Exercise Induced Anxiety
In response to my call for help I received a great topic idea from one of my readers. The topic is exercise induced anxiety and whether or not lightheadedness and dizziness are caused by anxiety while exercising or is there something else going on?
If you have spent any time reading this blog or any other online resource about anxiety disorders then you know one of the most common bits of advice given to anxiety sufferers is that they exercise. Sometimes though even something as positive and good for you as exercise can cause problems.
So you walk into the gym with your brand new exercise gear and take a look around. You see that someone has just gotten off the stair master machine so you race over so someone else doesn’t beat you there. You climb on and begin the not so fun process of exercising – so far so good.
After you climb off the stair master you notice something just isn’t right. You’re out of breath, dizzy, lightheaded and the room may even be moving around just a tad. Is this anxiety or is it exercise related?
Let’s look at the connection between exercise and lightheadedness first. Can exercise cause you to feel dizzy and lightheaded? Yes it can.
You don’t have to have an anxiety disorder to feel off balance or dizzy after physically exerting yourself. The process by which this occurs is normal and not anxiety related.
The What, How, and Why
When we physically exert ourselves, a.k.a exercise, there is a lot happening in the body. First things first – your heart muscle will begin to beat faster so it can send blood to the muscles doing all the work. This in turn increases blood flow and causes your blood vessels to expand. This makes it easier for the body to send the needed blood to those hard working muscles.
When you stop exercising the blood circulation slows down because those hard working muscles are not asking for as much oxygen/energy. Although your circulation has been slowed the blood vessels in the body remain expanded and this can cause your blood pressure to fall which may cause dizziness.
Prevention
Although feeling dizzy after a good work out is not unheard of you should take steps to avoid it or at least decrease its prevalence.
There are a few things you can do to lower the occurrence of dizziness after exercising. For starters you need to eat right and keep hydrated. When we work out we are using a great deal of energy and we need to make sure that our bodies are prepared for the job ahead.
This doesn’t mean that you have to eat a huge meal before working out but you definitely want to make sure you eat at least a small snack and drink water before and during your workout.
In addition, make sure that you breathe. When people workout, especially with weights, they tend to hold their breath without knowing it. This is obviously not a good idea because your body needs all the oxygen it can get. You should think of oxygen as your fuel.
How you breathe I don’t think is as important as the pace of your breathing. Whether you breathe through your nose, mouth, or both just make sure it is steady and constant. Remember the idea is to intake oxygen not to get fancy or complicated with your breathing.
Another very important preventative measure is warming up and cooling down. Like I mentioned before when you suddenly stop exercising your blood circulation slows down but your blood vessels are still expanded. If you take the time to warm up and cool down then you give your body a chance to ‘catch up’ with your heart rate. This will allow your body to be more in sync with your heart.
In order to warm up and cool down effectively stretch before and after your workouts. When you decide that your workout is coming to a close don’t just stop. You have to come to a gradual stop. If your running slow down to a slow jog and then a brisk walk.
If you are on a stair master simply slow the pace down gradually until you feel relaxed and not laboring to breathe. The key is to gradually stop whatever you’re doing over several minutes.
Even if you are planning only a light workout make sure to keep it steady and be certain to keep your comfort level reasonable. Working out does not have to be a punishing experience.
Lastly, be patient. Sometimes we don’t workout for months or even years. It is unrealistic to not exercise on a regular basis and then think that you can jump back into the saddle and workout very hard.
Take your time and build up your bodies stamina. There is no need to rush because your body will do what you want it to do, but you have to give it time to build the necessary strength.
The Anxiety Connection
Now can exercise bring on an anxiety attack or startled nerves? Yes it can. This is because working out causes the body to undergo a lot of the phyiscal changes that occur during a bout of anxiety.
Profuse sweating, uncontrolled breathing, increased heart rate, dizziness, sound familiar? This is especially true if you are new to exercising vigorously. You may feel a little out of control and off balance. This can cause uneasiness and anxiety. But remember over the long term exercise is good for you!
