Whoooooaaahh -- Panic Attacks And Bloating Whenever I Eat

[eleep]

Okay, quit smoking, recovering from breakup (possible not-breakup) of a long relationship, dealing with celiac, trying to write on a deadline, dealing with a far away family (who do understand my situation, but are busy themselves) and a bunch of friends who don't really understand this food thing at all. My best friend, who is my ex-boyfriend, is someone I can't contact for help right now because we're taking time apart -- although he, of all my friends, has done the most research and is most likely to understand what's going on.

Right now, I think my stomach is still kind of inflamed from a glutening last week -- it is also possible that I may be reacting to soy, although I haven't been eating too much of it and I'm having some kind of episode every time I eat -- no matter what I eat. I get bloated and have intense, tearful anxiety. I take an Immodium which seems to help eventually, but now I need to take one just about every four hours.

I am exercising every day and meditating and taking sublingual B complex, gluten-free multis, St. John's Wort and fish oil capsules. I'm drinking lots of water and getting plenty of sleep. I've actually been putting on weight (very good) since I quit smoking and that's going well. However, the panic is intense right now and I don't know if it's coming up because the smoking was holding it back or what. It is certainly food/stomach related as well.

I have just broken into the Ativan I got about a month back and taken 1/2 of a 1 MG tab. I really don't want to depend on drugs to get me through this because I do believe in building up resilience in one's brain, but I don't know that I can take all this stress right now.

[sillyyak]

Remember: you can only have one thought in your mind at one time.

DOn;t forget to Breathe.

[CarlaB]

Erica, sorry you're feeling so bad. I am, too, not that it makes you feel any better, but you're not alone!

Smoking for some reason can keep celiac symptoms from showing up. Does it follow that quitting smoking might have an affect on the symptoms for a while? I wouldn't start again, but just thinking about it that way might at least make sense of the symptoms you're having.

I'm sure the stress you've been under lately hasn't helped any either.

[cgilsing]

Hi Erica,

I'm sorry you are having such a hard time right now! Just remember that this too will pass. During hard times it's hard to see an end, but you will get through it. gluten-free most definately gets better with time....it just becomes a part of life you really don't think about eventually (I say eventually, but it's sooner than one may think). Relationship breakups are the hardest for only a few months. If you two get back together than great, if not my experience is that after a month or two life settles back in.....usually for the better. In the mean time take care of yourself! I know you are busy, but try to find a day for you and a girlfriend to hang out. Go get a pedicure, shoe shop, eat at pricey restaurant that you wouldn't usually go to (just make sure they can make you gluten-free food). Enjoy yourself. It will get better

[eleep]

Yes, I'm pretty sure the smoking was helping with some of my symptoms. I do know that not-smoking helps me quite a bit with anxiety in the long term (I've been able to quit for months and years at a time), but I don't seem to have hit that point yet -- things seem to be getting worse, in fact.

[L.A.]

Hey Erica: Wow! Too much at once eh? The relationship thing, the quit smoking thing, not feeling well and the panic attacks.

The ativan should help short term (it did me) to keep you calm and hopefully the rest falls into place.

Sending you a hug.

L.A.

[oceangirl]

Yes, I'm pretty sure the smoking was helping with some of my symptoms. I do know that not-smoking helps me quite a bit with anxiety in the long term (I've been able to quit for months and years at a time), but I don't seem to have hit that point yet -- things seem to be getting worse, in fact.

Erica,

When some people quit smoking there's definitely a withdrawal period that can manifest in all kinds of different symptoms. I am an ex-smoker but never smoked enough for that to happen. A close friend of mine has been trying to quit for months now and he describes anxiety and panic much like what you describe. I wish you both luck in getting through it. Sometimes just knowing what might be causing something helps you deal with it. I am sorry you are sad and not feeling well. I don't feel well either and just had a yucky thing happen at my summer part-time job- not like a breakup, but it made me very sad and depressed. Endings are always hard but then one day good things come of them. Be well soon- and,yes, like others said- don't forget to breathe!

lisa

[Guest Doll]

I get severe anxiety attacks from gluten exposure. It was one of my major symptoms prior to Dx. It feels like you're dying or going to pass out, so I can understand your frustration and why you're scared.

As mentioned, smoking withdrawal and stress don't make things any better.

