# Anxiety attacks



## Tophat182 (Feb 16, 2010)

Now I hope this doesn't get browsed over. I've been having what I think was anxiety attacks. It's happened a few times within these two weeks. I mentioned my symptoms to my friend: cold sweat, lightheaded, with eventual tunnel vision and loss of vision; she said it might be panic attacks (eek!) I had one panic attack in January with my gf of the time (I knew she would drive me insane) and it wasn't pleasant. Can you guys help me out and pitch in your two cents?


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## Nitou (Feb 3, 2010)

The symptoms also suggest hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). The reason I mention it is because you said you "think" it is anxiety. I have had both panic attacks and undiagnosed mild hypoglycemia, and in my experience the symptoms you describe are more associated with hunger than anxiety. (Although hunger can cause emotional effects.) I believe a panic attack is unmistakable for the intense feeling of fear.

That's my two cents anyway. I don't really have enough information to determine for sure whether it's anxiety or something else. It is kind of curious that it just showed up all of the sudden like that. What changes have happened in your lifestyle? That might give you clues as to what is going on.


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## Siggy (May 25, 2009)

Do they come out of nowhere or is there some trigger?. As the previous poster said, a sense of doom, heart pounding usually accompany panic attacks. I suggest a visit to your doctor. He/she may want to have bloodwork done to discover the cause. Good Luck and I hope you feel better soon


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## Hiccups24-7 (Oct 17, 2009)

What are your sleeping patterns like? When ever I abuse my sleeping and encourage insomnia I find I get anxiety in a way I find annoying as it effects my breathing and I feel like I'm choking. It's one thing that keeps my sleeping patterns in check though. But yeah if your sleeping patterns are bad then that could be exacerbating it. *shrugs*.


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## Tophat182 (Feb 16, 2010)

I get plenty of sleep, from 1am to 12pm usually. I don't eat enough, doctors tell me that. But I can't eat as much as I used to, I guess my stomach has shrunk. And they're usually triggered by real anxiety but get blown out of proportion.


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## Thorgar (Apr 3, 2010)

Dear Sigmund said:


> D I suggest a visit to your doctor.


There are a ton of things that can cause this. Only a doctor can give you competent advice.


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## Jib (Nov 4, 2009)

What Nitou said makes sense to me. I haven't had a physical in a number of years, and so I haven't had a diagnosis, but lately I've been thinking I've had problems with mild hypoglycemia, on and off, for quite a long time. 

The times I've been in a severe panic are very different; when it's related to hunger, there isn't a feeling of fear or despair, but just general lethargy, then exhaustion, then lightheadedness, spaciness, and eventually dissociation/detachment from reality (starting to feel like I'm in a movie, that kind of thing -- and when it gets bad I just lie on the floor and feel like I can't do anything else).

It can be a vicious cycle. You can get nervous and shaky from low blood sugar -- that might make it easier to panic. It can be really difficult to differentiate between the two, but either way, the symptom isn't the disease. There is a source problem underlying these symptoms: and a good place to start is diet, as...well, without food and water, we'd be dead, so if you're looking for the root of the problem, that's a good place to start.

My stomach shrunk as a result of on and off fits with some eating disorder issues. I struggle with them all the time, and what's crazy is that they're mild compared to people who actually have full-blown eating disorders -- but my mild problems alone are enough to shrink my stomach to the point that eating 2,000 calories in a day is extremely difficult for me, unless I binge on peanut butter and calorically dense foods like that (which I end up doing a lot, and then feel sick pretty soon afterward). 

I haven't read much about hypoglycemia yet. I do know that there is a form of it where you can produce too much insulin after you eat, however, and that can make your blood sugar drop very low, essentially cutting off the supply of energy (glucose) going to your brain. It's like a sugar crash, except it happens without necessarily eating a lot of sugar. I'm not sure how common that is, but for example, I have noticed that I feel better when I don't eat breakfast at all, and when I eat more than a small amount of food at a meal, I really don't feel well. 

That can create a whole bunch of problems, especially if you exercise a lot, since you won't be replenishing your stores. I don't know the terminology yet: I know of glycogen and glucagon, but I can't pretend to know how these work in the body, e.g., how it stores them and distributes them. I think there can be a problem with storing the sugars and circulating them through the bloodstream during times without food...so it's likely that you could be producing too much insulin after eating (though I think this is far less common), or are having malfunctions with glycogen/glucagon production/storage/however it works (yes, I clearly know what I'm talking about... ;D)

I think it's simpler than all this, though, and I think that because I don't really eat enough myself. If you aren't consuming enough to provide your body with adequate stores of energy to supply you with throughout the day, you're going to burn out pretty quickly, and you won't have any energy to do anything. I can say that when I eat complex carbohydrates, such as brown rice and oatmeal, I tend to have more energy (similar to carb-loading in athletes), and I can go for longer periods of time without feeling tired. Admittedly, it's very hard for me to eat brown rice, since it's not very calorically dense for the amount I'm comfortable eating (which isn't much). 

