Anxiety?

[MorelCabin]

I have always suffered from SADD or "winter blues" and a couple of years ago it escalated to where I'm taking Prozac, (which I would like to stop taking!). I also have diabetes, but so far it's been pretty well controlled by the Metformin my doctor prescribed (but I would like to stop taking that as well, plus the blood pressure and cholesterol meds). We've been slowly making a change to more whole foods, and I've finally found a source for raw goat milk so I can make cheese, and I want to try my hand at this lacto-fermentation that I've been reading about. I want to try sprouting our wheat before we grind it for flour and see how that goes too (My husband has been making naturally leavened bread for the last 6 months or so). We barter bread for fresh farm eggs weekly as well. The only thing I figure I still need to do is somehow come up with the money for good meats that have been raised properly, without hormones etc.
So far, my weight hasn't gone down a bit (I have over 120 lbs I need to lose), but I'm slowly getting a little more energy, which is helping me move around a little more. We will see how I do this winter, since even the Prozac doesn't stop me from losing some of my zest for life at that time.

If you have any ideas what else I can do (bearing in mind that we are near poverty level and just can't afford a lot of the fancy schmancy expensive vitamins and suchlike) please let me know.

Vitamin D3 is cheap and has really alleviated my SAD symptoms. I suffer terribly with it at times, even during summer if it rains for a few days in a row. I take at least 1000ui a day during winters along with fish oils, and I make sure I spend as much time as I can sitting in front of a window during winter. (sewing)
It's the premenstral anxiety I have a hard time with now, and if I eat the wrong thing it is just terrible!!!

BB I have tried alot of what's on your list, but never all at once. Will take the time to really look it over and do something to change things. Just the thoght of eating breakfast makes me gag though. I either am hungry all day afterwards, or if it is a fatty breakfast i feel sick all day. Maybe I'll try strting with melons and fruit and see if I can manage t get this body used to eating early. Thanks for the list BB!

 

[abifae]

I've never had any luck alleviating my symptoms of depression with anything I've done. Good diet makes it easier to not put any emotional attachment to the thoughts, is all. I can hold onto always being joyous even while I'm depressed now.

Which is much better than being depressed and having emotions attach to it.

But the better diet has fixed almost all the anxiety. Unless I let my dopamine skyrocket. Then anxiety is ummm.. extreme. But it's not there otherwise. Used to be there all the time. Or maybe my dopamine was ALWAYS that high.

But I'm getting to the point where I think this is the best it's gonna get.

 

[Lesa]

It was mentioned in an earlier post- but I swear by Valerian Root. It is not an expensive supplement (6.00 a bottle). I would not dream of facing a day without it. It has made a huge difference in my life. Winter really brings me down - vitamin D and Valerian have changed my world! I highly recommend both. Of course, good diet is crucial, as well.

 

[walnuthollow]

First off I want to thank everyone who read and responded to my post. I since went for my doctor's visit. He took blood tests and they all came back within normal ranges. His plan now is to take me off of the buspar and replace it with clonazepam as needed. I'm supposed to continue with the paxil also. What I was wondering...is there anything natural that I could take instead of the clonazepam that would be compatable with my other meds? I'm also trying to eat better as babblingbrook has suggested. Was also wondering if the vitamins and supplements that were suggested would be ok to take with my other meds also. (Other meds are, paxil, atenolol, levothyroxin.)

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

First off I want to thank everyone who read and responded to my post. I since went for my doctor's visit. He took blood tests and they all came back within normal ranges. His plan now is to take me off of the buspar and replace it with clonazepam as needed. I'm supposed to continue with the paxil also. What I was wondering...is there anything natural that I could take instead of the clonazepam that would be compatable with my other meds? I'm also trying to eat better as babblingbrook has suggested. Was also wondering if the vitamins and supplements that were suggested would be ok to take with my other meds also. (Other meds are, paxil, atenolol, levothyroxin.)

Yes, all are food based and are not considered a problem.

Now, be aware, that what is called normal ranges in the medical establishment, means very little.
They have set a very wide range, allowing them to not have to deal with something GPs know very little about.
I was told I was normal, on two separate tests, but in reality, my thyroid is still depressed. Cortisol is still all wrong, but better then in the past.
Adrenals are in rough, but improving health as well.
But, I am "normal" and healthy, even though my poor body refuses to sustain pregnancy

 

[walnuthollow]

I was just wondering when "eating real food" what your daily menu consists of. I thought that I was eating better
but when I really was made to stop and think I guess I'm not. :/ What do you all use to replace sugar when baking?
We do have raw cow's milk (I don't drink much milk though) and I skim the cream off to make butter. I make my
own bread when time allows but again I use white flour and some sugar in it. I haven't found a whole wheat recipe
that bakes up nice. I do add flax and sunflower seeds to my bread. I haven't learn to make my own cheese. I do
buy cheese sometimes where we get out milk from. Wow, I guess I have alot to learn.

 

[sunsaver]

My problems with anxiety disappeared completely within two weeks of stopping the paxil. Clonazepam should help you relax and sleep better, but you should only take it at bedtime, not all day long. Please get away from the Paxil. That stuff destroyed my sex drive and almost made me permanently impotent. Fortunately, my sex drive has returned over the years, but it's still not what it should be for a man my age. It took me 15 years to realize that there's a strong correlation between panic attacks and me being out of vitamins for a couple of weeks. These days i take a multivitamin every day, and have no panic attacks. If it looks like a dog, and smells like a dog...

 

[sunsaver]

Get rid of the bread, flour, cereal, cookies, and sugar. That junk will kill you. Eat fruit if you want something sweet. Snack on carrots, cucumber, celery, cheese, yogurt, sour cream, natural peanut butter, almond butter, mixed nuts, spinach or chard dip, baked fish, a can of fruit cocktail, an apple, fresh blueberries, a vine ripened tomato, steak, pork chops, real food. Not processed food. I lost forty pounds and got rid of my sleep apnea by eating only real food, no chemicals. Read the ingredients label. If it sounds like a chemical, don't eat it. A 10 oz. bag of chips has 3,000 calories but leaves you feeling hungry. A 16 oz. can of green beans has 300 calories and leaves you feeling full. You don't have to go hungry to lose weight, you just have to use your brain and make wise choices.

 

[abifae]

But, I am "normal" and healthy, even though my poor body refuses to sustain pregnancy

Yep. All my tests have always been in range. Every single one was at the furthest range high or low, but since it was still "in range" I was perfectly healthy. This, btw, is when I was 115 pounds. At 5'8".

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

I was just wondering when "eating real food" what your daily menu consists of. I thought that I was eating better
but when I really was made to stop and think I guess I'm not. :/ What do you all use to replace sugar when baking?
We do have raw cow's milk (I don't drink much milk though) and I skim the cream off to make butter. I make my
own bread when time allows but again I use white flour and some sugar in it. I haven't found a whole wheat recipe
that bakes up nice. I do add flax and sunflower seeds to my bread. I haven't learn to make my own cheese. I do
buy cheese sometimes where we get out milk from. Wow, I guess I have alot to learn.

Start slow on the food side of things. Hang out here lots, and take the time to enjoy learning the old ways.