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Anxiety causing hypoglycemia?
Hello everyone- I am aware that I have an anxiety/panic issue, and I am preparing myself to see a neurologist/psychiatrist in a few weeks to treat it.
However, what I can't figure out is what is up with my blood sugar? I can't even get a true pattern to what is going on. Sometimes it spikes as high as 148, but more often than not it crashes down to 40s and 50s and makes me very ill. I am learning to live with this by eating every 2-3 hours, and eating a mix of carbs and proteins. This generally works, but I slip up sometimes and forget to eat, or its an inconvenient time and I'm not sure when i can eat (like I have an interview, or at church or something). Still, I never had this problem before. I am young, healthy (i think!) and I exercise regularly and eat extremely well (I eat mostly fresh vegetables, completely whole grains that I grind myself, some fruit, and rarely processed foods like chips). My fasting blood glucose in the morning is usually between 60-85.
So yeah, that's the weirdest part of all this. I have a really hard time keeping my blood sugar even during the day, but I get through the night no problems. I have heard of blood sugar crashes causing panic, but is it possible that my anxiety is just eating away my energy or something and causing these off the chart numbers? Anyone else experience this and how did you solve it?
However, what I can't figure out is what is up with my blood sugar? I can't even get a true pattern to what is going on. Sometimes it spikes as high as 148, but more often than not it crashes down to 40s and 50s and makes me very ill. I am learning to live with this by eating every 2-3 hours, and eating a mix of carbs and proteins. This generally works, but I slip up sometimes and forget to eat, or its an inconvenient time and I'm not sure when i can eat (like I have an interview, or at church or something). Still, I never had this problem before. I am young, healthy (i think!) and I exercise regularly and eat extremely well (I eat mostly fresh vegetables, completely whole grains that I grind myself, some fruit, and rarely processed foods like chips). My fasting blood glucose in the morning is usually between 60-85.
So yeah, that's the weirdest part of all this. I have a really hard time keeping my blood sugar even during the day, but I get through the night no problems. I have heard of blood sugar crashes causing panic, but is it possible that my anxiety is just eating away my energy or something and causing these off the chart numbers? Anyone else experience this and how did you solve it?
Best Answer
Tashaaki, I have been suffering for Hypoglycemia since 3 years ago when i had several extreme anxiety episodes with full blown panic attacks. Before that incident, i can still clearly remember being able to function normally with only a couple meals a day and zero problems with low energy. Now, after a meal i will feel fine for about 1 hour or 2 (depends on how big is the meal, the bigger it is the longer i feel normal) and then i will start gradually noticing that i don't feel normal anymore and my energy has dropped considerably to the point that it's hard to do an energy demanding activity like finishing a college project or play chess. I believed I had food sensitivities, I tried low & no carb diets, I water fasted for weeks, I treated candida, I firmly believed I had my adrenal glands exhausted and had to rest them with countless of hours of sleep and vitamins, even thought I had stomach ulcers. After extensive research, countless of hours on internet forums, keeping religiously a journal, I finally found out that the root cause of this problem comes from the stomach not holding the food we eat long enough (up to 4 hours) and "dumps it" very quickly into the small intestine. This disease is called "dumping syndrome" or rapid gastric emptying and the motility of the stomach gets disturbed by a dis-functioning Vagus nerve. And i strongly believe this is caused because the stomach believes our body and mind is still in an emergency state as an effect from being in the constant state of anxiety and worry. It is reasonable to think that when then body perceives we are under “constant stress” it will not bother with food digestion and will do whatever it takes to get rid of the food as soon as possible( see IBS-D) so that it can focus on the danger our stress wrongly signals. This is exactly what our “panicked “stomachs are doing, they don’t grind the food long enough, and they don’t hold the food as much as is needed but instead they dump it to the small intestine. This rushed activity from the stomach throws all the endocrine system off and when it happens consistently for a long period of time, homeostasis is lost and the body will struggle keeping the blood sugar high enough.