It is normal to feel uneasy when you physically exert yourself. Your memory is tied into your phyiscal symptoms so much that the very fact that your heart rate is at 150 bpm can scare you. You may be making an unconscious connection between how you feel during or after a workout and your past experiences with anxiety – very normal.
As anxiety sufferers we are simply tuned into our bodies much more than the average person. So if anything feels off it becomes a great concern. We have to train ourselves to understand that not every bump is fatal.
Concerns
Being dizzy and lightheaded after a workout is not normal. It may happen from time to time but is should not be a regular occurrence. If you ever feel like you’re about to pass out sit down or lie down. This will balance blood flow and let your body correct itself.
In addition if you ever feel dizzy or lightheaded during a workout this could be a sign of a serious problem. In this case go see your doctor right away.
Remember that if you start to feel discomfort with respect to your balance and orientation to slow down. Scale back what you are doing or cut your workout short for the day.
Moreover if you tend to workout outside be sure to avoid intense heat or cold as these weather conditions can also cause problems.
Conclusion
The reader who asked that this topic be brought up did so because he is a healthy male in his 20′s with this very problem. He could not figure out why this was happening. Like many of us do when concerned about our health he went to his doctor and was given a stress test and found to be in good health.
I also had the exact same experience. I had a couple of workouts that caused me to feel dizzy and uneasy. I was tested for this and that and the doctor simply told me to breathe while I worked out and to not push myself too hard.
In other words, this is all very common. If you have this problem than going to your doctor is a safe bet. In fact if you are experiencing this problem and are afraid or if this problem is stopping you from exercising go and get checked up.
Once the test are run and you are cleared than you can feel confident about exercising safely. Be sure to follow the tips laid out in this post and don’t be afraid to burn off your excess adrenaline.
Fear comes so easily to us but at the same time we have to find a way to accept it. Accept that you’re sometimes fearful, uneasy, and anxious. But don’t accept any limitations on where you can go or what you can do. We can all be brave when we need to be.
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You are awesome great blog. Thanks for the information..I an very worried what couldhappen. I feel that sometimes I will pass out or have a heart attack. I ran one night for 45 minutes straight , I felt great and I feel I can still run for hours. Then I tried incline walking right after for 5 minutes walking incline to 12 inches high I felt fine but right after when I was cooling down i felt the fast beat if my heart and I said to my self ‘oh no here we go’ I was having an attack. It took for more than 30 minutes before I was calm. My fiance was ready to call 911. I said no and tried to relax. I guess I will have to gradually work my way up again.
Thank you again but to take precautions I will consult my physician on Monday. Thank you
Lloyd
nice article. thanks. can this include a slight nauseating feeling as well?
Great post. Thanks for this. I started Cross Fit training last night and felt extremely weak and lightheaded afterward, but I think I did almost everything wrong by doing something extreme without any real history of regularly working out, didn’t eat anything and not the best a breathing. Suffice it to say, I was a wreck. Even on the drive home, I felt like I was going into a full blown panic attack, but kept telling myself that all of it was normal under the circumstances and that it was a step in the right direction and just proud of myself for doing it. I’ve been on almost every anxiety med available for 11 years and then gradually weaned myself off in 2006. It’s been challenging, but every time I feel the onset of one, I just tell it to do it’s worst and to bring it on and kill me. It never does and I go on living my life
Great article, it’s great to know that it’s not just me. It’s quite ironic that one of the best ways to reduce one’s anxiety in the long run can induce anxiety in the short term. I suffer from pretty severe fatigue as a result of my anxiety disorder, so it can be pretty devastating to muster up the strength (and courage) to go to the gym only to have an anxiety attack once I’m there. Talk about a catch 22.
I want to share my problem without sounding like a jerk but I really dont think thats possible, so, yeah.
