Fear of fainting/passing out?

[fairyclairy]

Has anyone got this??

I havnt seen any posts on this and it is really beginning to take hold of my life...

I feel constantly hungry and always have to eat to stop myself from fainting and to reduce the likeliehood of it happening... if i dont eat or get tat hunger feeling, i get all panicky and all shaky/dizzy etc. Blood pressure been checked and normal...

I dont know what to do to control it... im constantly thinking about food and where my next meal is coming too and plan my day around my eating just so i make sure i can eat so i dont pass out!

Its driving me mad because i also have a fear of vomitting.. so i eat to control my fear of fainting, but then i feel sick because iv just eaten, which sets off my vomit phobia! Arhhh lol

Any advice/help/reassurance much appreciated, thankyou x

[BlueWater]

hiya,

its exact the same with me. If i dont eat and get that hungry feeling i start feeling like im going to pass out and start feeling all dizzy and panicky and need to find something to eat straight away.

I always have to eat something before i go anywhere. I also always carry something to eat with me whenever im out

Im also scared of vomiting in public, and if i get a panic attack i often feel like im going to be sick, so that is affecting me quite a bit.

Im not sure what u could do, but i find it got a little bit better since im more relaxed about going out the house. The more panicky i feel the more the hunger feeling botheres me. But i still make sure i stick to my little meals in between to avoid feeling hungry though.

[rooney18]

hi, sounds like anxiety & you would benifit from reading the citalopram topics.
good luck

[alias_kev]

If its any reassurance a close relative of mine had an actual physical fainting illness and could collapse multiple times a week. They had unusual side effects too and so could not get moving for up to an hour afterwards. It went on for 18 months.

Despite all that the only side effects were bruises from hitting the ground! In the fainting illnesses that's usually the most serious risk.

If you are getting constant odd feelings re fainting or blood sugar it would make sense to bring it up with the GP. Some of our meds (if you are on any) do make that worse, or give us problems.

Superficially your symptoms suggest that you ought to be checked for blood sugar issues. You can get a condition where the body overreacts to the sugar from a meal and so your blood sugar falls low an hour to two afterwards (instead of rising and staying steady), leaving you hungry & almost desperate for food. This sounds a bit similar. Its worth pursuing that with your GP.

Equally though it may just be a side effect of the anxiety (using up energy) combined with a phobia of fainting.

[Annabelle]

fairyclairy

i could have written that post myself - i am in the exact same position as you and iv put on 2 stone because im overeating to keep my blood sugar up - its usually carbs or sugar - somehow a piece of fruit doesnt cut it!
i dont have any advice because im not sure what to do about it myself but just to let you know your not alone and if i come up with any tips to help i will pass them on!

hang in there - we will get through this somehow!

xxx

[fairyclairy]

Hi all,

Thankyou for your posts... I have had a really positive cbt session today where i explained about this hunger/faint feelings etc
She explained something i never knew before, even after 11 years of this!
When we are anxious, the blood in our bodies goes to the organs we need to fight whatever our body thinks the danger is.... Therefore, it goes out the stomach, making the stomach have alot of different feelings and one being hunger! She sed anxiety feelings etc r extremely similaar to low blood sugar symptoms and with the hunger feeling aswell.. It can be very hard to believe its just anxiety! Iv been told i need to fight through this hunger feeling etc to show myself that nothing will happen an i wont pass out etc.. Il prob jus hav a huge panic attack which i know cant hurt me anyway! So im gona try that.... Maybe then il believe its jus anxiety an nothing is going to happen.

I also did de-sensitisation for my vomit phobia an had to look at pictures one by one.... I panicked, but i got through it, which i never thought id do!

We're stronger than we think ya know an i feel very positive in beating this now. Hope iv helped alittle x

[alias_kev]

That's great fairyclairy.

A very positive outcome for you. Good information too. Do let us now how it progresses.