Anxiety Disorders And Your Blood Sugar

Your Anxiety Disorder Can Cause Diabetes

About a year ago I found out my blood sugar is a bit high and by monitoring it a little, I discovered it fluctuates a lot. I've been concerned about this, obviously. And I wondered why this problem has come up, leading me to research, research and research some more.

I've learned that there are many possible reasons for elevated blood glucose levels and learn about more every day. First, of course, is our diet. I've recently been made aware that even if you think you're eating healthy foods, if you live in the US, you're probably NOT eating healthy.

But I'm not going to go on about diet measures. What I want to address here is the possible relationship between stress, anxiety or panic disorders and your blood sugar levels. Yes, stress can and does cause raised levels, even in people who have no other glucose issues or anxiety disorders. In the case of these people, it returns to normal when the stress passes, but not so for the person with generalized anxiety (or chronic anxiety) problems.

What Causes This?

As you probably know by now if you suffer from any form of anxiety disorder, what's happening in your body when you feel anxious or panicky is a misguided fight or flight response. Your body becomes prepared to fight or flee, meaning adrenaline is released, blood flow is re-directed and your body calls up all kinds of reserves to make you stronger, faster and more alert.

One of the "reserves" your body calls to action is a release of more sugar into your blood stream to give more quick energy to your cells, particularly your muscles. In a normal person experiencing the fight or flight response, this subsides as the cause goes away. But in the anxiety sufferer the response can go on for hours, days or indefinitely, leading to a multitude of possible medical ramifications. Not good. Did you know that diabetes is a major cause of heart disease, too?

A less than ideal diet, chemicals in our foods and now, genetically engineered or modified foods all contribute to a condition called insulin resistance. What this means is your cells are resistant to the insulin that's supposed to carry the sugars into your cells, where they can use it for energy. Add this to an abnormally high blood glucose level caused by the fight or flight response we anxiety sufferers experience, and you've got a highly elevated blood sugar level on a fairly constant basis. Diabetes.

What Can You Do About This?

If you haven't talked to your doctor about blood glucose, you should. Have a test for the glucose AND your insulin levels - you'll probably have to request the latter because most conventional doctors ignore it. If you find out your levels are high - even a little - start being more conscious of your diet, as your doctor will undoubtedly instruct you.

Second, start taking the right supplements to help control your glucose and insulin levels. I'm now taking a cocktail of biotin, chromium, cinnamon, ivy gourd extract and agaricus blazei mushroom extract that seems to be helping to control my levels, even as I'm under a ton of stress as of this writing. (In the list of high stressors, ending a relationship and relocating are at the top and I'm going through both at the moment.)

Another very important supplement you should probably take is a good anti-oxidant. A major cause of insulin resistance is inflammation and the anti-oxidant can help with that. CoQ10, Resveritrol or Astaxanthin are good. I like the Astaxanthin because it also contains a good dose of Omega-3. A good Astaxanthin can be ordered here: Mercola - Astaxanthin with ALA 
That's a link to the product on Amazon, so while you're there, you might as well look around for the other supplements, too.

Third, and not to be over-shadowed, is do something about your anxiety issues! Before you risk becoming a diabetic for life.

If you're the type of person who prefers reading an ebook, check out this program, The Anxiety Lie by Rich Presta, who also created The Anxiety Free Child and several other programs for anxiety and panic disorders.

On the other hand, if you'd rather learn by video, look at Easy Calm by Jon Mercer. In his series, he recounts his own experiences with anxiety, panic and phobias and what he did to cure himself.

To Your Health,

Owen

Old Vitamin, New Discovery (For Me, Anyway)

Recently, I've become interested in health a lot more and the more I learn about what's good and what's bad to put in our bodies, the more I want to know. Because the more I learn, the more I realize I need to know.

A great source of health information I've found is Dr. Joseph Mercola's web site and his newsletter, which I highly recommend even if you're not into a super-healthy lifestyle. He puts a lot of work into exposing the health risks of the foods we eat these days and the drugs mainstream doctors put us on. As well as recommending supplements for optimal health. And one of those is what I want to tell you about.

About six months ago I decided I should have a full physical and made the necessary appointments, the first being with the lab at my doctor's clinic. They ran a full range of blood tests so the doctor would know as much as possible about my overall condition before seeing me, and truth be told, that's pretty much all he used. Very expedient, and one of the things I find unsatisfying about medical care in this country today - but that's a post for a different day.

So, back to the blood work. One of the things my doctor learned from it was that I was low on Vitamin D and he recommended I start taking a corrective dose of 2000 units a day, about twice what the usual supplementation dose would be.  No problem. I bought a big bottle of 2000 unit gelcaps and started taking them.

Is It Enough?

A few months later, after I had started following Dr. Mercola's blog, I read that the Vitamin D level considered adequate by the mainstream medical community is really only enough to prevent rickets! That we should actually double that at least. So I upped my dose to 4000 units and have been taking that daily ever since.

Now, where this ties into the subject of this blog, Anxiety Disorder, is I started to notice that my generalized anxiety symptoms got better. I still have a problem with stress and get stressed out often, but now I don't seem to feel the physical sensations like I did before. No tightness in my chest, no feeling like my heart's racing. All from taking two of those tiny gelcaps a day!

So this got me thinking about the area where I live and how many other people are diagnosed as being low on this simple vitamin. And how that relates to Seattle's dubious distinctions of being cloudy and gray so much of the time AND its standing as the US city with the highest suicide rate and the highest percentage of people taking anti-depressants. And get this: I read about studies that have shown that a VERY high percentage of people who are clinically depressed and taking meds for it are found to be low (many critically low) on Vitamin D.

