My Girl -- thank you for answering me. Yes we know the reason behind her putting on weight -- it is her medication. And also stress. She was clincial supervisor of an ER -- these attacks started and she had to go on medical leave. They they told her that if she did not come back full time she would lose her benefits - etc. Thank god she got married and is on her husband's insurance. This is a young woman - 31 - control of everything in her life and she started with panic attacks. She goes to a therapist once a week -- who is excellent - and then her doctor every 3 weeks. They are right on top of everything and has talked to her doctor about her increase in weight and he told her stress medication, etc. We are very very close and can talk to one another about everything. BUT I know how she feels because I have been there. I have been watching her intake of food - anything fattening ior sweet and she will look at me and say - I know. I have not gone down the path yet of please do not let it get control of you. I am off this summer from school and I have decided I am going to drive over to ther house - every other day or every day and get her out walking - bring her over here to do the treadmill - have bought her some tapes that we can do together. I will do anything in my power to help her. We just really have just skimmed the surface so far -- in depth will come when I am out of school.
WHEW!!!! I am sure I have talked everyone's ear off -- sorry.
Thank you for answering me -- I really appreciate it.
Happy Mothers Day to EVeryone -- Keep the good thoughts.
Barbara

Good Monday morning to everyone,

Hi Barbee, yes I did post on Sugarbusters board but I didn't do to well without sugar so I went back to weight watchers where I have been extremely successful, I have lost 85pds and kept it off for 7 years now. I tried to switch to SB as I was getting terrible headaches eating so much sugar. Oh well, I am to addicted to sugar to be on that program LOL. Sounds like you have lost a lot of weight also. Congrats!! I am so sorry to hear about your daughter and her panic/anxiety. It is so hard to see a child suffer, at least you are doing everything possibe to help her.

My weekend away was good. I still felt anxious but I have come to terms with the fact it is just going to take time to settle down know matter how bad I want to feel better. Well the weather here is beautiful in MI and I am going to take a walk. How is everyone doing with their weight loss plans? Sometimes we focus so much on the health issues I forget we are all here because of the problems our health issues are causing with out weight.

Have a great day everyone.

Daytona

Daytona1 -- thank you for answering me. I knew that was you. Isn't it funny we are now talking to one another.
I still check on the SB board. I do not know if you have lurked over there or not but some of these women are writing chapters! Alot of them have dropped off and new ones have taken their place and then they drop off. Debelli is about 2 pounds from goal.
I had tried combining SB and WW but the sugar thing with me also. I still watch my intake of that and do do the whole grain etc. thing but WW was what really got me going, I mean - please - you can basically have anyting you want -- just do not go over the points.
Lori was over here yesterday for Mother's day and she was in a talking mood. Her husband - policeman - has been in Washington D.C. for 5 days and comes back tonight. I did not know if she felt up to driving over here or not but she did and by herself too. Which was great! Her dad and I talked to her for a long time. She is just really stressing because she does not have a job and she has also paid her own bills ever since she graduated from college. So you can see how that affects her panic attacks. Her husband is totally supportive of her -- he is a great guy!
Thanks for your input and good luck on your weight and your health.
Take care
Barb

hi everyone,
my week has been ok no major progress but I am feeling a bit down cause my weight has not budged at all ! oh well I put it down to fluid retention.

Here's a joke I heard

A son came home all excited and says mom I want to share some great news with you, I'm engaged!

Mom:wonderful who is the girl?

Son: I want you to guess.

So in came 3 girls and the mom looks at them and picks the one in the middle.

Son:wow how did you know?

Mom:cause she's the one I don't like!


MyGirl

Hi everyone,

My weight is doing ok, I am up a couple pounds over goal but I have been eating more also. I am with you Barbee, I count calories along with weight watchers. The tips I get from the meetings are very helpful in keeping me on track. Do you go to meetings? It is so easy to just not keep track of everything when you lack motivation. The SB board was just to over whelming for me, too many posts to keep track of, it would be wishful thinking on my part to ever hope to give up sugar. LOL Your daughter is lucky to have you for support and I know she will be ok.