3 Comments
I believe I am suffer hypoglycemia due to my anxiety also. it has only been a couple of months but have been almost constantly in a anxious state. prior to this I would only get shaky & dizzy occasionally if I got hungry & didnt eat straight away but now It is every 2 hours. I will have my blood test results tomorrow so will be interested to see what comes up.
Any updates on this? I too am experiencing the same symptoms, had bloodwork done and glucose and insulin levels checked out fine. Considering an endocrinologist but it may be a waste if it boils down to anxiety (which I am treating).
Wow this is an interesting thought...I'm definitely going to look into this as I only started having daily episodes over the last month. I used to randomly get an "episode" every few months but after one "attack" I can't seem to shake it. I too have what my Dr says is panic disorder, and GAD. I also years ago was dx'd with Gastritis. I have an endo appt. on Thursday so I can't wait to finally get to the bottom of this!
This is a few years later than when you asked but I too have the same problem as you. Now I need to eat every two hours and sometimes even every hour or hour and a half . I think anxiety and blood glucose are very interrelated . Some people get diabetic from stress which tells us how anxiety can cause havoc on glucose levels . I am going to an endecronologist next week and my glucose tolerance test did show blood glucose ups and crashes too from 180 to 60 within an hour . It's also not about how low it gets but also how fast it drops . either this is prediabetes , or insulinoma which is a usually benign tumor on the pancreas that releases too much insulin . A fasting 48 or 72 hour test in hospital would show high insulin levels if you have an insulinoma or else a CT scan with contrast or ultrasound endoscopy . I'm actually hoping it's an insulinoma coz they can take it out and is become normal again . If it is prediabetes then diet is the best thing to deal with it which is eating every two hours and avoiding simple carbs and sugars .. Even fruit is sugar so you can only eat certain low GI fruits like berries .. I know how difficult this condition is and as long as we don't deal with it our anxiety will be over the top . I'm ready to now to get to the bottom of this and deal with it because it's getting worse . Good luck and be sure you are on the right track . Keep looking for a doctor who knows about this .
I know that I suffer from anxiety/panic. So, I am seeing a neurologist/psychiatrist next week to get a firm diagnosis. I just can't seem to pick apart what is anxiety and what is a physical medical condition.
1 Comments
Any update? I am having some very similar symptoms .
I should clarify here. I have been checked out be a doctor. My endocrinologist was a joke- he checked my fasting numbers in the morning (it was (75) but refused to look at my glucose meter which clearly had very low readings on it.
And when I say I don't always get to eat, what I mean is eating every 2 hours. Who has to eat every 2 hours? That is NOT normal. I used to eat breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. Now it is breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, snack, dinner, snack, snack. If i deviate, my sugar crashes, and does so without warning. Doctors can't figure it out, so they shrug there shoulders and send me off to someone else.
What complicates the issue is that I had C. Diff not too long ago. (December) and have had some real medical issues.
I am scheduled to do a 3 hour glucose tolerance test which I can discuss the results with my gastroenterologist.
My GP said, "well maybe your blood sugar can be affected by your anxiety" But I was curious if this has happened to anyone else.
And when I say I don't always get to eat, what I mean is eating every 2 hours. Who has to eat every 2 hours? That is NOT normal. I used to eat breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, snack. Now it is breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, snack, dinner, snack, snack. If i deviate, my sugar crashes, and does so without warning. Doctors can't figure it out, so they shrug there shoulders and send me off to someone else.
What complicates the issue is that I had C. Diff not too long ago. (December) and have had some real medical issues.
I am scheduled to do a 3 hour glucose tolerance test which I can discuss the results with my gastroenterologist.
My GP said, "well maybe your blood sugar can be affected by your anxiety" But I was curious if this has happened to anyone else.
I have a question, have you been diagnosed with diabetes, or hypoglycemia? If not, then why would you be checking your blood sugar? Were you instructed to do so by your doc?
