Hypoglycemia?

[Panicking]

Hi!

Ever since I was a little child - long before I developed anxiety disorders - I start shaking and become weak if I don't eat very regularly (every 2-3 hour). The same thing happens to my mom.

I never cared about that, though. I skipped meals here and there. I was almost always shaky, except right after eating, because I would wait many hours before eating. I was, and am, a picky eater and I didn't like eating.

Right now, since 4 months back, I am self-recovering from an (undiagnosed) eating disorder, I starved myself for months at a time for 1.5 years. I would try to eat normally for 1-3 months and then I would relapse again. I would eat once every 24th hour.

I recently bought a self-help book about how to overcome anxiety and panic attacks. And the book said that some people who experience anxiety can have something called hypoglycemia. I hadn't heard about that but when I told my mom about this, she knew what it was and said she thinks that is what she has.

I tried to follow some guidelines for about 4 days, such as removing sugar and eating every 2-3 hour. And my anxiety got so much better, I didn't have a single panic attack during those days and I could manage my anxiety much better. But it was so difficult to find something that I could eat; as I said I am a picky eater and most of my life I have chosen to eat white pasta, sugary cereals, etc. Since I'm recovering from an eating disorder I need to eat a lot of calories every day, and I started hating to eat again because I didn't like the food. So I went back to the food I was able to eat: white pasta, white bread, pancakes, products with added sugar, etc. It became easier to eat again - but my anxiety got so much worse and I started having frequent panic attacks from nowhere again.

So it's a dilemma.
I need to eat, since I have to overcome my eating disorder. But if I eat things that contain sugar, my anxiety gets really bad and I have panic attacks. I am sensitive to flavors and textures when it comes to food, and I don't like many types of foods at all and the only things I am able to eat contain white flour or sugar.

I don't know if I have hypoglycemia or anything similar (I am thinking of going to the doctor to check though), or if my anxiety got better because of the placebo effect when I removed sugar and ate more regularly.

Could my anxiety be caused by hypoglycemia or something like that? My panic attacks can show up anytime, nothing has to trigger them but I always get so shaky before I have a panic attack. For example if I am sitting at the computer, I feel more and more shaky for about 15 minutes, then I suddenly feel extremely anxious for no apparent reason and I get physical symptoms such as a faster heart beat - and then I have a panic attack.

Do you have any advice? :)

[ovian]

hi , so I stumbled across your post and you describing exactly what I go through , I have seen several doctors and had several tests for this yet they have come up with nothing . It is so nice to find someone who says they have the same symptoms . The only thing I have read which may associate to it is that maybe I may not be breathing properly , not taking in enough oxygen as I am holding my breath without realising it and this then brings on these symptoms . I can't explain why when eating this cures the problem but it does . But my symptoms sound identical to your own . I have had this for about twenty years now and I often find myself bulk eating if I know I may not be near food in order to not have it . It does feel sugar related , too much or too little Im not sure . What have you managed to find out yourself so far ? Would be good to trade ideas etc .

[Panicking]

hi , so I stumbled across your post and you describing exactly what I go through , I have seen several doctors and had several tests for this yet they have come up with nothing . It is so nice to find someone who says they have the same symptoms . The only thing I have read which may associate to it is that maybe I may not be breathing properly , not taking in enough oxygen as I am holding my breath without realising it and this then brings on these symptoms . I can't explain why when eating this cures the problem but it does . But my symptoms sound identical to your own . I have had this for about twenty years now and I often find myself bulk eating if I know I may not be near food in order to not have it . It does feel sugar related , too much or too little Im not sure . What have you managed to find out yourself so far ? Would be good to trade ideas etc .

Hi ovian!

I am suspecting that my panic attacks are often caused by hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), since I can get panic symptoms, and then eat something and my panic attack will be gone within a few minutes after eating.

