Is it depression or IBS?

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Hey,

Newly diagnosed with mild autism. All my life I've had loose stools on mornings. Usually, i have to run 3-4 times to the toilet after breakfast or coffee. Rest of the day is pretty normal, except for leaky gut, feeling full or reduced appetite. I also have constant fatigue, confusion, difficulties with memory and more or less an aliphatic feeling. Occasionally sleep issues. Even if I sleep full 8 hours I feel drained the day after.

I’ve had bubbly sensations in on the left side on my stomach and on the upper left side of my back as well. Sometimes i get a sticky feeling as well. This has been for years. I’ve had situations where I felt unbearable pain in my stomach, but doctors had found no cause for this.

I used to be on Cymbalta for depression during 6 months, which cured my “depression” and made my stool normal again. But as soon as I stopped taking Cymbalta, the IBS symptoms returned, so did the fatigue and depressed feelings. So for the last 2+ years, i have felt fatigued and depressed.

I went to my GP and described these issues. He described me Cymbalta again. He said if Cymbalta worked for me in the past, it should work as well 2nd time again. But I'm afraid of the permanent side effects, Especially the brain zaps withdrawal effect which I experienced the 1st time taking Cymbalta.

This has made me wonder, am I depressed or do I have IBS? Since depression can trigger IBS like symptoms and IBS can trigger depression symptoms.

I have recently started a food map program to see if my diet is affecting my stomach. So far, with little luck.

I also read up on Probiotics and natural supplements to relieve the symptoms of IBS. Any other natural supplements I can try and buy online?
I’m afraid to take Cymbalta mostly due the horrific brain zaps and withdrawals, even if Cymbalta worked for me the 1st time. But neither do I want to feel fatigued and “depressed”.

I also have Diabetes 1, for the past 15 years. It's under control. I have mild Autism as well.

Do you have any tips for my current situation?

Did you have a colonscopy done? Which country do you live in? Trazodone and Amitriptyline are the two antidepressants most studied for the treatment of IBS but treatment when it comes to IBS is very individualized and consists of simply working through a list of treatments / trial and error.

A colonoscopy will not diagnose IBS - it is diagnosed mainly from symptoms. The patients who I have had who suffer with IBS symptoms were given a drug called "Bentyl" and it seemed to help with the diarrhea, cramping and abd pain. You need a drug from the class of drugs "anticholinergics" which slow the motility of the bowel down. I think there is a newer drug out for IBS, but I do not remember it if there is. I've had IBS symptoms for years and it usually starts up during extreme stress. I usually try to control mine with exercise, metamucil (the gritty kind) and if I have bad abd pain - then a hot water bottle sometimes helps. I just don't like going to doctors, otherwise, I'd try the bentyl.

Hi! I also have fatigue and feel tired almost every morning. I found B vitamins improve my well-being and eliminate the eyelid tic I sometimes have due to lack of sleep or worries. I also noticed coffee influences my overall state and messes with my heartbeat. I noticed many similarities between us when I saw your other posts. Please try first addressing your diet. Do you have enough zinc, iron? I can't answer your IBS question, sorry for that.

Hi kaup, welcome to the club nobody wants to join.

I've had IBS all. My. Life. Multiple causes. Stress; food allergies (which US medicine did not believe in when I was a child); hyper-reactivity (stress, dressed up). Gut hypermotility seems to be a Bonus Prize for ASD folks.

Here is what helped me, and your mileage will vary, almost certainly.

I'm retired now. But when I was working, I got up early, had coffee and breakfast as soon as possible, which - uh - affected me the way it seems to affect you. This got the system revved and bought me time to shower, dress, commute.

I did get diagnosed ASAP (20s) and took a Rx motility pill about 20 minutes before heading off to work. This got me to the office.

I'd arrive early. This allowed a pit stop on arrival. Then I'd start work on time.

During the day I tried not to eat anything I knew would set me off. This was also when calcium polycarbophil was available (having IBS and being allergic to psyllium is a LOT of fun), so I'd take that with each meal. Took another Rx motility pill before heading home. (In a pinch, first generation antihistamines worked for me. Like benadryl or chlor-trimeton.)

Nowadays the Rx pill is available OTC hurrah, and I have some new friends; their names are pectin and marshmallow root. These fiber sources are fantastic. No allergic reaction, no need for massive doses, I take about half what's recommended on the label and that works fine for me.

Watch out for sneak-ins. I ate a specific brand of cheddar cheese for 40 years, yeah really, because it never upset me, and I could eat it with pasta when I could tolerate almost nothing else. So... a year or so back, the maker decided it'd be cool to stick natamycin in it. Which is a mold inhibitor, structurally similar to erythromycin. It took me months to figure out why I was suddenly sick all the time, and why my "safety diet" was failing. It was the natamycin. Switched to a brand that refuses to add it, problem solved.

So watch out for that kind of stuff. Inulin was another one for me. Rosemary (the "organic" preservative. Half kills me.) Your triggers will differ, but you'll learn what they are eventually.

Good luck. The positive in all this blathering I'm doing is that I worked full time for an entire career, even managed to get some promotions and relocated abroad for awhile, and am now retired. It's possible. But if I hadn't known what I was dealing with, at the very start, I can't imagine doing half as well.

Try a gluten free dairy free diet (cows dairy).