Adding butter to the rice might help. Virgin coconut oil is a favorite of mine, usually as a butter substitute, and I have found that my energy levels are a lot better when I occasionally incorporate that into my diet. I believe coconut oil has a high amount of medium-chain fatty acids, which are apparently more easily and quickly converted into and used as energy in the body than long-chain fatty acids. But basically, if you add a little fat like that to the rice, and maybe a tiny bit of salt for flavor (I'd recommend something like Celtic sea salt because of the balanced mineral content, which should help, if you're interested in that), it should help to create -- between the fats and complex carbohydrates -- a sustained release of energy that would probably be a lot better than, say, refined grains or refined grain products like white rice/white bread/cookies/pasta/etc., i.e., simple carbohydrates, which are broken down much faster and won't give you the sustained energy that the more slowly metabolized foods will. 

By the way, I find that soaking brown rice overnight, then reserving some of the leftover soak water to soak the next batch of rice (and continuing that process, so you have what is called "accelerated fermentation" -- I read about this on a blog somewhere), makes the brown rice easier to chew and not as fibrous, which makes it easier to eat a bit more since it's closer to the texture of white rice. 

And another thing: I love smoothies (thank God my mom got a blender for a wedding gift -- I use it all the time XD). I find that unsweetened coconut milk blended with one or two bananas gives me a good amount of energy, and it also tastes pretty good. I like using the unsweetened coconut milk because of the fat content and low sugar (I think it's actually 0 or 1g per cup), which provides a very 'slow burning' supply of energy -- when mixed with a banana or two, you've got a good amount of vitamins and minerals, plus fiber, instead of, say, a glass of fruit juice, which might have a high chance of making you feel tired, in a sort of 'sugar crash' way (no fiber and less minerals normally found in whole fruit to slow down the digestion of the sugars). 

Also, celery and lettuce combine very well with fruit. I find that eating celery after eating fruit makes me feel a lot better than just having the fruit by itself -- I'm not sure about this, but I'd almost go so far as to say celery is a digestive aid. And of course, the fiber and minerals can only help in terms of making the digestion of fruits more sustained and less dramatic in terms of how rapidly they affect your blood sugar levels. 

Choline is also very important for brain functioning. I personally like using raw egg yolks mixed into smoothies/kefir for this reason, as that's easiest for me, but one of my all time favorites is egg-salad. I don't have a problem with omelettes or scrambled eggs, but hardboiled eggs all mashed up is very easy for me to eat in comparison (deviled eggs too....I wipe those things out fast!)...so in general, I'd say eggs would be a very good food to include in your diet if you don't have them already. I don't really think it's necessary to have them every day -- once in a while, if you feel like it, it should be fine, but they are a valuable source of nutrients, especially choline, and as far as a sustained release of energy goes, they should be pretty good. 

I don't mean to be giving unwarranted advice here; if you're interested in any of this, I'd definitely recommend looking into it further. This is my experience, though, and since I've been having a lot more problems with energy levels and fatigue lately (I've pretty much had them most of my life), I've been looking into it more, as I think this is heavily related to diet. If you drink soda, I'd try avoiding that for a while and seeing if it helps you to feel better (instead having water, or something like coconut milk -- sweetened coconut milk, either store-bought sweetened or unsweetened milk blended with fruit, would be much better than a soda in any case, at least in my opinion). Same goes for any refined grain products/simple carbohydrates: I would definitely not obsess about what you're eating (trust me, I've been here, and it really sucks -- hypoglycemia or whatever or not, sometimes it's a lot better to just eat the damn piece of cake and enjoy it), but it would perhaps be wise to take note of what you ate preceding one of these episodes you've been having. If you find that you overate, or ate a lot of simple sugars, or haven't eaten in a while, preceding one of these episodes...so on and so on, you get the idea. 

Brown rice and oatmeal are generally well-tolerated, and relatively inexpensive, so I highly recommend those for sources of complex carbohydrates. And of course, a little butter and salt is pretty amazing with those  Which is great, since it should help with making for a more sustained release of energy. Celery and lettuce go very well with fruits, and eating either of those after having fruit may help you feel more balanced (personally, my mouth feels much cleaner after having celery, which is nice because it usually feels a little gross after eating fruit). Omelettes/scrambled eggs/hardboiled eggs/raw egg yolks (I'm sorry, I love the taste, I know I'll probably pay for it with salmonella one day, but hell, I have to enjoy life somehow, right? Let me drink my eggnog, it's all I have left ;D) should be very good as well, but I do have to say that it's easy to eat too many eggs at once, and if you have weak digestion like me, or a small stomach like me, it's pretty easy to feel sick after having an omelette. So I'd take it slowly there, and also, having some raw or cooked bitter vegetables, like kale or broccoli rabi (I think they also call it kohlrabi), may help you out with the digestion there. A more common choice would be radishes, which I find are excellent for helping digestion -- come to think of it, I haven't tried having those after eating eggs yet. That would probably be a good idea. 

