Nervous Stomach

[Xelalice]

Hi,
I've never posted in one of these forums before, but I can't seem to find an answer to this.
I have suffered from anxiety since I was very young.
However, over the past few years I have been working on controlling my anxious thoughts using mindfulness techniques, and have seen an improvement.
One symptom which I cannot get rid of, however, is this horrible 'butterfly' feeling in my stomach. It feels like my body is releasing adrenaline constantly, even when my mind is calm. I find the feeling intensifies when I breath out. It is very distracting and uncomfortable, and it often stops me from sleeping at night.
Is this a symptom of anxiety, or possibly a separate physical health condition?
Side note: I have tried beta blockers (which gave me insomnia) but apart from those, I have never taken any medication for anxiety as I am too worried about potential side effects.

 

[triceps]

Hi,
I've never posted in one of these forums before, but I can't seem to find an answer to this.
I have suffered from anxiety since I was very young.
However, over the past few years I have been working on controlling my anxious thoughts using mindfulness techniques, and have seen an improvement.
One symptom which I cannot get rid of, however, is this horrible 'butterfly' feeling in my stomach. It feels like my body is releasing adrenaline constantly, even when my mind is calm. I find the feeling intensifies when I breath out. It is very distracting and uncomfortable, and it often stops me from sleeping at night.
Is this a symptom of anxiety, or possibly a separate physical health condition?
Side note: I have tried beta blockers (which gave me insomnia) but apart from those, I have never taken any medication for anxiety as I am too worried about potential side effects.

Hi and welcome Xelalice. I've got pretty severe anxiety and my main symptom involves my stomach. Sometimes it's nausea, sometimes that butterfly feeling you describe (not the falling in love type). I expect yours is anxiety-related as mine can also occur when not feeling particularly anxious. I wouldn't think beta blockers would be the ticket and think your best bet would be the mindfulness techniques as you're medication adverse. So I really don't have an answer but there are many smart folks on this forum so someone might be able to help. Again, welcome.

 

[Xelalice]

Hi and welcome Xelalice. I've got pretty severe anxiety and my main symptom involves my stomach. Sometimes it's nausea, sometimes that butterfly feeling you describe (not the falling in love type). I expect yours is anxiety-related as mine can also occur when not feeling particularly anxious. I wouldn't think beta blockers would be the ticket and think your best bet would be the mindfulness techniques as you're medication adverse. So I really don't have an answer but there are many smart folks on this forum so someone might be able to help. Again, welcome.

Hi triceps
Thanks for your response. One thing that confuses me is that I still have this intense 'butterfly' feeling even when I am totally relaxed mentaly. It leads me to think that it must be unrelated to my state of mind, which is confusing because I don't know what else could cause it.
I would like to understand what is happening on a scientific level, and see if there is some medication I could take to prevent this feeling.
While I am very cautious of medication, I would consider it if the medication was reported to be effective and low risk.

 

[triceps]

Hi again Xelalice. A couple thoughts. Anxiety causes all kind of physical symptoms. I know a lady whose anxiety made her bed-ridden for four days. Couldn't even make it to the bathroom. So it can be very powerful. Secondly, since you might try some medication, you'd have to see a physician anyway. So I'd suggest getting an appointment and explaining your symptoms and see what they suggest. Even family practice doctors see many, many anxiety sufferers and are on top of the variety of medications that might be appropriate for you to try.

 

[guitarman65]

Xelalice,
Trust me when i say you're in the right place. Ive only been a member for a couple weeks, and i feel MUCH better!
That "butterfly" feeling your talking about has been one of my symptoms for years now. I believe Triceps is correct about it probably being anxiety related as mine is. My anxiety is usually that stomach thing, or sometimes feeling like i cant breath deeply but need to. (Unless i yawn) i believe most of our problems with anxiety aren't related to each other...but are related to anxiety! At least thats my opinion from battling mine over the years. Keep up the good fight, and keep us posted!

PS- i dont have any explanation for it, but for some weird reason ginger ale helps my "butterfly" issue...might not hurt to try...take care

 

[Hurt&Hopeful]

Hello, and welcome! I second what others have said - this is a GREAT group of people here, and we're glad you're here.
The butterfly feelings are normal, but I agree they're uncomfortable. I have actually taken beta blockers, and they DO help me - they block the release of adrenaline in the body, which is what causes the fluttery feelings. Sorry they didn't work for you.

You said you practice mindfulness exercises for the anxiety. Have you tried yoga? Anxiety and tension are stored in our bodies as well as our brains, and there have been lots of good results with yoga for working on the body symptoms. I've just started it myself (I'm 40 and very out of shape!) - I had to stop for now due to a knee injury, but I was feeling a lot less tension and discomfort in my stomach and chest while I was doing it.