See I’m a freaky genius. Like, intimidatingly so. “I score in the 99th percentile” genius. Which makes it worse that I terrify myself into delirium and panic while ignoring the obvious causes. I can tell you exactly what happens to you when you exercise, when you stop, when you panic. I can explain to anyone what a ribbon protein graph means.
And yet here I am, terrified out of my mind because of things I already know arent dangerous. I spend my entire life ignoring impulse reactions due to the consequences they have. Even just a few minues ago, laying on my back as my heart rate blasted off (at the speed of light.) I was calmly and cooly telling myself in my head “You know whats wrong and its not a big deal.” except then there was that other part of my head that only heard ‘Big deal? This is a big deal?! Go, EPINEPHRINE!”
My brains a jerk. And not only that it makes me feel stupid. I do not like feeling stupid as the intelligence is all I have really. Just existing is enough to give me panic attacks of an extreme nature, and now i cant even control the one thing — the ONE THING — i had to feel good about myself.
I write this all..for no reason. But lets say the reason is to show people they have no need to feel stupid or bad about feeling this way. It has nothing to do with that. And in the end it seems a great reminder of who we all are.
Also if you pay attention, youll notice my anxiety progressively decreasing as I wrote this entry. Neat, huh?
Hi guys,
I have to write again because i have had it with this crap. A month ago I have done again a complete medical checkup. I have been diagnosed with the Lepore syndrome (13% of my hemoglobin is abnormal). This is a rare genetic disease but I have had it since I was borne and never bothered me and I should be able to live a normal life. I have been a very active person (snowboarding, paragliding, mountain biking, mountaineering etc.) The cardiologist done every possibly test on my heart. She told me that my heart is in great shape (she had me doing the athlete stress test on that bicycle). Apart from some isolated extra-systoles nothing was found. She told me this is normal. But now I am facing another problem. I have been hiking this weekend and after a 4 hours climb and then a 2 hours walk down the mountain my heart rate stayed 120+ bpm for 5 hours during the resting period and had a lot of extra-systoles during this recovery period. I have to say that during the climb I kind of stressed myself about my heart and my legs were kind of shaky. I have been drinking a lot of liquids and eat well before this. Every time my heart rate goes to 160 I get the panic. I can no longer live a normal life. They want to put me on Zoloft and Xanax but I don’t want that. I sometimes get dizzy after workout sometimes I am not. I have problems sleeping and I am a nervous wreck all the time, and feel very energy drained. I am wasting my life worrying but I can’t control this. They say it’s all in my brain. Maybe. But when my heart is racing it’s real, when I get dizzy it’s real, my backpain is real, etc. Also lately I get a lot of air hunger and I feel my throat kind of weird specially during my workout. Can anybody relate to this? Please excuse my bad english, I live in Romania.
Lucian i hear you. I am so drained from the constant worry . I do strength training and really enjoy it but constantly get light headed and think there must be something wrong. I have had so many heart tests and the cardiologist has told me i’m fine but no my head still tells me there must be something wrong. i also suffer from heart palpatations which yes they are real and i also get this thing where i can’t get that yawn out and makes me feel ike i cant breathe properly . I am 35 and have lived with this anxiety all my life . Now that i have kids i think it is worse. I recently went on a holiday with my hubby without the kids and was worried the whole time something might happen to me. Completly controls my life I AM OVER IT !
Alo. Ce faci Lucian?
First of all, if you’re going on 4 hour climbs, odds are you are in terrific shape! It sounds to me like perhaps this could be a product of anxiety building upon itself. But, since I’m not a doctor I would recommend a few things…
1. See a Cardiologist – One of the first things I did when I came down with anxiety was to see one. I was given a lot of tests, including a stress-test which I passed with no problem. (Despite having rapid heart beat and palps.)
Once you get clearance that your heart is fine, it really may help you relax even in the face of symptoms you don’t like. I’ve also taken a low dose of a drug called a beta-blocker which helped keep my heart from racing when I was at my worst. Again, consult a cardiologist. (Not just a general doctor, if poassible.)
