What does Ibs have to do with depression? is it related? and How? What about heartburn? How do I make this stop? I have had horrible heartburn and ibs all my life. I dont understand. Help me get better. Should I see another doctor.

Last year I had a colonoscopy they just said I have ibs. But never been checked for the heartburn. And a couple of days in a row I had heartburn so bad that it was burning my tonsils.

I alternate between exlax, fiber con, stool softeners, and colon clense.
pepcid ac lots for the heartburn.

Any tips? Please. I am open for anything. I want to feel better without taking all of these pills anymore. Is there hope?

I have heartburn a lot, when I am anxious my stomach churns and causes it. The pepcid should help. I also eat a lot of pretzels because they absorb the acid. Milk can cause the acid to get bad so I avoid it. Coffee is bad for both the heartburn and the IBS, it is a laxative, I still drink it though. Hope this helps.

I think the depression can come from having a condition that really doesn't have a cure. My anxiety/depression issues definitely arose when my IBS first flared up and it can be really stressful and frustrating.

Do you primarily have IBS C then? I would suggest you look into a soluble fiber supplement. I'm not sure if Fiber-con is psyllium fiber but I've heard that can actually make symptoms worse. And you definitely don't want to take Ex Lax too much.

I'm just starting to use Acacia powder as a fiber supplement. I found out about it on this site. You may want to check the food restriction recommendations and see if they help in addition to adding soluble fiber.

www.helpforibs.com

I was also watching this show on PBS recently. www.hopeformula.com/

I was suprised that she suggested that heartburn actually can occur also if you don't have enough acid in your stomach to fully digest your food. She also talked alot about taking digestive enzymes for heartburn as well. You may want to check out that site as well or see if you can catch the show on PBS this month.

There is a lot you can do for IBS with diet modification to help control your symptoms.

If your heartburn is really bad it probably is a good idea to see a doctor as well.