If you've decided to do this on your own, this is another one of those things that will fuel anxiety, just like someone checking their blood pressure or pulse frequently.
For the most part, there is nothing too alarming in what you reported with your glucose readings, with the exception of the dips into the 40's or 50's, which COULD happen if you hadn't eaten for an extended period of time (which you state is an issue for you sometimes). Even 40 or 50 for some people is not a problem, unless they are symptomatic. The 148 is not worrisome, your sugar will go up after eating, that is normal.
Certainly if you are having concerns about your blood sugar, discuss it with your doctor. Also, ask your doctor if you should be checking it at home, and if so, how often, and stick to those instructions (with the exception of when you would feel hypoglycemic symptoms). Anxiety amd panic will not cause changes in your glucose readings.
It's very hard to discern where one condition stops and another one starts in these kinds of situations. It seems like you are still stuck in the phase of trying to find an obvious answer to what is cauing your anxiety, which is normal, but you can drive yourself nuts with this, too, by overanalyzing everything, as us anxious folks do.
Follow your doctor's instructions and REALLY fight the urge to overcheck your sugar, like I said, you're just going to fuel your anxiety doing that. There are lab tests your doctor can do to rule out hypoglycemia as an actual medical condition. It really sounds to me more like your daily habits (like admittedly forgetting to eat) are the culprit here.
Definitely have a talk with your doc about your concerns, and start working towards a more balanced and regular diet, to help eliminate the ups and downs.
If you ARE hypoglycemic, learn appropriate ways to manage it. Some people treat hypoglycemia all wrong, consuming high sugar foods/drinks to get the sugar up, but neglecting to then eating something more substantial (ie a sandwich) to keep it up. If this is truly a condition your doctor has diagnosed you with (or will diagnose you with), I would ask for a referral to a dietician who can help you learn how to properly control your sugar. Let us know how it's going!
If you've decided to do this on your own, this is another one of those things that will fuel anxiety, just like someone checking their blood pressure or pulse frequently.
For the most part, there is nothing too alarming in what you reported with your glucose readings, with the exception of the dips into the 40's or 50's, which COULD happen if you hadn't eaten for an extended period of time (which you state is an issue for you sometimes). Even 40 or 50 for some people is not a problem, unless they are symptomatic. The 148 is not worrisome, your sugar will go up after eating, that is normal.
Certainly if you are having concerns about your blood sugar, discuss it with your doctor. Also, ask your doctor if you should be checking it at home, and if so, how often, and stick to those instructions (with the exception of when you would feel hypoglycemic symptoms). Anxiety amd panic will not cause changes in your glucose readings.
It's very hard to discern where one condition stops and another one starts in these kinds of situations. It seems like you are still stuck in the phase of trying to find an obvious answer to what is cauing your anxiety, which is normal, but you can drive yourself nuts with this, too, by overanalyzing everything, as us anxious folks do.
Follow your doctor's instructions and REALLY fight the urge to overcheck your sugar, like I said, you're just going to fuel your anxiety doing that. There are lab tests your doctor can do to rule out hypoglycemia as an actual medical condition. It really sounds to me more like your daily habits (like admittedly forgetting to eat) are the culprit here.
Definitely have a talk with your doc about your concerns, and start working towards a more balanced and regular diet, to help eliminate the ups and downs.
If you ARE hypoglycemic, learn appropriate ways to manage it. Some people treat hypoglycemia all wrong, consuming high sugar foods/drinks to get the sugar up, but neglecting to then eating something more substantial (ie a sandwich) to keep it up. If this is truly a condition your doctor has diagnosed you with (or will diagnose you with), I would ask for a referral to a dietician who can help you learn how to properly control your sugar. Let us know how it's going!
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My recommendation would be to find a new endo, and like I said before, a dietician. There definitely has to be a better way than having to eat every two hours!
Good luck!