Has anyone tried a Hypoglycemic diet for anxiety?

Faith_TX · Post by **Faith_TX** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:57 am

I've been on one for about a month and I feel so much better! I'm not sure if I'm truly hypo or not, but it sure is making a big difference to eat healthy. I was having 5-6 panic attacks some days and now I'm only having one or two mild ones a week. It's amazing.

I bought a book called The Low Blood Sugar Handbook by Krimmel.

This was suggested to me by a counselor. I'm still using my tools learned here, but it sure is easier when your blood sugar is on an even keel. It's amazing; I almost don't even feel like the same person.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:08 am

I agree 100%. It's not the cure-all, but when I'm eating to maintain stable blood sugar and excercise I rarely see a panic attack. I guess the question is, so why don't I do it ALL the time....because that would make sense and sugar tastes soooooooooooooooooooooooo good. LOL.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:15 am

You're funny. It does taste good but not good enough for me to feel CrAzy like I was for the past several months.

Now, talk to me in a year once I'm feeling better and see if I stick to it. Hopefully I will.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:20 am

I've been dealing with anxiety since I was 16 (I'm 40 now). Several years ago my M.D. recommended the hypoglycemic diet and it wasn't just the anxiety that went away, but my whole mood changed. Of course, once I feel better I slip back into the "sugar" zone. We moved from sunny So. Cal. to the Stress and that was my excuse to eat bad.....I'm trying to turn that around again because it is a noticable difference. It seems to have come back worse than before.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:47 am

I have been dealing with it since my early 20's off and on. I can't believe nobody ever told me this. Doctors just want to give me a pill and that's not the answer for me. The medications make me feel worse. I'm just glad I finally found something to help. I'm not 100% yet but I'm so much better than I was.

Some of the stresses in my life have gotten better and that helps too but a big part is the diet, I'm sure. My husband wants me to go to the doctor and possibly get them to diagnose it as hypoglycemia but Im' not sure it's really worth that. I just need to stay away from sugar.

When I have panic attacks I have a fear of "going crazy" and that is not fun! I was worried my job would be in jeapardy. I'm learning to ignore those thoughts finally.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:51 am

is there a link between anxiety and sugar?? i binge on sugar A lot!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 12:28 pm

Hey Faith, I need to get that book you mentioned. I have a tendency toward low blood sugar and have always had. I don't like the feelings that go along with it but feel better if I know it is low when I'm feeling this way. yesterday was pretty challenging. I had a tooth pulled so was limited what I could eat trying to deal with the after affects. I didn't feel particulary jittery but felt pretty off. I took my BS and it was 68, not real low but know for me I get shaky, and all of that stuff upper to mid 70's. When I'm trying to lose weight, like now, it is low much of the time so I have a lot more anxiety so I'm intersted in seeing what this book has to say.

Glad you are feeling much better! Keep up the great work!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:07 pm

I also got Hypoglycemia for Dummies and one other one just for good measure.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:12 pm

Originally posted by lau_von_c:
is there a link between anxiety and sugar?? i binge on sugar A lot!

Yes there can be. You can get into a cycle where you're almost addicted to sugar. . .when the sugar raises your blood sugar then crashes. . .which can make you crave more sugar. It's a vicious cycle. I knew about the sugar a while ago as well as chocolate and caffeine and had cut that out.

What I didn't know was that I needed to be careful with carbs like pasta and bread and fruit too. I haven't cut it all out but I combine it with a protein. I'm really amazed at the difference.

The book has you cut it all out for a couple weeks to break the cycle and if you feel better than you know that it is a component in the anxiety. Then you slowly add it back in until you start getting symptoms again and then you know how much you can tolerate.

samcat · Post by **samcat** » Fri Mar 07, 2008 1:13 pm

Originally posted by Whispers65:
I took my BS and it was 68, not real low but know for me I get shaky, and all of that stuff upper to mid 70's.

I was testing with my SIL's machine last week and found that an apple made mine go up to 150 and then dropp pretty quickly to 70, and it did make me have some palpitations and such, so I'm like you even 70 can feel low. I've run out of strips now but I have an idea now of what causes it to go out of whack. I may buy some more to test out with some other carbs like breads and pasta.