Venting Irritable bowel and Insomnia related to loneliness.

[Eren]

The last time I went to the doctor for stomach pain, he told me that it was irritable bowel, and that it is possibly related to my insomnia, since stress is somatized in the intestine.

That got me thinking, and my trouble sleeping and stomach aches started around the same time (3 years ago)

I have Asperger's (in the process of diagnosis), it is really practically impossible for me to socialize IRL, I even have problems socializing online. When I was little and went to school I met two people who would end up being the only friends I have, we us always stayed (they are brothers) we stayed almost every weekend, we had a lot of privacy, we told each other everything, they told me we were like brothers etc ... for a while we started to meet less, and right now we never see each other, at most 2 or 3 times a year, they just met other people and they no longer want to meet me.

I know I can't depend on two people in particular, it's true, but I can't really socialize with anyone, let alone have that degree of intimacy. Nor am I blaming them for my insomnia or my irritable bowel, but I find it curious that it started at the same time.

Before I also had problems, and even suicidal thoughts, I was also socially frustrated, but life was much more tolerable, I really miss them.

I've met amazing people here and in online games, but honestly it's not the same as IRL contact.

 

[Deleted member 1465]

As you will know, seretonin helps regulate mood by acting as a facilitating hormone at the neural synapses. What many people don't know, including doctors, is that it works as a mediator hormone in the gut too, allowing intra-gut communication and regulation. Seretonin is really important for the entire endocrine system and metabolism.
Doctors are slowly coming around to the idea of the 'gut-brain axis' though they are not sure how to deal with it. They call dysfunction: 'IBS' which is effectively the dark matter of physiology, ie. a random name given to a concept everyone is scared of dealing with because its so nebulous.

So the idea of feeling stress 'in the gut' is actually quite realistic. There appears to be no causal origin. The gut affects the brain and the brain affects the gut. It's a cyclical feedback system within the endocrine system. Your mood can give you gut pain and gut pain effects your mood. The term 'gut feeling' exists for a very good reason.

I suffer like this too.

My solution: change what I can change. I can't easily change my psychology ( I'm so not taking SSRIs, lets not go there), so I try and change my gut situation. Diet, supplementation and careful medication. I'm currently experimenting.

And yes, all this interacts with your sleep in a complex manner. Mood, anxiety, gut biome all influences sleep, which then feeds back and influences the causal factors (mood, anxiety, gut etc) further. Insomnia also fucks up your metabolism at a fundamental level, inhibiting your blood sugar regulation, which then effects everything: sleep, mood, gut... you name it.
Six months with less than one hours sleep a night. Seriously. Not exaggerating. I have the cognitive consequences as my credentials.

It's all profoundly connected and any treatment that doesn't recognise this...well, it will fail. I guarantee that it will fail in the long term. If I'm wrong...well, half of us wouldn't bloody well be here, so sod that for a game of soldiers.

There are so many things you can't change. Fuck that. I change what i can and hope everything else might fall into order behind me.

@Eren I can't begin to understand your personal circumstances. No one can ever truly appreciate another's pain. But if you ever wish to share your experience and take whatever you can from my experience, you are always more than welcome to PM me.

 

[Eren]

As you will know, seretonin helps regulate mood by acting as a facilitating hormone at the neural synapses. What many people don't know, including doctors, is that it works as a mediator hormone in the gut too, allowing intra-gut communication and regulation. Seretonin is really important for the entire endocrine system and metabolism.
Doctors are slowly coming around to the idea of the 'gut-brain axis' though they are not sure how to deal with it. They call dysfunction: 'IBS' which is effectively the dark matter of physiology, ie. a random name given to a concept everyone is scared of dealing with because its so nebulous.

So the idea of feeling stress 'in the gut' is actually quite realistic. There appears to be no causal origin. The gut affects the brain and the brain affects the gut. It's a cyclical feedback system within the endocrine system. Your mood can give you gut pain and gut pain effects your mood. The term 'gut feeling' exists for a very good reason.

I suffer like this too.

My solution: change what I can change. I can't easily change my psychology ( I'm so not taking SSRIs, lets not go there), so I try and change my gut situation. Diet, supplementation and careful medication. I'm currently experimenting.

And yes, all this interacts with your sleep in a complex manner. Mood, anxiety, gut biome all influences sleep, which then feeds back and influences the causal factors (mood, anxiety, gut etc) further. Insomnia also fucks up your metabolism at a fundamental level, inhibiting your blood sugar regulation, which then effects everything: sleep, mood, gut... you name it.
Six months with less than one hours sleep a night. Seriously. Not exaggerating. I have the cognitive consequences as my credentials.

It's all profoundly connected and any treatment that doesn't recognise this...well, it will fail. I guarantee that it will fail in the long term. If I'm wrong...well, half of us wouldn't bloody well be here, so sod that for a game of soldiers.

There are so many things you can't change. Fuck that. I change what i can and hope everything else might fall into order behind me.

@Eren I can't begin to understand your personal circumstances. No one can ever truly appreciate another's pain. But if you ever wish to share your experience and take whatever you can from my experience, you are always more than welcome to PM me.

I understand, it really makes sense what you say. Right now I am eating a bland diet and taking probiotics.

I have practically not left the house for 3 weeks, this afternoon I tried to go out for a while, but I came back soon for these stomach problems.

Stomach pain is unpleasant, but for me the worst thing is sleeping badly (and these pains make sleeping even more difficult)

 

[Deleted member 1465]

I understand, it really makes sense what you say. Right now I am eating a bland diet and taking probiotics.

I have practically not left the house for 3 weeks, this afternoon I tried to go out for a while, but I came back soon for these stomach problems.

Stomach pain is unpleasant, but for me the worst thing is sleeping badly (and these pains make sleeping even more difficult)

Yes, oh yes, sleep disruption is appalling. If you are taking a probiotic, you might also want to look into taking a prebiotic too, as they act in concert. Again. I would stress that no one size fits all, it might be inappropriate for you.
I take an inulin supplement. It's made from chicory root extract and gives the probiotic a source of fibre to act on (along with water), which produces butyric acid which serves as a source of food for the epithelial cells of the large colon.
But my issue is constipation, so be careful. Do your research and make your own conclusions as to what to try.
I can't stress how individual bowel issues are and I don't want to influence you to act in a way that might harm rather than help. Do your own research and act as you think might benefit you. Information, research and experimentation is the key to trying to understand.

 

[DoNotLet2]

Ah, Aspeger's strikes again.... You're not alone in the loneliness.

 

[Cant Maintain]

I had IBS for a long while before my body started to shit out. Fibromyalgia and IBS go hand in hand apparently pretty frequently