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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
bowel habits, lightheadeness, weight loss (anxiety or something else?)
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
bowel habits, lightheadeness, weight loss (anxiety or something else?)
by borast, Jun 30, 2007 12:00AM
Male/23
Symptoms:
- Wake up EVERY morning w/ strong bowel urgency, 99% of time loose stools. Sometimes blood on toilet paper w/ pinching feeling as stool released. Going on for 3 yrs, incidentally after being treated 4 sinus infection with antibiotics.
- Unexplained weight loss. Currently ~ pound/day for the last week, but have seen other times in the past few yrs that I have lost weight. Only started measuring at work daily the last week so this may have been happening longer.Still have good appetite.
- Constant lightheadedness/slightly off balance, started a few months ago. No real pattern, it is always there from morning til night, sometimes more intense, sometimes less.
- Tested with: digital rec. exam, 2 upper GI series, lower GI barium enema, 2 CBCs, sigmoid, stool culture for parasites, abdominal x-ray.
- history of stomach ulcers, but didn't really have common ulcer symptoms.
- blood on toilet paper probably due to fissures (told by gastro)
- bowel habits and lightheadedness attributed to anxiety by GP. I do feel anxious alot, but i thought it was mostly from these health issues, a paradoxical situation? Did my anxiety about my previous bowel problems manifest into the newer problems?
concerned i may have following conditions:
- Celiac disease
- Hyperthyroidism (i've heard that premature graying hair is an early sign, i've had grays since grade 4, but mother also grayed early)
Symptoms:
- Wake up EVERY morning w/ strong bowel urgency, 99% of time loose stools. Sometimes blood on toilet paper w/ pinching feeling as stool released. Going on for 3 yrs, incidentally after being treated 4 sinus infection with antibiotics.
- Unexplained weight loss. Currently ~ pound/day for the last week, but have seen other times in the past few yrs that I have lost weight. Only started measuring at work daily the last week so this may have been happening longer.Still have good appetite.
- Constant lightheadedness/slightly off balance, started a few months ago. No real pattern, it is always there from morning til night, sometimes more intense, sometimes less.
- Tested with: digital rec. exam, 2 upper GI series, lower GI barium enema, 2 CBCs, sigmoid, stool culture for parasites, abdominal x-ray.
- history of stomach ulcers, but didn't really have common ulcer symptoms.
- blood on toilet paper probably due to fissures (told by gastro)
- bowel habits and lightheadedness attributed to anxiety by GP. I do feel anxious alot, but i thought it was mostly from these health issues, a paradoxical situation? Did my anxiety about my previous bowel problems manifest into the newer problems?
concerned i may have following conditions:
- Celiac disease
- Hyperthyroidism (i've heard that premature graying hair is an early sign, i've had grays since grade 4, but mother also grayed early)
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Jul 02, 2007 12:00AM
, Jul 02, 2007 12:00AM
Since all of your bowel workups have proved negative, it is most likely that the anxiety you experience is also effecting your bowels, and that your worries are compounded by bowels. I would recommend a good course of therapy to get to the source of your anxieties.
Love venora