2. I would personally recommend against drugs like Zoloft and Xanax outside of it being a last resort. It sounds like you don’t want to take them, which means you are willing to work on this naturally. I can only speak from my experience, but SSRI’s (Zoloft etc.) only made me worse… and Xanax helped a little… but put me into an awul, 6 month withdrawal period which I’m just not getting over. Coming off of that was way worse than my orignal anxiety.
3. Look into the books and audio of Dr. Claire Weeks. Make them part of your daily life… read and listen until you know them by heart.
4. Look into the works of John E. Sarno and Dr. Howard Schubiner – Both doctors who deal with a branch of mind/body medicine that I believe applies to you… me… and most of us.
5. Examine every aspect of your life… and what may be contributing to stress. Work on cutting it down, coping and giving yourself time to recover.
6. Meditation – guided or otherwise. Look into books by Jon Kabbot Zin… also great free podcasts on iTunes. (Meditation Oasis, Meditation for Health.)
I share a lot of your symptoms and I’m by no means cured. But, I’ve been at this for a while and I’m starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. I hope some of this helped. Keep exercising and don’t let anxiety take that away. Just get that check-up to make yourself confident that you’re fine.
Take care!
This too has happened to me. Except for the past 6 years, I’ve always been pretty fit. One day I decided to join a gym membership and start working out. I did push myself pretty hard with circuit weight training for about 45 minutes and felt great. About 15 minutes later, I was focusing on my heart beat and felt a little dizzy. At that point, while driving in my car, if felt anxious and began feeling a tingling feeling in both ring and pinking fingers on both hands. That got me even more worked up and had to pull over. My hands locked up tight and even my feet started to tingle. By the time the EMT arrive, i was fine. I made a doctors appointment at that time. A couple a days later, i went to a football game and started thinking about that whole episode and my heart started racing. The tingling in my fingers started again just by worrying. This time I was intent on controlling it, so i walked outside and controlled my breathing and tried to distract myself. I’ve had this feeling three times: twice after about 10 minutes following a heavy weight lifting workout, once just thinking about it. I’ve had the doctor workup and all is normal. I’ve convinced myself that I have to ease up my workouts until my body can handle it, cool down after a workout and stop worrying about it so much. Just the worrying about it can shoot my heart rate up without even working out (anxiety). One thing I have noticed, when the anxiety feeling starts to happen, I can control it by distracting myself before a full on panic attack occurs(stop worrying). One thing to note, this all started because i began having heart palpitation about a month before working out. The palpitations that occurred after my workout through me into worry and then panic. I’ve stopped drinking all the coffee and take a “1 a day vitamin”. The palpitations have stopped but the anxiety from the first episode lingered. I seem to be doing much better now.
Hey guys. Donna and Bryan thanks a lot for the reply. It really means a lot to me and I hope you will get well fast. Bryan “fac bine acum
”. I have seen by now 5 cardiologists. They all told me I am fine and fit. I have good days and bad days. This morning when I woke up all my muscles were hurting me specially my back muscles and had really bad palpitations (extra-systoles and 120+ bpm plus being aware of my heart activity). I took my bicycle for a one hour ride and the pain was gone also my palpitations were gone. Now I am in the resting period and I have a heart rate of 56 bpm and no palpitations. It is clearly not an organic problem. I have to say that I am seeing a psychologist. He is saying that my problems are from my childhood. (I am a 29 years old male now). My father was drinking heavy and was coming home beating my mother and I was always defending her ending up being beaten by him. He once took a knife and told me he will cut us both. My mother tried to commit suicide 3 times and I was the one to find her half death. But I thought I am stronger than this. At that time I got over it really fast and now I am not thinking about those things. What bothers me is that the one thing that made me feel really good (sports) scares me like hell sometimes. I hope I will get over this soon as I want to get into skydiving this spring. What I found to help me is drinking Gatorade during exercise and there is also a medicine called Aspacardin. It contains magnesium and potassium. I wish you all the best.
Thank you,
Lucian.
