Physical Symptoms, Anyone Know How To Diminish Them?

[MCCS]

I've been extremely nauseous, light headed, more shakey than usual. I've been having these physical aspects for about a week or two now and it's affecting my work to the point where I don't want to work anymore but should be. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[MCCS]

I've also been extremely hungry but have very low energy, I'm constantly exhausted :/

 

[Stickler]

You are 100% sure these are NOT low blood sugar symptoms, some sort of gastric or other physical ailment?

If not I strongly suggest thou gettest thee unto the GP, because this sounds suspiciously like either low blood sugar, or vagus nerve stimulation caused by gastric symptoms...( paging Ed to this thread, stat, paging Ed to this thread...) so you might have hyperthyroid, might just not be eating enough, might have hypoglycemia, or other stuff I'm not thinking of offhand-maybe inner ear disturbances?

IF it is a somatic symptom, now, I would still suggest eating many small meals with protein and complex carbohydrates, eating whole foods as opposed to really processed ones, minimizing sugar consumption, drinking plenty of water, and consuming ginger tea or ginger in any form. Ginger is an excellent anti-nausea herb, it's anti-inflammatory, and highly unlikely to do anything bad to you.

I'd also suggest you take up yoga. There's books and websites you can learn the poses off of, no need to pay for classes unless you really want to.

Do note: the above are all suggestions, check with your physician, other people and/or your intuition as appropriate, use with caution.

 

[Stickler]

just saw your reply...thirsty all the time? Losing weight? Pee smells funny?

Type 2 diabetes runs in your family?

If you've not had a fairly recent blood glucose check, I really, REALLY think you ought to have your blood sugar checked immediately.

 

[MCCS]

I honestly think it's from my anxiety. I've felt like this off and on since I was young. Sometimes I wont feel like this for a year or two then it comes back. I have been tested for many different things including thyroid issues and the results came back saying I'm fine. I don't know what runs in my biological family as I'm adopted. Although I'm not thirsty constantly and my pee doesn't smell strong, seems normal to me.

 

[Friday]

My favorite way is to burn it off... Put all the anxiety & Alert! chemicals in my bloodstream to good use. AKA exercise of some sort.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

I've been extremely nauseous, light headed, more shakey than usual. I've been having these physical aspects...

Well being exactly in that place i had to take what seemed like medical issues and have a medical work up done. My symtpoms; extreme exhaustion to the point where i couldnt wake my body up at all and was falling asleep everywhere but anxiety with that (therapist called it "tired and wired'), nausia, dizziness where when driving or walking it felt like i was really drunk, obviously shaking was my anxiety, and one seizure thats medically unexplained; after all medical tests were done and nothing found, i was put on adderall (with my exsiting xanax; legally speedballing?) to stay awake, horrible idea as i couldnt get my anxiety down from the red zone so got off of that.

As to suggestions, for me i have to push through it but what has helped was to try to look for any stress or stressors that caused it, become aware of them and try not to allow them to affect me as much; but i still have these pop up, i have prescription anti nausia meds that i take when it pops up and the rest i just push through, go to work and eventually after lunch they tend to lessen for me. I also started to drink boost and eat a bit better.

 

[MCCS]

Thank you both, I am noticing that the longer the shift I have the better it gets through out the day. So I clearly need to get out of bed more on my days off and push through it until I start to feel better. I think that it's from all the reading I've done (even though I've put it on hold, all PTSD related reading) and the fact that I'm starting therapy and groups. My flashbacks are worse, I'm remembering my dreams more often (thankfully they aren't all night terrors). I don't feel well emotionally, mentally or physically right now and I need to keep in mind that I won't feel like this forever. My counsellor said that my body is telling me it's ready to deal with everything and I will mention all the physical aspects when I see her Friday.

 

[Chava]

get out of bed more on my days off and push through it until I start to feel better.

Yes, as long as you've been checked thoroughly for other physical issues, it sounds like adrenaline stuff...and laying dormant makes it all pool for me and become unbearable. Walking or gentle exercise helps. But if it's a surge, I need to push something heavy, but in a sort of slow and concentrated way (not sure how to explain this)...like push against a wall, try to tip my car, a heavy piece of furniture. At work I could do this by just pushing my feet hard into the floor for a minute. And exhaling.

I used to get bad palpitations. I had them checked out 2-3 times (EKG, everything). It was chalked up to anxiety, though still scary and exhausting because my heart was being so dysfunctional. In that state I was initially tempted to lay down, because I was afraid my body was in some sort of danger. But even with the palpitations it mattered more that I found a heavy piece of furniture or wall to push against (slow and steady). This regulated my pulse pretty quickly. Might not work for lots of people (and get heart stuff checked out anyway!), but my point is that this organized the way adrenaline was being dumped into my system.

