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Panic attack

Alzebra

Well-Known Member
Messages
604
Location
North East
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi, I had a panic attack at work today and had to take 40mg of Propranolol. Testing 90 minutes later when I was calm enough to drive I found my BG was 7.0 which is quite high for me given I follow LCHF and hadn't eaten anything in 6 hours.

Does anyone (maybe @Spiker ?) have any experience of panic attacks raising BG?, All the info I can find warns that propranolol can cause hypos so I'm wondering what it must have been when the anxiety hit.
 
There are all sorts of little things that raises your blood glucose levels.
Anxiety and panic attacks being some of them.
If you didn't test whilst having the attack, it's hard to assess.
You could be right about having nothing to eat. it could be the propranol!
Did you have any other symptoms?
 
Thanks @nosher8355 , my panic attacks leave me feeling exhausted, dizzy and head-achey so it's a bit hard to pinpoint any symptoms related to my BG. I guess I'm really just curious to know what my anxiety does to my BG and vice-versa. I'm still in the learning phase!
 
That could be one or two (or more) symptoms of either a false hypo or a low blood sugar.
If you experience any more check your bloods(if you can!)
I would test more regularly, so that you can see what is actually happening.
For example.
On waking, before breakfast, one hour after, two hours after and more throughout the day.
Just to keep an eye on it! If you get a reading that seems a bit off, test again. You need to know what is going on.
Propropandranol does mask hypos! It is one of the side effects of the drug, if you experience anxiety or panic attacks regularly, then speak to your doctor's!
 

Thankfully, I have never suffered from panic attacks, so have no personal experience, but the body's response to panic is the adrenalin rush to feed the "fight or flight" response. If you think about it, you might expect that to raise your sugars, as the adrenalin is preparing you muscles to fight or flight.

After a big high, there is often a bit of a rebound low feeling, which might account for your washed out feelings. It might be rather good to do a fair bit of testing through the panic attack process if you can, irrespective of where you are in your eating/testing cycle. I do appreciate when you are feeling very anxious, the last thing you may want to do is stab your fingers, but I'm sure you can see the logic>
 
Hope you don't mind me asking , but beta blocker drugs used for many many medical issues are often taken daily , not 40mg in one go .. As and when ... But I could be wrong , practices change so much ..
Is this a drug you take daily , you can get a slow release 40mg then you don't feel,so strange , symptom wise ...
Best wishes ,, hope you get the right meds for panic attacks . Kat
 

I only take this when suffering attacks, they usually come in clusters although I haven't had one in ages The GP has prescribed 40mg up to 3 times daily. I take 225mg Venlafaxine (slow release) every day.
 
Alzebra said:
I only take this when suffering attacks, they usually come in clusters although I haven't had one in ages The GP has prescribed 40mg up to 3 times daily. I take 225mg Venlafaxine (slow release) every day.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing , hope the cluster flare up settles down soon ... And you feel better soon x Kat
 
Adrenalin will raise BG. That's the same mechanism by which we resist hypos - adrenalin triggers a release of glycogen (carbs) from the liver. So it seems sensible that a panic attack would trigger adrenalin which would trigger a BG raise.

I have never done a blood test after a panic attack so I can't confirm this from experience.
 
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