Monday, March 25, 2024

Can Anxiety Cause Flu Like Symptoms

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How Long Do Zoloft Side Effects Last

Anxiety and Flu Like Symptoms

Taking Zoloft may make you feel uncomfortable or weird at first as your body starts to process the medication. After a week or two these side effects will go away for most people as their bodies get used to the medication. Its possible to experience some of these side effects sporadically throughout the duration that youre taking Zoloft, especially if your doctor increases your dose. If your doctor increases the dose, it will take a couple of weeks for your body to fully appreciate the new dose. From there, it can be several more weeks before you may see an improvement in symptoms. Most healthcare professionals will allow for 4-8 weeks between dose adjustments to make sure the full effect of the new dose is realized.

Whats The Connection Between Anxiety And Throat Symptoms

When youre under stress or feeling anxious, your body reacts by releasing adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. In addition to increasing your heart rate and blood pressure, the release of these hormones can lead to a variety of physical responses, such as:

  • rapid, shallow breathing

found that visceral anxiety is one of the strongest predictors of the severity of dysphagia.

/6the Difference Between Chest Pain Due To Anxiety Vs Covid

While both COVID and anxiety can lead to chest tightness and pain, they can be accompanied by completely different symptoms.

While anxiety can cause mental distress, feelings of fear, heart palpitations and hyperventilation, COVID-19 is associated with flu-like symptoms like fever, sore throat, fatigue, runny nose and body aches. Loss of sense of smell and taste was one of the distinguishing feature of COVID-19, especially when the Delta variant was the most dominant.

Additionally, if your chest pain lasted 5 to 20 minutes, it was most probably an anxiety rather than COVID. COVID associated chest pain is usually persistent and gives you a feeling of tightness and pressure.

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Foods To Avoid While Taking Zoloft

Like with many other drugs, grapefruit and grapefruit juice can interact with Zoloft absorption. It can slow the metabolism of Zoloft, therefore increasing blood levels of available Zoloft. This is typically only a problem if intake of grapefruit products is inconsistent. If you are going to ingest grapefruit products, it is best to ingest a consistent amount daily.

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Your Tummy Is Just Off

The Effects Of Depression In Your Body

Stress can disrupt the function of your GI tract in more than one way. It can cause the body to produce more digestive acid, leading to heartburn. “It can also slow the emptying of food from the stomach, which causes gas and bloating, and may even increase the number of times your colon contracts, leading to cramping and diarrhea,” Deborah Rhodes, MD, a Mayo Clinic internal medicine physician, told Parents.com. Here are common stomach pains and what they really mean.

What to do: Take an over-the-counter antacid. Or, try drinking ginger tea, or one of these other medicine-free stomachache remedies.

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Precautions To Take When Starting Zoloft

You should not take Zoloft if you have a history of an allergic reaction to sertraline or one of its other ingredients. Zoloft therapy is also contraindicated in patients receiving treatment with a class of drugs known as monoamine oxidase inhibitors . Examples of MAOIs include isocarboxazid, selegiline, and phenelzine. If you are taking one of these drugs, you must notify your doctor.

Do not abruptly stop Zoloft or any SSRI without first consulting your prescriber. This can lead to sleep and sensory disturbances, anxiety, and agitation.

Suicidal thoughts and ideation may occur in adolescents, teens, and young adults who take Zoloft. This may be worse during the initial few months of therapy or after dose changes. Caregivers and loved ones should monitor this population closely during this time for unusual changes in behavior and irritability.

Tell your doctor if you have a history of seizure disorders or cardiac disorders such as QT prolongation as Zoloft therapy could make these worse.

If you have liver disease, your dose may need to be adjusted by your prescriber.

You should take your first dose while you are home and do not need to drive. Zoloft has been known to cause somnolence in some patients, and you should avoid driving after taking Zoloft until you know how it affects you.

Zoloft has been linked to birth defects, especially when taken late in pregnancy. Zoloft should only be taken in pregnancy if the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.

/6what Covid Chest Pain Feels Like

The novel coronavirus, as everyone is aware, is a respiratory illness that can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including chest burning, tightness and pain.

Research has found that up to 17.7 percent of people with COVID-19 experience and report chest discomfort and pain. However, this study pertains to the time before the Omicron wave.

Nevertheless, chest pain is a severe and telling symptom of COVID, which may be caused due to an injury or inflammation of the tissues surrounding the lungs. One may find it difficult to catch their breath, experience tightness in the chest and may not get enough air to the lungs.

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Cold Sensations And Chills Are Actually A Common Physical Symptom Of Anxiety

Yet another interesting physical effect of anxiety is its ability to alter how our body temperature feels. Feeling chilled or having cold sensations is an especially confusing physical symptom that can result from anxiety, and it thus deserves some special attention in order to understand how something as simple as feeling cold can actually be a consequence of your mood and emotions.

Interestingly enough there are even multiple different reasons that your anxiety could be making you feel cold. Here are some of the ways we know that cold sensations and anxiety are associated:

Physical Symptoms Of Anxiety Disorder That You Might Not Recognize

Can anxiety make you feel like you have the flu?

