold a few minutes later there I am…

So far I’ve not spoken to any doctor about my worrying but that may have to be the next step.

It must be. Could you call today?

Absolutely speak to your Dr about health anxiety. They will take it seriously and will have many ways to help.

After years of worry, DH's symptoms just as you describe, are all traced to anxiety. It's important to have the tests your Dr advises to rule out anything. Just knowing it isn't that may not be enough to set your mind at rest even after you get those results.

I really hope you can find what you need to calm your anxiety.

Lots of women report the flutters of gas start after pregnancy. You can see 'movement' quite clearly but it is only wind. I get it and I'm not pregnant!

Thank you for the advice and support.

The movements really felt exactly same as early pregnancy movements, that’s what panicked me. Maybe I’m more aware now of these feelings because before kids it’s something I never picked up on.

@FinallyHere I’m sorry to hear that your DH has experienced similar. How is he doing now? If you don’t mind me asking what has helped him with these spiralling thoughts?

Its not possible to get an appointment at my surgery after 8.30am so will call in tomorrow and try then. I feel a bit calmer today after reading your replies so hope for the same after speaking to a doctor.

I guess the scariest thought I have is it could be health anxiety and an actual medical problem at the same time… and I’m struggling to negate that kind of thinking atm.

Thanks again I will keep updating because it feels good to talk about it and might be helpful for others too.

Yes it absolutely can.

I’ve recently suffered from a bad period of health anxiety, which started from an illness.

as a result of my anxiety I had pins and needles, chest pain, breathlessness, diarrhoea, feeling shakey. I have had every test they could think of an all is normal. It was my anxiety causing all of my symptoms. I have it under some control but still things can spiral. I tried medication but it didn’t work for me

@ChangingFaces39 Thank you so much for your reply. I’m so sorry to hear everything you’ve been through and I hope you’re doing a lot better now. I don’t mean this in a vindictive way at all but it really helps to know that others have been through similar.

That feeling of dread is absolutely awful isn’t it? I can already feel myself getting nervous about the night and the morning and whether or not I’ll have an upset stomach again.

What surprises me is how if this is anxiety the symptoms can change all the time. As I said before I’ve always been a worrier but never really had an issue with rushing to the bathroom before.

Honestly I couldn’t believe that anxiety could cause such problems. I was calling the doctors every other day just for reassurance.

there was a thread on here on here at the time with others who suffered from health anxiety and it was really good to hear from others who understood. Sorry I don’t have any proper advice but just a handhold as I know how it feels and it’s awful x

I'm a worrier and have the same problems, but I have noticed they have been worse since I had Covid. X

Have you tried taking probiotics OP? Puts the good bacteria back into the gut, especially useful if you've recently had a course of antibiotics. Peppermint tea is good too. Just something until you manage to see the GP.

Thank you to everyone who replied and sorry for going AWOL last couple of days. I have yet to get through to GP, so in the meantime I have been reading through some anxiety forums and it’s helpful to know that I’m not the only one going through this.

Hi Hins, I know exactly how you feel. I have had health anxiety for 8 years. Things were going okay until January when my AD stopped and I had to switch. I’m now 2 weeks on sertraline and it has been really tough. I really struggling with cardiophobia, I get palpitations and chest flutters and it just destroys my day. Also since November 21” my stomach has been all over the place. Warning TMI

Like you I have had mixture of diarrhoea and severe constipation also lots of gas and weird sounds above my stomach, it’s just so debilitating always waking up questioning how I feel

Hello @Myzone so sorry I missed your message. Thanks for sharing your experience and I’m really sorry that you’ve also been struggling. I do hope you are feeling better since posting. Is there any chance you can get back on the old medication? The palpitations and chest flutters must be very scary indeed. When you said you wake up every morning wondering how you’re going to feel, that’s the exact same with me. It’s so horrible to start the day off like that.

I thought I was doing a little bit better but last week my original symptoms which warranted the blood test have returned, light headed, spaced out, headaches, pins and needles. I don’t know if this is a reaction to the iron tablets (I stopped them while having the bowel issues but recently started them again), something else or the health anxiety manifesting in a new form. It’s terrifying and I can’t stop my mind from going down that rabbit hole again.