But yeah, it can be low blood sugar, or indigestion (heavy foods make me feel very sluggish and tired; again, radishes help a lot with this, as they have a 'dispersing' effect that can take away from the heavy feeling -- I think this is possibly because of the sulfur compounds in radishes, similar to that 'zing' you get from fresh garlic/onions, but to a less biting/harsh degree)...or any number of things. Eating whole foods and combining foods properly to aid digestion (and this will require experimentation on your part to see what works for you, but if you're interested, you can look into traditional 'qi' natures of foods found in Chinese medicine, which will tell you what foods are dispersing/collecting, cool/warm, cold/hot, moistening/drying, etc. -- like this:

Food Energetics

Okay, I'm really veering off course now. I'm talking about Chinese medicine, and that's appropriate, since I think I took a wrong turn at Albequerque and somehow ended up in Hong Kong. I tend to do that a bit too much XD

But yes, "food energetics" isn't really complicated at all, and most of the time I just go by the sensation I get from foods. Garlic is great when you have a cold -- try eating a clove or two of that when you're really stuffed up. It'll clear you out pretty fast. Same with onions, and radishes are good for that too. So it makes sense that if you're feeling clogged or sluggish, that 'dispersing' effect will help. 

Blah blah blah. I think I'm having a lot more fun with this than I have any right to, so I'm going to stop soon, but I'm mostly stopping because I'm learning about this myself, and am also experiencing health problems that I'm trying to work past, and I'm certainly no authority on this at all -- I'm just collecting notes, and more or less, this is like a friend sharing with a friend something he's looking into, for the sake of offering something that might help. I don't want to make any recommendations that will end up affecting you negatively in any way, so I'll just leave it as an open-ended presentation of information that may have the potential to be of good use to you, and to open some doors to basic experimentation with diet and nutrition in the hopes that they can lead you to a place where you won't have the problems, or the severity thereof, that you're having now.

I hope you feel better soon


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

I am hypoglycemic, and I have panic attacks. A few of you mentioned the similarities between low blood sugar, and the feeling of anxiety. Correct. 

Now, of course seeing your doctor is best, and you certainly should.. but I'm going to suggest -also- doing what I did, which helped me figure it out. I'd seen doctors who had pretty much jerked me around.

Pick up some glucose tablets. They are at any drug store, and many grocery stores. Next time you feel this coming on, eat two of them and see if the symptoms begin to cease within 15 - 30 minutes (and sometimes they act faster).

Its important to eat a substantial meal after you have given yourself first aid treatment for your low blood sugar. 

My panic attacks rarely happen anymore, because most of it was a blood sugar crash, then me freaking out wondering whats happening, which sent me into a panic attack.

I hope it helps. It really improved my life to such a great extent.


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## Nitou (Feb 3, 2010)

Jib you talked about eggs but I didn't see you mention protein specifically. Protein is the best slow-burn fuel for hypoglycemia. Seeds and nuts are great for filling you up without weighing you down.


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## Tophat182 (Feb 16, 2010)

Wow Jib great answer! Thank you all for your responses! I've been trying to eat more recently and I guess I have to be more careful.


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## conscius (Apr 20, 2010)

just see a doctor. There is a small chance it's something serious and you don't wanna get diagnosed online. Most likely it's not a big deal but make sure.


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## JoetheBull (Apr 29, 2010)

I get panic attacks when I interact with too many people and under a lot of stress. I have had a few that where so bad I had trouble breathing and by body wasn't functioning properly. Unfortunately I have never passed out. would be less painful that way


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## Thu (Mar 11, 2010)

Symptoms

Diagnostic criteria

DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for Panic Attack

A discrete period of intense fear or discomfort, in which four (or more) of the following symptoms developed abruptly and reached a peak within 10 minutes:
Palpitations, or accelerated heart rate
Sweating
Trembling or shaking
Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering
Feeling of choking
Chest pain or discomfort
Nausea or abdominal distress
Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint
Derealization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)
Fear of losing control or going insane
Fear of dying
Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations)
Chills or hot flashes

Taken from Wiki.
I was just about to start a topic on this since I've had axiety attacks for a while now, not like the ones OP posted, but from the list (below) I recognise derealization and paresthesias as in tingling sensations...maybe even shaking. It's like I'm lagging and filled with something that makes me anxious so I just freeze for a moment, this usually happens at school, sometimes when I'm tired, but this also happens when I listen to music or just when I'm walking and thinking about something, it doesn't last long usually, only for seconds. But it's just an overwhelming feeling I hold my breath and then it's gone...should I see a doctor or do anything?


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