IP Community Daily Chat

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  • Quote: I have a question about wieght loss and anxiety.

    I am nearing 180 days on IP and have lost almost 75 lbs. Late in the fall I noticed that I was feeling pms-y much of the time (and I am way past menopause) -emotional, teary, irritable and anxious. I chalked it up to some family stuff that was stressful at the time. The famiy stuff has not gone away (has actually gotten worse) but in the last week or so I have suffered severe anxiety which is completely out of proportion with the events in my life. I have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, and a couple of times a day I have crying jags, or mild anxiety attacks.

    I am wondering if this anxiety might be related to the weight loss and the hormone changes associated with it. I have read some articles on the web and can't seem to find anything definative. I plan to call my primary care doc tomorrow, but I thought I'd throw the question out here to see if anyone else has had this experience.
    I had some similar experiences with mood swings, irritability, lighter sleep quality. It was worse after reaching goal, when I went back to P1 to lose 12 lbs on 2 separate occasions. Googling got me to low carb diets and serotonin depletion. This can be an issue especially for people who are prone to SAD, aka winter blues, and/or depression.

    I've read about things like 5HTP & L-Tryptophan that help boost serotonin and claim to improve sleep & mood. I'm not sure how well those things work within a low carb diet. If I can find a good article, I'll link it. Also, you could try to see if food alleviates it---maybe you are having some blood sugar dips. If it keeps on, you might get some good help from a clinical nutritionist.

    I hope things smooth out for you soon.
  • Thanks for the responses. I have had episodes of depression in the past, but what I am experiencing now feels more like the anxiety I had when I was doing fertility treatments and my hormones were completely out of whack. I will look into the serotonin link too. I have an appointment for Monday, if I learn anything about the food/diet connection, I will pass it along.