Anxiety and hypoglycemia

[monkydoda]

Anyone familiar with anxiety attacks being caused by hypoglycemia? I read that when your brain isn't getting enough glucose, it will tell your body to release adrenaline to get it's glucose, thus, spawning an anxiety attack.

[mammo]

Feeling lightheaded, shaky and faint are all symptoms of hypoglycemia, but also anxiety.  The first thing you need to do is get some bloodwork done to determine if you are hypoglycemic and go from there. Hope this helps and best wishes.

[nursegirl6572]

Certainly hypoglycemia can trigger anxiety and panic, but rarely would it be the sole cause behind it.

It is common for someone new to anxiety to do serious soul searching to try and find a logical "reason" behind the new emergence of anxiety and panic.  We turn into detectives and try to find a sensible reason why it showed up (most times seemingly "out of the blue").  While some people DO find a straightforward reason for the anxiety (either a concurrent medical issue, like thyroid problems, or a recent trauma)...MOST of us never really nail down that answer as to "why".  At some point, finding the reason for our anxiety needs to become less important than addressing it.  An initial visit to the doc to rule out any obvious medical reasons is the best starting place, plus your doctor can help you get the ball rolling for treating the anxiety as well.

Hypoglycemia is a condition that needs diagnosed by your doctor and treated by proper eating habits and monitoring of blood glucose.  If you think you are having issues with hypoglycemia, a visit to the doctor is in order!

[Persephone3576]

I'm interested in hearing about this as well. I've noticed that my anxiety is worse when my blood sugar is low, and when I know I need to eat.