When thinking about anxiety disorder, you probably consider the classic signs shortness of breath, racing heart, and constant overthinking. But physical symptoms of anxiety disorders are real, too. Anxiety is a complex mental illness that gives those who experience it a wide range of symptoms. Its important to know and be mindful about the physical impact anxiety can have on people, because it can feel quite frightening when it happens to you. If you find yourself nodding along in response to the symptoms listed below, you might consider reaching out for help. And as a reminder, more than 30% of adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives, so you’re definitely not alone.

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Stress Suppresses The Bodys Immune System Making It More Vulnerable To Biological Intruders

Stress also suppresses the bodys immune system making it more difficult for the body to ward off biological intruders, such as flu bugs and infection . As long as stress remains elevated, the body can struggle with health issues. These health issues can cause flu like symptoms.

Persistently elevated stress hampers the bodys ability to keep itself healthy. Therefore persistently elevated stress can cause persistent symptoms, including feeling flu-like or ill.

What If A Woman Has An Untreated Uti

This is commonly seen in women who suffer from UTIs due to unhygienic practices and a weakened immune system. It can have serious consequences if pregnant women or young children suffer from urinary tract infections. A rare but serious health complication caused by an untreated UTI is permanent kidney damage or kidney infection .

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Improve Your Quality Of Sleep At Night

Clean up your bedtime habits and sleep environment. Go to bed and wake up at the same times every day, avoid alcohol in the evening, and turn off screens at least one hour before bedtime. Try to make your room as comfortable, dark, and quiet as possible.

Adopt a relaxing bedtime ritual. To help you unwind before bed, take a warm bath, play soothing music, or practice a relaxation technique such as meditation, deep breathing, or some yoga stretches.

Use sleep medications with caution. Long COVID symptoms such as pain can interfere with your sleep at night, but many sleep aids or sleeping pills have side effects. Some may aggravate other symptoms, such as daytime fatigue or trouble focusing.

Do a quiet, non-stimulating activity if you wake up during the night and cant get back to sleep. Try reading a book or listening to music, for example. Just remember to keep the lights dim and avoid using screens.

Dealing with anxious thoughts at night

If worries about your health or welfare are preventing you from sleeping at night, try making a brief note of your specific fears on paper. Then postpone worrying about them until the morning when youll be more rested and better able to work towards a solution.

There are also strategies you can use to deal with uncertainty and learn to face the future with more confidence.

Does Anxiety Cause Influenza

Can Anxiety Cause a Fever?

No. Even though anxiety can cause flu like symptoms, please dont worry that your anxiety will actually cause you to get an influenza infection.

A viral infection will not trigger a new case of anxiety, but it can trigger and intensify your anxiety if you have pre-existing anxiety disorder. A viral infection, or for that matter any illness, can cause you to worry excessively about your health.

The best thing to do if this happens to you is to: challenge your beliefs that you are seriously ill in cognitive behavioral therapy and use meditation or mindfulness to empower yourself to stop believing that your beliefs are true.

Can Anxiety Make a Flu Infection More Serious

We are not yet sure, but medical research is beginning to show that anxiety and depression can both impair your immune systems ability to fight off infections.

This means that anxiety can increase the severity and duration of a real flu infection.

If you have an anxiety disorder, and you get a flu infection, do your best to use all of the tools you have at your disposal to reduce your anxiety. This will help you fight off the flu. And remember, flu infections are almost never dangerous. With the passage of time you will be well again.

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Covid The Flu A Cold Or Anxiety Symptoms And Treatment

With COVID-19 thrown into the mix of viruses floating around, theres an understandably high level of anxiety surrounding minor symptoms. What could once be brushed off as a minor cold might now require tests, isolation and can cause anxiety .

So, how might one tell the difference between COVID, the flu, a cold, and anxiety? The good news is that some of these illnesses defining characteristics are different from one another.

After reading this blog, youll understand the major symptoms of each illness, the differences between them, and what to do if youre feeling unwell.

Your Weight Starts To Fluctuate

Stress triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which impairs your bodys ability to process blood sugar and changes the way you metabolize fat, protein, and carbs, which can lead to weight gain or loss, says Shanna Levine, MD, a primary care physician and clinical instructor of medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Stress can also cause people to engage in unhealthy behaviors like overeating or under eating.

What to do: Snack on nuts. The protein will help if youre under-eating, and the fiber will fill you up if youve been bingeing. Here are some more healthy ways to de-stress with food.

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What To Do If You Have Long Covid

Since the symptoms and impact of long COVID can vary so much from patient to patient, its important to tailor your coping strategies to your specific symptoms. Physical problems such as shortness of breath, fever, and pain may leave you feeling drained of energy, mentally exhausted, and lead to a depressed mood, all of which require different coping skills.

While it can feel overwhelming, there are steps you can take to care for your overall health and ease your distress at this difficult time.

Seek medical help immediately if you experience chest pain, trouble breathing, a profound change in weight, or are unable to stay awake, eat, or drink. Your doctor may also be able to help relieve physical symptoms and rule out any serious complications or underlying causes.

