[quote]Kyemack45687 wrote:
Hey man, I’ve suffered from panic/anxiety disorder since I was 11. Been on meds since then, but I just want to throw support your way.
I would suggest just getting back in the gym and easing back into your routine. The thing with this disorder is that you either fight it or you run from it…the meds should help take the edge off, and you’ll learn to work yourself through it a lot better with time. Don’t let it keep you from doing what you love.
Best of luck!
[/quote]
Great advice! Which Dan’s been following for about a year already, if not more. lol.
Just make a mental note of what it was that you ate just before you started feeling queasy.
Maybe something was just off?
Just keep foods simple and bland in the meantime.
How are you feeling anxiety wise?
My appetite was usually the first thing to go. Couldn’t even THINK about food.[/quote]
I’m thinking it was either the milk or bread I had that morning for breakfast, as I felt fine before eating but then started to feel bad right after the meal. Still bothers me a bit, but it’s getting better. Could also be related to an inner ear problem that I’m getting checked out next week.
Oh yeah, I lost my appetite big time when I was struggling with my anxiety. I lost 20 pounds in just over a month b/c I was never hungry or always felt sick. I’ve gained most of that weight back now, though.
Anxiety-wise I’ve been doing well lately. Just trying to relax as much as I can when I’m out of work.
Hey everyone,
Just got back from the gym and had an OK workout. I honestly lacked a bit of intensity today, I think it was from all the work I did over the weekend with the state football playoffs. Columbine, the team I cover for one of my papers, won, so that was fun but it was also a lot of work getting all my stories together and then designing all the pages. Not to toot my own horn but my coverage blew away what the 2 big dailies did in comparison.
As for today’s workout, here’s the stats:
Sets: 5
Reps: 4
1A. Bench Press: 205
1B. Close-grip Lat Pulldown: 165
2. Squat: 135x15x3 (changed up stance on each one and went ATG)
3. Leg Curls: 100
4. Reverse Wrist Curls: 60
Ran 1 mile around the indoor track
Tomorrow I go in for some tests to check on my dizziness and ear ringing issues I’ve been having. I’m hopeful all will check out well.
Probably will take tomorrow off and then go back to the gym on Thursday.
Hey everyone,
Had my inner ear tests done today and for the most part, everything checked out fine. No imbalance or infection and no leisions or tumors. Only thing that was high was that I have some excess fluid in my left eardrum. It’s just above normal levels, so it’s not a major cause for concern, but could be the cause of my dizziness. I go back in 2 weeks to meet with the ENT to go over the tests in more detail and figure out what to do about the fluid.
So, overall I’m happy with the diagnosis. No major problems, which is always a big relief. And, to have a possible answer as to my dizzy spells (which aren’t often), is good.
Hey everyone,
Well, took Friday off b/c I didn’t plan my schedule out correctly. No big deal, though. Today went to Muay Thai and it was a 90-minute class. We worked punches, knees and kicks. We partnered up and each person went 8 rounds straight before changing off. Definitely a good workout.
Stomach feeling a bit better. Been trying to eat slower and not so much dairy. Seems to be helping.
Hey everyone,
Just got back from the gym and had a good workout. Went back to the Hammer Down program b/c A. I really like the way it’s designed and B. I needed to re-tool my schedule b/c of work and BJJ and Muay Thai training.
So, my schedule should look something like this
Sun: HD Strength
Mon: HD Endurance
Tues: BJJ/Off
Wed: HD Endurance
Thurs: Off/BJJ
Fri: HD Strength
Sat: Muay Thai
Stomach was bothering me some today…I’m starting to think it could be related to my medication (Xanax XR) for anxiety, as it seems that on the days I don’t take it (like today), my stomach is more queasy than on days I do take it.
Anyone that has had anxiety issues long-term have a similar problem with stomach issues and meds?
Stomach symptoms (gas, acid reflux, other discomfort) is a hallmark of my anxiety/depression. This week and weekend in particular I noticed that if I didn’t take my anti-anxiety med, my stomach was much worse. For me the stomach thing is a key symptom of anxiety, along with aches/pains and feeling tired.
The worst part is that sometimes the stomach issues seem to cause chest pain…just gas pressure and muscle tension…I’ve had the full cardiac work-up…but still unsettling.
[quote]muscleintraining wrote:
Stomach symptoms (gas, acid reflex, other discomfort) is a hallmark of my anxiety/depression. This week and weekend in particular I noticed that if I didn’t take my anti-anxiety med, my stomach was much worse. For me the stomach thing is a key symptom of anxiety, along with aches and pains. The worst part is that sometimes the stomach issues seem to cause chest pain…just gas pressure and muscle tension…I’ve had the full cardiac work-up.[/quote]
Sounds like me…I’ve had full blood work, physical and cardiac tests and everything was normal.
Thanks for the input. Your symptoms sound similar to mine in terms of anxiety/stress. My stomach knots up immediately. Perhaps subconsciously I’m stressing about stuff and that’s affecting my digestive tract.
I couldn’t eat from feeling so sick, and eating just made it worse.
I wasn’t on, and never took, any meds though. I couldn’t.
I think coz my first attack happened just after I ate, I was paranoid and scared about anything I ate in case it bought on another attack.