I understand that you don't want to rely on pharmaceuticals to make you feel better. But that is what they are designed to do. As long as they are used appropriately in moderation and only short term when needed, go for it. Don't feel guilty. Right now you need to get over this hump, and without suffering as much as possible.

Another option when you feel an attack coming on is to lay down, and/or try Lamaze breathing. Yes, you will look (and sound!) ridiculous, but it works.

Avoid caffeine and any other stimulants.

Try to remember that the feeling will pass, and that your body is trying to heal.

Some people find Pepto Bismal helps coat their stomach (anti-inflammatory and pain relief). I assume some of it manages to make it's way into the small intestine too.

[eleep]

Does anyone know how best to take the Ativan so I don't overdo it and risk becoming dependant? I've kind of been under-estimating what I needed because I'm concerned about that -- today I finally took the 1/2 tablet after two earlier panic attacks which I dealt with by napping/meditating and going for a run. I knuckled under because I just HAD to get some work done!

Should I continue with the 1/2 dose? How long do these last?

[aikiducky]

I know last week seems like a long time ago, but my glutening symptoms often go on (although mostly not as intense as the first days) for two or even three weeks. Getting bloated after every meal is a good example of what happens to me, even two weeks after a glutening. Maybe the smoking hid this in the past?

Pauliina

[LKelly8]

Does anyone know how best to take the Ativan so I don't overdo it and risk becoming dependant? I've kind of been under-estimating what I needed because I'm concerned about that -- today I finally took the 1/2 tablet after two earlier panic attacks which I dealt with by napping/meditating and going for a run. I knuckled under because I just HAD to get some work done!

Should I continue with the 1/2 dose? How long do these last?

eleep

How much was the original dosage for? It sounds like such a small amount, .05mg.

It may be Open Original Shared Link though.

The link is to a Loyola Univ. page on St. John's Wort, ativan and St. J might not play nice together.

[eleep]

Yeah, it's .5 MG that I'm taking -- not a lot, although I did take the other .5 half of the pill about three hours later and I now feel kind of yawny and draggy, so that may have been too much. I'm tiny, so a little may go a long way with this stuff. The prescription is for 1/2 to 1 tablet as needed for anxiety -- kind of vague, but the doctor who wrote it was giving it to me for the odd food reaction -- not a day-to-day thing.

Good to know that about the St. John's Wort -- it also shouldn't be taken with Immodium, apparently.

Edit: Now that I read more closely, it looks like there are a bunch of food restrictions as well -- maybe I'll drop the stuff for a while and see what happens:

Answer: Shouldn't be a problem. The only obvious interaction is with certain foods - at least theoretically: chicken liver, pickled herring, yogurt, beer, wine (especially red, sherry and chianti), bananas, avocados, raisins, chocolate, sour cream, soy sauce. This is because St. John's Wort is a mild MAO inhibitor.

[gabby]

Have you checked with the pharmacist to make sure there is no wheat starch or other gluten in the Ativan?

[eleep]

I'd checked about gluten already, but I checked again with the company and it does contain lactose monohydrate -- I am lactose intolerant right now, but I suspect that I can head problems off by taking two lactaid with the 1/2 Ativan.

Spoke with my psychiatrist today and he said that, indeed, this is probably coming up because of the quitting smoking -- he suggested that I stick to the Ativan for a month at very small levels. Since it doesn't make me a zombie, I'm going to do this and keep doing all the other stuff as well.

Grrrr......I hate change.

[utdan]

I'm sorry to hear about this trouble you are going through. What you described sounds very similar to what I have had to confront. I fully know how it seems that any food will bring on intense anxiety. Has this ever been a problem in the past before smoking?

[eleep]

I have had crying-jag anxiety fits in the midst of brain fog/celiac symptoms that were clearly reactions before I knew they were reactions -- usually, I dealt with them through exercise -- they also usually came during times of extreme stress -- like my mother's funeral -- and were accompanied by insomnia. I also had quite a bit of this in the first month or so after I went gluten-free -- again, probably withdrawal symptoms.

Now, I don't have insomnia, I'm exercising and mediating daily and getting things done and structure in my life -- the only thing that's changed is that I've quit smoking. This doesn't seem to be a generalized anxiety disorder so much as a reaction to a lot of physical and psychological stress. I have actually been getting significantly healthier, it just seems that my body's releasing a lot of the tension it's been holding in. This is just a gradual process -- I think some of my panic came from feeling as though I was taking steps backwards when I've been moving forwards so steadily.