Dizzy lightheaded and mild panic post workout – 12 hours later
Hello.
Yesterday I felt dizzy and lightheaded with a mild panic attack 12 hours post workout.
I usually workout early mornings, and after a couple of years of no exercise, I started working out two months ago.I started out with cardio (elliptical) for 15 min and slowly built it up to 35 min. Occassionally did weight lifting about 4 times in two months. I kept the heart rate at 120.
On Tue this week, after 2 months of cardio, I decided to up the intensity by introducing HIIT (High-intensity interval training). I did about 3 min of high intensity elliptical (about 157 heart rate) and then finished the rest of the workout at lower heart rate (abotu 133).
Repeated the same on Wednesday, and went to work. 12 hours later I had this light headed feeling and started to panic. I thought I was dehydrated so took about 500ml water and some M&Ms. But it didnt stop after a few minutes. I decided to pop in one aspirin (thought I was having a heart attack). After a few min I was still feeling woozy spaced out but was ok enough to drive back home.
When I came back home 1 hour later and started to eat dinner the dizzyness came back, so I stopped and layed down.
Today I am fine but there is some mild spaced out feeling, I can’t get rid of.
I dont know what to do. Is there anyone who can give me some ideas on what could be happening? I am fairly knowledgeable about medical terms and physiology. I just want to make sense of the root cause of the problem.
Thank you in advance.
Hi
I posted a comment about a month ago so this is just an update.After having all the same issues you are all explaining .I have taken my doctors orders and continued with mild exercise everyday(when possible).I take medication (paraxetone) stayed away from all types of caffeine such as chocolate,coffee,alcohol and tea,I must admit my doctor was right i am feeling nearly a 100% and am living normal again.People say to stay away from the medication but it has worked for me, or maybe it is my healthy living.My physcologist told me it was more than likely my childhood but it never bothered me for 40 years.What my doctor told me that it was a chemical imbalance in my brain which was causing this problem.I am now believing this is true and have found that i have gone from a stressed out person to a relaxed person being able to function like i used to.People may bag medication but sometimes this might be the only answer.What it does is send the brain messages to the right place and back again.I have been told to stay on this med for 6 months so i will keep you all posted
Cheers Goodluck
I loved the opening information, it described me perfectly.
I have had constant dizziness for at least 4 years now…I went to a variety of doctors and ended up at mayo in Florida and they “guessed” I had bilateral dissient superior canals, but the C-scan did not show it for sure…I had two major surgerys in the last 2 years to “repair” inner ears, well that hasn’t helped and was not the answer….I am now trying balance excercises and just started some blood pressure medicine to treat possible ‘migraine vertigo”. It will take several weeks to see if this helped. can only wait and hope.
Jimmy Washington
Antianxiety-drugs.com
It’s great to find others that have anxiety when working out hard. I’m 57
and run sprints in masters track meets and I workout hard 3 x wkly on the track doing repeats then I hit the gym hard for 90 min. What
happens to me is I warm up — and about 80% of the time when I finish my 1st of several repeats I feel panicy, anxious, disorderly, and I usually want to take my shirt off and stop the workout. It’s a very uncomfortable and scary feeling. It usually goes away in a minute or two then I’m ok for the rest of the workout. I also went and took a stress test and my breakdown is 178hb/min and I had this above mentioned symtoms after that test. All the Dr said was to go easier or start taking a beta blocker. I’ve done neither. This problem is always on my mind and does hinder my workouts. This past week I have been easing into the hard training mode by adding an additional repeat but slowing down on the first 2.
