A Couple Of Questions Because I Feel Like Screaming

[FootballFanatic]

Okay so I have anxiety and depression.

Mostly the anxiety is due to emetophobia and germophobia, and obviously feeling sick everyday doesn't help either of those....

My depression came after the anxiety....just got fed up with this BS. I used to be so healthy and feel so good.

I don't feel better yet on gluten-free, and almost Dairy Free. I just use a small amount of butter on a few things...but it seems like I feel worse when I feel anxiety or depression....

Do you think there is a chance I'm better as far as Celiac goes and that the mental stuff is causing my indigestion, constipation, headaches, acheyness and dizziness?

Are there any techniques anyone would recommend for not panicking when I'm feeling bad? Because with my phobia of being sick it's an endless cycle....

The more I notice I'm feeling crummy, the worse and worse I get.

Sorry this posting is all over the place, I'm feeling stir crazy and don't know quite how to say what's in my head.

[confused]

I so know how you feel. When i get glutened i freak completely out. One thing i do when im freaking out is throw something, i know not the best thing to do but it calms me down, dont ask me why.

I know i have a little bit of ocd so it makes things worse in many aspects of my life. There are days i can sweep 20 times a day and still find a crumb and it drives me nuts.

Have you tried meditation. One thing i am doind now is i get up at 5 am and do denise austin for 30 and then yoga or pilates and it makes me much beter threw out the day, if i miss one day it is bad.

Have u tried an hot bath when u are anxious, or read an good book or even go for an walk.

i would find an gluten and casein free butter that is what i do, if that is the only casein thing u use is butter then its best to just give it up, You will feel better. Of course the subsitute is not the same as butter but it works.

Or maybe when you feel sick and start to get anxiuos or depressed think of wonderful times in your life.

When i get an panic attack, i will sit and focus on different parts of the house or look at my kids and think of the wonderful things they do or say. I havent had a panic attack unless i get completely glutened but nothing like before going gluten free.

paula

[hathor]

If you are intolerant to casein, any little amount can cause the symptoms you describe. So that is the first thing to fix.

Second, you may have another intolerance operating that is preventing your recovery. Have you added more soy to your diet to replace the dairy? Soy is a common third problem. I know someone who continued to have symptoms despite being completely Gluten-free Casein-free for over a year. Then she took out soy and got completely better.

Enterolab also tests for egg, soy & yeast. It might be worth it to see if you have problems with any of these things.

Do you keep a food & symptom diary? Perhaps you can find some triggers.

In terms of coping, I find exercise to be wonderful. It improves my mood and makes me feel better. I would suggest at least going out for a walk every day if nothing else, assuming it isn't too cold.

You also might investigate herbal treatments for anxiety and depression, or try meditation.

Frankly, I think once you feel better, your mental state will also improve.

[dangervolvo]

I really get how you are feeling. I am a little over 2 months into cutting gluten out, and a month into cutting all dairy and soy out. I too wonder when I will finally start to feel better, physically and mentally.

I have been dealing with panic attacks for almost a year now, and I see a really strong connection between feeling sick and feeling anxious. Feeling sick makes me feel vulnerable, and feeling vulnerable triggers my anxiety.

The one thing that really helps me get through an anxiety producing event is to be aware of myself trying too hard to control the way I am feeling. For me anxiety really hinges on feeling out of control, but the more I try to control a situation that I really have no control over the worse the anxiety gets. So when I start to feel anxious the first thing I do is to remind myself that I will not always feel the way I feel in that moment, that seems to take some of power away from the fear. The second thing I do is to tell myself that I trust myself, that no matter what happens as a result of feeling sick or anxious or both, I will be ok. I tend to get panicked on a crowded bus when I am feeling sick, but I tell myself that if I have to get off the bus, I will be ok, or if I throw up on the bus, I will be ok, or if I pass out on the bus, I will be ok. They all sound like awful situations, but I know that if they happen I will be ok, I will hate life in that moment, but really in the end I will be ok. It seems to take the power away from the anxiety to allow the anxiety. The more I push the anxiety away, the more it comes up.

It can also calm me down to say over and over in my head, "I am safe, I am strong", or " I am ready to accept the calm that comes from trusting myself". I know it sounds cheesy, but telling myself those things really helps.