Sunshine Makes For Happier People

I was also reminded by Dr. Mercola that the sun's rays are the very best source of Vitamin D (actually that our bodies use those UV rays to synthesize it) and the fact is, most Americans today don't get enough sunshine. Well, where I live, we don't have much opportunity even if we do get away from our desks and computers and get outside.

Without soaking up the sun in sufficient amounts to supply us with enough of this forgotten vitamin, we need to supplement our diet. And, according to Dr. Mercola, an adult should probably take 4000 to 5000 IU per day. If you have anxiety and stress issues, you might want to start with 2000 units and see what happens. That much can't hurt you and you might start to notice the same changes I did. If not, double it. But you might want to have your blood checked first to see where you stand; your doctor might in fact put you on a much higher dose temporarily.

Another thing I should mention is that Vitamin D is well-known as a mood enhancer. When your mood is better, you have a more positive attitude and we also know that will lessen your anxious feelings, don't we?

Owen

Medications You Can Safely Take for Your Anxiety Disorders

I have recently discovered two medications you can safely take to give you some relief from anxiety symptoms and to calm down your anxious reactions. When I say "safely" what I mean is, they're not benzos, they're not addictive and you don't have to worry about serious withdrawals if and when you stop taking them. They also won't take over your mind or your moods or make you numb to the world. Does that sound like something you'd like to know about? I thought so.

Let me give you a little background before I tell you about these meds. I work in a residential drug and alcohol treatment center and part of my job is supervising the patients when they take both over-the-counter meds and prescriptions. So I see what they're taking and often we get into conversations about their prescription medications, what they're for and how well they're working.

I realize the average person wouldn't be aware of how many people in treatment centers experience anxiety symptoms, but suffice it to say, it's a healthy percentage. They come in three varieties:

1. People who (like me) were abusing drugs or alcohol to self-medicate anxiety and/or panic disorders and became seriously addicted to one or the other, or both.
2. People who develop anxiety symptoms (or symptoms that are nearly identical) as part of their withdrawal process.
3. People who are addicted to anti-anxiety medicines prescribed to them by a doctor or doctors for anxiety and panic disorders.

Consequently, I'm exposed to a lot of people with anxiety disorder or symptoms and many of them are taking medications for them. Keep in mind, we don't allow patients to continue taking any addictive drugs, like benzos - even Xanax - so they, with the help of our nursing staff, have to find alternatives. And those are what I want to talk about here.

Vistaril or Atarax- Generic Name: hydroxyzine hydrochloride

Vistaril is actually an antihistamine that's particularly effective at calming the nervous system. It's even sometimes used before and after general anesthesia to keep a surgery patient calm. Side effects are similar to other antihistamines such as benadryl: dry mouth and possible drowsiness. You'd want to find out how you react to it before driving a car, etc.

Vistaril is the most common anxiety control prescription taken where I work and most of the patients I've talked to who take it are satisfied with the results. Some have found it does make them drowsy (just like benadryl) and simply take it at night before going to bed.

Neurontin - Generic Name: gabapentin

Neurontin was first used as an anticonvulsant for controlling epileptic seizures. It's also commonly used to treat neuropathic pain such as damaged nerves, phantom limb syndrome and restless leg syndrome. I've seen a lot of diabetics taking it for neuropathy that's common with their condition.

Using gabapentin for anxiety or panic disorder is actually "off-label" which means it hasn't actually been approved by the FDA for that purpose. But more and more doctors are prescribing it and patients are reporting good results. I've personally only talked to one patient whose psychiatrist prescribed Neurontin for his anxiety so was surprised to hear about it and then to learn how common this use is.

Side effects of gabapentin are generally mild and it's rare that a patient will find them disruptive to their life, enough to discontinue using it. Quitting gabapentin suddenly could cause some mild withdrawals, however. You'd want to taper off it according to your doctor's directions.

These two prescription medications are probably the most common in the med cabinets at the treatment center. Although most who are taking gabapentin aren't taking it for anxiety.

A Third Safe Anxiety Medication: Beta Blockers

When I first developed sudden and severe anxiety symptoms, including hand tremors, my doctor prescribed Metoprolol, a beta blocker usually prescribed for lowering blood pressure. Beta blockers work by blocking the release of adrenaline, the nasty stuff that causes anxiety symptoms. It worked for me, for a while, and I was able to continue my work as a hairstylist. It also brought my normally healthy blood pressure back down to where it had always been.

Notice I said, "for a while". I'm not quite sure why the Metoprolol didn't continue to keep my symptoms calmed down, but remember, I was going through severe anxiety at the time; it may be that it just wasn't enough once my body got used to it. And to be honest, that was so many years ago I don't remember all the details. But I suspect a person with generalized anxiety might just find that a beta blocker will keep their symptoms under some semblance of control.

I've also read that a beta blocker is often prescribed for a person with social anxiety - especially fear of public speaking or performing onstage - to be taken before an anxiety-causing event.

Are These Meds the Answer?

As is true with any medication taken for anxiety or panic disorders, they will only treat the symptoms, they will never cure your disorder. And there is absolutely no reason why you should have to continue to suffer from anxiety disorder or take medications or powerful, mind-numbing, energy-sapping psychotropic drugs the rest of your life. Not when the meds discussed in this post can prudently be used to help keep the symptoms under control, while freeing you to work on a real cure.

Yes, I said CURE. There is a way out, and it's right there in your brain, the same place where the problem is. You just need to re-train it! And a great way to do that is with the Easy Calm Video Coaching Series - check it out!

To Your Recovery,
Owen