Hi Shriam
Sounds like you may have just panicked about what sensations you were experiencing and this led you into feeling more panicky, it’s anxiety and it will pass and it wont kill you. You may have been feeling a less energetic that day already and exercise was a bit too much for you. Our bodies are not machines we are just human beings. Just try to hold onto the thought WYTIWYF (what you think is what you feel) if you can change what you think you will see how it changes what you feel.. … Hope you are having a great day. Keep up the exercise ! I write from a place of personal experience so all we can all do is know it will pass and there is more right with us then wrong with us.
cheers
S
I have exercise-induced anxiety, but its not what is described in this article. I feel fine (emotionally) when exercising. The problem is a few hours later. Then it feels like my blood sugar level has dropped from the workout and I feel extremely anxious/depressed and a rather lonely/ heart broken feeling. Not good! Often I’ll work out in the evening and wake up the next morning feeling emotionally horrible. Eating makes it better. Even when I dont exercise, my anxiety/ emotional state seems very dependent on eating. I have checked my own blood sugar many times and ever found anything unusual. I’ve quit exercising because Im having so much anxiety these days that I just cant bear to bring on more with the “exercise hangover” as I call it.
Hi Guys,
I also suffer a similar problem. I work out with heavy weights at the gym and often feel light headed after sitting up from a bench press or while working too hard. I believe mine is due to breathing intensely to try to avoid any heart problems from not breathing enough. The end result is over breathing which in turn causes dizzyness.
My question to you all is how many are smokers? Donna you mentioned you get that can’t fully yawn thing. I used to get that often from about age 26 it started. I am now 33 and it has mostly completely gone as I quit smoking 3 months ago and it went shortly after quitting. I believe it had something to do with COPD (emphysema) as more commonly known, early stages of it and since quitting my lungs have repaired a large portion of the damage. Emphysema can occur in early ages from smoking.
My heart palpatations began when I was 26 when I used to catch trains long distances to and from work. I found it double beated around the time I tried to relax, closing my eyes or trying to un wind for the journey. Shortly after it followed me home also. I also dropped too many coffees and this helped somewhat but I found the single biggest help was breathing more.
I was a smoker at that time and I think I wasnt getting enough oxygyn to my heart as I was “too relaxed”. After which I got on edge and became more alert, almost to the point of being anxiuos about making sure I sucked enough oxygen.
Anyway now it’s mostly habbit and I breath good doses of air and my palpatations are gone.
Not sure if they were in my head but it makes sense to me.
BTW quitting smoking was one of the hardest things ive had to do, and I suffered anxiety for the first week and felt sick and tired and depressed. But now it’s gone and I feel stronger, fitter, my lungs can now breath.
Good luck everyone.
Thanks,
Michael
Hi,
Thanks Michael for your input. I am not a smoker so i don’t think my problem has anything to do with that . I do believe i have slight asthma which causes this to happen when around smoke or dust and some other allergens.
Good to hear you quit
Cheers
Donna
I am a 45-year old male that runs and lifts weights 5-6 days per week. Many of my workouts include intense running intervals and fairly heavy weight training. I have had many instances during my workouts where I will become light headed, short of breath and start to feel like I’m going to pass out. Usually I can weather the storm by concentrating on my breathing and convincing myself that everything is okay. However, there have been times where I have to leave the gym or cut short my run because the anxiety symptoms become overwhelming. In the most severe situations I have resorted to taking a Xanax which provides complete relief within 15-20 minutes. There have also been some instances where I have taken half of a Xanax around 30 minutes prior to working out in order to avoid the potential onset of the troubling anxiety symptoms. It’s a vicious cycle that comes and goes and I can emphathize with all of you other anxiety sufferers.
Thank you so much for this article!! I am a major sufferer of anxiety and panic. I’m not overweight, but I smoke and I AM out of shape. I don’t exercise at all. In the last 2 days I began working out and doing cardio, and tonight was my first jog. When I stopped, I suddenly noticed that I was really dizzy and it felt like the room was wavy. It worried me so I googled it and found this. Thanks
As I was reading this, I was especially drawn to Mike’s post on Nov 10, 2011. This exact thing(tingling and my hands locked up) happened to me after a heavy workout and it scared me so bad that I have not worked out since. It’s been about 6 months and I am so ready to jump back into exercise but I am terrified that the same thing will happen again. After reading this, I feel fully confident that I can begin exercising again. I will take baby steps and not do too much too fast. But I want to thank each and everyone of you for taking the time to post your feelings and experiences here. Especially, Mike thanks to you. I’m so glad to know that I am not the only one that has had this experience. I know dealing with anxiety is not a fun thing but I think in the end it will only make us stronger individuals.
