shakey1961
03-03-08, 10:16
Hi everyone.
Sorry this is a long post. You may want to print it out!
Over the years I've been so bad with anxiety and panic it made my life almost not worth living, but I've come through it. Only two weeks ago I had a really bad time when I panicked just cos I was walking, but I was getting over a chest infection etc.
Anyway, I want to tell you all about the things I found out about my body and what has helped me.
1. Hypoglycaemia or Low Blood Sugar.
I don't know how many of you are aware of a condition called "Non Diabetic Hypoglycaemia"
Here are a few links...
http://www.healthtouch.com/bin/EContent_HT/cnoteShowLfts.asp?fname=02805&title=NON-DIABETIC+HYPOGLYCEMIA+&cid=HTHLTH
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/en/Guide-to-diabetes/Guide_to_Diabetes_Archived_pages/Non-diabetic_hypoglycaemia/
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/bloodsugarlow.htm
As you can see the symptoms are the same as anxiety, sweating, shaking, trembling, nervousness, rapid heartbeat, unable to concentrate, feeling dizzy/drunk.
The reason for this is... When a person has a hypoglycaemic episode the body releases adrenalin to keep you conscious, and there's no need to tell an anxious person the effects adrenalin have on us.
A lot of these sites say you're not a true hypoglycaemic if you blood sugar doesn't drop below 3.5mmol/l. I have had readings of 2.8, 2.3 and my worst ever one was 1.8.
Anything below 4mmol/l and you are technically "hypo", but I find I'm at my most anxious around 4.1/4.2. I have also had hypo symptoms at 5.2, this is because my blood sugar rose rapidly then fell just as quick and it is that sudden drop that can make you feel bad even with a normal blood glucose reading.
Of course the only way you can take readings is to get a blood sugar meter. They are about £10 from a chemist, BUT the strips are £25 a box. You will get 10 test strips with the meter.
If you can afford it please don't buy anything other than an Accu-Chek meter as these are the most accurate. I had another meter given to me at my local hospital diabetes clinic and this was reading 1.5 higher than it should have - telling me I was OK when I wasn't.
Do you feel worse in the morning and wake up feeling anxious?
Feel anxious 45 mins to 2 hours after eating?
Have a sugary drink on an empty stomach and feel worse after the same time?
Suddenly feel anxious for no reason whatsoever - i.e. watching TV?
It could be low blood sugar!
2. Candida or Thrush
Purely by chance I was given a book about Candida and at the time I was exercising (I like body-building) and it said that exercise helps Candida and I had noticed that I had been feeling better.
I researched more into this and this also has an effect on the body.
Some more links for you....
http://www.candida-society.org/ncs/symptoms.htm
http://www.candidafree.co.uk/
When Candida gets out of control in me I get a bad burning sensation under my skin, which I can only describe as like putting a piece of raw steak onto a very hot frying pan.
Also my heart really thumps and pounds away as if it's coming out of my chest.
The answer - GARLIC!!! get some garlic pearls from Holland & Barratt.
They MUST be the smelly ones! - it's the Allicin (the stuff that makes garlic smell) that does all the good work.
You don't need the super strength ones, but if you're feeling rotten, take one and in about an hour you'll feel better.
Put it this way, and without a word of a lye, if I take Garlic it's like taking Valium, It chills me out something wicked!!!! I know it's totally weird - but it does!!
3. Water
Don't get dehydrated! I only found this out yesterday!
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=123
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=123§ionId=10
It was a few months ago I was feeling anxious one morning and by chance I was thristy, so I had a few glasses of water. about 30mins later I could feel the anxiety go, so I thought "aye aye"?
I haven't been too good recently with colds and infections, but after looking through things about dehydration I decided to drink and drink and drink yesterday. I didn't have too much otherwise you can make yourself ill by having too much water, but it is reckoned that the average person needs 2 litres of water a day.
I drank a lot of water and by the end of the day I felt relaxed. I shall drink more today!
4. Watch what you eat!
Monosodium Glutamate - E621 BAD, derived from yeast. I had a chinese meal once and it had that much in it I was feeling really bad and I mean bad. Generally anxious for days on end. One freind of mine said he had the same meal and thought he was going to die cos he woke up and couldn't breath, and he wasn't anxious he was a fireman!!!
Aspartame - Avoid it like the plague. Don't buy diet drinks or "No Added Sugar" drinks, they will almost certainly contain aspartame.
FATS - I find if I eat too much fatty food my heart will thump and make me feel weak
Bread - This is just personal to me, but I found out that when I ate bread of a morning I would feel like my lungs were being pushed up around my shoulders. I know, a weird way to describe it, but I've not touched proper bread for over 20 years now and can count one one hand the times I've felt like that since. Try Soda Bread (available from Asda or Tesco).
I don't know whether this has been any good to anyone, but if it's helped someone it's been worthwhile.
I always knew "something was doing this to me" and it wasn't "all in my mind".
Think about what I've written, listen to your body and notice when you're good and when you're bad and what you've eaten or done previously, even a few days previous. It's just like me with a moderately hot curry, two days later and I'm......... well I won't give you the details but you get the idea. So what you do even a few days before you get symptoms or just a few hours earlier can affect you.
Looking forward to hearing from you all to see if it's been of any help.
Please feel free to email me ste61 at hotmail dot co dot uk if you understand that!!!
