Nausea and headaches please help!

[ariel88]

Hi,

So I have been suffering with anxiety usually at night with sweaty palms, dizzy, breathless and racing heart probably about 4 out of 7 nights a week for the last 3 months. I have refused to take any medication other than propanolol when I need it.

1st question my doctor said to take propanolol when required but it is better to take it every day?

2nd question. over the last week or 2 I have had constant nausea and occasional headaches. It's a weird kindof nausea where I feel hungry at the same time. Could this be related to my anxiety? If so can anyone recommend anything preferably not Ssri that can help me.

[Rennie1989]

I can't answer the first question as I've never been on Propanolol.

Are you eating regulary and enough? I find that if I don't eat enough I feel sick (ironically) so I eat bland foods to keep it at bay, like biscuits (ginger biscuits are the best) and toast. Nausea is very much anxiety related.

[hanshan]

Propranolol is usually taken on an as-needed basis - ie, if you are starting to feel anxiety, or soon will go into a situation that you know from experience will cause physical symptoms of anxiety. Otherwise, you don't need to take it on a regular basis.

There are medications other than SSRIs (and benzodiazepines) that are used to treat anxiety. Mirtazapine is an antidepressant, but has a different structure from SSRIs. Pregabalin stops the release of excitatory neurotransmitters. Olanzapine is an antpsychotic, but is used in a low dose for anxiety. All of these are potential treatments for anxiety.

[ariel88]

Thanks for the replies. I will ask about the other medications at my doctors. I don't like SSRI's as I tried setraline a year ago when I had a bout of anxiety and even after a month I still felt awful with really bad side effects. Have you tried any of the mentioned meds? Do they cause the horrible sickness that SSRI's do?

I eat regularly but I'm not much of a snacker so will definitely give biscuits a go.

[Rennie1989]

Every medication has it's own list of side effects, some people experience some whilst others experience different side effects. I never had nausea on medication but I did get a lot of fatigue.

[MyNameIsTerry]

As Rennie was saying, I would see if you can improve your nausea via nutrition first because it sounds like you are hungry to me.

I get this and what I have found is that it is because anxiety means you are working your body harder than you realise and need to change your eating habits around it. Drink plenty of water because it also be dehydration which manifests itself as headaches, among other things...especially in hotter weather.

You could try smaller meals and change what you eat away from sugary foods so that you have more sustained energy release.