Todd,
Have you ever been checked for hypoglycemia? That use to happen to me and my blood sugar would read fine, but it is the sudden drop that causes the symptoms that you describe.
Hello Everyone,
I just wanted to say that I too have the same symptoms that most are reporting. When I come into work in the mornings, I always have 1-2 cups of coffee to start off the day. I almost always try to eat as healthy as possible. I am able to work out 4 times a week, with taking 1-2 days off on the weekends to rest and enjoy life. I’m not extremely skinny or overweight, but I could stand to lose a few pounds. When I do get ready to go for a workout, I always feel like an anticipated feeling that my heart starts to beat a little bit faster, almost like an andrenaline rush. When I get into the gym, I try to do exercises that limit my heartrate so that I wont have that feeling of increased heart beats that freak my out. When I do get those feelings, my heart rate is right around 200-210bpm. I’ve checked this rate on the heart rate monitors on the elipticals or stationary bikes they have at the gym. When this feeling happens, I get really weak, nauseated, clammy and sweaty. I almost always feel an urge to rush to the bathroom and evacuate. I’ve been to many doctors and even cardiologists to determine a cause and they said the results of the stress test and ekg were normal and there’s nothing wrong. I was diagnosed with GAD (General Anxiety Disorder) and since have been on zoloft daily. I’m going to talk to another doctor about a Beta-Blocker to slow down my heartrate when exercising to reduce the anxiety caused. I appreciate everyone telling their stories, its comforting to know that I’m not the only one facing this challenge.
i would like thank everybody here for the valuable comments……i think it makes u half stress free when u learn that u are not alone fighting this deamon(anxiety)…Was admitted in ccu cardiology for my out of control heart beats only to learn that it was a panic attack…..only the one who has suffered it can understand my feelings…..
Guys I am right there with most of you, I am 53 years old and have had some anxiety all my life, but it has really taken a turn for the worse in the last year or so. I have always been in pretty good shape and my wife always has called me the energizer bunny, It all started for me a little over 1 1/2 years ago. I new my colestrol was high , I tried to change that by changing my diet, I did all the right things I just have it in my genes to have high colestrol, So I let the doctor put me on a statin drug, I took it for about 2 or 3 months and I noticed I was getting weaker in the weight room and my shoulders were kelling me all the time. I had to get off the statins. I was still eating healthy and doing all the right things, but my strenght and endurance were no longer what they were befor. Now of course I have been all over the internet trying to dianose myself. I am not sure I even have one yet, but I eventually I got my doctor to check my T level on my last physical, I don’t know why he has’nt checked it before now. But anyway It came back low, 265 was suppose to be between 500 and 700. This could be the result of my worsening anxiety, but I still don’t if it is anxiety. MY doctor wanted to put me on testostrone patches. I tried them ,but they just increased my anxiety. He also wanted me to take antidepressents, I tried that and it just made me have the blaz. I don’t really know If the low T is tied to the use of the statin, there is some info on the web that suggest it does. I know now that when I exercise I do very well until I really get to exerting myself, and then all at once I feel like I am going to exspire it I take one more step. I still feel like have the strength in my legs but the light headedness and the feeling in my chest is awful, and I have had the stress test recently. I have recently started taking 50mgs of zinc. Maybe I write some good news later , good luck to you all and God Bless.
