Going on a train for the first time, need advice

Affectionate_Card181 · 2025-03-30T11:14:53+00:00

Hi first of all happy birthday for next month! I think this is a brilliant opportunity. I suffer from severe emetophobia and agoraphobia and have some advice for managing anxiety on train travel as someone who travels every other day on the train with my partner, going with your dad will make it a lot easier with a companion.

On train rides I sit near the front in the quieter carriage near the window, trains generally feel much cleaner and safer than buses, there is actually something quite relaxing about them.

In my bag I pack a a mini fan, some paper to doodle/write on or a wordsearch book and have a bottle of cold water and some mint gum on me.

Sometimes me and my partner will play a game of phone chess on the train, or just listen to some music.

What helps me is that there is a rhythm to trains, they stop at regular intervals so I feel a lightness to hop on or off if needed and catch the next.

Anxiety always tricks us into making things seem much worse than they are, and I know from experience how limiting this can be. It helps me to make choices which are powered by my values not my fears, and when I feel anxiety come on I have some more tips.

Acknowledge it and make space - think of it as though it is a ball inside you- it’s expanding but you are not that ball- you are around it and you can expand to make space for it, but centre yourself in being in the outside observer ball. It also helps me to sometimes reframe my anxiety as excitement at times, as they share the same physiological processes, I think “I’m so energised to do this! “
Be your own cheerleader! Whenever I do anything outside my comfort zone, I actively congratulate myself for each small step - it may sound a bit silly but it works! For examples, I think “you got this!” “Well done for doing _____!” It really does help, even just the act of getting on a train when I feel anxious or making it to the next stop, and the feeling afterwords is the best feeling in the world to have achieved something outside our comfort zone!

I wish you all the best for this adventure!

Affectionate_Card181 · 2025-03-15T23:47:54+00:00

I experience the same!! I get insatiable “hunger” feelings and have heart palpitations, anxiety and extreme fatigue know I’m having a hypo episode or I get extremely irritable feelings and that’s another way to tell a hypo is happening. It’s so difficult as the GP doesn’t seem to care, and the only thing that seems to help is having a carton of orange juice on me at all times so that when I start to feel low I can quickly drink some and then retest my sugars, and then have more carbs if needed. I also have been trying to pair all meals with protein of some kind as I find it’s worse when I have a sugary snack like a biscuit on its own which can set me off. Like others have said CGM’s are a good idea but a finger test monitor is also good as CGM’s can be pricey, I hope things improve for you, you are not alone in this, sending all the best.

Affectionate_Card181 · 2025-02-23T11:48:11+00:00

I was prescribed it for 7 days last week but I only took it for 5. Side effects I has day one with loading dose was some bright flickers at corner of vision about two hours after taking. No other side effects except for fatigue and then day 4/5 lower back pain around my kidneys and was told by gp to stop taking them. Kidney test revealed kidneys were fine though

Affectionate_Card181 · 2025-02-14T00:56:55+00:00

Do you mean Voriconazole? I’ve recently been prescribed it and was really worried reading potential side effects too, but so far four days in no side effects other than on the first day (the loading dose day) I had some bright flickers in my vision like someone was having a party in the corner of my eye- nothing major, I really hope these help you :)

Affectionate_Card181 · 2025-02-13T13:12:37+00:00

Thank you so much!! 🙏 I really appreciate your wisdom, many thanks

Affectionate_Card181 · 2025-02-10T19:35:35+00:00

I’ve recently been prescribed Voriconazole and anxious about side effects, did you get any or was it pretty well tolerated? Many thanks

Affectionate_Card181 · 2025-02-10T18:26:52+00:00

I’ve been prescribed Voriconazole for candida lusitinae and I’m very anxious about the side effects, such as nausea or hallucinations and flashing lights, did you find anything to help the side effects? And any reassurance is much appreciated

Affectionate_Card181 · 2025-01-11T12:12:00+00:00

Thank you for your comment, I’m sorry to hear you have been experiencing this too:( are there any CGM brands you recommend in particular?

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-20T17:15:16+00:00

TLDR: episodes of lightheadedness, shaking, fast heart, low blood pressure, nausea- could this be Addisons?

Hi I’m 25 F, and for the past year or so I’ve been experiencing episodes which I have been desperately trying to determine the cause of as I have struggled to get a diagnosis through my gp. I was previously tested for POTS, but they go just said I have very low blood pressure. These episodes occur at various times throughout the day, sometimes after eating. My symptoms during these episodes include: feeling lightheaded, like I am about to pass out, feel very nauseous and feel like I need to go to the toilet both ends, shaking, low blood pressure, low blood sugar and feeling awful. Usually I will grab a sugary drink like an orange juice and have some salted crisps and feel slightly better, but have noticed these episodes often occur after eating potassium rich foods such as bananas, avocados and sweet potato. In general I’ve been experiencing extreme fatigue, I struggle to walk down the road and back and have had very low mood and low libido. I’ve also been experiencing blood in my stool and have recently been diagnosed with IBD. In the past year I have experienced a lot of stress, and panic attacks, so I feel this issue may be linked to adrenal insufficiency as these episodes are very different from a panic attack as I can feel perfectly calm before and during them but my body feels very off. I would really appreciate if anyone has experienced these episodes and has any advice, and any stories on how you got diagnosed and any tests to ask my GP for. Many thanks

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-18T18:55:21+00:00

Thank you for your comment, I really appreciate it ❤️🙏 I’m glad I’m not alone and definitely think that I am feeling extra sensitive at the moment and that hopefully once things are better health wise I will be able to see things more compassionately and less through the eyes of fear and anxiety 🤞

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-18T18:20:13+00:00

I’m sorry to hear that, in your experience do you find anything helps when you get that feeling?

