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| Parenting Club Forums > Womans Health > I feel stupid admitting this |
| Posted by: cameragirl21 Mar 23 2009, 12:25 PM |
| but I seriously think I may have a sugar addiction. I thought about putting this into the dieting and healthy eating section but I'm wondering if it could also be part of a health issue. I am having some weird symptoms lately and Idk what to make of them...I am wondering it they may be part of a sugar addiction. A brief background--while I have seen ghosts and been "weird" all my life, my mental health has never been in question. I did have some issues with anxiety but they never required treatment and they were always triggered by something, specifically when I got heavily involved in a project for people with Lou Gehrig's disease--that one really messed with my head and brought on serious anxiety. I think I am prone to anxiety in my nature but have never really been to the point where treatment was necessary or that it interfered with my life. Lately, I'm feeling "odd" in that I often can't get to sleep at night and find I sleep best if I've recently had something sweet, like a dessert. I suddenly become very cold at night, so much so that my teeth chatter. Especially my hands and feet. Btw, it is 75-76 degrees in my house at night and I am under 2 winter blankets.... I also find that when I lie down I suddenly don't breathe well, like my chest is being tightened. I immediately reach for my asthma rescue inhaler which solves the problem but it doesn't feel like an asthmatic problem...I'm not so much wheezing and I can hear that my breathing is clear but rather, it feels like someone is squeezing my chest. I thought I might be dehydrated as I sometimes feel a dry mouth feeling so I drank a ton of water and then couldn't stop going to the bathroom so that of course got me worried about diabetes. Oddly enough, even though I hardly sleep some nights, I don't feel tired during the day. As for the sugar--when I was a toddler, I apparently didn't care for chocolate. My dad thought there was something wrong with me since I didn't like it and encouraged it and now sometimes I think I'd die without chocolate. I eat sweets everyday and sometimes feel panicked, literally, if there are no sweets around. I do love healthy foods--fruits and salads are a big part of my daily fare but I must have dessert after every meal lately and have been known to drive 20-30 minutes just to get a dessert. When my cat first became sick, I couldn't have dessert for 2 weeks, I just felt guilty eating sweets when she was so sick...I lost 10 pounds in those 2 weeks, just to give you an idea of the impact of sweets on my diet. I do need to lose about 20-30 pounds but I am fairly tall, 5'8'', so it's not as much as it seems like and no one would describe me as fat but I know that sugar is killing my dieting efforts. The thing is, even when I was super skinny, and I have to say, when I was moving I found my skinny clothes and they look like something you'd put on a 4 year old child, I'm serious, Idk how I ever fit into those, but anyway, even at that size I still had desserts daily, sometimes more than once daily but I felt more in control of portions and was satisfied with less fattening dessert options. Now I sometimes feel like a crazy lady in a mad rush for sweets...I honestly can't explain it. I am under the impression that my symptoms described in the beginning of this post are anxiety related but Idk why--everything in my life is going well and I don't feel any particular stress or concern. While I believe I'm anxiety prone, I have never had anxiety without cause. Also, a constant craving for sweets is another symptom of anxiety. But I'm wondering if my self indulgence where sweets are concerned could be causing these symptoms? Just curious if anyone here ever felt like this? As for giving up sweets, seriously, the idea of never having sweets again literally terrifies me. I don't believe just giving them up completely will work for me. I am wondering if it is possible to be addicted to sugar? One day when I tried to go without sweets I swear I felt myself going through withdrawal symptoms, seriously. Sorry this got long but just curious if anyone ever felt like this? |
| Posted by: coasterqueen Mar 23 2009, 01:08 PM |
Hmmm, could you have diabetes? I've heard people swear that those who have sugar addictions later become diabetic. I've only heard this because of my FIL who is a major sugar addict and now has diabetes.  I know I personally could go all day without eating anything else but sweets.  I know when I go a day without sweets I'm off, but I'm not sure I have all the same symptoms as you. I know if I cut out sweets I'd seriously lose all this EXTRA weight I have.   I'd talk to your doctor about it. |