This isn't a very large dose after all and it does kind of help take the edge off -- the majority of my panic seems to come in the morning when I've been without a nicotine patch all night. I'll see what happens in a couple of weeks or so.

[utdan]

Having those reactions before you knew they were reactions describes my experience. I would agree that it doesn't sound like generalized anxiety disorder but more of some kind of hyper-stimulation of the nervous symptom, apparently through withdrawl symptoms at this point, and food somehow exacerbates it. You mentioned meditiation, but have you tried bio-feedback?

[eleep]

Funny you should mention bio-feedback -- before I went into a meditation class, I'd spent about six months playing with a biofeedback meditation "game" called Wild Divine -- that's what taught me that I should really get into a meditation class to take things any further.

Meditation was how I became able to isolate the fact that there was something going on that wasn't a generalized anxiety disorder or anything like that -- there was something going on at inexplicable times for inexplicable reasons. Times when I should have been most stressed out, I wasn't -- times when I shouldn't be stressed, I was. It wasn't consistent with anything I could understand and it was always recognizable anxiety -- not just free-floating -- there were real things I'd get obsessive over, but not necessarily all things anyone would get obsessive over -- and not every day.

Anyway -- back to writing -- I'm doing much better on the Ativan!

[Mayflowers]

Might I recommend www.stresscenter.com ? The Attacking Anxiety and Depression course is really great. This woman cured herself of anxiety, panic attacks and depression naturally with no drugs.

I am big on natural cures. I think drugs are very bad for the body.

I did the course and I have my anxiety under control. Her relaxation exercise is worth the price of the course alone.

First of all, do you drink caffeine? Sets off my anxiety attacks.

Sugar also sets off my attacks - I have to keep my sugar intake low.

My mother passed away last year. I started having anxiety attacks including shortness of breath again. I increased my vitamin B's especially B-1 (2-300 mg), complex, C, calcium and magnesium. I started listening to the relaxation tape and I had the anxiety under control in a few days. My sister on the other hand went on anti-depressants. She's not so into natural health like I am. She's still on the antidepressants and she's terrified to get off them because her panic attacks might come back. Is that anyway to live? A slave to drugs?

[hineini]

Hi there - Sorry you're going through all this. I know how it is to deal with health stuff on top of all kinds of huge life stressors. Hang in there!

Your post made me think of something..

I have panic and anxiety disorders, I used to be on medication for them athough they are fairly under control these days save for now and then (once a month or so) when I use Xanax to help me out.

I used to think I was getting panic attacks every time I ate - My heart would start palpitating, beating really fast, I'd get flushed and feel a little dizzy and disoriented. I told my doctor this was happening, and she said: "It might not be anxiety" - I was like "What?!?! Don't you think I know what anxiety/panic feels like?" But she hit the nail on the head: She said it was the vagus nerve (Open Original Shared Link), which runs from the brain to the abdomen and wraps around the stomach. Apparently if you have an easily irritated Vagus nerve, if you eat too quickly, or too much, it irritates the nerve which causes anxiety-like symptoms, heart racing, etc. In my case, the physical reaction would cause my heart to race but then feeling like I was starting to enter a panic attack would cause me to freak out and actually escalate into a panic attack! (Ugh.)

There are three things you can try in order to see if some of this anxiety is related to eating too fast or too much:

-Eat smaller meals, and eat more slowly.

-When your heart starts racing after eating, clench your stomach and rectal muscles as hard as you can, as though you are super constipated and trying to have a bowel movement (!) Then relax. Do this several times

-Take a deep breath, and forcefully blow air out through a small hole in your mouth, letting the cheeks inflate. This puts pressure on the nerve, and tells it to reset.

This might totally not be your problem at all - But since learning about the vagus nerve and how to calm it down helped totally change my experience of eating and anxiety, I thought I'd pass this info on, on the off chance that it might help someone else!

[eleep]

Well, I'm not consuming any sugar and I've cut my coffee consumption down to 1/2 mug a day -- none this morning. The two psych. people I consulted with today said that this is probably most clearly related to the nicotine withdrawal -- particularly because I'd amped myself up to about a pack a day habit for a couple of months there and then just quit. The ativan dosage is so mild that I don't feel remotely zombie-like -- I actually still feel the impulse to cry sometimes, I just don't have an uncontrollable fit.

Mostly, I just feel like myself today, which is good -- that is, kind of going through a tough time, but still able to relax and have a sense of humor.

