I'M Having Panic Attacks Right After I Eat

[lieze]

I'm pretty sure about this.

I found it on the internet that panic attacks can be triggered in some people after eating due to the mind body connection.

There were people talking about it that were getting red faced itchy soles of feet and tachycardia but it was occurring after random foods.

Not any one thing in particular.

I just had one after eating a small amount of pork and potatoes.

It was scary once again I was thinking 911, ER.

I really told myself I thought it would all go away in 30 minutes and thank goodness it did.

I had this intensity in my head that made me think I would have a stroke or something and a headache.

As the waves went through and peaked only maybe one adrenaline surge that I noticed I just wanted to scream right out loud and I probably had that feeling about 6 times.

Anybody else have trouble with this.

I have been scared to death to eat-how horrible.

I have not tried my lexapro and don't even take the xanax any more due to extreme fear.

That last 2 times I took the xanax I thought I was a goner with wild feelings that followed.

[lieze]

So I guess I'm feeling a little relieved regarding my recognition of what is going on.

I am feeling better overall I think.

I had two I think situations yesterday that induced a panic like reaction.

One was when I drove into town. The driving was okay but as soon as I got to the crowded streets my heart started to race etc. And as I stood in line same thing. Horrible anxiety.

Then it was after I ate a late supper.

I think it is physiological?

I think things are being triggered in an abnormal way.

Perhaps my sympathetic nervous system is in overdrive all the time and it just doesn't take very much at all to set it off.

It's not comfortable at all but I don't want it to rob me of a somewhat normal life and I have to eat and find a way to get food into my system.

I'm really tempted to try the Lexapro starting with tiny amounts and even just stay at a low dose if I can get results with it. It's hard to take that first morsel though.

[brownsea]

juat before i was diagnosed with pots last april, i was experiencing what seemed like panic each time i ate. luckily with the meds, and a few coping techniques im mostly ok now.

i eat my meals in bed, most of them, i know this sounds yucky, i would of thought this before hand, but with my legs on a level and my shoulders relaxed propped up with pillows behind me i find this helps. if i sit upright at the dining table my hearts starts to beat oddly and i just feel awful, even now.

also a cool room helps, no way can i be in a hot room. you probably know all this but i thought i would add what works for me.

i know this feeling well and its just awful, i lost a lot of weight just before being diagnosed which i dont think helped.

good luck.x

[lieze]

Thanks for your reply Emma and for letting me know what works best for you.

Yeah I can't hardly eat at a table at all.

[carinara]

It took me years before i found out why i got panick attacks right after i ate something.

Its because of the carbs. Carbs dilate blood vessels and everytime i eat something that dilate

my blood vessels i react very very badly. Even if i eat a tiny potato i feel really sick.

Thats why i mainly eat proteins now and with them it never happens.

BTW garlick and onions are a big no go for me as well.

[lieze]

I guess we gotta find out what we can eat and what we can't.???

Sometimes I'm okay with potatoes-so I don't know why that little bit really set me off last night.

I know peas are a no no for me.

The last two times I ate those I felt horrible.

I seem to do okay with a nice salad.

But I doubt there is anything in it that raises my bp very quickly like carbs would?

[futurehope]

Lieze,

How awful to have to endure these "attacks". There are so many different things that some to my mind when I read about your issues. Sometimes I get a milder version of what you experience. I'll get tachycardia, racing heart, if I have been too hungry, then I eat something with too much sugar. I'm used to this and it does not happen all the time.

As for your meal, do not forget that the pork and potatoes might have had some seasoning, preservatives, or other condiments that you are not thinking about.

For example, I react poorly to garlic. It lowers my blood pressure, I think.

Also, do not discount any beverages with "unnecessary" ingredients in them, or chocolate milk with its caffeine.

There are so many reasons you may be reacting, and the only way to "know" if it was the pork and not something else, is to try it again. I would suggest no seasonings, or preservatives.

Also, think about the situation. How were you before you began eating? Had you taken any pills, medications, for anything? Had you been overly hungry before you ate? Did you take any supplements, or vitamins?

You will have to take the time and energy to be your own detective. Maybe you are sensitive and reacting to a particular food, preservative, or spice? Maybe not. If you do not feel motivated in this, then you will have to learn to endure these uncomfortable reactions. It's no fun, for sure.

[lieze]

I made it at home and it was just plain pork boiled, it stays rather tender that way and then just plain potatoes cut up and stirred in with the pork.

The only odd thing is I was sick two days ago with a stomach virus.

And it was the first real solid food I have eaten.

And I feel desperate to get some real food back into my system.

It seems sometimes I react, sometimes I don't. I have eaten that same thing before and not had a problem so as you suggest my reaction can be related to other factors too.

It is a pain.

We need food to live but when we eat to feel so miserable. uh!

[friday7]

I guess we gotta find out what we can eat and what we can't.???

Sometimes I'm okay with potatoes-so I don't know why that little bit really set me off last night.

I know peas are a no no for me.

The last two times I ate those I felt horrible.

I seem to do okay with a nice salad.

But I doubt there is anything in it that raises my bp very quickly like carbs would?

I haven't experienced what you have exactly but I have heard that some people have their POTS symptoms exacerbated after eating. I have felt a few times like I was weak or felt a bit like fainting right after eating.I found this weird cause usually people feel better after eating. Last time I had a subway sandwich an I felt faint right afterward..Maybe it wasn' t the particular food but the stuff used in making it. When you're out or use packaged food you don't know exactly what's in it. I guess the best thing is to eat whole foods as much as possible.

[lissy]

Hi,

I have been getting panic attacks or what appears to be for many years, there aren't no specific foods for me. From what I understood it has to be with the blood pooling in the abdomen and it causes lower B/P to the brain to drop which would increase adrenalin rushes which lead to panic attacks. It helps to eat smaller amounts and I also lay down (not completely) just sit with my legs up and it helps so much. When it started years ago I was having some hypoglycemic episodes which stopped so maybe have that checked.

Lissy good luck!

[lieze]

Thanks-that's really interesting lissy.

You know i went to a therapist a year ago.

I'd love to go back if our $ situation starts looking better but I'm feeling a bit tight right now.

I feel like therapy is a luxury.

But at that time she asked me if food or eating brought on my anxiety and at the time it didn't seem to be a problem.

It seemed limited to specific foods not a general problem.

Here lately it's like any food at all in my stomach has the potential to trigger me.

So I am eating little bits of food through out the day so I just don't get empty and starving that seems to be one of the components is I get desperate for food and try to eat something like a meal just a small portion and boom it sets me off and I could just scream right out loud.

And that very first episode I had was right after a meal and my stomach just felt too full.

Also the mid morning crashes almost felt blood sugar/energy related like I was just wiped out.

So I'm trying. I'm trying to eat a variety of different foods every day so hopefully I get a mix of different vitamins and minerals to nourish my body.