MyGirl, you will lose the weight, it just takes time. It is so hard when you have health issues involved. Personally I am a emotional eater so that makes it even more difficult when I get anxious or depressed. That joke you posted was so cute. When do you go back to work? Maybe it will work out for you to just go back in the fall?

Well have a good day everyone,

Daytona

hi everyone,

daytona
glad to hear your doing better and the weight is coming off.

I've had a busy past few days.
my weight is coming down slowly but surely and I am getting out of the house more and more!
Apart form using the treadmill I am getting out & about and enjoying the sun, walking...oh and the yoga is really helping too, it helps stretch my muscles and strengthen my sense of balance (which I have had a problem with)

I've also been reading "The Panic Attack Recovery Book" by S Swede & S Shepherd Jaffe I find it easy to read and there are some excellent tips on diet aswell as managing the panic, basically they have a drug-free approach and focus on natural methods to overcome the panic.

I was pleased to read that diet & exercise help enormously with alleviating the anxiety eg; eating more fruit & veg, eating wholegrains as opposed to simple processed food and avoiding caffeine, avoid drinking too many juices - opting for the whole fruit instead as the sugar found in the juice is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream...okay still got more to read and learn.


that's all for now gals,
take care & let's keep at it

MyGirl

Hi all,

Sounds like you are doing ok. Those of you who are being quiet, I hope you are being peaceful and losing weight!

I've been dealing with a great deal of stress which isn't good but I'm letting myself be neurotic for a while until it gets better.

I just had to recommend a book. You may have to order it but it is really great. It's called The Fear Book and
it's by Cheri Huber. It looks goofy but it actually is quite wise and very simple. I've found it to be a gem.

I'm going to order another copy for a family member I know is struggling right now.

Best of the best relaxing thoughts to you all,

Jennifa

Hi everyone,

Did everyone have a good Memorial day weekend? I did, just hung out and had my kids for a cookout. It rained most the weekend, but that is what it always does in MI. I still need to get to the library or bookstore to check out those books. I love to read those type of books, it gives you hope that things will get better no matter how bad you feel. I guess it is just nice knowing you are not alone. Of course this forum helps so much too. I started counseling last week, she seems nice and is going to help me learn breathing and relaxing techniques for when the panic and anxiety set in. Please forgive any spelling errors, everytime I try to run the spell check I get an error message and it doesn't work!!! Well have a great day everybody.

Daytona

I hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend. Did not do much around here. Just finishing up loose ends with our teaching positions. My hubby will not be back at the high school he was teaching at - had been there 2 years -- it was the most horrific group of students I had ever seen. After George had been teaching 30 years in Illinois and Iowa this was like -- unreal. No responsibility ftrom student or parent - parents lying for their kids - he was a band director -- it was terrible. So he is looking -- may even get out of teaching.
Daytona - what you had to say about the SB board is so very very true. What gets me is at the very beginning (have been on board since a year ago this past May) we all put down starting weight - how much we weigh now and what our goal is. Well that has basically gone by the wayside. It is always fun to see how everyone else is doing. People drop off like flies. And the posts - oh please right now -- they are chapters long!
Have not posted there in quite a while. I am not doing SB except for the whole wheat etc. which WW has anyway.
About 5 years ago I weighed 320 pounds - went on the Tfactor diet - had to have my teeth pulled -- that was a big help. Got down to 230 - started on SB -- could not hang with the program -- some of those ladies just go WAY overboard. I now weight 183-186 - have been sitting there fior about 3 months. That is o.k. -- I have to take a lot of medications and that basically slows everything down. I now weigh less than my husband - son and older daughter. That is a first.
Lori is doing pretty good. Remember she is a RN and can not go back to the ER in which she was in charge of. She is taking a medical transcription course and is half way through it. She goes out shopping - to our house and her in laws house. So she is doing better.
Well who am I to talk bout writing a chapter.
Take care. You all have no idea how much the information you put out about books - yoga, etc. is very helpful and will be ordering those 2 books for my daughter.
Thanks for listening.
Barbara

Hi everyone,
been doing ok these past few days/week. I went away to my sister's for a few days and that was very tranquil to say the least, I could be myself and really relax.