I still have anxiety, but it does not rule my life like it once did, and I really do have hope that as I start to adjust to this new diet, I will feel healthier in my head and in my gut,

-Sarah

[The One]

I know how you feel and I know it sucks, before I went gluten free I used to have a lot of anxiety and for about a year I had panic attacks, once I started on the diet they kind of went away for a while, then came back because of another health issue and, just like you, I would worry so much about being sick that i would start panicking all the time, I have a bad pain in my rib and that would trigger a lot of panic attacks and a few trips to the ER until they finally figured out they were in fact panic attacks and they gave me Xanax for it, it helps a lot, I still feel panicky in many situations, but if I feel the panic coming I try to breath deep, if you're alone you can try sitting down and concentrating in your breathing, laying down is even better though, it helps your body relax, think that this is only your mind playing tricks on you and that there's nothing to be afraid of, of course certain situations have no solution where you just can't control the panic attack and you have to ride it out, I hate them though because I feel as if I'm about to faint and I get very shaky. I do agree though that being glutened brings on panic attacks that is for sure, I guess it is because we know how bad we used to feel when we were eating gluten and deep inside we are afraid of going through that once again, but you have to think that it is just going to be for a few days and then you will be ok.

[Eriella]

I also get neurological symptoms (I become a giant witch). The best thing I have found is to run or swim until my nastiness is all out. After that I am normally so tired that I crash in front of the TV with a hard cider (if it is anxiety or soda if you have depression) and fall asleep, then wake up a few hours later and my symptoms go away.

Another thing that works (depending on where you are) is a snowball fight. Throwing things makes me feel better and it is more societally permissible to throw snow than rocks or plates :-)

[BRUMI1968]

I can really relate with your fear of vomiting/getting sick. Just a couple days ago a friend of mine told me that a virulent stomach virus was going around town, and my stomach started to hurt the instant he said it. Then, a few days later, he got it, and so did his live-in girlfriend. I was practically panic stricken - afraid to eat anything in case I would have to throw it up. Jeezopeet. Then I was in the public library and got the chills - and immediately, before my brain could do a darned thing about it, I was dizzy with a panic attack. I reasoned myself down - of course I wasn't sick. I went and washed my hands. then I went home and looked up the virus which has a incubation period of 24-48 hours. I was exposed to my friend five days ago, and I'm only now starting to feel safely like I'm not going to get it. What a pain.

As to anxiety attacks in general - mine disappeared virtually overnight when I quit gluten. But I had "generalized anxiety disorder", attacks would come on frequently with eating. I would definitely consider 1) physiological reasons behind it: dairy, soy, hidden gluten, lectin intolerate, etc., but also vitamin/mineral deficiency; 2) watch for patterns...for me it was eating, especially cooked tomatoes (I think from my childhood sick-fest every time we ate spaghetti or pizza - hmm, celiac...I wonder why) but also overeating, eating too fast, or eating when unhappy, stressed or with people I didn't like/was sick of/was arguing with, etc.

1) food intolerances

2) eat when totally calm; if can't be worked out, eat minimum amount to avoid hunger nausea

3) eat sitting down, maybe with calm music on - don't eat over sink or on the run

4) meditate or take naps every day. there are 20 minute tapes you can use like a nap, some which focus on body/mind stuff

5) get enough exercise

6) create a safe space for yourself, like a closet or a chair or make a fort or something - someplace safe to ride it out.

7) if it helps, call someone who supports you and talk about something else until you forget you're having an attack

8) try "calms" when you know you'll be in stressful situation. available at health food stores/coops and the like.

9) wash your hands a lot. keep lotion in your purse. gluten free of course.

If all else fails, consider getting on some anti-anxiety drugs. I personally don't like at all the ones that work in some mysterious way -- I like the valium/xanax famiily - they tone down your whole nervous system, turn the world down if you like. Doctors know how they function; there is no question about people killing their families and selves when taking it; relatively safe with side effects, at least in the stomach area. (I love it when they try to prescribe folks who have panic about food issues drugs that give them nausea.) I took Xanax for a few months quite successfully (couldn't eat at all I was so tense and upset, and was getting too thin - it really helped) - but now prefer to avoid it unless flying.

[Gentleheart]

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[The One]

I, too lost weight because of anxiety, for about two weeks it got so bad I wasn't eating, just trying to eat watery stuff, otherwise it would make me sick, everything made me sick but that's the main thing with panic attacks, they give me pretty bad nausea so a lot of the times I throw up. For a while it was as if I was even afraid to eat, I've gotten a lot better though.

[Lollie]

Just wanted to tell you that I completely relate to this.... My little girl just got a virus (Christmas Eve of course....) I was completely shakey, I find it hard to even function.... I get that way just from the news of someone, whom I have had no contact, coming down with a stomach virus.... It is a very hard way to live... And then with Celiac and gastro problems it just makes it worse. I do alot of what the other posters have said, I take warm showers, I try to do something else, I try to relax, and when all else fails i take a muscle relaxer. I know that it was much worse before I went gluten-free, but it does seem to still happen with the fear of a stomach virus. The good thing is, that I no longer think that everything I eat is going to give me food poisoning!

I hope that this helps, sometimes, I think is good to know that you are not alone!

Lollie