My IBS had worsened & I began to have lots of panic attacks when I went out, which meant I'd immediately have to go to the bathroom when I went to a store, etc.

I increased the amount of medication I was taking for my IBS. It helped the IBS symptoms, and the fear left. Sometimes it isn't the fear that brings on the IBS, but the opposite.

If you have IBS with stress/panic/depression treat all of it, not just one or the other.

What type of medication do you take for irritable bowel? I tried to e-mail you directly but was blocked.

Thanks for any info you can provide. Sounds like you and I have the same problem (anxiety/bowel problems).

Yes please share what meds you are taking for this problem. I can really understand what you are saying . it`s not just part but the whole picture of anxiety. Or we will all just go out and well, it`s no secret what could happen.LOL

Yeah I'd like to know what meds you take as well. I have the same situation.

Meds? What meds? I want meds. I haven't had much luck controlling my IBS-D. I end up in the rest room almost everytime I go out or get at all upset. My Doctor hasn't tried anything, just fiber which leaves me with cramps and bloating.
Giselle

Have any of you had any luck with the "Attacking Anxiety & Depression". I have always felt that overcoming panic attacks were easier for those who suffer from feeling as though they are having a heart attack or something similar. Those of us with IBS (diarrhea) how do we just sit through it and not run (to the rest room)? I could imagine rapid heart beats passing, but how can one STOP the diarrhea from coming. How do we get beyond that? I have been suffering with this for 30 years now - first two years I was almost literally housebound. Your thoughts about this program as it pertains to this form of anxiety and panic attacks would be appreciated.

I don't personally have IBS but my sister does. She has meds, but, well, I'm almost afraid to say this but if it helps her, it could help others get through those attacks...

My sister has found that if she has a little alcohol before or with the meal that might cause an attack, she avoids the attack altogether. No, she isn't an alcoholic and only drinks socially, but she has found that a drink must relax the muscles inside or somthing and she doesn't have an attack most of the time.

I'm not trying to convice anyone to drink, but I know how bad she used to get, and she has found a way around the pain and to be able to eat the foods that upset her stomach so.

I hope someone can get something out of this information. Keep working on the program as well!

I've been suffering with it at it's worst for about a year. Before that, it would come and go. In the last year, the doctor has put me on Bentyl to take before meals. This is an antispasmatic that helps stop the intestines from contracting. I also take fiber 2x a day. As far as natural products go, I take 2 peppermint capsules per day and 3 lactobacillus acidopholus. It's expensive but the combination has really seemed to help me. I've never panicked about going to the bathroom until I got this condition. Now I am obsessed with making sure I go to the bathroom in the morning before work so I don't have to go on the way to work. What a nightmare! Anyway, good luck to you all!

its nice to know im not the only person with this kind of problem. the thging that i fear most is having ibs while out in a social situation. therefore, i have stopped all together being in social situations. how do you guys deal with it?

I'm not one to encourage drug use (I still hate even taking a tylenol) but I do take Xanax occasionally when I have the feeling IBS is going to strike. I usually only take a half of a .25 tablet--which is a very low dosage--and it is just enough to relax my intestines. Obviously, I don't do this all the time because of the type of drug but it has worked for me. Since going through this program, I have not needed it nearly as much as in the past.

I guess one thing I've learned from this program is it's ok to for me to use medications when necessary (even tylenol). I have depression and have learned to accept it. I take the meds, whether I like it or not, because every time I have gone off them I end up worse off than before. I'm finally ok with that. Just like I'm ok with an occasional Xanax.

The tapes said to take bran with your cereal or yogurt. I call the help line and ask what kind of bran and where to get it. They acted like they never heard of it. I tried my local Krogers, but they sell bran you put into baking things. Does anyone know what kind of bran or where to buy it?

I completed the program a few months ago and I still have panic attacks, but I found ways to deal with them. Like right now, I'm about to go to class and I feel like I have to run to the bathroom. My IBS is triggered by my anxiety and there are ways to get around it. I found that the journal helps me. The breathing exercises help also. What usually get me through class though is when I feel the panic coming and then feel like my stomach is about to "activate" I just tell myself that I'm not going to run and that I will sit there until I feel like I have to get up and go to the bathroom.

I am sorry that I never answered your question. I was doing so well I didn't get back on until I got the groupee email.

As far as the medication I'm taking:
The program didn't do anything for my IBS, though it did help my overall thinking, so I got on an antidepressant, thinking it might help. I am taking 20 mg of Lexapro. That, however, didn't help the IBS, either, although I did feel much better otherwise. I was already taking 2 mg of Zofran/day and tried increasing it to 3 mg. It was the answer, short of total healing. I am better than I've been in 15 years.

We went on a vacation and didn't have to make provisions for my IBS for the first time in 13 years. I have my life back!

I hope this helps someone.

This is my first post here and it is so nice to see I am not alone. I have had IBS-D for almost 18 years now and my doctor recently prescribed a new med for me. It is called Robinul Forte. I take the generic which is called Glycopyrrolate. It is a 2 mg tablet taken once a day. I also take the minimal dose of Xanax 0.5 mg for my anxiety. I take Metamucil twice a day- it doesn't prevent the diarrhea, but it helps ALOT with that awful cramping that comes with it. The Robinul does wonders for me, before I would have the runs and take Immodium and then make 4 or 5 more trips. With the Robinul, it's a surprise if I go even one more time after taking it.
When you take Metamucil, my doc said it's real important to wait 2 hours before or 2 hours after to take meds, as the Metamucil could soak up the meds. It might help some of you- I know how helpful it is to find something that relieves it. Good luck everyone!

hey everyone... well i found a way to completely take away my ibs-d (but i must admit, it isnt the safest, but it works completely)ok this is what i started doing the first night i took 2 immodium b 4 bed, then i would wait till i had a bowel movement the next morning, the second i had one i would go take 2 more immodium and evertime i had a bowel movement that day i would take 2 following it. ive been doing that for about 2 years now, my bm's are so much less and there never diarrea. and it completely took away the urgency. its not really safe to take that much i dont think but its worth it to me.i was prob. the worst case of ibs -d. i would go to the bathroom litterly 30 times a day with so much pain and it was all diarrea. now i have very hard stools like 2ce a day . as long as i take the immodium every time after i have a bm i think it helps to make the next bm hard.
i also had panik attacks due to having to go while driving, but then once i started to not care they went away. i do have a prob. driving with other people but as long as im by myself i would just tell myself who cares if i crap my pants no one would ever no.... it really haped me to not care. and since i ddint worry about it it never happened. sorry to be so graphic, just trying to help.
to anyone thats going to try this, let me no how it works for u, its so nice to live ibs free!!!!