Food Causing Anxiety

[scarlettsmum]

the thing that is most frustrating is that one day a particular food can work wonders and next day the very same food can give you an anxiety! How does one learn to adjust sugar, protein, carbs based on how much stress/sleep,etc. one have? And I'm tired of hearing "experiment with different ratios." On different days I respond well to sugar/milk, then it can trigger anxiety, low blood sugar. It's so annoying, you just never know whether you're going to sleep tonight or be awake most of the night with stress hormones going through the roof! Any sure way to be able to stabilise these reactions, prevent these from happening?

Another one of those nights at the moment, 2:40 am here, recovering from a major anxiety attack.

What do you do to stop it immediately and go back to bed that's safe and non addictive? Tried sugar/salt (not always effective), bag breathing, relaxation/hypnosis, have cypro and theanine on hand of which I haven't tried any yet. For some reason I work myself up even more and keep thinking what if there is something terrible happening to me? What if something happens if I take cypro or theanine ? Anxiety is oh so convincing. Makes me feel crazy and out of control and fearful of even taking the very substances that might help me.

 

[Shrimp]

Sorry to hear you are suffering from anxiety; this has been my biggest issue as well, and I know how disabling it can be. What works somewhat for me is a large amount of Progest-E, pacing, and/or lying on an acupressure mat. L-theanine is also great as a daily preventative measure but has done nothing for panic attacks already in motion, in my experience. When a full blown panic attack is unavoidable, I take 0.5mg Ativan and that brings me back to a reasonable state in about an hour. It is non-addicting if you take it only when really needed; I only take mine about once a month, max.

 

[tara]

When I got night time stress, if it was mild I could settle iot witha small snack - preferably wiothout opening eyes or moving much. If i was stronger stress, including hyperventilation, I'd usually have to get up and move around for a bit (midnight housework ...) and have a small snack/sweet drink before being able to settle back to sleep again. Without those I could lie awake for hours.

What if something happens if I take cypro or theanine ?

If you are considering trying them, I'd start out with very small doses, so any possible trouble is likely to be small and easy to withdraw from.

 

[Jayfish]

What's your diet like? What supplements are you taking?

 

[scarlettsmum]

Sorry to hear you are suffering from anxiety; this has been my biggest issue as well, and I know how disabling it can be. What works somewhat for me is a large amount of Progest-E, pacing, and/or lying on an acupressure mat. L-theanine is also great as a daily preventative measure but has done nothing for panic attacks already in motion, in my experience. When a full blown panic attack is unavoidable, I take 0.5mg Ativan and that brings me back to a reasonable state in about an hour. It is non-addicting if you take it only when really needed; I only take mine about once a month, max.

Shrimp, thank you for sharing. Have you tried different things and these ones are those that work for you best? Did you see any improvements or would you say these are just plasters? Thank you!

 

[scarlettsmum]

When I got night time stress, if it was mild I could settle iot witha small snack - preferably wiothout opening eyes or moving much. If i was stronger stress, including hyperventilation, I'd usually have to get up and move around for a bit (midnight housework ...) and have a small snack/sweet drink before being able to settle back to sleep again. Without those I could lie awake for hours.


If you are considering trying them, I'd start out with very small doses, so any possible trouble is likely to be small and easy to withdraw from.

Yes, that's what I thought, like 1/8th of cypro. I just don't want it to worsen my anxiety. Not sure whether it is a good approach to try something new in the middle of anxiety. Perhaps I will take it when I feel good to judge its effect on me.

 

[lvysaur]

Carrot, coffee, go to the bathroom. You sound like your estrogen is too high, lol.

Noone has ever died from taking OTC supplements, so relax.

 

[scarlettsmum]

What's your diet like? What supplements are you taking?

Jayfish, i only take estroban topically and solban at the moment in the recommended dosages. I take energin when I remember and yesterday I took some magnesium, 200 mg, but that was in the morning. Otherwise nothing else. I haven't experimented with any pharmaceuticals as yet or amino acids. They just sit in my cupboard for now.

In terms of diet, i eat starch, can't live without it. I get stressy and hungry without starch.
My typical day would something like this:

B: 2 slices white sourdough bread with butter and jam or liver pate with a glass of sweet apple or orange juice. A coffee or decaf black tea with milk and sugar and hydrolysed collagen

S: glass of low fat milk and some fruit or juice, a couple of pieces of dark choc

L: a slice or two of sourdough bread with 2 eggs with cherry tomatoes, followed by sweet juice

S: milk/juice/sm. greek yogurt with cooked fruit,decaf black tea with milk and hydrolysed collagen. Carrot or a carrot salad

D: meat and starch (potatoes,rice) or pasta. Always making sure the meals consists of protein/starch/sugar/and obviously fat. The sugar comes from sweet juice drink.

S: typically something sugary. At the moment usually eating sugared strawberries. Yesterday we had sweet egg flan. And also more dark chocolate

Then once per week we eat lamb's liver and seafood, like prawns, oysters and cod. I am aware that I don't take enough calcium probably, but i try to listen to my body and it tells me when it feel like drinking milk or eating yoghurt and cheese.

I am better at processing sugar but on some days I don't do so well, same with milk. I was thinking what could have caused this yesterday. Also I am recovering from a surgery where my intestines have been compressed to a smaller place and moved around so perhaps they are a bit fragile at the moment? My friend cooked some indian curry for me yesterday with coconut oil and all good ingredients with tumeric and spices, it wasn't hot at all, but it is something I am not used to, so I wonder if that's what caused it? But after that I had the sweet egg flan, so could it be a reaction to that? When I opened the fridge this morning and smelt the curry it did turn my stomach, perhaps a clue? And why did the anxiety start at 10 pm and last until 3 am? I had jittery flushes coming over me with hyperventilation, shortness of breath, pounding heart, feeling of dizziness and fainting, feeling of needing to go to the loo but at the same time i felt hot, not cold. Is it cortisol that makes you hot, since adrenalin causes cold extremities?

