Depression Learning

Helped myself

Question:

I was diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized anxiety years ago -snip- Recently I bought a glucose monitor and began monitoring my blood sugar levels.   What did I find?   My anxiety attacks and all my "depression" symptoms happen ONLY WHEN MY BLOOD SUGAR IS LOW OR UNSTABLE! Makes some sense to me.  I know that my patience drops and my irritability rises as I get hungry.  Sometimes it is those "symptoms" I sense first, before the pangs of hunger… Sincerely Stewart

There is a big interaction or relationship between these for me. Food, prefferably frequently and in small doses is a must for me.  And the more potatoes, noodles, breads, and rice n beans, the better.  (I keep Cheerios on hand at all times, just in case.  I love ‘em!  Dry, by the handfull.)  I love veggies, would eat some of them no matter what.  Fruits are OK, but I have no taste for them.  Simpler sugars I usually avoid, though lately I’ve been treating myself enough to cookies in the evening that I think I need them now.  Except for that PM treat, I actually do not even like sugar laden snacks.  Bad memories from high school – Pepsi was my preferred breakfast, ’till the morn I passed out 5-10 minutes after having one. I find the carbs keep me ’smoother’, stabler.  It takes a while to build up though.  And if I forget to eat enough of them one day, the effect of that may not surface for two or three days. "Now is the time to fly" said Jack Robin to Poo the bear….."Fly ?" asks Poo hesitantly …."But I have no wings"……"Grow them now" says Jack Robin as he pushes him off the tree.

Response:

I was diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized anxiety years ago -snip- Recently I bought a glucose monitor and began monitoring my blood sugar levels.   What did I find?   My anxiety attacks and all my "depression" symptoms happen ONLY WHEN MY BLOOD SUGAR IS LOW OR UNSTABLE!

Makes some sense to me.  I know that my patience drops and my irritability rises as I get hungry.  Sometimes it is those "symptoms" I sense first, before the pangs of hunger… Sincerely Stewart — The Metaphor Man  *and*  The Great Defender of the Self Please e-mail me a copy of your response if you can so I don’t miss it.

Response:

I was diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized anxiety years ago, well before I reached my highest weight.  Several doctors and psychiatrists agreed on the diagnosis, so it wasn’t just 1 doctor guessing.   I’ve taken a number of prescription drugs for it, and was helped noticably, though things still never got perfect.  I’ve been off them now for several years, and things are back to where they would call me clinically depressed and anxious. Recently I bought a glucose monitor and began monitoring my blood sugar levels.   What did I find?   My anxiety attacks and all my "depression" symptoms happen ONLY WHEN MY BLOOD SUGAR IS LOW OR UNSTABLE! Scary as all get-out.   This week I started eating a small low-carb meal/snack every two hours to keep my blood sugar from dropping.   And I fell TONS better. I’m not saying that all depression is caused by low blood sugar, but I was a classic example for years and controlling it seems to help a lot. And a lot of people on the hypoglycemic list I joined a week ago said that exactly the same thing happened to them: diagnosed depressive, anxious, or even bi-polar, but they found they control it by leveling out blood sugar levels! Christy Ann

Response:

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