Carbs to cure anxiety...? Maybe!

[Atheria]

Okay, it may be too soon for me to post this, but I'm hopeful and need to share. Because of my hypoglycemia that hit Nov. 2010, I have developed an ongoing panic/anxiety disorder that at times has gotten so bad I've ended up in emergency rooms. At the least, it has severely hindered my life and been a source of frustration. Anyway, as I've gotten back on the low fat, whole food wagon in an effort to get my blood sugar to stop swinging to and fro, I've noticed that my moods (I've battled depression on and off throughout life) have gotten better...and last night...was able to actually stop a panic attack. On a very high carb diet I feel calmer and more stable. As I could feel the first inklings that a panic attack was coming, I told myself that I was safe because I'd just eaten a whole foods, vegan dinner, and that I'd be fine...that I wouldn't have a low blood sugar attack (which is at the root of the panic attacks). It's really hard to put it into words, but I could FEEL my chemistry, both brain chemistry and blood sugar control, working properly and that made me feel stable and the whole thing just passed gently away. I'm reading the book "Potatoes NOT Prozac" right now and learning more about serotonin and beta-endorphins. I'd much rather eat a potato than take pharmaceuticals! I'm really hopeful that a healthy diet CAN be the answer to anxiety issues.

Sweet potato-ly yours,
Atheria

[eXtremE]

Hi Atheria...good to hear you are trying to manage without the drugs.

I am really glad to see this post. I have struggled with anxiety and panic most of my entire adult life. I have been to the ER probably nearly fifty times or more over 2 decades...4 times even by ambulance. Been on a variety of psych meds and even attempted to take my life once (2006) when I had to detox from klonopin in a mental hospital after the drug quit working after I took it nearly 11 years. I even prayed to die in the mental hospital b/c the pain from the klonopin detox can not be adequately described with words. But, I am still here and very grateful to be alive. I did try a very strict Dr. Ess's diet in 2008 but I was not a member of this forum then. It did not seem to help my mental health problems so I stopped it after 4 months I think and began eating as I was eating before I tried the diet.

A lot of my mental health problems are now compounded from taking benzodiazepines on a chronic basis for decades. I resisted initially when I started having daily panic attacks because I am anti-meds. I hate meds but the attacks became so severe, I felt I had to go the drug route to save my life during this time. It literally felt like I was dying all the time and I became suicidal. The drugs did work for many years. All my chest pains and other things magically vanished on the drugs, I went back to work, and resumed a normal life for many, many years until I would invariably start to become tolerant to the drug or drugs I was taking and then I would get very very sick, much worse than baseline anxiety and panic, and spiral back down into the depths of hell again.

I plan on sticking with this WOE now for the rest of my life. I am still really struggling from a mental health standpoint tho....I am starting to wonder if perhaps some of the psych drugs do permanent damage to the brain as Peter Breggin, Robert Whitaker, and some others have speculated....IDK. My doctor is wonderful. He helped me to get off the last benzo I took (valium) after it too quit working but I still have to take small doses PRN when things get pretty bad. I don't want to but the pain is still unreal sometimes. I meditate and exercise and those things help, esp. the meditation. I think the healthy diet has helped a lot too. I was feeling lots worse when I was eating SAD.

[Atheria]

I am so sorry to learn what you have gone through. I just finished reading the part of the book that explains how antidepressants work and how they cause more problems than they solve. Yes, it's very important for you to eat a very clean diet, and some extra vitamins/minerals may help. I do take St. John's Wort too. I applaud your meditation practice as we are not just physical...but spiritual beings.

Let food be thy medicine.

Atheria

[eXtremE]

Do you find the St. John's Wort helpful? I recall trying it many years ago. I have depression too but I consider it mild to moderate. Anxiety has always been my biggest hurdle.

[Atheria]

I am taking St. John's Wort for my anxiety, not depression, and yes it has helped...without side effects! I think it makes you more sun sensitive, but I've not noticed that yet.


Atheria

[eXtremE]

How long have you been eating a vegan diet like this?

[Atheria]

It was too soon to post a success story. Had issues again last night due to blood sugar issues or panic or both for no good reason. I've not been able to successfully stay vegan since 2010. I also lost 2 lbs. again I can't afford. I'm sorry to be a letdown.

Atheria

[eXtremE]

You are not a letdown Atheria. Many ppl are eating like this or mostly like this with slight variants and they still have other health issues they contend with. I do think this is the best way to eat as far as preventing heart disease, strokes, and some cancers but it is by no means a panacea for every possible medical problem that you might have.