Kindest regards
Steve
Sorry this is a long post. You may want to print it out!
Over the years I've been so bad with anxiety and panic it made my life almost not worth living, but I've come through it. Only two weeks ago I had a really bad time when I panicked just cos I was walking, but I was getting over a chest infection etc.
Anyway, I want to tell you all about the things I found out about my body and what has helped me.
1. Hypoglycaemia or Low Blood Sugar.
I don't know how many of you are aware of a condition called "Non Diabetic Hypoglycaemia"
Here are a few links...
http://www.healthtouch.com/bin/EContent_HT/cnoteShowLfts.asp?fname=02805&title=NON-DIABETIC+HYPOGLYCEMIA+&cid=HTHLTH
http://www.diabetes.org.uk/en/Guide-to-diabetes/Guide_to_Diabetes_Archived_pages/Non-diabetic_hypoglycaemia/
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/bloodsugarlow.htm
As you can see the symptoms are the same as anxiety, sweating, shaking, trembling, nervousness, rapid heartbeat, unable to concentrate, feeling dizzy/drunk.
The reason for this is... When a person has a hypoglycaemic episode the body releases adrenalin to keep you conscious, and there's no need to tell an anxious person the effects adrenalin have on us.
A lot of these sites say you're not a true hypoglycaemic if you blood sugar doesn't drop below 3.5mmol/l. I have had readings of 2.8, 2.3 and my worst ever one was 1.8.
Anything below 4mmol/l and you are technically "hypo", but I find I'm at my most anxious around 4.1/4.2. I have also had hypo symptoms at 5.2, this is because my blood sugar rose rapidly then fell just as quick and it is that sudden drop that can make you feel bad even with a normal blood glucose reading.
Of course the only way you can take readings is to get a blood sugar meter. They are about £10 from a chemist, BUT the strips are £25 a box. You will get 10 test strips with the meter.
If you can afford it please don't buy anything other than an Accu-Chek meter as these are the most accurate. I had another meter given to me at my local hospital diabetes clinic and this was reading 1.5 higher than it should have - telling me I was OK when I wasn't.
Do you feel worse in the morning and wake up feeling anxious?
Feel anxious 45 mins to 2 hours after eating?
Have a sugary drink on an empty stomach and feel worse after the same time?
Suddenly feel anxious for no reason whatsoever - i.e. watching TV?
It could be low blood sugar!
2. Candida or Thrush
Purely by chance I was given a book about Candida and at the time I was exercising (I like body-building) and it said that exercise helps Candida and I had noticed that I had been feeling better.
I researched more into this and this also has an effect on the body.
Some more links for you....
http://www.candida-society.org/ncs/symptoms.htm
http://www.candidafree.co.uk/
When Candida gets out of control in me I get a bad burning sensation under my skin, which I can only describe as like putting a piece of raw steak onto a very hot frying pan.
Also my heart really thumps and pounds away as if it's coming out of my chest.
The answer - GARLIC!!! get some garlic pearls from Holland & Barratt.
They MUST be the smelly ones! - it's the Allicin (the stuff that makes garlic smell) that does all the good work.
You don't need the super strength ones, but if you're feeling rotten, take one and in about an hour you'll feel better.
Put it this way, and without a word of a lye, if I take Garlic it's like taking Valium, It chills me out something wicked!!!! I know it's totally weird - but it does!!
3. Water
Don't get dehydrated! I only found this out yesterday!
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=123
http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=123§ionId=10
It was a few months ago I was feeling anxious one morning and by chance I was thristy, so I had a few glasses of water. about 30mins later I could feel the anxiety go, so I thought "aye aye"?
I haven't been too good recently with colds and infections, but after looking through things about dehydration I decided to drink and drink and drink yesterday. I didn't have too much otherwise you can make yourself ill by having too much water, but it is reckoned that the average person needs 2 litres of water a day.
I drank a lot of water and by the end of the day I felt relaxed. I shall drink more today!
4. Watch what you eat!
Monosodium Glutamate - E621 BAD, derived from yeast. I had a chinese meal once and it had that much in it I was feeling really bad and I mean bad. Generally anxious for days on end. One freind of mine said he had the same meal and thought he was going to die cos he woke up and couldn't breath, and he wasn't anxious he was a fireman!!!
Aspartame - Avoid it like the plague. Don't buy diet drinks or "No Added Sugar" drinks, they will almost certainly contain aspartame.
FATS - I find if I eat too much fatty food my heart will thump and make me feel weak
Bread - This is just personal to me, but I found out that when I ate bread of a morning I would feel like my lungs were being pushed up around my shoulders. I know, a weird way to describe it, but I've not touched proper bread for over 20 years now and can count one one hand the times I've felt like that since. Try Soda Bread (available from Asda or Tesco).
I don't know whether this has been any good to anyone, but if it's helped someone it's been worthwhile.
I always knew "something was doing this to me" and it wasn't "all in my mind".
Think about what I've written, listen to your body and notice when you're good and when you're bad and what you've eaten or done previously, even a few days previous. It's just like me with a moderately hot curry, two days later and I'm......... well I won't give you the details but you get the idea. So what you do even a few days before you get symptoms or just a few hours earlier can affect you.
Looking forward to hearing from you all to see if it's been of any help.
Please feel free to email me ste61 at hotmail dot co dot uk if you understand that!!!
Kindest regards
Steve