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1778927 tn?1381878747

Anxiety or low blood sugar

This morning I woke up and felt pretty good.  I did not feel hungry so I just had morning coffee.  Around 11:30 am I started to feel tense, shaky and just plain not right.  After thinking about it a bit I realized I hadn't eaten in about 17 hours so I cooked some pizza and drank some gatorade. This only made me feel like 10% better.  Maybe it is just taking a while to raise sugar levels or is it anxiety? People fast longer than 24 hours sometimes and feel fine!  

Side note:
I am 32. I do not drink or smoke and have been off all medications for over a month now. I am 5'8 and roughly 145lbs
9 Responses
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Avatar universal
  If you havent eaten anything and only had a cup of coffee, That will make u gittery and anxious! I get like that if I dont eat or drink water! Make sure you stayed hydrated! Have you experienced this feeling before? If you have than i wouldnt think to much of it and just mentioned it to your Dr the next time you go! Talking to your Dr always seems to make you feel better! Hope you have a better day!
Helpful - 0
1778927 tn?1381878747
You are magnificent to talk to!  It was not painful...Just tingling...but what concerned me was it up in my jaw.  The pain in my chest would come for about 5 minutes if that and be a dull throbbing ache then go away.  Last night I had no tingling when I left work so I am thinking...I should be on meds again :(  because I imagine (but I did set an appt just in case) it is stress/anxiety.  Thank you again for all of your help and care...You are just fabulous!

Kind regards,
Shaun
Helpful - 0
370181 tn?1595629445
For women, the combination of chest pain that radiates to the jaw and left arm should not be ignored.
"Off and on chest pains" could have many interpretations. What does "off and on" mean to you? What is the pain like? Are you lightheaded? Dizzy? Sweating? Pale?
An arm that "tingles" is seldom used to describe MI symptoms and the same for the jaw. Pain is pain and tingles are, well..........not pain.
But now I am between a rock and a hard spot. If I tell you that it's probably NOT a heart attack, and it is, guess who gets to live with THAT? If I say you should call 911 and nothing is wrong except for some heart burn and a tingly nerve, then you're going to owe somebody a lot of money. So what the hell do I tell you to do?
I came VERY close to having a heart attack last summer. I had chest pains and a burning sensation in my upper chest. For weeks I put it all down to my GERD and my heart anxiety. One day the pain, and it WAS pain, radiated to my jaw. Long story short, I had one cardiac stent placed in June and another placed in July. Both arteries were over 95% blocked. The surgeon couldn't believe I hadn't had a heart attack with that kind of blockage in two major arteries. If I had kept blaming it on my anxiety, perhaps I wouldn't be here to write this to you. So I'm going to tell you to play it safe and go to Urgent Care or the ER and come home and post me about how stupid you felt and then we'll drink a toast that we're both still alive. Don't wait. Far, far better to feel foolish than be dead.
Let me know how you're doing..........I'm not suppose to get stressed!
Peace
Greenlydia
Helpful - 0
1778927 tn?1381878747
On a side note, now my left side arm up into my jaw is tingly.  Off and on chest pains but my blood pressure and such are normal.  Am I freaking myself out now?  Now I think I am having heart attack symptoms that started Saturday evening.  Should I go to Urgent Care or ER or something?
Helpful - 0
370181 tn?1595629445
That's great you're off all meds and are only haunted by the occassional anxiety attack. We can live with those, being pros and all.
I also believe that anxiety/panic added to your perception of this episode.
But, you say you are still feeling very off. Is this a feeling of anxiety or something else?
The bloodwork you had was probably just a standard blood panel, or had you fasted? They would have wanted your stomach empty to get an accurate cholesterol and glucose reading.
Is it possible that you came into contact with any of the things you are allergic to before this happened? I would guess that you know what your allergic reactions are like and obviously this was not the same. If you are sneezing and your stomach is churning, you may be right that this is the start of the flu or some other bug. Any chills, aches/pains/fever? Do you have the week-end off to just lay low and take care of yourself? I think it would be a good idea even if it's not a bug. Maybe your body just needs some down time.
There are actually two types of hypoglycemia, one is known as drug-related hypoglycemia and happens almost exclusively in diabetics and the second is called non-drug-related hypoglycemia and can be further divided into FASTING hypoglycemia, in which hypoglycemia occurs after NOT eating, and reactive hypoglycemia, in which hypoglycemia occurs as a reaction TO eating, usually of carbohydrates.
The body first responds to a drop in blood sugar by releasing epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline which can cause symptoms very similar to those of an anxiety attack: sweating, nervousness, quivering, faintness, palpitations and sometimes, hunger.
So...........some of that we can attribute to what you experienced during your episode, but I don't know anything for sure. Which is why I think we're both right and another visit to your doctor is warranted. It would be good to rule out a few things.
Please let me know how you're doing.
Peace
Greenlydia  
Helpful - 0
1778927 tn?1381878747
I have battled anxiety for over 10 years. I am off all medicines at the moment after being on Celexa and Ativan for years. I still am having occasional anxiety episodes but they have been few and far between these days (thank goodness). I have never had an episode quite as before.  I do believe after the initial feeling happened that panic aided in the additional feelings.  Regretfully, even after eating I feel better but still very off.  I took an Ativan but my stomach is churning right now.  I recently went to the doctor and bloodwork was beautiful! Not one discretion but I do have some severe allergies to certain things.  Allergic episode today?  Hypoglycemia? Anxiety?  You are right, I should perhaps call the doctor again.

