New member ...Blood sugar/fear of fainting etc

[Elsiebear]

I am brand new on here but looking round at posts I already feel comforted to know i'm not alone in my fears and some threads are even so similar to what mine will be

I am suffering from a heightened general anxiety coupled with or caused by a deep fear of fainting in public .
I am a professional singer (Classical) and it is totally ruining my career .I have always loved to perform but this past year i just dread every show and cry for hours leading up to each show .

All this started with the onset of early menopause (I'm 42) when my sugar levels suddenly started to drive me crazy....plummeting away with no warning within 3 hours of eating .Coupled with a bad IBS flare up with meant I couldn't eat properly in case i need the toilet whist singing or driving to a gig.... catch 22
All blood tests etc come back fine so it must just be a change in my bodies responses .
My handbag now is constantly full of bananas and nuts.

As a singer my uncontrollable fear is of suddenly feeling faint whist on stage and not being able to escape till my spot is over .This has happened a few times although I've never actually fainted ever in my life so i don't know what it actually would feel like
I live in total fear of this feeling coming on again even though i stuff bananas down my throat just before a show and eat well ,I just panic so much i end up dizzy and so light headed its terrible

The fear is so great that every time i'm in a public place now such as the supermarket not just on stage i have a full on panic attack
My general mental state is terrible .I cry so much over it and I'm desperate to find a way to cope

I'm so hopeful that know I have found this site someone will be able to help me chose the correct recovery path
xx

[Lissa101]

Hi ElsieBear, sorry to hear that you're feeling this way. I had these symptoms a lot during my first bout of anxiety five years ago. I was 30 then so I know low blood sugar-like symptoms can be caused by anxiety in somone pre-menopause too.

Various things helped me overcome this. CBT was brilliant. I bought a blood sugar testing kit and took my blood levels when I had these symptoms. This showed me that it wasn't actually low blood sugar causing these symptoms - most likely there were due to anxiety related chemicals. I desperately hated feeling weak and shakey so I needed to do something drastic. I took up weightlifting. This proved to me that, actually, I might feel weak but I'm not actually weak.

You're very brave to get up on stage while feeling this way. If you haven't done so already please see your GP, this problem is definitely solvable with the right help x

Btw I'm currently recovering from a relapse. Two months ago I couldn't even get on the tube but am 80% back to normal now. Your symptoms are v similair to mine. I'm a massive coward and pessimist so if I can get better literally anyone can x

[Dasani95]

I've had similar anxiety symptoms. I've had the worry that I'm going to faint and I feel weak. I've never fainted in my life so I'm right there with you! Therapy would definitely be helpful.

[NoraB]

Hi Elsiebear,

I believe that my present state of anxiety (GAD) has stemmed from the menopause and the stressful event of losing my mother.

I have the same problems as you and all my bloods keep coming back normal. I find that eating little and often helps but not sugary stuff as that aggravates the problem. Also, drink more water. Limit caffeine to a couple of cups a day or, better still, avoid it altogether.

Practice doing some deep breathing exercises and this is SO important. Actually fainting is uncommon with anxiety but feeling faint certainly isn't. One of the reasons people feel faint is down to shallow breathing which is very common with anxiety. Deep breathing from the abdomen can be done anywhere and anytime and as many times as you need to. When I feel the anxiety building I breathe in to the count of 8, hold for 5 and exhale for 8. It works.