I have read more about something called "reactive hypoglycemia", it's low blood sugar in people who don't have diabetes. It usually doesn't require medical treatment but when I haven't eaten for a few hours I get very anxious, weak/tired, dizzy, sweaty, and my heart beats faster and my vision can get blurry. I always thought I was having a panic attack out of the blue, but maybe it's a result of low blood sugar. I am going to start making sure that I eat every 2-3 hour and I am going to eat whole grain pasta instead of white pasta, and remove sugar from my diet, to see if I stop having panic attacks (or that it at least gets better). In my patient journal, it is written that I have some problems with low blood sugar - but they hadn't told me about that! But now that I am aware of this I will change my diet and I will see if it improves. Hopefully it does, I have had a lot of problems for years.

Can you tell me more about your experience? :)

[TreeStar]

Hey both you
Until recently (and I mean until 2 weeks ago) this was a major problem for me. I was shaking, sweating, feeling weak and my vision was going all weird, much like Panicking has said. I've also read about 'reactive hypoglycemia,' and the more I read about it the more I thought that could be me. I have a close friend with type 1 diabetes and he used to joke I was the opposite of him with my constant sugar consumption. So the 'reactive hypoglycemia' makes sense to me (though I am not a fan of self diagnosis-but my dad is the same way, so I think it could be hereditory).

I have changed my diet considerably, I did some research into foods that provided sustainable energy. I will eat pretty often, again like Panicking has said every 2-3 hours. I've cut out food high in sugar, like some breakfast scereal (the little coloured guidlines on with the nutritional content is very helpful). I've also taken to eating more fruit, alas I am somewhat of a picky eater, so the fruit and vegetables I eat are always the same.

Oats are really good if you like them.

[aml0017]

This is a real thing - I don't think that the hypoglycemia itself causes the anxiety/panic but it certainly accelerates it. I have been diagnosed with insulin resistance/prediabetes. My body is very sensitive to swings in my blood sugar, usually from skipping meals, overeating/undereating cycles, too much processed carbs etc. The shaky, wobbly, weak feeling that comes on when the blood sugar drops mimics anxiety and leads to actual anxiety/panic in my experience. It seems to me those fluctuations in blood sugar during the day--even when they are not so extreme as to be noticeable--may contribute more to our anxiety than we realize.

When you do get the hypoglycemic symptoms--eat something sugary like candy or chocolate, or orange juice to bring your blood sugar up quickly, then follow up with a more substantial snack for more balancing effect over time--cheese and crackers, apple and slices of ham or chicken, etc. Don't over do it, take it easy until it passes. Otherwise, the other responders gave good advice. Stay away from overly processed and sugary foods, eat small meals/snacks every 3 hrs or so, keep individual meals balanced (carb/fat/protein). I have three meals a day with a snack in between every meal and it works for me. As a general rule I try not to go over 40 net carbs a meal/15 net carbs a snack (generally around 100 net carbs a day. However, once you know what meals work well for you, carb counting is not really necessary. I actually went the oppposite way and went full atkins for a period but it backfired on me badly. I was so weak and sick, because my body resists absorbing insulin I couldn't get enough energy from 10 carbs a day.

I especially stay away from carb heavy breakfasts after I've been sleeping all night. I like greek yogurt with 1/3 banana and handful of walnuts, veggie omelet, or 1/2 whole wheat english muffin with natural sugar free peanut butter for breakfast. Fruit and nuts for snacks. Salads, lean proteins like chicken & fish, non starchy veggies, olive oils are my staples for lunch and dinner. Eat whatever carbs you want (excepting very processed items like cake/donuts), even white bread/pasta/rice, just keep your portions down per meal -- 1/3 cup vs. a whole bowl of pasta -- sounds like so little but you get used to it. I find I have lost weight very well on this type of foods and reducing sugar, I think I would even if I wasn't prediabetic. I never have that foggy/sluggish feeling like you get when you overeat for lunch or have a sugar crash.