Glad to hear everyone is doing much better !

daytona - counselling sounds promising. keep at it - once you have the relaxation and breathing under control it maked all the difference.

barbara - I was so glad to hear that your daughter is doing much better and you are too it always encourages me reading about your successes

hey jennifa - ~~~~~ we need more of those relaxation vibes sent our way~~~~~~here are some for you in the meantime ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh yeah one of the other reasons I checked in was to ask if anyone had heard of a weightloss med called zenekel (sp) ? if you know anything about it, side effects etc please let me know...a dear friend is starting on this soon.

Take care all,
MyGirl

Hello, all;
I'm new here. I have to lose weight and do it immediately. I broke my ankle last summer and my weight and neuropathy made it so much worse they had to do reconstructive surgery. About 4 months before that I was in a rough period and went to a counselor and was given an antidepressant that didn't agree, but then I was put on Paxil and have had great success with that.
I started having feelings of anxiety, shaking hands, urge to eat everything in sight. I asked my dr. about it and he said they were anxiety attacks and would probably go away. Since I can't wait for "probably" I made an appt. with a new counselor (mine was no longer available) and he said that before we label these attacks, let's look at the many meds I take. Sure enough, I cut my neurontin and elavil meds in half (they are prescribed for foot neuropathy pain) and I haven't had any anxiety attacks in about a month.
I'm continuing to see the counselor and am now taking my weight loss (thru WW) a little more seriously. I'm 100+ pounds overweight and I have had mobility problems for a long time. I'm 56 years old and if I don't lose weight soon my hip replacements will fail and my broken ankle will probably rebreak. So, I desperately need to get some help that is available more than a once-a-week weigh in.
Thanks for hearing me out. I've been wandering around diet lists for a couple of weeks and this looks like the most compatible for me.

Gobbie in Baltimore

Hi Gobbie and welcome to our group,

Sounds like you have a lot going on in your life. I have personally lost 85 pounds and kept it off for 7 years. These past few months have been a struggle for me, just a few pounds up but none the less I have to get rid of them!! I am doing ok now, I started having anxiety attacks and boy they sure are up setting. I have been taking Buspar for a few months and that helps with the anxiety and also this board is so much help, our group of ladies always have an encourageing word or idea for us when in need. I also go to counseling and I am learning deep breathing and relaxation. That's my history, but I just wanted to let you know I was so addicted to junk food and eating in general, it took me 5 years to finally really make the commitiment to lose the weight and then I regained it twice before I finally kept it off. I would be happy to offer you support anyway possible. My email is [email protected] if you want to write. You will do it and then you will feel so much better!!

How's everyone else doing? It is still raining here, I don't know what happened to "gobal warming" ???? It is a whole 50 degrees and it is supposed to be 75. Guess I don't need to open my pool anytime soon LOL. MyGirl, sounds like the time at your sisters was good for you, and Barbee, I just don't know how we have any teachers left, kids are so awful, back when I was in school it was getting bad but nothing like it is now. I say thanks to all you teachers, I didn't forget you are a teacher to Mygirl. Have a great day everyone.

Daytona

Hi,

I have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and panic attacks 8 weeks ago. I have been refered to a specialist for cognative therapy. I also have beta blockers to help during panic attacks.

After reading books and gathering info, I found out that hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) contributes to the anxiety symptoms, therefore a hypoglycaemic control diet can help. These are the things I learnt:

Avoid stimulants: caffeine, nicotine, salt, preservative, hormones (present in industrial meat) and processed food.

In order to follow a hypoglycaemic diet: Avoid simple sugar (white or brown sugar, honey, fructose and food high in sugar). Avoid fruit juices or dilute them in water. Reduce or eliminate simple starches such as pasta, refined cereals, potatoes or white bread. Subistitute with complex carbohydrates such as whole grain breads and cereals, vegetables and brown rice or other whole grains. Have a complex carbohydrate or protein snack (nuts, whole grain toast etc) half way between meals. You can have four or five small meals no more than 2 to 3 hours apart. Moderate you alcohol consumption since your body converts alcohol into sugar.