I haven’t worked out in 5 months because the last time I did, my heart did a flip flop that sent me to a knee and then to the ER. It happened again a week later. Then, in the following weeks, a flurry of palpitations and labored breathing. I’m 37 and have always been very fit. Very little body fat. I have worked out religiously for 20 years–until the palpitations started. The EKG was normal; the stress test was normal. But now, every time I lift something heavy I feel like the adrenaline and my heart do not like it. Today I moved a heavy table and then felt “off” for about 30 minutes. I was running 4 miles a day and bench pressing 200 lbs until I hit this wall. I’m paralyzed with fear and I don’t know if I’ll be able to lick it. I am taking a half ativan about once a week whenever I feel like my breathing and heartbeat are out of whack. My father died of a heart attack at 41, so the specter of that is undoubtedly messing with my head. I realize on paper I am a classic anxiety case, but you know when your body is just not in sync. I don’t know what to do… take an ativan every time I want to exercise? I’m afraid if I do that, and I still have an attack, it will get out of hand because I won’t have a pill to take to calm my fears. I’m wondering if a beta blocker might be helpful but I have read a bunch of negatives about that, too.
Thanks.
I just started working out again after almost five months. Worked out 30 minutes last evening on my eliptical; felt a little “jittery” afterwards but full of energy; a few hours later I felt like I had just had too much caffine when it was time to go to bed. I did not sleep very well; this morning got to work and did not feel myself, was feeling anxious, shakey, couldn’t concentrat and felt as though I was starting to have an anxiety attack. This happend to me once before last March 2011 when I started working out for the first time in quiet some time. don’t know if it could be a hyperthroid thing or if it is just my anxiety. Since my surgical hysterectomy a year and a half ago I have much, much more anxiety so always thought it was due to menopause at such a young age (43). Wondering if anyone could give me some there advice on this? I may have to start something for my anxiety; I have always had some anxiety my entire life but never taken anything for it; but I am willing now to get on something; it’s hard some days to function otherwise. I also have had my thoughts throw me into an anxiety attack;not fun. Any help or advice would be very much welcome.
Thank you for the wonderful blog and info. I’ve experienced this twice after my last two runs. I’m training for a 5k and I was becoming concerned this would be hinder my training.
After reading this, I feel much better about my situation and will implement your tips into my work-out.
Thanks again, you’ve really helped me out.
Excellent blog and info. I work overnights 12 hour shifts 7 days on 7 days off. I used to workout after work but I couldn’t sleep afterwards and work demands increased like every job. I stopped working out for 7 days plus my weekend off. Now i try to cram 4(most i get is 3) workouts in 5 days plus change my sleep schedule. June of 2010 I suffered a bilateral bicep tear and had to stop working out for 6 months so depression and alcohol set in. Now a year and a half later I’m experiencing post workout anxiety. I feel great during the workout but 1/2 hour after i get home the anxiety kicks in. I’m 53 years old and have been working out on and off(mostly off) since 16 yrs old. I believe part off my problems are the pre workout supplements i take which have much caffeine also at work I need to do energy drinks just to concentrate. My anxiety comes mostly from sleep deprivation. I tried not taking pre workout supps and my workouts were lifeless and flat. Its like my endorphins just tank after about 1/2 hour after i come home then anxiety & depression set in.
Hi everyone , just an update for you all.6 months ago i suffered all the symptoms that you have all talked about.I entered this site to find people similar to me and my issues,and there was and is still plenty of you all.
Anyway i have just finished a six month treatment of antidepressants(I was out of options at the time.) during this time on the medication i became a robot to these terrible drugs,with every side effect possible,at 1 stage i believed i was getting worse. Told my doctor and he said “you have to put up with the side effects to get better” pigs arse I slowly tapered myself off them over about 2 months (that was worse than being on them)and started to feel i was going back to where i started,anyway a friend of a friend recommended a iriodoligist(naturpath) and within 2 weeks i have become the person i new i always was with no side effects. I back into full swing doing everything i used to do,I even feel like im 20 years younger and have heaps more energy than i can remember, unbelievable. A few quick tests (zinc test look it up) and some strong multivitamins and i cannot believe i just spent the last year debilertated and hiding from the world. If you have not tried a naturpathist i strongly recommend, you have nothing to loose.
Cheers Nick