| Posted by: cameragirl21 Mar 23 2009, 01:26 PM |
| Oh God, Karen, diabetes totally terrifies me! I thought about it but I don't have any of the symptoms--I'm not especially thirsty, I don't run to the bathroom, other than when I've had a ton of water when I thought I may be dehydrated, I'm not voarciously hungry, or any more hungry than usual, in fact, I just crave sweets, and I haven't lost any weight. And I'm not tired or sluggish. Those are the trademark symptoms of diabetes. Idk what is going on with me. My friends think it's anxiety but I don't feel anxious.... A little nervous about a business I'm about to start but certainly nothing that should cause all of this.... |
| Posted by: momofone Mar 23 2009, 02:22 PM |
| sounds a little bit like hypoglycemia low blood sugar |
| Posted by: DVFlyer Mar 23 2009, 03:22 PM |
| You could cut sweets out of your diet completely and see if you see a change. Of course, there will be some sort of withdraw period while your body adjusts to the change. I feel that the body tries to maintain a balance. So when one thing changes, there is a shock.. adjustment... balance. That is why (I think) people who try fad diets quickly lose weight at first and then it settles down. The body sees a change and goes into shock and then balances the system in it's own way... or at least as much as it can. You could try to eat some protein before bed too. That is said to ease the sugar cravings. |
| Posted by: cameragirl21 Mar 23 2009, 06:03 PM |
| I'm a pescatarian so there's not a whole lot of protein in my diet, which may be part of the problem. Thanks for the answers, everyone, I went to Whole Foods and bought some of those bars that are made out of dates, figs, nuts, honey, etc to see if I can get my fix from those, at least there is no processed sugar. It's weird how sugar totally relaxes me, I can't explain it but if I'm feeling antsy, all I have to do is have a sweet treat and the feeling immediately subsides. BUT, I end up feeling like crap and SO guilty too shortly thereafter so it's a short lived feeling, and also often relieved by more sugar.  |
| Posted by: A&A'smommy Mar 23 2009, 06:07 PM | ||
its better than becoming a smoker or drunk  no but really you might have a little low blood sugar and might actually need it. Have you considered talking to a doctor or maybe even a dietician to get your diet right it could be that you aren't getting enough of certain things. |
| Posted by: luvmykids Mar 23 2009, 07:16 PM |
| Hmmmm....I have no answers but am very curious because you described me to a T I'm going to pm you since I'm sure everyone doesn't want to read all about it twice in one thread |
| Posted by: Hillbilly Housewife Apr 9 2009, 02:19 PM | ||
lol - i hear ya... after my first child, I'd found a skirt i used to wear less than a year earlier... and it fit around my THIGH.  I used to also eat a huge eggs/bacon/potatoes breakfast nearly every morning, and ice cream and chocolate all the time too. Seems like now I eat a bite of chocolate, and poof, my pants are tight.  |
| Posted by: My2Beauties Jul 16 2009, 06:37 AM |
| You described me to a T as well, if I don't have a sweet tea in the morning I go crazy. I think I am borderline hypoglycemic though, which could be what you're describing. |
| Posted by: jcc64 Jul 16 2009, 07:09 PM |
| I think you have anxiety issues, Jen. When I first went to the dr with my own anxiety situation many years ago, one of the first things he did was test my thyroid, b/c thyroid issues manifest similarly to anxiety disorders. Go have a thyroid test done to rule out hypo/hyperglycemia. Could also be a hormone imbalance of some kind. But imo, the smart money's on anxiety. Not the end of the world, easily treated in a variety of ways. No need to suffer. As for the sweets, everyone needs a drug. Why not chocolate, as long as it's not replacing every meal. |
| Posted by: cameragirl21 Jul 16 2009, 08:13 PM |
| I am hypoglycemic and I do have low thyroid but I stopped taking synthroid because I didn't think it was helping...my doc says I didn't give it a chance but i grew quickly bored with it. My hypothroidism is really borderline, so just within normal range but my doc says I still have all the symptoms of hypothyroidism. Idk, this post is a bit old and I have the sugar a bit more under control now but I still have a whole mouth full of sweet teeth.... |