Awful anxiety causing tummy trouble and no sleep

[TimeSlipMushroom]

I'm currently trying to sort out awful anxiety but don't seem to be managing it. I'm awake from 2am every morning with an upset stomach and GP says it anxiety and has prescribed medication. I have been under a lot of stress recently. Trying headspace but it's hard to do with DC bumping about in the house and on a waiting list for CBT

Has anyone else dealt with this and what helped. I'm at my wits end with lack of sleep

This was me last year, it was horrendous. I tried a couple of anxiety meds until I found the one that did the trick- escitaloprám, 10mg per day. It's completely changed how I feel, I'm not numb at all, I feel happy and relaxed. The most anxiety I experience now are mild butterflies. Wish I'd started them years ago.

All the best, I hope you feel better soon.

Sorry to hear this - it’s miserable. I have had patches of this myself and realised that mine were largely connected to perimenopause. I am now on HRT and take a tailored supplement with evening primrose oil which helps. You don’t mention your age so this may not be relevant to you.

I also use a brilliant free app called Insight Timer to help with sleep. It has lots of meditation/Yoga Nidra tracks which I find so relaxing - I never get to the end of one! They also help me to settle back to sleep if I wake in the night. 3.30am seems to be my time for waking in a panic about the most ludicrous things that wouldn’t faze me at all in the daytime!

Don’t know if that’s of any help but you are not alone!

I used to wake up in a panic every day, my Doctor said there was nothing wrong with me. I started taking a high dose of vitamin D during the pandemic and it cured my anxiety!

Peri-menopause?

I was given holistic support on the NHS that gave lifestyle counselling.

The guy recommended sleep and nutrition above all else. Exercise too, but initially only for the mental health and habit benefits.

So here's what I can remember off the top of my head:

• medications can help OR hinder sleep depending on when they're taken. If it's not working in the current timeslot, switch it.
• develop strong routines around bedtime. A cup of (decaff) tea at a particular hour, dimmed lights, reduced water, cool down. Reflect on positive memories of the day before sleep.
• prolonged stress and anxiety can cause something called leaky gut syndrome. It reduces the ability of the gut to stop unwanted things getting back into the bloodstream. To repair your gut, you need a diet rich in things like cabbage and broccoli.
• he also recommended avoiding inorganic substances. There's evidence that our body has a "stress" reaction to the presence of upfs etc in food and household products. So before you even get to mental causes of stress and anxiety, your environment is giving your body a baseline of stress to respond to. Reducing this will give your body a chance to deal with the mental stress better.
• exercise - just a walk around the park every day - can just help you mentally and physically. It will contribute to the success of the above.

Following these recommendations was very effective for me, and I take care of my gut these days.

Thanks for the advice. I forgot to say I started citalopram a few weeks ago.

I am exercising and eating healthily. I don't drink alcohol, smoke or have much caffeine and never after lunchtime. I can get to sleep at night. My gut wakes me up