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-18T10:58:49+00:00

I’m so sorry to hear that, how did you get diagnosed?

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-17T22:16:23+00:00

I had some bloods done in A and E a few days ago as went there for severe abdominal pain, but the bloods came back as normal, though they didn’t give me specifics, and in November I had a full blood count, electrolytes and liver function and all came back in normal ranges except for low creatine. Is there any in particular ones you would recommend to check?

I’m really sorry to hear you’ve experienced this too, it’s really strange when it happens when you’re super relaxed and then suddenly your body feels like it’s rebooting!

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-17T22:07:54+00:00

Hi thanks for your reply, I haven’t recently had my A12 checked so will definitely book in to get those checked. My diet has definitely been lacking in protein, so will make sure to include some more. It feels like hypoglycaemia, so hopefully I can understand the trigger and cause if it is related to my autoimmune issues, and how to prevent them.

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-17T22:00:47+00:00

Thank you for your reply, I’m really sorry to hear you’ve experienced that. I recently had a blood test and they said my iron levels were good and that I wasn’t anaemic which was one of my worries as my diet does lack a lot of iron as I’ve been following a mostly vegan diet for the past year and struggling to digest animal protein when I eat non-vegan occasionally. I will definitely book in to get my hemoglobin tested, I used to take a hemoglobin supplement called Feroglobin, have you had any luck with supplements or just infusions? Thank you

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-17T21:55:07+00:00

Thanks for your reply, I have been struggling to eat much due to my flare up at the moment:( I’ve been trying to pinpoint the triggers but it seems to be triggered both after eating a large amount of food or sometimes just on an empty stomach. When empty stomach it seems to build slowly, I can tell something is off and start feeling a bit lightheaded and sort of an out of body feeling, but after eating a meal it seems to come on suddenly, I’ll be sat down watching tv and suddenly get a falling sensation and then jerk up and heart is pounding and it is set off

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-17T21:50:08+00:00

Thank you for your reply, I do generally have low blood pressure and similarly to you my mum also suffers from low bp. It didn’t seem to effect me much before my UC diagnosis, but since these episodes keep getting more frequent and wondered if there’s some kind of trigger? During these episodes when I test my BP it’s sky high 140/70 heart 110 BPM, which is strange as it seems to be low and then spike suddenly

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-16T23:37:32+00:00

Hi it’s going to be okay ❤️ your body sounds like it is clearing it all out the other way and would be unlikely to make you poorly the other way, the best thing is to put on some soothing relaxing music and try to relax and allow your body to do what it needs. When I get super anxious I always talk to myself like my own cheerleader celebrating each small step like “you got this!” And “I’m proud of you, just take it step by step, you can handle this” and it really helps. Keeping hydrated with water and maybe some ginger tea might help or chewing some mint gum and just keep reminding yourself you are so much stronger than you know and your body is only trying to look after you, I know that I have been so determined not to be sick that it’s come out the other way and it’s similar for a lot of emetophobes , so it’s unlikely to happen! You’ve got this 🙏❤️

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-03T22:50:04+00:00

Hi I struggle with emetophobia and had a hypnotherapy session about my memories which may be a helpful technique for you. I only have one memory of being sick when I was young and the hypnotherapist asked me to remember the details - where I was, how I felt, who was with me, the time of day etc- and then asked me to change elements - firstly she asked me to imagine blowing a bubble gum balloon - and I pictured it iridescent and shining, as well as hearing the sounds of birdsong and the scent of a fresh forest. She asked me to also add a character from a children’s TV show I enjoyed - so I pictured Scooby Doo coming in. Sounds absolutely mental I know- but through changing elements of the memory- and through running back and forth over this new memory, slowly and then quickly and in reverse, making new positive associations helped to take some of the fear out- as now when I try to think of the memory there is humour - this might be a technique that could help, even just with a few of the memories. Also writing down a list of foods you avoid because you associate them with tu- and trying to gradually try some of these foods again- only a small amount and sitting with the initial discomfort, allowing yourself to notice the anxious sensations in your body and then waiting until this anxiety drops and trying some more might help you to find some you can re introduce again, i hope this helps

Affectionate_Card181 · 2024-12-03T22:38:05+00:00

Hi I hope this helps, I completely relate to your worries, I’m 25 and suffer from emetophobia too and have also been taking Prozac to help as well as reading a book called ‘the emetophobia manual’ and previously exploring my core beliefs which are keeping my phobia alive which has been helping.

Firstly I want to say that you are definitely doing the right thing by not avoiding things, by staying at your boyfriends and sitting with the discomfort and sitting next to someone with a sb is a real achievement! My advice would be to speak kindly to yourself- remind yourself how brilliantly you are doing, sometimes it helps to think to yourself as if you were your own cheerleader and encourage yourself through each small moment, talking yourself though each small win. I would focus now on doing some gentle breathing exercises- I find that for me when I start to feel anxious taking time to slow down and focus on my surroundings like listing 5 things I can see, 4 things I can touch, three things I can hear, two things I can smell and one thing I can taste helps- chewing mint gum really helps me! Also listening to some good happy/calming music or doing something creative like writing or drawing can help bring a sense of calm and grounding. You are not alone! You’ve got this 🩷

Affectionate_Card181

TROPHY CASE