To do:
Drink plenty of water: 8 glasses a day, Take time while eating, chew, eat small quantities, spread during the day, do not drink while eating. Increase your intake of dietary fiber by eating foods such as whole grains, brans and raw vegetables. (Note too that too much fiber can cause gas and bloating and interfere with the body’s ability to absorb protein.) Also try to avoid saturated and polyunsaturated fat. Monounsaturated oils such as unrefined olive oil are preferable.

Supplements that can help:
Vitamin B-complex: 50-100mg of all 11 B vitamins once per day with meal.
Vitamin C: 1,000mg once or twice per day with meals
Chromium: 200mcg per day
Glycogenic amino acids: (L-glycine, L-glutamic acid, L-tyrosine, L-leucine, L-alanine, L-methionine, l-lysine)


Meat, poultry, dairy and cheese products, as well as eggs are acid-forming products, thus moving your diet towards vegetarianism good be a good option. To help maintain a proper acid-alkaline balance in the body, it helps to decrease consumption of acid-forming foods and increase the amount of alkaline-forming foods, like vegetables, most fruits, except plums and prunes; whole grains such as brown rice, millet, and buckwheat; and bean sprouts. Ideally 50 to 60 percent of the calories you consume should come from these foods.

I gathered these information from the anxiety self help website and also from a brilliant book The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook (3rd ed) by Edmund J. Bourne. I really advise you to have a look at both for info about anxiety and panic attacks.

I have also been diagnosed not long ago with lactose intolerance so I cannot eat anything with milk proteine (lactose). But that's another story!! (that means no cheese, no butter, no milk etc...)

I have lost almost 60lbs since last year (june 2000). These health problems have been really tough to overcome. When you realise that you diet and a change in lifestyle can be one of the major factors towards recovery you realise that you can have control over your life again.

I have created on the computer my own food journal where I enter everthing, the stimulants I have had during the day (well almost always 0 as I cut right down all of them), then the number of glasses of water, the different groups of food, the supplements to take ( the vitamins, chromium etc). I also point my food since I am on Weight Watchers.

Learn as much as you can on anxiety and panic attacks. Knowledge is power! Also there are a lot of possible alternative therapies.

I am not a nutritionist, nor a doctor, the advice I give above is just from my own research and experience but learn about yourself and what works for you. As a cheese lover and a meat lover, being diagnosed with anxiety and lactose intolerance means that I have to rethink the way I eat completely. Having been with Weight Watchers for 1 year now and being almost at goal (6lbs to go!!!!) I know that changing habits in order to be healthier is possible!!

And I was going to forgot!! Exercise! It is good for anxiety too!!!

Good Luck!!!!

Ghislaine

Hi everyone,

i've been having a bit of a slow week...feeling a bit down and lethargic to be honest but I treated myself to a one hour massage can't begin to tell you how good that felt!


Welcome Gobbie - hang in there & thanks for sharing your experience with us...together we can all do great things!

Welcome Ghislaine - wow what an informative post! I got so much out of it I decided to print it - thanks for sharing and I definitely agree with you - knowledge really is power.

Daytona - thanks for your kind words, you're a real sweetie
how's the deep breathing and relaxation coming along?



Take care,

MyGirl

Thanks so much for the kind and encouraging words. I am going to my WW meeting tonight and reweigh in. I don't know how many weeks (2-3) I missed due to bronchitis, but I'm going to start myself again. Boy, all the information this group has on anxiety attacks is great. I think depression may bring on some of it as well. The panic/anxiety attacks, no matter what form, breaks the continual plunge into depression because you have something else to focus on. Now, let's see if my theory works because I haven't had any attacks in a month or so and that coincides with my cutting down on two of my meds, seeing a counselor, and deciding to take charge of my overweight. With all the positive moves, depression isn't as acute.

The only thing I don't understand is why I have to have a "starting point" like WW tonight or I will just eat anything in sight until I have that starting point.

Gobbie in Baltimore