lass
24-06-06, 20:04
Sorry, this will be a really long post! I'm relatively new to all this and I am hoping that someone out there may be able to shed a bit of light as to why I am feeling like this and what I can do.
I was feeling so much better after my appointment with consultant on Thursday evening. I had a fantastic day yesterday, really positive and felt much more like my old self. I felt I could put my anxieties over my bowel/tummy symptoms to one side whilst I await a sigmoidoscopy (6-8 weeks).
So why have I woken up this morning feeling so low again?
In my bid for "self help", I have completely cut out alcohol and caffeine. I don't smoke or take any drugs. I am taking St John's Wort, and Fibogel for my IBS symptoms, but that's all. I eat a really healthy diet; loads of organic fruit and veg, wholemeal everything, chicken, fish, not much red meat. I drink 1.5 - 2 litres of water each day, plus herbal teas (peppermint and camomile).
I did have some chocolate last night (quite a big chunk!) - can this affect anxiety?
Does anyone have any informed information about 5HTP - I have been considering this for a while, but is it dangerous if you take something, even herbal, if it's not what you need?
Also B vitamin complex - any recommendations for this?
And can I continue with St Johns Wort if I am taking 5HTP?
At the moment I am contemplating returning to my GP to see what else she can suggest. She gave me sertraline to try, but I took 1/2 tablet for 4 days and it had a really bad effect on me so she advised me to stop. I'm thinking that if antidepressents aren't right for me, then maybe 5HTP isn't right also. (By the way, I stopped the St Johns Wort when I was on the antidepressents).
I have ordered Claire Weekes book, which will hopefully arrive early next week. Meanwhile, any other recommendations of anything I can try will be very gratefully received.
Also, by this afternoon I was feeling really anxious, low, tense, tired, irritable. I cooked tea for the family and didn't feel hungry myself; but I made myself eat some and felt much better for it. Is there a link between low blood sugar and anxiety?
I usually love my grub but when I am very anxious I can't bear food, I have a real problem with it - don't want to look at it, cook it, touch it. It's really weird, I've never felt like this before.
I really want to understand WHY I am feeling this way, what causes it, so that I can try to find the right solution for me. I've always been a worrier, but either I have never had symptoms as worrying as these, or my anxiety has got out of control; because this is taking over my life and I hate it. I feel like I have no fun anymore (I used to love a glass of wine or 2, but it makes me so depressed now next day that I have cut it out for a while).
And to top it all, I'm abnormally superstitious - a single magpie can completely wreck my day. I'm convinced bad things happen in 3's (I lost one friend 2 years ago to breast cancer, and I have another who is terminally ill now, so I am thinking that I am next ...). There is something so negative going on in my head that I just can't seem to be rational anymore.
Can anyone help or offer any advice or info?
I was feeling so much better after my appointment with consultant on Thursday evening. I had a fantastic day yesterday, really positive and felt much more like my old self. I felt I could put my anxieties over my bowel/tummy symptoms to one side whilst I await a sigmoidoscopy (6-8 weeks).
So why have I woken up this morning feeling so low again?
In my bid for "self help", I have completely cut out alcohol and caffeine. I don't smoke or take any drugs. I am taking St John's Wort, and Fibogel for my IBS symptoms, but that's all. I eat a really healthy diet; loads of organic fruit and veg, wholemeal everything, chicken, fish, not much red meat. I drink 1.5 - 2 litres of water each day, plus herbal teas (peppermint and camomile).
I did have some chocolate last night (quite a big chunk!) - can this affect anxiety?
Does anyone have any informed information about 5HTP - I have been considering this for a while, but is it dangerous if you take something, even herbal, if it's not what you need?
Also B vitamin complex - any recommendations for this?
And can I continue with St Johns Wort if I am taking 5HTP?
At the moment I am contemplating returning to my GP to see what else she can suggest. She gave me sertraline to try, but I took 1/2 tablet for 4 days and it had a really bad effect on me so she advised me to stop. I'm thinking that if antidepressents aren't right for me, then maybe 5HTP isn't right also. (By the way, I stopped the St Johns Wort when I was on the antidepressents).
I have ordered Claire Weekes book, which will hopefully arrive early next week. Meanwhile, any other recommendations of anything I can try will be very gratefully received.
Also, by this afternoon I was feeling really anxious, low, tense, tired, irritable. I cooked tea for the family and didn't feel hungry myself; but I made myself eat some and felt much better for it. Is there a link between low blood sugar and anxiety?
I usually love my grub but when I am very anxious I can't bear food, I have a real problem with it - don't want to look at it, cook it, touch it. It's really weird, I've never felt like this before.
I really want to understand WHY I am feeling this way, what causes it, so that I can try to find the right solution for me. I've always been a worrier, but either I have never had symptoms as worrying as these, or my anxiety has got out of control; because this is taking over my life and I hate it. I feel like I have no fun anymore (I used to love a glass of wine or 2, but it makes me so depressed now next day that I have cut it out for a while).
And to top it all, I'm abnormally superstitious - a single magpie can completely wreck my day. I'm convinced bad things happen in 3's (I lost one friend 2 years ago to breast cancer, and I have another who is terminally ill now, so I am thinking that I am next ...). There is something so negative going on in my head that I just can't seem to be rational anymore.
Can anyone help or offer any advice or info?