Get vaccinated. While research is ongoing, some long-haulers have reported that having a COVID-19 vaccine has helped relieve their symptoms.

Continue to practice caution to avoid reinfection. Wear a mask if youre out in public, avoid non-essential travel, wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Limit your alcohol and caffeine intake. Both can disrupt your sleep and adversely affect your immune system. Caffeine may give you a short-term boost but it can lead to a painful crash in energy later.

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Otherwise Allow Yourself To Safely Live Your Life

Flu-like symptoms? Try Boiron Oscillococcinum

Ken Goodman, a licensed clinical social worker, board member for the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and creator of The Anxiety Solution Series audio program, works with several clients who feel anxious about re-entering society amid the pandemic.

“With COVID-19, there’s a great deal of uncertainty,” he notes. “And typically when there’s uncertainty and people are anxious, they resort to safety behaviors, they do things to keep themselves safe, whether that is based in reality or not. as long as you’re behaving in an anxious way, you’re going to worry. The only way to reduce the worry is to slowly reduce the anxious behaviors.”

Goodman works with his clients on slowly giving up what he calls “safety” behaviors practices that may make someone feel like they’re being safe, but that medical professionals have said do not further protect them from COVID-19, such as wearing a mask in the car alone, disinfecting groceries in the garage before bringing them into the house, or showering immediately after arriving home.

‘Exhaustion,’ ‘frustration’: Why some vaccinated people are losing motivation to stay safe

Our minds are wired to protect us. Sometimes this is helpful, such as the impulse to flee from an actively dangerous scene. In other situations, worrying about the worst-case scenario when symptoms don’t suggest that’s what is happening can cause unnecessary anxiety.

More:You’re not really fighting about COVID. You likely have bigger problems.

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Zoloft Side Effects: What To Expect In The First Week Of Taking Zoloft

Getting a Zoloft prescription | Starting dose | Side effects first week | Precautions | Missed dose | Overdose | When to see a doctor | Stopping Zoloft | Zoloft alternatives | Is Zoloft safe?

Living with mental health conditions like anxiety or depression can make daily life stressful. An estimated31% of all adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their life, and statistics show that 264 million adults around the globe have anxiety. Luckily, there are many treatment options available for people who seek relief from anxiety or depression. Zoloft is a prescription medication used to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and when taken properly, it can make daily life more manageable. Lets take a more in-depth look at how to take Zoloft, what side effects to look out for in the first week, and what else to expect when you first start this medication.

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How To Treat A Psychogenic Fever

If you are experiencing a psychogenic fever, youll need to work to reduce your stress levels. A 2015 article in the journal Temperature noted that psychogenic fevers are not typically reduced when treated with common anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen, even though they work to reduce most fevers.

Most psychogenic fevers are short-lived and resolve on their own. Decreasing stress through therapy and non-medical interventions like mindfulness can also help treat psychogenic fevers.

If a fever is due to stress, it is essential to decrease the stress, Miller Parrish says. First, youll need to identify whats stressing you out. It might be one specific incident, or an on-going stressor like untreated anxiety, depression, or work-related burnout. Once youve identified the source of the stress, you can address the root cause of the fever.

Depending on the cause, the antidote could be cognitive-behavioral or other psychological therapy, meditation, yoga and practices that focus on decreasing a stressful state, or perhaps even medication to treat the issue, Miller Parrish says.

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You Break Out In Hives

If you’re suddenly covered in itchy red bumps, stress might be to blame. When your body experiences excessive stress your immune system gets wonky and your body starts releasing the chemical histamine to fight off your ailment. If the stress doesn’t go away, you essentially develop an allergic reaction and, boom, hives galore. When your immune system is weakened by stress, your skin can also become irritated by things it never used to be sensitive to, such as soap, cold or heat, lotions, or laundry detergent.

What to do: Put a cool, damp towel on the affected area. if that doesn’t work, take an antihistamine.

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Identifying And Easing Anxiety

What Helps Colds

It’s possible to become so fixated on the physical effects from your anxious state that you don’t even realize you were anxious to begin with, says Dr. Barsky. So, how do you know if anxiety is causing your symptoms? And if it is, how can you feel better? Dr. Barsky offers some tips to help you interrupt this cycle.

Stop and assess. “The first step is to pause for a second and observe what’s going on with your body,” says Dr. Barsky. Think about what you are experiencing and whether it relates to a feeling of emotional upset or a reaction to something alarming or stressful. If your symptoms followed a stressful event or period of time, it’s possible these emotions triggered your symptoms. Also, be alert to signs that you are tensing your muscles, which can also indicate a stress reaction.

Relax your body or work it. To relieve stress, try some deep breathing or relaxation exercises. There are numerous online resources and smartphone apps that can help guide you through relaxation techniques. Physical activity can also help you relieve tension. Try to squeeze in a daily walk or a run.

Reassure yourself. If you believe your symptoms are being caused by anxiety, reassure yourself that what you are experiencing is not harmful or fatal. “They’re not serious, and they don’t signal an impending medical disaster,” says Dr. Barsky. The symptoms will pass when the anxiety eases.

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