anyone else gained excessive amounts of weight?

I haven't experienced exactly this, but I did notice that when I'm stressed and my depression/anxiety flares up I crave food a lot. Especially sweet food. It would make me feel better temporarily, but because I have a history with anorexia I would wind up feeling horrible about myself afterwards.

What I figured out is that I just don't have an outlet for stress. I used to exercise more but have had health issues that have prevented it. I've tried to find new outlets for stress now that the anxiety is so bad. I've taken up progressive muscle relaxation. There's also meditation, yoga, guided imagery, etc. It might help take the edge off of how stressed you're feeling and give you another outlet for the stress besides eating.

Therapy could really help with this. I know that there are therapists that specialize in this sort of thing. It could be that you have an eating disorder but it could also just be that the food is a coping mechanism. Therapy could give you new coping mechanisms to try and things to substitute for the food. Your doctor could probably give you referrals for this if you are interested.

This is not an easy thing to overcome, but please understand that there is hope! You have already gotten over much of your anxiety disorder, which is incredibly hard. You can get over this too.

Feel better!

Av

I have gained weight too! I have always been thin my entire adult life, even after having my baby... I was back to a size 2 in weeks. The last two years though, I have gained 30 pounds. When I first started getting these episodes - the shakiness, dizziness, near-passing out - we thought it might be low blood sugar. I've always been a picky eater, never ate breakfast, etc. It was common for me to live on coffee and a snack, or go most of the day w/o eating and then eat a big dinner at night - supposedly a big no-no for weight, but I was always thin (and not hungry! I ate if I was hungry).

I've had fasting bloodwork and my fasting blood sugar was fine. But, I've gotten in the habit of always keeping an orange juice and crackers with me, especially in the car - and always eat when I feel dizzy. To make matters worse, I did at one point say forget it... I am tired of feeling overweight, I am only going to eat when I am hungry, like I used to , I want my old body back. I did fine for 3 weeks, and then after 4 hours shopping in the mall one day, I almost passed out. Heart pounding, shaking, vertigo, I thought I was going to die. I still don't know if it was because didnt eat enough or was a panic attack that would have happened anyway.

Now I am back to eating often, and especially if I feel dizzy, even when I don't feel hungry, because I don't know what else to do, and I don't want to exacerbate any dizzyness or panic with low blood sugar.I feel stuck. The doctor says I do not have a blood sugar problem, and at this point can't find anything else wrong with me, except a vitamin d deficiency which I am taking vit. d for, yet I am scared to not eat.
Things like oj and carbs raise blood sugar quickly, which is why I keep them with me. But these kinds of simple sugars will also make you gain weight fast. I hate the weight I've gained, but don't know what else to do when I feel dizzy or like I am going to pass out.

Since I've had these episode while driving (terrifying!) and sometimes just going outside, the grocery store, or around the house - is when I started gaining weight, too. I guess its dumb since the doctor says there is no evidence of low blood sugar, but again, I don't know what else to do when I feel dizzy and faint.

If you are doing much better with your anxiety, when you get the urge to eat, but are not hungry - maybe you could try chewing gum (chewing releases hormones that are soothing), or sipping water. I also keep a water bottle and take sips often. Sometimes this helps me with impending anxiety, sometimes it doesn't. I've also found a few youtube videos to play on my phone that are relaxation/stress that sometimes help.

I remembered 8 hr glucose tollerance test. gettin old.

Larry