Reactions to Certain Foods Posted: 01-09-08 22:31pm
I have had pretty bad anxiety for a while,
and recently started connecting it to
foods that I eat. I need to get help, but
I really don't know where to start - how
to figure out whether it's hypoglycemia
related or not, and where to go from
there. I want to be fairly certain that
that's the problem before I start trying
to convince doctors. I get anxious/nervous
within a half hour after certain foods and
then usually get tired/headache after
that. It's not entirely consistent and I
don't only have the anxiety symptoms after
food. Basically, I'm wondering if this
fits the profile...is anxiety a common
symptom of hypoglycemia? Should I pursue
this or am I grasping at straws and I
should just find a psychologist and treat
it from that angle? I know a lot of people
have a hard time convincing doctors that
their problems are hypoglycemia
related...any advice on how to find a
doctor that's familiar with the
condition?
Any advice from anyone who's been through
this would be greatly appreciated. Please
help me figure this out!
|
lulu1346
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 17 Dec 2007 Posts: 34
Posted: 01-10-08 10:40am
Hi there,
I would do some more investigating to
determine if it's blood sugar related.
Anxiety can be from many different
things.
You could buy a glucose meter and check
your blood sugar when you are having an
episode. For me, I notice symptoms in the
70's although have fallen as low as 50.
Also, what is your diet like?
I have seen a few doctors and you're right
- most are just not convinced that it is
as common as it is, or that your symptoms
could be from low blood sugar. You have to
be your own doctor here.
I am a great believer that
anxiety/depression/etc are all related
with our body/mind. You get out what you
put in. If you are eating garbage you will
feel like garbage. Sometimes, undoing the
habits of bad eating is a huge challenge
and can take months or years to really
correct.
|
hardwooddan
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 1
Back And Leg Problems Posted: 01-10-08 11:19am
I NEED SOME REAL HELP, GOT INSURANCE, BEEN
TO DR. I TELL DR. WHATS WRONG AND DR.
WANTS TO CHECK BLOOD PRESSURE, ETC. SHE
DOESNT DO ANYTHING ABOUT BACK AND LEG, NOW
WAKE UP AND I CANT WALK AT ALL, HAVE TO
DRAG LEG TO BATHROOM, VERY PAINFUL. PAIN
STAYS WITH ME 24 HOURS A DAY. I GO TO
SLEEP TO TRY AND EASE PAIN, FEELS LIKE A
KNIVE BEING STUCK IN MY KNEE I NEED A DR.
THATS GOING TO CARE ABOUT WHAT IS WRONG
NOW, ONCE THE PAIN GOES AWAY I WILL WORK
ON BLOODPRESSURE AND ETC. PLEASE HELP...
HAVING A HARD TIME WITH TRUSTING DOCTORS
|
kernal
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Jan 2008 Posts: 6 Location: ,
Posted: 01-11-08 09:51am
I've tried going on a hypoglycemia diet
for a short time, but it probably wasn't
long enough to get real results. Also, one
of my main symptoms is anxiety, so since
my brain has been conditioned to respond
to all kinds of random things by getting
really nervous, its sometimes hard to tell
if this response is caused by eating or
not. What gets me thinking is when I eat
something like potatoes and then within an
hour my heart start beating fast and I get
nervous and can't figure out anything in
particular that I should be nervous about,
that gets me thinking that my body is
trying to tell me something. I'm going to
start to keep a food journal and keep
track of everything for a while, see where
that gets me. My question is, if the
results point to hypoglycemia, where do I
start? Just try the diet on my own? Find a
doctor that knows what they're talking
about? What kind of doctor? I'm really
ready to do something about this - and
it's taken me a long, emotionally
difficult, time to get to that point- but
I'm NOT ready to spend months going from
doctor to doctor trying to convince
people.
And if there's anyone here that has
experienced anxiety as a symptom of
hypogycemia, is it necessary to do
behavior therapy or some kind of
psychological treatment in addition to the
diet in order to get rid of the way your
brain has been wired to respond for so
long, negative perceptions, etc. - or does
the diet just take care of it?
|
foxforce5
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Aug 2007 Posts: 57
Posted: 01-11-08 10:30am
I have anxiety as a symptom of hypo. Since
Aug. I have been on a strict diet and a
lot of my symptoms are gone or lessened. I
was also diagnosed with Candida which can
cause hypoglycemia as well. I have had
bouts with anxiety that last a week at
time and then go away.
At one point I was having panic attacks so
often and feeling so hungry that eating
every two hours - on Stans's diet - was
the only thing that relieved me. Before
all this happened to me, I never had
anxiety/depression before. I think part of
the anxiety is your brain/body is
desperately trying to get used to eating a
new way. With Candida, you are fighting
yeasties who make you crave sugar to feed
them. It messes with your brain - big
time.