 

[scarlettsmum]

Carrot, coffee, go to the bathroom. You sound like your estrogen is too high, lol.

Noone has ever died from taking OTC supplements, so relax.

yes, logically i know that, but explain it to my primitive subconscious mind. High oestrogen is possible.

 

[lvysaur]

yes, logically i know that, but explain it to my primitive subconscious mind. High oestrogen is possible.

When I'm in a very high stress situation, the most helpful course of action is to drink a lot of coffee and spend some time evacuating my bowels. It's never failed to make me feel better.

Maybe you're having some sort of allergic reaction to the spices.

 

[scarlettsmum]

When I'm in a very high stress situation, the most helpful course of action is to drink a lot of coffee and spend some time evacuating my bowels. It's never failed to make me feel better.

Maybe you're having some sort of allergic reaction to the spices.

Unfortunately coffee makes it worse and could trigger stress reaction for me, I have to be very careful with it. Otherwise I have no problem with constipation.

 

[Jayfish]

• It is 100% endotoxin related. You probabably are suffering from endotoxemia. Sounds like your digestive system is compromised and yes especially if you had a surgery that altered the way the digestive system works. You are eating way too much fermentable fiber and the panic attacks come at night because nighttime is when stress hormones naturally raise and digestive transit time slows. The reason you feel like you need to go to the bathroom is because it's a natural bodily reaction to being poisoned, which you are, by endotoxin.

 

[tara]

I just don't want it to worsen my anxiety.

I found it had the opposite effect for me.

Noone has ever died from taking OTC supplements, so relax.

Personally, I tend to find such empty reassurances more anxiety provoking than relieving. :) You know it's not true, right?
But I've not heard of anyone coming to significant harm from 1 mg of cyproheptadine or 50mg theanine.

 

[scarlettsmum]

• It is 100% endotoxin related. You probabably are suffering from endotoxemia. Sounds like your digestive system is compromised and yes especially if you had a surgery that altered the way the digestive system works. You are eating way too much fermentable fiber and the panic attacks come at night because nighttime is when stress hormones naturally raise and digestive transit time slows. The reason you feel like you need to go to the bathroom is because it's a natural bodily reaction to being poisoned, which you are, by endotoxin.

It wasn't a surgery that altered the way my digestive system work, only my intestines were moved back in the cavity they belong and given less space. To explain: After birth my stomach wall muscles didn't close up properly and I had a 15 cm gap between them and I developed mild hernia around my belly button. So this was a surgery to close up the gap and as a result my intestines now have to get used to more restricted space and assume correct position in my cavity, if that makes sense. But I'm wondering whether it might have upset it temporarily until it gets used to its new position and so it may be more irritable than usual.

 

[Jayfish]

Yes, constricting the space that your digestive tract has will change the way it can digest, specifically it will most likely cause slower transit time and more time for fermenting which leads to a leaky gut.

I stand by my above post that your panic attacks are caused by endotoxin. It's actually a pretty serious thing because you are actually being poisoned.

My advice would be to consume far less fiber and eat more easily digestible foods. Definitely no nightshades. I don't eat much close to bedtime except maybe something sugary and salty.

 

[scarlettsmum]

Yes, constricting the space that your digestive tract has will change the way it can digest, specifically it will most likely cause slower transit time and more time for fermenting which leads to a leaky gut.

I stand by my above post that your panic attacks are caused by endotoxin. It's actually a pretty serious thing because you are actually being poisoned.

My advice would be to consume far less fiber and eat more easily digestible foods. Definitely no nightshades. I don't eat much close to bedtime except maybe something sugary and salty.

Jayfish, your reasoning makes sense, but I'm just not sure it fits my situation? My bowel transit time hasn't changed except for the first two nights after surgery, also due to inability to move. Now it's back to normal. Also I have no wind despite eating starch. My understanding of needing to go when running high on adrenaline is that in the flight response the body wants to empty the bowels to make itself as light as possible in preparation for run and also to disgust whatever lion wants to eat me. So not a real physical need accompanied by constipation but a jittery feeling making me feel like I should empty my bowels even though there's nothing there.

 

[Jayfish]

Adrenalin does not have a brain to think about why it's emptying bowels. Adrenalin is a stress response. Endotoxin is a major stress and the bodies reaction is to try and push it out as fast as possible to reduce risk of dieing.

 

[lvysaur]

Personally, I tend to find such empty reassurances more anxiety provoking than relieving. :) You know it's not true, right?

Some people have the opposite reaction, lol. It might not be technically true, but it's pretty close to true, at least in the short term.

 

[DaveFoster]

The easiest way to prevent panic attacks in my experience:
(1) Consume enough salt on a daily basis;
(2) increase your caloric intake and raise your metabolic rate;
(3) slow your breathing rate and never hyperventilate

 

[InChristAlone]

The easiest way to prevent panic attacks in my experience:
(1) Consume enough salt on a daily basis;
(2) increase your caloric intake and raise your metabolic rate;
(3) slow your breathing rate and never hyperventilate

I agree with this. Have had many panic attacks. Mostly gone after learning coping mechanisms, haven't had a major one in months. I had a couple serious ones after binging on dried mangoes, so I also agree it can be a sharp increase in endotoxin. Also I don't do milk anymore, unless it is with a meal. Cypro can help get you out of a stress response.