What do BB members do for cortisol surge and the anxiety from it in the morning?

I have recently been having more and more anxiety and fearful worrisome thoughts early in the morning around 7 to 9am. I fear the early morning hours because I know I will be having this anxiety come on.

I am now down to 12.9mg of Valium. I take 2 doses. At 10am I take 6mg and at 10pm I take 6.9mg.

The Valium at night is not sedating enough to make me sleep. I have to add doxylamine succinate and melatonin to the mix. But I have been off the doxylamine for a while and I just tried it again 2 nights ago and it did work again. But I did not want to jump into taking it every night again because this is what caused it to stop working

 

I think some BB members may have had this morning anxiety also. I did not have it when I was on a higher dose of Valium like 30mg but it has been getting worse as I have been dropping down on Valium and as my insomnia has increased. If any BB members have found anything that helps diminish this morning anxiety or cortisol surge please chime in

Rob,

 

One thing I tried was eat protein, right before going to bed.  I had the same cortisol surges, mine lasted a lot longer from 7 am until about 6 pm, just waves of it all day long.  I've read that other people get up and start moving around to bring it down.  The moving around never worked for me. 

 

I can definitely relate.  I hate that feeling.

 

 

TRY

I have heard somewhere that protein helps to ease anxiety. If taken over the course of the day it may help.

 

I was thinking of maybe some supplement or vitamin may be helpful.

 

I hope your cortisol surges have gotten to be less.

 

Rob

I heard something about Inositol.  Helps with anxiety, it's a supplement.  Don't know that it regulates Cortisol levels.

 

 

TRY

Try I will check it out. Thanks.

Rob,

 

I think you can get it on Amazon. 

 

TRY

i get up and move around and use distraction.  I  meditate every day and exercise - either walk or yoga - again both help - some mornings are worse than others.  I have also found a hot shower helps.  I don't want to take any more drugs or even supplements because knowing me I will get the reverse effect of what it is supposed to do.  My anxiety usually is better at night  - sometimes it  isn't and I just have to deal with it - when I am really bad and exhausted from it I cry - and this does help I think it actually releases chemicals in your body - I don't do it on purpose but when it gets too much I find that if i let it out it also helps. 

Kgirl, Some days the anxiety is better than on other days. I have physical problems that keep me exercising as much as I would like. I can barely walk or even stand for more than half an hour without my back hurting so much. I try to meditate but these awful thought keep intruding. Fear and thoughts that something bad is going to happen.

 

My anxiety also gets better at night. This is why I think it is related to cortisol.

I have been trying to get to sleep without taking pills or supplements. It has not been working.

So now I take a sleeping pill maybe once or twice a week. The doxylamine succinate helps and I have less anxiety if I have had a good night of sleep

Rob:  I hear you  but you still have to move it helps - I have terrible back pain as well and when it is very bad I use a TENS unit (you can get an inexpensive one from Amazon- no drugs and it breaks the nerve pain)  Meditation is not easy to do but if you do it every day even when you have the intrusive thoughts you will see that it helps.  It doesn't matter if you don't get into a different state just keep doing it every day - and your body and mind will learn how to do it - and the thoughts will either be there or not.  It also helps when I have a panic attack or anxiety I know now that I can breathe through it even though I feel awful and horrible.  I gave you a link to one I  like to listen to because it goes through each muscle group and you don't have to look at anything just listen.  https://archive.org/details/MCullenBodyScanMeditation 

 

This is one of the yoga you tubes - it just helps to move even if you think you can't you can - I have done it when I am ready to chuck my cookies so to speak - it doesn't matter you are moving and getting good chemicals in your body.  Even if you walk for 5 minutes it is better than sitting on the couch all day.  So yoga for 20 minutes and a 5 minute walk.  You can then build up to more in time. 

 

There is another tape also that you can get for another 20 minute yoga session -

 

 

Baylissa Johns has some positive self talk though I don't use her you tubes anymore it initially helped me - I think if you tell yourself you can't do something you won't be able to and if you tell yourself you can there is a chance that you can. She has some you tubes on how to do this - and I do try - anything to help get through this. 

 

For your insomnia though I don't have this YET I know many people here do - in my humble opinion taking a pill is not the answer this is a side effect of the lovely poison we are on and your body needs to learn to live without a pill.  I think this is the hardest thing to do, no one who hasn't been there understands just how hard it is but we have no choice.  I lived in tolerance withdrawal for 2 years on the drug and felt awful so now it is time to get off and let my body heal. 

 

You will get great support coming here but a suggestion don't read all the 'horror' stories everyone is different and tell yourself you will be fine.  You can do this.

Try to drink some lemon and ginger tea before bed and eat some cereal.