Part is also the sheer stress of feeling
so crappy and tense about following a
strict plan that throws your adrenals out
of whack. Even now - I still cannot
pinpoint what triggers my anxiety. I just
think it is my body healing and releasing
so many toxins that it is hard to cope. I
am doing a lot to detox my body at the
moment too.
For many, the diet does take care of the
anxiety problem but for me I seem to have
a few more problems ( heavy metal issues,
congested liver). My diet plan is supposed
to address all of these things but it is a
load to deal with and 'die off' can be
severe.
I kept track of all I ate for months and
it drove me crazy. I could not tell
anything by it. But if you start eating
the same things and then introduce just
one item back in at a time, you are
supposed to be able to tell if you are
reacting to that. I've tried it all -
glucose meter, several doctors, shrink,
meditation etc. One doctor refused to
treat me unless I did a 5 hour GTT. I
refused because I was so sick at the time
plus I knew I had hypo. Another doctor - a
top endo - told me he did not believe in
GTT. Get some books - 'Hypoglycemia for
dummies' is actually a good book to start
with.
Try Stan's diet posted on this forum and
read past posts.
|
gingerelizabeth
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 03 Jan 2008 Posts: 79
Posted: 01-11-08 11:09am
hey!
i have hypoglycemia and anxiety issues and
what i notice is when i get low on sugar,
it reminds me of symptoms of an anxiety
attack and starts me up on one.
so you just have to realize how your body
feels and know the difference.
what helps me is just carrying a bottle of
pepsi around and i havent had a problem
since!
goodluck<3
|
kernal
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Jan 2008 Posts: 6 Location: ,
Posted: 01-12-08 22:04pm
Maybe someone can help explain this- from
what I understand, when we eat, blood
sugar levels go up, then insulin is
released to trigger receptors to take
glucose into cells and out of the
bloodstream. In the case of hypo, too much
glucose is taken in and levels get too low
too fast. Also according to my
understanding (and this is where it gets
fuzzy), sometimes the body sees the low
levels as a state of emergency, and the
'fight or flight' response kicks in,
adrenals release epinepherine and that's
the anxious response some people get. I'm
confused about whether that's a response
to the initial high levels of glucose, or
to the subsequent low levels of glucose.
For me, the anxious feeling comes before
the symptoms characteristic of the drop
(ie headache, tiredness, etc.) Does this
make any sense biologically? Is it
possible that you feel the adrenal
response before you feel the low glucose
effects even though it actually happens in
the opposite order? Or is my understanding
incorrect?
|
Stan
Moderator
Joined: 01 Jan 2006 Posts: 1650 Location: ,
Posted: 01-14-08 20:51pm
No, too much INSULIN is secreted. You are
right about flight or fight and also the
brain will eventually begin diverting
glucose from less necessary areas to keep
things like the heart running smoothly, so
thus depression and other nasties can
creep in. The adrenal reaction should
happen after, but if it's been going on a
long time it could happen at any time
really because the levels are so unstable.
You need to get to an endocrinologist to
be properly tested first. I am currently
carrying around a glucometer that they
gave me for free, so instead of spening
money on one when you might not even have
the problem, though it DOES sound like you
do (especially the potato thing), go to
them and they should order for you several
tests including fasting, a GTT,
post-prandial, hemoglobin A1C and so
forth. Get the tests done first. Don't
change the diet yet, get them done while
you're in a state of suck.
|
kernal
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Jan 2008 Posts: 6 Location: ,
Posted: 02-24-08 06:25am
I finally decided to do my own gtt. I
figured I may as well test every 30
minutes if I'm doing it myself, so it's a
lot of numbers. Basically I'm confused by
the results- I did it again another day to
make sure I did it right, and got the same
type of curve (higher numbers, started
with more sugar).
The numbers barely get below fasting level
and I don't think any of the drops are
that extreme or fast, so to me it does not
look like any of the typical hypoglycemic
curves. At the same time, it does not look
like any normal curve I've ever seen. I'm
no expert, so I might be missing something
here, but is it normal for blood sugar
levels to fluctuate so much? Maybe someone
with more experience can help me out...
|
Stan
Moderator
Joined: 01 Jan 2006 Posts: 1650 Location: ,
Posted: 02-24-08 10:23am
It can be normal, yes, they fluctuate
throughout the day. Unfortunately, it
looks like everything is normal, you're
never even reaching into pre-diabetic
levels, either lower or higher. Those are
normal curves. However, a home tester is
not the best method, unless you did it
right. If you had ANYTHING on your
fingers at any time, it can scew the
results, so hopefully you followed the
directions properly.
|
kernal
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Jan 2008 Posts: 6 Location: ,
Posted: 02-24-08 10:43am
I'm glad I did this myself before I wasted
time with a doctor.
But I thought normal is a jump in response
to sugar, and then it levels out over a
few hours. Is it normal to go up and down
three times before stabilizing?
