Stress and Anxiety Problems, Want Blood Tests

Pharma TRT
1

I have had problems with anxiety for as long as I can remember for a myriad of reasons. However certain symptoms have really helped put elements of my life including training on hold for a long time and are really affecting my health.

Things have gotten substantially worse since I left university and began teaching (I know, stressful job) but numerous things can set me off. I am writing here in case someone might have had some similar experience or knowledge that could possibly help me out. I have looked on these forums a lot in the past and there seems to be a wealth of high end knowledge on here.

Profile:
Sex Male
Location UK
Age 30
6ft 6
BF 15-18%
Diet 80% Paleo with about 200g of carbs per day

Previous Symptoms:

  • hairline receding only on one side of my brow (no one on either side of my family has had this in over 5 generations)
  • feeling very cold regardless of what I am wearing
  • hot flushes
  • running nose
  • chesty coughing
  • nausea
  • panic attacks
  • shaking
  • staying up all night
  • racing heart
  • constantly thirsty]
  • dizziness
  • going to the toilet lots with runny tummy
  • swollen stomach
  • food sitting in stomach (thrown up and found greens from the morning’s breakfast but I take digestive enzymes)
  • waking up throughout the night

Triggers:

  • too many refined carbohydrates
  • caffeine
  • working out (or anything that can raise my pulse from a stressful scene in a film, a social confrontation or extended video game playing)

Fixes

  • vomiting (naturally or forcing myself)
  • walking around all night until collapsing from exhaustion (or not if I have work the next day I just go)
  • various supplements (worked to varying degrees and sometimes not at all)
    • vitamin c + taurine + msm + Inositol
    • L-Theanine + Valerian Root + Phosphatidylserine + Calcium D-Glucarate + Milk Thistle + Holy Basil
    • Travelling in a car
    • Korean Ginseng + Rhodiola Complex + Licorice root + ZMA + Vitamin C + MSM + 5HTP + L-Tryptophan + Ashwagandha
    • Smoking a weed only joint whilst on holiday in Amsterdam

Thoughts

As you can see I have tried a lot of things via reading, experimentation and money. If I am honest I just want some more guidance because it at one point ruined my sleep with all the things you can imagine that can go with that. I took a preworkout today to do some exercise and it’s played havoc with me. I used to use it all the time before judo or training in powerlifting but just two scoops to do some work and 7 hours later at 12pm I can’t sleep and it’s all $%^&ed again. Yup, I’ll be avoiding all caffeine but I hate how for 2 years my life has been put on hold. Trying to get back into things again and it all exasperating the symptoms of anxiety. I listed my solutions in chronological order but I feel like I am dependant on the second to last one with all the adaptogenic herbs. I managed to sleep without them twice but it was rubbish sleep waking up tons and tons.

It makes me scared to try things out in case my adrenal glands get this stupid snow ball affect. That is the only way I can describe it, I do something that causes some sort of stimulation and it just goes nuts from there. In the last three weeks I’ve been comparatively great until the preworkout but my energy is still rubbish. Working out feels like I have been over training (not even close if it’s once or twice a week) as in extremely lathargic. I am a professional guitarist and it even affects me in this area for lethargy.

I have had blood tests from the doctor for coeliac and diabetes with both coming back negative. I don’t know what to do next really other than keep on taking the herbs, “take it easy” (or don’t even do) all the things I love… I really think this is a chemical issue where my adrenal glands and/or thyroid are basically $%^&ed from a mixture of stress, overwork, legal stimulants and tons of intense training. I’ve lost so much weight and the UK NHS and sports science dogma in the UK is 20 years behind what people are doing in the USA.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Ian

2

It sounds like more of a psychological issue. Forcing yourself to throw up after eating refined carbs? It’s not normal mate.

As for low energy in the gym it is most likely due to glycogen depletion from the sounds of it. Seems like you have some mental issue with carbohydrates.

Talk to a shrink about it. Drop the ‘herbs’. Probably half the cause to begin with.

Edit: As for the other syptoms just tell the doc you have anxiety issues, get some propanolol to help, but a psychologist is what you need mostly.

Good luck with it.

3

Thanks for the reply, came across as somewhat judgemental but I will respond sincerely.

I’m not paranoid about carbs at all, I’m a very logical person and wouldn’t think about that sort of thing. I also said I eat 200g of carbs a day (a lot of guys on here track their macros) which is more than fine if you are not exercising much or at all. My stomach was swelling to the size of a melon after eating meals in the evening and just didn’t go anywhere (I really should have specified before). I would feel nauseous for hours afterwards and when lying down it would be hard not to throw up. I eat like a monster right now and always have until things getting daft in the last year.

Wasn’t on anything at all before this, I was completely t-total for years and years.

The only thing that has helped me rehabilitate, whatever is going on with my body, to where I am again eating over 3000 calories a day again are the herbs that I have listed. If you don’t know what they are, how they work then why comment? Speaking without experience or knowledge is silly, I found them off articles on T-Nation and I finally sleep now, coincidence after trying so many different things? No. I’ve only been trying this sort of stuff out for a couple of months.

So have I gone to the doctor? Yes. Did he want to prescribe me anti-depressants? Yes, but then what doctor doesn’t? Not many from the amount of people on them. (I’m guessing that is what propanolol is)

Now from a logical standpoint anxiety is a broad term and is a symptom, not causation. Psychological/sociological issues can never ever be immediately dismissed. That would just be silly. However, in regards to adrenal fatigue, thyroid issues etc I also want to explore the possibility of what happens when even if someone is in a fantastic place and doing well why their body might do unreasonable things. Too many things have set me off and I feel that is a chemical issue.

Can people do damage to their hormones when anything is done is excess and are some people more susceptible to such damage? I am guessing this is possible.

Right now I exercise and do a lot of things BUT for the sake of my health I wanted to see if there is anything else I can consider. People must do damage to their adrenal glands and from what I have read your thyroid is closely related… So, are there people on here who might know? The best people I can think of as a community who test their blood and keep their knowledge up to date are bodybuilders and strength athletes.

I really hope that I haven’t come across as rude but ideally and sincerely objective. I can also totally get why you (or anyone) would be inclined to say these sort of things as we are painfully aware as a society of eating disorders, depression etc. I just want to look at everything from blood tests to strategies for keeping hormones in check.

4

No offence taken, apologies also if I came across as rude, I was simply being blunt.

Why don’t you simply have your own bloods checked? This would seem to be the best option IMO, there is only so much you can do without your own results, it’s simply guess work otherwise.

Propanolol is a beta-blocker, not an antidepressant, it helps to relieve the symptoms of anxiety by lowering your blood pressure, it has no mental effects and is perfectly safe.

5

Look at these stickies found here: About the T Replacement Category - #2 by KSman
advice for new guys
things that damage your hormones
thyroid basics - note adrenal fatigue, stress, oral body temperatures

Do you get cold easily?
Use iodized salt?
Outer eyebrows sparse?

Have you tried a medicine for diarrhea? Could be bugs in your gut. More than one thing can be wrong.

Labs:
TT
FT
TSH and ft3, fT3 if body temperatures are low
AM cortisol
rT3 if you really suspect that stress is a factor