um, I don't know where to start. I have a fear of the feeling of being hungry. I go into a complete
meltdown if I even for a second start to get hungry. The feeling of hyperglycemia setting in, reminds
me of the feeling I get before a panic attack, and because I can't distinguish between the two, the episodes
if left too long, can end up with me shutting down and not being able to get out of bed sometimes for a few days.

Isn't this just so pathetic ! I know what it all is, but it gets me off guard and I fall into the whole vicious cycle.

So I make sure I am always FULL. I avoid EVER feeling hungry... consequently I am bloated and driving myself
crazy.

I am on Anti-Depressants, and have not been able to get help from anyone about this...

((((BIG HUGS))))....i experienced this same thing about 4 years ago....and i always,always carried skittles with me at all times(even had myself convinced that the skittles made me feel better if i ate them)...all it did was make me gain weight actually.I slowly let myself get hunger pains and just kept telling myself it was hunger and not panic....it took quite awhile to get over,but i eventually did.

I suffer from the same exact thing. Wherever I go, be it shopping, hairdresser you name it, I always have snacks with me like pretzels or an apple or bananna and i always have water with me. Like you said the feelings resemble panic attack and I hate that. My husband laughs at me and calls me the bag lady cause wherever we go my "bag" of goodies comes along.

Hi Harmony, I have had your exact fear with food, or lack of it. I have had hypoglycemia since I was 17 years old. I am almost 49. I developed it because I had a nasty eating disorder in my late teen until about 20 years old and a family history of Diabetes. I carried snacks with me for years after being diagnosed (no information about eating disorders in the late 70's) and even seemed to recover to where I didnt need to eat all the time in between meals. In my mid 40's I had to start taking Anti depressants. Prozac. I noticed that I had no tolerance for missing meals and snacks. I read somewhere that the anti depressants can do this. I am now very diligent with my snacks and meals. No skipping, or I too will have really ugly symptoms which mirror panic attacks. Eat balanced meals and healthy snacks and let yourself cheat every now and then. Your not alone, this is pretty common. Especially when taking anti depressants. Thats why people complain about gaining weight while on them............Take care, Debra

I had that issue also while having my panic and anxiety for 3 1/2 years. I am now on Lexapro since last Feb. and it is no longer an issue. Talk to your doctor about switching your AD. Zoloft & Lexapro have been found to be the two that are the most well tolerated and the best results for most people.
{{Hugs}}

I have developed issues with food also. It is weird because I am 36 years old and have never had that before. I think mine stemmed from the adrenaline from the anxiety. It would make me sick to eat but if I didn't eat I would get the hypoglycemia feelings. So I have a few things that didn't make me nauseus and would make sure I always had them around.

If I were you I would be seriously addressing the anxiety issue. I myself have an anxiety disorder, OCD, PTSD (believe it or not I am STILL a very functional person....so far and all without meds, simply because my body doesn't tolerate them at ALL) SO, I have learned various breathing techniques when I feel a panic coming on that helps me to let it pass. The most VALUABLE thing I have learned and finally accepted is this: A PANIC ATTACK CANNOT AND WILL NOT KILL YOU! It may make you THINK you are going to die. It may make you FEEL like you are going to die and sometimes they really do make you WISH you were dead BUT they will not kill you. Talk to your doc or counselor about breathing exercises. I have learned to STOP WHATEVER I am doing and simply sit and wait. Sit and wait. Sit and wait. Control the breathing and FORGET everything around you.

i have a question.....i don't get the panic anymore from feeling hunger but i really can't tolerate it....i feel sick,i sweat and start feeling dizzy and if i do go too long without eating,i start vomiting.....anyone else ever have this?

Moon, your bloodsugar is dropping too low! I am diabetic. YOU might be hypOglycemic and simply "crashing" I do that too! It's very scary and you need to be careful because you CAN pass out from this so when it hits SIT DOWN so you don't hurt yourself!

Thanks ladybugs....i have almost passed out at work before...i started shaking,started feeling weak in the knees...so i grabbed something and ate it and a few minutes later i felt fine.Is it something i should tell my doctor about?
I am not diabetic,last time i was checked,i was "pre-diabetic"...not even sure what that means though.

ok....i just googled pre-diabetes....something i should have read up on before...