In regard to your earlier question UTDan -- no, I've never experienced anything like this before. Of course, the other times I've quit, I was using Wellbutrin -- so that really took care of all the psychological stuff -- and I definitely still have underlying emotional stuff going on right now -- relationship grieving, emotions about attending all these social functions with food lately, feelings about not having had a chance to travel to see my folks for a long time, anxiety about getting all my goals accomplished and not getting waylaid again by a food reaction, etc....

I am thinking about getting acupuncture for the anxiety and stress, however, because I imagine that my body's pretty tuckered from all this stuff -- has anyone else had success taking this approach?

And -- for anyone who's gotten a divorce or gone through the breakup of a long-term relationship (5 or so years), how long did it take to mourn and get through stuff finally? Did it come in waves? Do you think it's different for men and women?

[utdan]

eleep, I understand how confusing it can be to sort out what is a "normal" response to what is an innapropriate response to whatever is going on in my life. Lots of times, it is more obvious, like you said. I'm glad the Ativan works. I lost faith in drugs after 15 years on 7 different meds not doing much, or anything for me. I might try the Ativan, even though I'm making big gains with therapy....I'm impatient! It's strange--the celiac/nervous system connection.

I faintly remember in a psychology class what caused an animal the most anxiety was when it did not know what to expect next. That sort of explains, at least, some of where the anxiety comes from -- not knowing whether some food is going to cause a reaction.

[oceangirl]

eleep, I understand how confusing it can be to sort out what is a "normal" response to what is an innapropriate response to whatever is going on in my life. Lots of times, it is more obvious, like you said. I'm glad the Ativan works. I lost faith in drugs after 15 years on 7 different meds not doing much, or anything for me. I might try the Ativan, even though I'm making big gains with therapy....I'm impatient! It's strange--the celiac/nervous system connection.

I faintly remember in a psychology class what caused an animal the most anxiety was when it did not know what to expect next. That sort of explains, at least, some of where the anxiety comes from -- not knowing whether some food is going to cause a reaction.

Erica,

I'm sorry you feel so bad. I am much older than you, it would appear from your picture, but, to address your question about grief: I've been through a divorce from my best friend after 23 years of marriage and two children together. We are working on 5 years and it only now has rays of light. And I instigated the divorce. The sadness and grief indeed comes in waves and, though I won't bore you with my story, the feelings involved are very complicated- divorce is NOT the easy way out as those who've never been through it often suggest- it is always painful and in most cases very considered. Waves of grief are common- then you begin to have longer stretches of doing okay. Change is like birth- there's a lot of pain with growth. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and listen to your heart always. It will take time, but you WILL see better days. My heart to you...

lisa

Erica,

I'm sorry you feel so bad. I am much older than you, it would appear from your picture, but, to address your question about grief: I've been through a divorce from my best friend after 23 years of marriage and two children together. We are working on 5 years and it only now has rays of light. And I instigated the divorce. The sadness and grief indeed comes in waves and, though I won't bore you with my story, the feelings involved are very complicated- divorce is NOT the easy way out as those who've never been through it often suggest- it is always painful and in most cases very considered. Waves of grief are common- then you begin to have longer stretches of doing okay. Change is like birth- there's a lot of pain with growth. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and listen to your heart always. It will take time, but you WILL see better days. My heart to you...

lisa

Oh yeah! I'm an ardent believer in acupuncture! I just went today and my 16 year-old daughter had it for the first time and is a new believer- it's wonderful!

lisa

[eleep]

Okay -- caffeine definitely sets the panic attacks off right now -- I only drink about a cup of coffee a day, but even that seems to have become too much since I quit smoking. I'm just getting more and more sensitive, I guess -- I don't really crave cigarettes, but I just get rather wreck-like.

I'm not eating any sugar outside of what's in the fruit I eat, so I think that's probably not an issue.

oceangirl -- thank you.

[CarlaB]

Erica, the MD I'm going to suggested acupuncture, and I tried it this morning. It was all very interesting. Just from touching my stress points he suggested that perhaps I have IBS? I said yea, definately have those symptoms. I go in for five sessions, I'll let you know what happens.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you that my step-father really wanted to quit smoing and never could. He got a pin in his ear from an acupuncturist ... I think the pin stayed there till it eventually fell out ... anyway, it helped a lot with the symptoms. Might be worth a try.