Kgirl, I have a good Tens unit. I still get pain when I walk or stand. I have tried meditation and I just can't  block thoughts from invading my attempt to meditate. I wake up with anxiety so bad I feel nauseous and am shaking.

 

Rarthyr, I have tried taking ginger capsules. It has not helped. Cereal revs up my anxiety. must be the sugar

Rob I guess I have no answers for you - you will just have to try and get through this somehow.  I have all that you describe and some days it is just unbearable but no choice but to go on and get off of these drugs.  I have failed on tapers and wish I had just toughed it out since I am now doing this again.  I went into tolerance so no choice but to get off for me.  I think for some of us we do what we can do to feel better and just go one day and sometimes one minute at a time and just keep telling yourself that your body needs to heal and that is why you have all these symptoms. 

Kgirl, I have a good Tens unit. I still get pain when I walk or stand. I have tried meditation and I just can't  block thoughts from invading my attempt to meditate. I wake up with anxiety so bad I feel nauseous and am shaking.

 

Rarthyr, I have tried taking ginger capsules. It has not helped. Cereal revs up my anxiety. must be the sugar

 

The thing about meditation is that you DO NOT block the invading thoughts out. You let them come. You allow them their space and remain in a relaxed position (preferably lying down with feet above heart level). By trying to block intrusive thoughts they will just make you feel more anxious. It takes a LOT of practice and effort. It really is not easy, but you can retrain your brain. You have a choice, you DECIDE if you want to be afraid or anxious. It is your mind, do not be at your mind's mercy make your mind be at your mercy. Easier said than done though...

I hear you on the acute part. The acute w/d is something I would NEVER wish upon anyone. No amount of meditation or CBT will help you in acute...

Rathtyr, What do you mean by acute. I am still tapering. Did you mean WWWI?

For me, acute was the acute state of Wd when I tapered much too quick and could not function or move?

After stabilizing on Valium, I've never been in that state again. It was an acute Wd nevertheless at the time.

 

I have been reading online about anxiety/worry and how to lower it by changing your thought patterns. When I get thoughts that lead to anxiety, I push them away and think of something calm. It has helped a bit.

I have tried to think of something else when these thought that lead to anxiety come on but they seem to persist. I can't relax or get back to sleep after I get these thoughts. I just have to wait it out and eventually they go away

I have tried to think of something else when these thought that lead to anxiety come on but they seem to persist. I can't relax or get back to sleep after I get these thoughts. I just have to wait it out and eventually they go away

 

Dark chocolate lowers cortisol. I keep some in the house and it helps :-) not milk chocolate...dark chocolate that has very little sugar in it.

I have tried to think of something else when these thought that lead to anxiety come on but they seem to persist. I can't relax or get back to sleep after I get these thoughts. I just have to wait it out and eventually they go away

 

Dark chocolate lowers cortisol. I keep some in the house and it helps :-) not milk chocolate...dark chocolate that has very little sugar in it.

 

Yet I'm too fat to eat it. Never gained an ounce until I began my taper.

If you are sure that your anxiety is due to a cortisol surge then that is a sign of adrenal fatigue and 100mg of phosphatidyl serine 3 times a day is recommended.

However it is preferable to do a saliva test for cortisol beforehand to ensure that is the cause.

Hi Nicolaud, found interesting that you are using phosphotidyl serine. Is you morning cortisol surge under control? please elaborate your experience.

 

I used to have terrible anxiety that used to start in the morning and wears off late in the evening and from the last 2 weeks has been very mild but recently I am facing a stressful situation at home and I started to have extreme anxiety again with the same patterns as before and while making a research on the internet I found out that stress will make your body to produce more cortisol (below is the article).

 

http://www.moodcure.com/correcting_cortisol_levels.html

 

 

That link you gave is to Julia Ross and most of my research is based on her work.I see that she recommends Seriphos rather than the more widely available phosphatadyl serine which is interesting.

I seem to have high cortisol surges from the mid afternoon until falling asleep exhausted at about 01h00. I am taking 300mg phosphatadyl serine daily for about a month now with no noticeable effect...

The answer lies in supplementation and nutrition, I'm convinced of that, I just haven't found the right combination yet...

nicolaud,

 

You mentioned a saliva test for cortisol? I m certain that morning cortisol levels are a big part of my morning anxiety as well. Do you know how to get this test?

 

Thank you

Im in the process of looking for one? I live in France and there does not seem to be any here, I'll probably have to order one from the US or UK. None of this is covered by insurance btw and its not cheap for the tests or the supplements, shows how desperate I am, I would never have thought about spending money on this sort of thing before... But if it works it will have been well worth it...