YEs!!! ask your doc to do and A1C test. It is a fasting blooddraw that will tell youdoc your overall bloodsugar for the last three months!

Oh I can relate to this. I have been having the same thing (which all started very recently) I have always been a very bad girl and frequently skip breakfast. I just cannot do this any longer (unfortunately I don't always remember to eat)

Just yesterday I got involved doing things and left the house to go grocery shopping without eating breakfast. In the middle of my shopping I started to get those horrible feelings. So I left my shopping cart setting in the middle of the store and quickly ran up to the front where they keep cold soft drinks. Thank God for nice sugary Dr. Pepper!

So I am getting this way, wondering have I eaten enough and the right stuff so I won't get that horrid feeling?

And no, I am not diabetic (my parents both are, so I test often - but nothing so far) But I wonder if these hypoglycemic episodes are a warning that I can expect it eventually? (anyone know?) Unfortunately, so far, I haven't had one where I am somewhere that I can test my blood sugar right away (and there is no way in HE double hockey sticks) that I am going to wait with that feeling until I can.

WHERE I AM GOING HERE - is that yes, I can fully understand why panic would set in if you are hungry and being afraid of getting those awful feelings.

I also have a major problem with feeling "faint" if I don't eat often enough. My situation is compounded with the fact that I have a medical problem, a rare esophgus motility disorder, which simply means that I can't "swallow" quickly, it takes a long time to eat things and lots of water to push it down.

I have had this problem for 20yrs now and have learned to ALWAYS eat little meals constantly. I get up 30 min early so that I can have a good breakfast with additional protein. I always have a yogert on hand at work and protein snacks throughout the day. If I don't have food on hand, I will become weak, dizzy and breakout in a cold sweat. My blood suger seems to crash.

The hardest part is to watch others eat a meal quickly (at work) and they can eat full satisfying amounts, I on the other hand have to struggle to eat a few bites and can barely finish a small amount in the same time frame, it's so frustrating. I have learned to deal with this, so little meals and eating often is what I do.

Juliann

Chromium helps this apparently... I raised a post about this many moons ago

Found it...
Research shows that getting enough of the trace mineral chromium in our diets may help to balance blood-sugar levels by maximising the action of the hormone insulin. Chromium appears also to lower cholesterol levels and help those with low-blood sugar levels who suffer from dizziness, anxiety and sweating as well as the need for a quick sugar fix. Some women obtained relief by taking 200 micrograms of chromium daily. (from Health magazine)

Found also in Brewers yeast, mixed nuts, wholegrain cereal etc.

Thanks so much Alice for that info, I think I will give it a try, I will have to find this supplement!

Hugs to you, Juliann

Morning all.......just wanted to let you know that I started taking Chromium about 6wks ago and I feel that it has made a big difference in how I feel......I dont have the low sugar symptoms anymore......and most of the time feel good.........Valerie

I cannot be hungry at all. I get shaky, lightheaded and downright nasty. I am so afraid of it as well, so I keep kashi granola bars with me at all times. the thing that stinks about it is this, I got a call saying that since they have peanut butter in them I should return them to the local grocery store for a full refund. My favorite go to snack, recalled. How annoying. I guess it's better than salmonella.

I cannot be hungry at all. I get shaky, lightheaded and downright nasty. I am so afraid of it as well, so I keep kashi granola bars with me at all times. the thing that stinks about it is this, I got a call saying that since they have peanut butter in them I should return them to the local grocery store for a full refund. My favorite go to snack, recalled. How annoying. I guess it's better than salmonella.

I have noticed the same feelings! Not being scared of being hungry so much, but rather feelings of being overly hungry and the beginning of a panic attack being very similar. For a while, before I started ADs, I couldn't distinguish any of my normal body feelings. Whether it was hunger pangs, heartburn or "intestinal gas", it seemed like something foreign and scary was happening to me. That lessened with the ADs, which leads me to a question -- do you need to maybe up your dosage or change ADs? It seems to me that if you were on the correct dosage this wouldn't be happening to you. You might want to discuss these feelings with your doctor.

Thanks for that, you may be right, as I would have expected these sorts of irrational fears would have been lessened on A.D.'s

Will look into the dose issue.

Thanks