Thank you for all your help and concern.  I am sneezing my head off as we speak...who knows...maybe it is all the start of the flu...

Thank you again

Shaun
Helpful - 0
370181 tn?1595629445
How long have you been dealing with anxiety? What, if anything, do you take for your anxiety? Do you feel your anxiety is under control?

Have you ever had an episode like the one you describe before?
Are you in therapy for your anxiety?

Sorry so many questions, but the answers help.
I hope you do post on the Dieabetes Forum. The folks over there are great! But I also think you should see your doctor. Personally, I think this just happened because you hadn't eaten for 17 hours, but since there is a possibility it could be something else, always error on the side of caution and safety where your health is concerned. Whatever it cost you to find out is money very well spent!
Please let us know how this story ends!
I'm sure you're fine
Peace
Greenlydia
Helpful - 0
1778927 tn?1381878747
Thank you for your reply. Yes I do battle with severe anxiety. I have been doing relatively well but feeling felt somehow different than purely panic. I will certainly take your advice about posting in the diabetes forum because I feel slightly better but not much.  I will definitely keep updating!

Kind regards,
Shaun
Helpful - 0
370181 tn?1595629445
Two questions........do you have an anxiety disorder? Are you diabetic?
If the answer to both of those is no, then what you experienced was a drop in your blood glucose (which happens to everyone when we don't eat) The symptoms can be a little scary, but you did the right thing by eating. The Gatorade was a good choice, the pizza.........not so good, but was better than nothing. Sugar levels don't return to normal immediately. How did you feel later that day?
Unless this continues to happen, at which point you should see your doctor as soon as possible, bring it up to him/her the next time you see them. I would recommend you have a fasting blood glucose done and make sure you ask for an A1C test! That will tell your doctor what your gluscose levlels have been for several weeks as ONE reading is not enough for any kind of accurate diagnosis. If you are use to eating in the morning, don't skip it even if you're not feeling hungry.......or at least have some healthy snack stuff that will keep you evened out.
If you do not have an anxiety disorder, any anxiety you felt during this episode was situational and normal. Don't overthink it.
Let us know if this helped or not. You could post on the diabetes forum and get some really great advice.
I wish you the best
Peace
Greenlydia
Helpful - 0
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