Other symptoms for me have been dizziness and tingling and overheating. For me these are all panic symptoms (same as the palpitations)...and I do better exerting some energy than freezing and fearing I will break...though if dizzy I need to slow down and get some water...then deal with it gently.

All that being said, what has helped me most with these symptoms is eating well and getting plenty of rest. My system seems to handle stress pretty poorly when even a little exhausted.

 

[Powder]

For me this happened when flashbacks or a particular traumatic memory was about to surface.

I found if I took too much Magnesium supplements, the flashbacks were immersive, actually seemed very real for hours, as if I were in both real time and 'back then' at the same time.

I have laid off of Magnesium since I realized that taking it for a few days when these body memories were active guaranteed too vivid of a recall of my trauma.

On the other hand, it answered my questions of "what happened" and "who did this to me." Unfortunately, what happened was horrible, and who did it was my mother.

Truly, what helped me was just letting it come and accepting that this is my healing phases I have to go through. I experienced approximately one major flashback memory of a major trauma almost every 3 months. SOmetimes I got smaller ones in between the major ones, less traumatic, but similar memories. Some of these were collaborated. Many of these were in the form of Flashback dreams (during sleep, just before waking). These were too real and directly related to my trauma memories to be dismissed as just dreams. Also, they were corroborated by accident, unintentionally, but an unrelated party who was there living nearby at the time.

I see your symptoms as possibly the body memories of the trauma time that comes out before the actual visual or other memories get processed out and the stinger removed.

I say the stinger removed because fortunately, it feels like giving birth. It is very painful but also releasing and can be removed from your body, never to return. In my case, there were many traumas, and still are.

After 4 years of the above, it's like my mind said "that's good for now," and I have more rare episodes. Physical exhaustion does precipitate this for me, or, like you, the sensation of exhaustion is the first thing I notice.

Do you have a flashback management plan? I suggest Pete Walker's http://pete-walker.com/pdf/13StepsManageFlashbacks.pdf
and a good support person to be your Flashbash Douala. Walker's plan revolutionized my life with PTSD. It was what I needed at the time to be empowered to deal with them. I read a book of his, which was wonderful, too. But it didn't help me as much as the PDF I have linked here. I Hope there is something in it for someone out there.

I had PTSD diagnosis when I was 21 and didn't notice the flashbacks until my mid-thirties. So sometimes they are minor or not forthcoming or get immediately explained away as something else, and then dissociated.

 

[MCCS]

Yes, as long as you've been checked thoroughly for other physical issues, it sounds like adrenaline stuff....

I have on occasion starting at the age of 10 when my trauma began, fainting when emotions were too overwhelming for me. I've also had anxiety attacks since I was in my teens (can't remember the age they began). I have mentioned the fainting to numerous doctors and have never been tested for it but essentially they all think it is due to not being able to process my feelings so my body collapses literally. One time I fainted after my bf at the time put hydrogen peroxide on a cut that was on my hand from my hedgehogs quills. While unconscious I repeatedly smacked my head against the floor and bathtub (I don't recall much of it, just waking up to myself smacking my head against the floor, my bf at the time filled me in on what happened). I mentioned that to my doctor as well and he shrugged it off and said to avoid hydrogen peroxide and my hedgehogs. I'm surprised that he did any testing for me after my last suicide attempt, he was so certain I had some medical issue opposed to being severely depressed though. Even after I told him how I was feeling emotionally and how I'd felt like that since I was 12 years old. He did blood work, thyroid testing and hooked me up to a machine to do further testing. Back then my exhaustion was even worse than it is now, I did have low iron but modified my eating and when I my iron got tested again it was where it should be.

For me this happened when flashbacks or a particular traumatic memory was about to surface.

I found if I t...

I have read Complex PTSD from surviving to thriving by Pete Walker and out of the books I've read so far I do like that one the best. Thank you for sharing the flashback management steps though, always good to be reminded to use them :)

 

[MCCS]

I just started reading the Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis and my symptoms are starting to improve thankfully. I have pain in my chest (which I used to feel everyday when I was depressed for years) but the nausea's gone and I'm not light headed at the moment :) I'm hoping I don't wake up with the other physical aspects like I have been for the past week or two. It's getting me to journal with pen and paper and I think I needed that in the area it's encouraging me to journal about.