My situation is like the proverbial chicken or the egg and which one came first. This will be long, so please indulge me. Over the last several years I have been pounded with stress and trauma. I already had health issues, i.e. Lyme, Epstein-Barr, candida, etc. and as much as they caused issues in my life, I was still able to live my life.

8 1/2 years later I got married and we moved 14 times, due to my husband's then job in the military. During our second to last move, we found out my mom had Cancer and my husband and I both agreed I needed to move back home to take care of her. We were apart for about 8 months at that time. I then went back to my home with my husband for a short time, and got a call that I needed to return home urgently. I returned back and it was during the drive back that I started to feel the now familiar, daily anxiety that I feel. I stayed another 6-8 months taking care of my mom and dad, paying their bills, going with my mom to her chemo appointments, etc., all while away from my husband. It was an incredibly hard time, but I was still able to function. I had to, I had no choice, as my dad was falling apart and I had to be the strong one.

Late last year, my husband, who was then out of the military and employed on a contractual basis, had his contact term end and though I was worried about him finding work I was glad we were going to be together again. I went back for a few weeks, packed up our house essentially by myself, held several garage sales, and so on. Two nights before we were scheduled to move, I ended up in the ER with a very rapid heartbeat, due to reflux and obviously, stress. I have since been told my heart is fine.

We moved and my husband moved in with me to my parents house and I continued to care for my parents. We never thought it would be long term. My mom was then erroneously told she was Cancer free, by her ignorant oncologist. We were thrilled, but something didn't feel right to me. Turned out her idiot doctor read her CAT scan wrong and her Cancer had in fact spread. She was given a few months to live. My anxiety was increasing and I was having panic attacks when taking her to radiation, and had rapidly increasing reflux. At this point I was so exhausted that we had to hire some help to come in to help with her care, which was very strenuous. Taking care of my momwas like taking care of a special needs child. The reflux continued to get worse, and nothing was helping. In April, her elderly dog fell in the pool and drowned, which I witnessed. She died in my arms. I can't even begin to tell you traumatizing that was for me. I blamed myself, even though everyone said it wasn't my fault. Then in May, my mom died. Again, I was there when she died and seeing my mom's dead body in her bed is burned in my head. I keep replaying the scenes of my dead dog and mymdead mom over and over again. By this time, my digestive issues were now out of control. Reflux raging, upper stomach constantly bloated with painful gas and combo of the reflux and painful bloating gives me heart palps and triggers anxiety attacks. Now, everything I eat, no matter what it is, causes a reaction from me and I am very careful about what I eat.

Now we are trying to rebuild our lives, but are not doing well. My dad has become a borderline alcoholic from grief and refuses to stop drinking. We know we cannot leave him anytime soon. My husband is going through his own unresolved grief over his father's death, which was triggered by my mom's death, and is now in therapy. My digestive issues have become so debilitating and my anxiety so bad that I can no longer drive, and have multiple heart palp and panic attacks daily. Eating seems to be the trigger, meaning the heart palps and anxiety attacks start after I eat a meal, due to the reflux and bloating. My fibeo pain has gotten worse, vision is worse, and so on. To wrap up this Novella, I am wondering how many others here have digestion issues along with their anxiety/ Depression and if you think one triggers the other. Did your anxiety and/or digestion problems start after a trauma or major stress in your life? Thanks for your patience.