I refused meds, as just the thought of doing taking any kind of drug could set off an attack. I was petrified of taking them. How f*cking ironic is that. Anti-anxiety meds bringing on an anxiety attack.
Just try not to think/concentrate/obsess about it too much. In the end, the worst think that could happen is that you’ll throw up - and I don’t think that has happened to you yet, so don’t worry too much about it.
If you’re not eating well, you won’t be able to keep your strength up physically and mentally.
Hey everyone,
Well, definitely starting to think my medication is contributing to my stomach issues. As I mentioned, yesterday was a day where my stomach felt upset all day. Today I took my Xanax and sure enough, I feel a lot better. So, I need to work on ways to relieve the stress and anxiety on days I don’t take a pill. I think I focus too much on the fact that I haven’t taken one and I tense up (without knowing) and that leads to the stomach issues.
Went to the gym today and got in a Hammer Down: Endurace workout with some slight modifications. I don’t do all of the medicine ball exercises b/c of space in the gym, but I substituted some other ones and also threw in a Push Press/Good Morning superset of 3x5 at the end. Ran 1 mile afterwards and was wiped.
This thread is the reason I registered on T-Nation.
I suffer from social anxiety. I’ve had some panic attacks in social situations and ever since I am scared to talk with people and socialize. I’ve always had low self esteem but after that, there was absolutely none left at all. I’ve spent a great deal of time being alone and isolated. I used to have extreme difficulty even getting out of the house.
Deep down in me, I wanted to get over this. I wanted to find out what was happening to me, and how I could get out of this. I have made great progress, still a long way to go from being “normal”, but great progress nonetheless. And I am still moving forward.
Thank you all for sharing your stories in this thread.
One thing I would like to recommend to you is to try out the EFT (emotional freedom technique). It’s been one of my tools for some time now. There is free information on the internet to get you started so you really don’t have anything to lose. It hasn’t been a miracle cure for me (as it has been to others) but it may work well for some of you (I wish it does).
[quote]EvanGR wrote:
This thread is the reason I registered on T-Nation.
I suffer from social anxiety. I’ve had some panic attacks in social situations and ever since I am scared to talk with people and socialize. I’ve always had low self esteem but after that, there was absolutely none left at all. I’ve spent a great deal of time being alone and isolated. I used to have extreme difficulty even getting out of the house.
Deep down in me, I wanted to get over this. I wanted to find out what was happening to me, and how I could get out of this. I have made great progress, still a long way to go from being “normal”, but great progress nonetheless. And I am still moving forward.
Thank you all for sharing your stories in this thread.
One thing I would like to recommend to you is to try out the EFT (emotional freedom technique). It’s been one of my tools for some time now. There is free information on the internet to get you started so you really don’t have anything to lose. It hasn’t been a miracle cure for me (as it has been to others) but it may work well for some of you (I wish it does).
I wish you all the best![/quote]
EvanGR,
Thanks for sharing part of your story. Congrats on tackling the anxiety head-on and trying to move forward with your life. A lot of people don’t understand how difficult that is, but most of us on this thread do, and we’re always encouraged when we hear stories from people who are battling through.
Keep up the good work and I look forward to talking with you in the future.
-Dan
Hey everyone,
Just got back from the gym and had a really good workout. Today was another HD: Endurance day. Workout lasted about 25 minutes and had me gasping for air by the end of it. But, I have noticed my endurance is good during the workout. I can complete the entire thing w/o resting (excpet to move to the cables and finding an area to skip rope), and that’s with my stomach issues. Be interesting to see how I’d do if I were 100 percent.
Speaking of my stomach, still feeling a bit off. Going to try and take some antacids today and see if that helps some. If it doesn’t go away by the beginning of next week, I’ll make an appointment with the doctor.
Didn’t get to go to BJJ last night, so I took the day off. Tomorrow I have to cover a wrestling match in the evening so I’ll do a home Muay Thai workout in the A.M.
[quote]swimmer32 wrote:
Hey, how often do you eat Dan?
Frequently, regular? Nibble, graze, or big meals?
Do you let your stomch get empty?[/quote]
I eat 5-6 times a day and it’s a pretty regular schedule. I usually don’t have to wait for my stomach to get empty…I’m get hungry every 3 hours, but not recently as it seems my food just sits in my stomach.
I guess I could wait for it to digest, but who knows how long that would take. My meals aren’t huge, but breakfast, lunch and dinner are bigger than my snacks (usually a shake or protein bar or fruit).
Hey everyone,
Well, went to my doctor today to tell him about my stomach issues and we’ve scheduled an upper GI test for Tuesday. After some further evaluation by the doctor, it seems to be more of a reflux problem than actual stomach issues, but just to be on the safe side, we’re going to do a scan and make sure nothing’s in there that’s not supposed to be in there. Also got some medicine to help with the reflux and after taking some before lunch, I could already tell a difference. My stomach is actually rumbling and I don’t have that gagging feeling in my throat.
According to my doc the Xanax was actually helping the reflux, since it serves as a muscle relaxer. So, that would explain why I had more pronounced symptoms on days where I didn’t take any meds. The picture is starting to become clearer, which is good.
Going to have to skip Muay Thai tomorrow as I’ve got some work out of town to do (unfortunately).