It hasn’t helped that in the last week I have had a new mole appear on my leg which I got checked out and gp said all okay but keep an eye on it, as well as DC1 complaining about leg pain at night (blood test next month) and DC2’s appointment coming through for possible allergies. I find the health anxiety shifts from me to them and back again.

This spaced out feeling is so unnerving. I just feel like sleeping all day and again the classic question can all this be caused by health anxiety?

And I forgot the dry mouth…. I’ve drank around 1.5 litres of water already today but still feeling so dry.

Hi OP. Did your GP check for CA125 levels when you had your blood taken? If not then request they do this while you wait for your scan (unless you’ve been referred under the 2 week pathway which would be quicker now anyway).

It is very likely to be nothing at all. I have ovarian cancer (at 36) and my only symptoms were bloating and a change to bowel habits, BUT the bloating was not accompanied by gas or anything else and very much felt like liquid under my ribs like during pregnancy.

It is highly likely you are simply anxious, or have a minor condition. But, even if it’s something more sinister at least you are now en route to having it found and dealt with.

Know how you feel OP. I sympathise with you.

I've had similar issues for several weeks. I wake up most mornings desperate to go and it's nearly always looser than it should be. Since I've started worrying about it so much I've also got aches and pains, nausea, loss of appetite too which just makes the whole thing so much worse.

Has anyone come out the other side of this?

@AGreatUsername Thank you so much for taking the time to post. I am so sorry about your diagnosis and I sincerely hope and pray that you are doing well. How are you now? I must admit I always assumed that ovarian cancer would cause problems with irregular periods or bleeding. I never knew that bloating was the main symptom until earlier this month. My blood tests didn’t test for CA125 and the GP did say that the scan letter should arrive within 2-3 weeks. So far it hasn’t come but I will wait another week and then maybe think about looking into a private scan. I can’t keep waiting and worrying like this. In the meantime I will call GP tomorrow In Sha Allah and ask if I can be tested for this marker. Thank you for the reminder.

@StormF You sound just like me. I’m sorry you’re experiencing the same thing. The worrying definitely makes everything 100x worse and I know it’s making it worse and I still can’t stop it. I still can’t stop thinking about it. I’m trying to concentrate on my kids, on my daily life, on work on cleaning but everything I do at the back of my mind it’s there and it’s terrible. I haven’t had a good few days and I’m petrified. I understand and accept nobody lives forever but I just think about my kids being so young and then I just want to burst into tears. I try to talk to family but its kind of like I’m being a pain for complaining. I find it much more easier to talk here on MN. I don’t know if ADs are the way for me. My family wouldn’t be supportive of that they think that the side effects outweigh any benefits.

Hi @Hins there’s a lot of us that have that exact doubt “can this be anxiety”. I for sure always question it. I had a really good day on Saturday and few decent hours yesterday but I am still getting physical symptoms of anxiety more then the anxiety in my head.

this is a decent video to watch.

Hi all hope you are doing well,

Update from me is I had my ultrasound a week or so ago and have a copy of the report now. It says
’Presence of a 33 x 11 mm tubular cystic area medial to right ovary and right hydrosalpinx’ I’m due to have a follow up scan in 3 months.

Can anyone tell me what this means? Is it serious/dangerous? I don’t want to start Googling else I won’t stop.

Thanks

Hello just wanted to provide an update of sorts for anyone who stumbles across this thread and finds it useful.

I had my follow up scan yesterday and thank God the cyst has gone and also the blockage in the fallopian tube seems to have gone as well. Still need to be ‘signed off’ by consultant but wanted to share anyway.

The stomach/bowel issues are still ongoing however so will be back to to GP as I thought it was all due to the cyst.

Thanks to all those who replied and wished me well. Hope you’re all doing good.

Hello just wanted to see how you are all doing…. I haven’t had a good couple of days at all.

Hi @Hins still not great as now on no medication at all, I was switched from sertraline back to citalopram but had a severe reaction. Hoping to start a new med next week but not ssri. How have you been?

@Myzone I am so sorry to hear about the reaction, that’s terrible. I hope you’re okay and things get better with the new medicine. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to me.

I was okay all summer and end of November started having an upset stomach which flares off and on not sure what to make of it but last 2 days in particular have been horrendous with the anxiety and what if thinking.

Speaking to a GP about it all end of next week but just feel so alone sometimes.