I've had problems with anxiety (GAD) since I was 15 on and off, but nothing major that affected my general life too badly. I'm now 19 and a student. After I suffered from a burn on my arm about a month and a half ago in a cooking accident (my own fault!) my anxiety has been worse than ever. Every morning when I wake up I feel hangover-like symptoms (general achesand pains, extreme lightheadedness, head-tension) which normally relieves after about an hour. Indoors I cope almost completely and I don't feel many symptomss, however now when I go outside to do anything from walking to the shop to going to work I have constant lightheadedness, and my chest/throat feel incredibly tight to the point where it feels like I cannot breathe. I am planning on going to the doctors sometime soon, however I fear that there will be nothing they can do to help as I want to avoid medication and would much rather pull through myself wih some positive thinking and relaxation techniques! With my previous experiences of GAD abit of positive thinking and distraction when I'm feeling lightheaded used to do the trick however this time it does not work at all.
In terms of my general health I am also suffering from eczma on my arms (which I suspect may be playing a part) and mild hayfever. I am a smoker (I know smoking can make anxiety worse, however I am planning to cut down and eventually quit, but I would rather pull through this spell of anxiety first). I do not exercise as much as I should, however I am going to begin light jogging and home workouts. I eat regular, healthy meals, good balance of food groups lots of fruit and veg etc. My caffeine intake is low -I do not drink coffee,I only drink 1-2 cups of tea per day, I rarely if ever eat chocolate and I don't drink many fizzy drinks. I am around 5ft6-5ft7, skinny. My sleeping pattern is in shambles at the minute, normally not going to sleep until 4am and waking up at 2 in the afternoon.
I am planning on beginning an anxiety diary tomorrow and begin daily meditation + exercise, does anyone have any more advice on what to do and if they share these symptoms too? It would be incredibly helpful if someone could reply!
Very sorry for whoever reads this long-winded post, but I'm fearing that my close friends start seeing me as boring as I've spent most of the past month behind a computer screen! I have a girlfriend who has been incredibly supportive but I'm tired of being a bore! Any advice, tips, or just acknowledgement that others have felt the same symptoms would be a great relief, cheers!
Hi J,
I hope you're feeling much better tonight. It looks like you're doing what you can to help yourself. Sometimes injuries can make issues so much worse.
I'm wondering if you've ever researched whether you might have histamine intolerance. The reason I ask is because some of your symptoms--eczema, hangover symptoms, hay fever, feeling worse going outside with pollen, lightheaded, throat/chest tight, your sleeping pattern and anxiety could be this. I have just been diagnosed with this myself. My question for you is do you feel more symptoms after you eat? Do you feel better if you don't eat? Please Google histamine intolerance and see if you might be eating high-histamine foods. You might want to cut them out for awhile and see if that decreases some of your symptoms. Just an idea to check out. Best wishes to you.
I've just googled it there and those symptoms seem pretty spot on to what I've had! When I drink my actual hangovers are horrendous, especially compared to how they were a year ago as they seem to have got far, but the worst symptom is even worse lightheadedness - would this be another sign of histomine intolerance? Either way I will definitely be booking a doctors appointment tomorrow and I will bring up the posibility of histomine intollerance.
Thank you so much for the advice!
Good luck, J.
Most histamine issues are related to digestion and gut issues. Don't be surprised if regular doctors don't think this is a "real" illness. Sometimes it takes an Integrative or holistic doctor. I think I've had this all my life and have just been diagnosed with it. I often feel like I have a hangover, even if I haven't been drinking. I'm not sure what you're drinking, but wine is the worst--it has a lot of histamines; champagne has even more (wine also has sulfites, so you might be reacting to those). There are some types of alcohol that are better, but I can't remember what they are. Most people with this issue decide not to drink--or at least not as much. By the way, alcohol (and sugar) also feeds fungal issues, like candida, which is also a digestive issue, so ask your doc about this, too. I'm also being tested for these. Stress makes everything worse as it also affects the digestion. Since I've decreased my histamine load by going on a low-histamine diet (you may not need this; perhaps just avoiding high histamine foods will do the trick for you), my anxiety has been so much better. I used to get terrible panic attacks. And, yes, lightheadedness can be another symptom. All the best to you. Even if you find out that you don't have this, it gives you some information that these sorts of things are often related to something going on inside your body and are not all in your head.