Yesterday, my allergies were really, REALLY bad. I didn't have any chicken noodle soup, but I did have lentils. I asked my mom if she would make lentil soup. She did. I had about 3 or 4 bowls. Today, I had about two bowls, but today, I have been feeling nauseous, lightheaded, dizzy, confused, and just WEAK. I had enough sleep and enough to drink and eat, especially water. But I just read about having too much iron in your body is bad, which I figured, but I didn't know that lentils contained a high amount of iron. AND I HAD A LOT. I just had a stool, which was particularly dark green at the top. I read these are signs of iron poisoning. Should I seek help now, or wait until the morning?
There just isn't enough iron in a few cans of lentils to make much of a difference. Wait until the morning, and see how you feel, it could very well be that you have a virus or other infection that may or may not be testable, I would wait until the morning before doing anything,,,
Oh it's scary to read about conditions on the internet and become scared and convinced that you have them. I think it would be difficult to get acute iron poisoning just from eating lentil soup or any food, I've only ever heard of it occurring from taking high dosages of iron supplements, and usually only young children like 6 years old. Do you also take vitamins or supplements that contain iron? Lentils are high in iron, they're also high in potassium (which can cause hyperkalimia that would cause fatigue and vomiting), and very high in fiber. You might have consumed more iron than you should, but not necessarily enough to cause poisoning. Just don't panic, think rationally, if you're going through all these things and you're sure you saw green stool and you know you consumed an excessive amount of iron and you're really worried, then seek medical attention.
Well...I probably should've waited and read all of your posts, but instead, my brain decided it would have a panic attack first. Then I went to the hospital. They diagnosed my tongue problem, but they also told me that I was having a panic attack and need to quit reading crap on the internet. (My blood pressure was 158/105, which is bad.) They told me I'd need to consume literally tons of lentils to get an iron overdose, so that solves my problem. The only problem it doesn't solve is my panic attacks, which I knew I was prone to them, I just didn't know it would be onset after reading crap. :l I'm an idiot.
Nah, you're not an idiot. It's pretty common for people who aren't feeling well to go on the internet and suddenly start panicking thinking that they are dying when their symptoms seem to match up with some deadly condition. Don't let it stop you from seeking medical attention in case you ever really do need it. But it's good that you got things checked out, and hopefully now you can relax.
I should've asked a couple more questions, but I figure it should be easy to ask them right now, seeing as though I am more prone to panic attacks than previously thought. What do I do when I know I am having a panic attack? What can I do to calm myself down? (I thought I was having a heart attack my heart was pounding so heavily and so fast. My skin and breath was icy cold, it was hard for the pulse machine in the E.R to get a good reading.) If I know what my triggers for panic attacks are, do I avoid them at all costs, which I don't think it is possible to COMPLETELY avoid? Should I seek professional help? (Therapist, psychiatrist/psychologist, not sure?)
You are not--and if you missed it the first time not--an idiot. You have struck me as being quite intelligent, actually. Also: don't rule out the Internet completely for doing research on medical issues. You can't, unfortunately, always rely on doctors to have the best solution, or your best interests in mind... But you do have to keep in mind that it's too easy to get hysterical over ailments you don't even have after doing some reading... People in medical school apparently have huge problems with being terminally ill each week with some new ailment which, not coincidentally, happens to be what they are currently studying...
Tell yourself it's a panic attack and it will pass, and then just focus on breathing as slowly and evenly as you can. (Hyperventilating will make you more anxious.) Could be a good idea. If you know your triggers, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy could be a help (provided by a psychologist). Also, sometimes medication can help (prescribed by a psychiatrist).
It would not be too far fetched to suspect that you are prone to anxiety, yes. The first question is always, "When was the last time that you had a physical?". The first thing that we always want to do is eliminate any physical causes for the anxiety. Once the physical causes have been eliminated, the next stop is a therapist. If possible, find one that works with people who have anxiety disorders since there are specific types of therapy that often benefit people who are prone to panic attacks.
@Kara I don't think I have had a fully body physical since seventh grade when I was playing my first and only year of football. Are there things about a person's body that would cause anxiety? Could you please name a couple ways this is true? I'm having a little trouble grasping it.
I'm not a doctor but I am aware there are definitely physical causes of anxiety. Paranoia can very easily lead to anxiety, so things like increased adrenaline levels (to activate the fight-or-flight response) would lead to paranoia as a defense mechanism, then in turn lead to anxiety. While I'm aware the above is probably not what you were looking for, as I assume you were looking for names of specific physical causes, increased adrenaline levels could be caused by physical issues. So that's just one example. I don't know the names of any though so I'll let Kara answer that part. All the best.
I'll give you a very common cause- thyroid disorders. People who have an overactive thyroid will feel anxious with a racing heartbeat, excessive sweating, jittery feeling, etc. While I am not suggesting that that his is the problem here, your physician would want to run some basic blood and urine tests to eliminate these common causes and risk factors. The history that you've related in this and other posts points more to a psychological cause but we always want to make sure there's not a physical problem that requires medical treating before we assume it's psychological.