My life should be pretty good but I still have lots of daily anxiety and fear and many physical SX for no reason now that I can pinpoint. I often wish there was some way I could stop my brain from doing this to me but I can't. I could swallow a handful of valium pills for example and feel perfect for 8 hours or the entire day but as soon as the effect wears off, I am worse than before I took the pills so I can't really go down that path anymore.

You said you lost another 2 lbs. Are you underweight now? Some ppl eat when they are anxious. I am the exact opposite. I don't wanna eat when the anxiety is really bad.

[Atheria]

Yes, I am too thin right now. My metabolism goes supersonic when I'm under stress or when my blood sugar gets messed up like it did last night. Also, avoiding fat makes me drop weight.

And yes, a healthy diet IS still important. I'll keep trying to tweak things.

Atheria

[Breadman]

This may help you:
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/orange- ... r-anxiety/
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/lavende ... -disorder/
or just these in general:
http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/anxiety/

[Atheria]

Wow! Thank you. I didn't know orange oil could be used for anxiety and totally forgot about lavender! Ativan is what they gave me too... which works well, but I'd rather treat this through diet and natural methods.

Thanks again,
Atheria

[Marcella]

Atheria, it sounds like you've had some positive steps forward! Don't let the setbacks get you down.

A couple of years ago, I got a severe case of food poisoning while on a trip in Paris. I lost quite a bit of weight very rapidly, which I did gain back over the next several weeks, but it took many months before the flora was reconstituted in my gut and therefore I had difficulty digesting food items that caused no problems beforehand. Even though I follow a low fat, whole foods plant based diet, like you, if I had more than small amounts of fat or too much fibre or even too high of a volume of food at one time, I'd have a lot of digestive distress. I'm not comparing my situation to yours, but just wondering if you would benefit from some probiotics? Perhaps the healing will take some time.

Also, have you considered a private consultation with Jeff Novick or possibly attending Dr. McDougall's 10 day or 3 day event, thereby having Dr. McDougall at your disposal?

Like eXtremeE, I've also found meditation to play an important role in my overall health/lifestyle.

Best of luck to you!

Marcella

[Atheria]

Hi there,

You know, you just made me remember something. Back in mid Dec. 2009 I got SEVERE food poisoning from Taco Bell (I think it was Taco Bell) while moving to NM. I had just arrived in Albuquerque when it hit. It was so bad I called 911 from my motel at 3 a.m. I ended up in an ER a few days later as I was dehydrated and still weak. Anyway, I've never had a good digestive system (one of the reasons I'm gluten free now) but after that food poisoning, I was never the same. I did take some probiotics shortly afterward, but maybe it's not a coincidence that 11 months later I became severely hypoglycemic. Hmmm...

I've finally gotten my weight up to my normal too thin weight (by many people's standards) but I have been eating some fat to help get calories in. I'm not eating tons of fat though, as I do know for a fact my blood sugar does better on low fat. And, there is the whole improvement in mood that comes with a higher carb intake thing. Yes, it's been two steps forward, one step back...but I do think I'm moving forward in general. My sister keeps sending me these anti vegan stories, which is NOT helping!

I just can't spend the money to take part in a live-in program, although I would like to...and I've already talked to a vegan MD, two RDs, etc. There are only so many suggestions people can make. My body truly has a mind of its own at times, and it's trial and error learning what works for me.

Thank you very much.
Atheria

[sjsilver]

I had a lot of anxiety that came with menopause. I had tried 3 different kinds of meds for this, one of them helped a little. When I started Mcdougalling, I stopped drinking coffee and I feel so much better. The anxiety I was feeling is so much less now. I am not taking any medication now and I feel great.

[Atheria]

Yes, I am 100% sure my hypoglycemia and following anxiety disorder are tied to being perimeno. Certain times of the month are worse than others. I also have the classic insomnia symptom. I clearly do better on a higher carb diet. For years I had cut back on carbs because the common recommendation for hypoglycemia is to eat high protein/low carb. But over time I just wasn't feeling REALLY good. I was afraid to increase my carb intake and did it gradually and ended up feeling noticeably better than I have felt for 3 years.

I do drink some coffee and tea, but the caffeine actually relaxes me. I don't have anything after my last 3 p.m. cup.

I do use natural progesterone cream, FYI.

It's kind of odd how, in general, I feel "safer" when I'm McDougalling...but I do. That feeling that I'm going to die that hits randomly (although I also have specific triggers) just doesn't happen as often. Obviously, I'm not cured at this point, but at least I'm better than I was.

Atheria