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Thread: Anyone else get after-meal anxiety? Esp. when feeling bloated?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    246

    Anyone else get after-meal anxiety? Esp. when feeling bloated?

    I have a feeling this is more due to memory and past fears of my heart beating fast after a meal, but I always seem to get so anxious after eating. It goes away once that 'digestion feeling' goes away. I can pin it down to nearly the minute it seems, from thirty minutes to an hour.

    I just get terrible bloating feelings and feel stuffed to the brim until I can burp (or do something else opposite of that, lol). I had some Mexican food last night (nachos, salsa, taquitos and some deviled eggs) and it WAS delicious, and maybe too delicious, cause I must have eaten a lot. I felt so weird and anxious and bloaty, like I was gonna explode. It passed after about 30 minutes and I felt great and normal.

    I used to be more panicky about my heart beating fast after a meal, but I'm kind of okay with that now. It also depends on certain foods. Like eating something with a lot of carbs or something hard to digest makes me feel all weird and hot and my heart seems to beat faster. Now I've been worrying about which foods will make me do this...

    I get full real easy (I think it may have something to do with the bloating and gas?) and I dunno if it has to do with my anxiety and trying not to overeat but everyone here in the States is a member of the 'clean plate club' and always wonder why I never finish my meals! (Social anxiety again, boo) I do eat enough to make me feel satisfied (like instead of eating three pizza slices I'll eat two, or I'll eat 3/4 bowl of macaroni instead of the whole thing), I just don't overstuff cause it makes me anxious.
    Last edited by Gryphoenix; 23-05-09 at 22:03.
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  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2009
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    69

    Re: Anyone else get after-meal anxiety? Esp. when feeling bloated?

    Yeah I get this too. However I do not always chalk this up to anxiety. I also get wozzyer, light headed ...... strong heart beats (like you just ran a mile) ... Personally I attribute this to a digestive blood shift that people with anxiety are more aware of, and possibly minor or alergic reaction to certain foods. Also fast bloating and not being able to eat large meals can be from a slow digestive track possiblt due to some depression or IBS, and even sometimes other GI issues like gallbladder, gastritis etc ......

    Anyway ... if in doubt have it looked at ...... sometimes I take a small dose of peptobismal before eating and it's seems to help. So I not a big believer that anxiety is always the cause of everything. Sometime with high carb meals the pancrease over secretes insulin ...... this can also add to a hard working digestive system ......

    Again it's chicken or egg theory with anxiety Vs a real medical cause.

    But anyway, yep i get like you too in 30 minutes ..... post meal.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    118

    Re: Anyone else get after-meal anxiety? Esp. when feeling bloated?

    This happens to me sometimes, especially after a meal which is very large or has a lot of fat in it (e.g. a good Indian curry banquet). (and probably if I am stressed as well) I can get hot and sweaty, faint and nauseous. Once after I ate a full meal after an exhausting day of hiking, I got a fit of uncontrollable shivering. Very scary - I thought I was going to die. I think it's best to eat small meals often, than large ones infrequently.

    I too sometimes feel a social pressure to try and finish a restaurant meal. Thank goodness we don't have US-sized portions here, but at least in the US it's more usual to ask for the leftovers to take home, whereas in the UK a lot of places aren't used to such requests, so I feel bad at leaving leftovers which will just be thrown away.

    But that is what I do. I will not eat more after I feel full. My friends tease me for having "a stomach the size of a pea" but that's how it is. They don't know that if I try to eat as much as them, I get stomach cramps and diarrhea when I get home.

    Min

    P.S. This is probably TMI, but if my bowels need emptying (as they euphemistically put it), then I am extra prone to anxiety. (This might be because the association works both ways - anxiety makes you want to evacuate your bowels, therefore if you need to evacuate your bowels maybe that triggers the association with anxiety). Indeed if I have a gyppy tummy due to a bug, I think the dodgy tummy feeling feeds back to convince me I must have anxiety, and I start feeling mentally queasy too.

    P.P.S. I swear by peptobismol too. I like it now they make it in tablet form so I can always carry some in my handbag.

    P.P.P.S. You could try asking for a child portion or have a starter as main course. Or ask for 'no fries' or whatever. Failing that, as I said, just get used to the teasing. Or go out with one of those useful people (usually, but not always, a male student) who has not much money and a bottomless stomach and will gladly finish off your meal for you. Then you get a clean plate, a grateful friend, and no horrible fullness. Very satisfactory reciprocol arrangement.
    Last edited by Marginalia; 24-05-09 at 12:25. Reason: Addendum and spelling

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    379

    Re: Anyone else get after-meal anxiety? Esp. when feeling bloated?

    dunno but my first major panic attack was following a huge meal of diner food.. a turkey club sandwich and french fries and coke. i was hugely stuffed and i swear i can correlate the two. yeah you can bet i've been eating very lightly lately and i won't go near a turkey club!
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2009
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    69

    Re: Anyone else get after-meal anxiety? Esp. when feeling bloated?

    Quote Originally Posted by Marginalia View Post
    P.P.S. I swear by peptobismol too. I like it now they make it in tablet form so I can always carry some in my handbag.
    yep me too ...... i have the tablets, i usually break one in half and that does the trick. But again I don't buy anxiety being all my IBS / GI issues ...... I can be perfectly calm and relaxed and when I eat any pasta foods or other specific foods I an very effected ..... not matter what my stress levels ....

    BTW for those who may not know, pepto bismal should not be used all the time and can make stools black in color so don't panic lol ....... i had an iron clad GI system up until abute 33 years old ..... not now ... oh well we adjust ...
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    246

    Re: Anyone else get after-meal anxiety? Esp. when feeling bloated?

    Two of my most memorable panics happened after eating meals, one I chalk up to sugar and caffinene but still, that is interesting that it's not only me!

    Marginalia--that's a great idea! Male students for disposing food ftw! I am glad to find that I'm not the only one that has trouble with this though. I get especially anxious if I have to use the bathroom when it's time to eat or just after, cause I associate heart-racing anxiety with the after eating time and I get automatically anxious when I get that (this might be TMI lol) number '2' shivery feeling, or my stomach starts to tell me it's time to go to the bathroom. I get a couple adrenaline surges sometimes with it too, and that's enough to put me over the edge sometimes.
    __________________
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  7. #7

    Re: Anyone else get after-meal anxiety? Esp. when feeling bloated?

    Quote Originally Posted by Marginalia View Post
    This happens to me sometimes, especially after a meal which is very large or has a lot of fat in it (e.g. a good Indian curry banquet). (and probably if I am stressed as well) I can get hot and sweaty, faint and nauseous. Once after I ate a full meal after an exhausting day of hiking, I got a fit of uncontrollable shivering. Very scary - I thought I was going to die. I think it's best to eat small meals often, than large ones infrequently.

    I too sometimes feel a social pressure to try and finish a restaurant meal. Thank goodness we don't have US-sized portions here, but at least in the US it's more usual to ask for the leftovers to take home, whereas in the UK a lot of places aren't used to such requests, so I feel bad at leaving leftovers which will just be thrown away.

    But that is what I do. I will not eat more after I feel full. My friends tease me for having "a stomach the size of a pea" but that's how it is. They don't know that if I try to eat as much as them, I get stomach cramps and diarrhea when I get home.

    Min

    P.S. This is probably TMI, but if my bowels need emptying (as they euphemistically put it), then I am extra prone to anxiety. (This might be because the association works both ways - anxiety makes you want to evacuate your bowels, therefore if you need to evacuate your bowels maybe that triggers the association with anxiety). Indeed if I have a gyppy tummy due to a bug, I think the dodgy tummy feeling feeds back to convince me I must have anxiety, and I start feeling mentally queasy too.

    P.P.S. I swear by peptobismol too. I like it now they make it in tablet form so I can always carry some in my handbag.

    P.P.P.S. You could try asking for a child portion or have a starter as main course. Or ask for 'no fries' or whatever. Failing that, as I said, just get used to the teasing. Or go out with one of those useful people (usually, but not always, a male student) who has not much money and a bottomless stomach and will gladly finish off your meal for you. Then you get a clean plate, a grateful friend, and no horrible fullness. Very satisfactory reciprocol arrangement.


    This was very helpful to me. I've been to Doctors and nothing seems to be wrong with me but I do have really bad anxiety and when I eat fast food or over eat or have to go to the bathroom I feel anxiety the most. I guess for me is to lay off the crap food, eat healthier and try to regulate my bowels and regular exercise. I know my anxiety has a lot to do with my lifestyle so I need to make some changes asap!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    536

    Re: Anyone else get after-meal anxiety? Esp. when feeling bloated?

    I get this terribly lately.. Its horrible and makes me crazy . Lately I have been stressed making it even more terrible and my stomach is constantly bloated and plenty of gas and heart skipping and pounding. Just hate it.. I want it to stop.

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