Yep - anyone who does needs their head looking at. unless they are a crocodile.
Hi guys.
Today is day 12 off huel completely, I have severe anxiety, extreme fatigue and lethargy. All bias aside I just need genuine opinion for the sake of my mental health, Is there ANYTHING in huel that could have been building up in my system for the last 2
Months which I have now abruptly stopped that could be causing these symptoms… I am going for blood tests Friday and I’m aware I do have anxiety issues but this is a lot lot worse than I’m used too. Is it possible for the body/brain to have some withdrawal from supplements/multivitamins… i can’t put all this down to just my anxiety I’ve never had it this bad before…
Thanks
To be clear, I’m a Huel advocate and have been for a long time. I’ve currently got a Huel subscription and been using it for some time. All I’m saying is that we’re all different. It’s worth noting Mikhaila Peterson has reintroduced some other foods and aspires to eat a more “normal” diet again one day. The poor woman has had some horrific medical problems prior and was in desperate trouble.
I am not on a carnivore diet either, but I have seen what it can do for some people. When you’re desperate and on a slope to an unpleasant ending you try all sorts of things. I get that. For a heck of a lot of people Huel is the solution. I read the posts on Facebook and know there are people who could not live without it.
I started reading nutrition books in 1995 and I confess to being very judgmental of any health professionals. I’m interested in results. I find the information provided by Huel really very good and matches my requirements. But we’re all different. If you’re ill and it’s serious you consider everything and anything. I go to any length when it’s family. There’s a ton of information out there. I use it all and try and keep an open mind.
The only person who can answer this is your doctor. It’s also interesting that while using huel, you attributed your health issues to huel. When you stopped and felt better at the same time, you used this as further evidence that huel caused the issues. Now that the issues have come back but you’re not using huel, you’re still using it as evidence that it’s because of huel and that it’s withdrawal symptoms.
At some point you have to ask if huel really is the issue or if it’s something else. It seems you have tunnel vision for this one route and can’t see past it. Health problems aren’t something we should guess or deal with alone, your doctor will be able to help and give you a clearer picture. I hope you feel better soon.
Hey @Dantheman31, I’m really sorry to hear what you’ve been going through over the last couple of weeks. It’s very unlikely no, please speak to your doctor and work with them to help you through this. Unfortunately there isn’t anything I can advise with in this case over the internet as I’d need to sit down with you in a 1:1 setting with your detailed medical history. This is something your doctor can do, or a dietitian, so that’s your best bet. Best of luck!
I appreciate that @Jamesoak. My issue with Mikhailia is not sorting out her medical issues, it’s about her stretching that out to advise others, it’s irresponsible. She did this with her father, which I’m sure you’re aware of, and he ended up in hospital because a change in diet is not what he needed .
Yeap totally agree! Unfortunately there are people out there that will try to exploit those in vulnerable positions. I say it everywhere but working on a 1:1 basis with a dietitian, not a GP, for dietary and nutritional issues is the way forward. They are clinically trained with years of experience in this area.
Ha, I live in Glastonbury; it’s a town where every other person is a snake oil sales person. I’m jaded by them and their bad (yet often expensive) advice/treatments.
I agree with you there. But not all of it is good or healthy as you no doubt know.
Sounds like you’re just mentally unwell at the moment, man. Don’t worry about it, it happens to a lot of people, just talk to your doctor and get some medication for your anxiety and depression and ride it out until you feel better.
It’s definitely not the Huel causing it though. If anything the Huel helped, because it’s just healthy food.
If you think that Huel has caused it, and there’s been a build up of stuff that you’re addicted to and now without Huel you’re suffering withdrawals that are making you even worse, then you should probably talk to your doctor about possible psychosis too.
Again, it’s no big deal. Sure, you need to take it seriously, but it happens to a lot of people. Mental Illness is no weirder than needing to take insulin because of diabetes… The only thing that makes it scary is it’s your mind and it affects the way you are, but just get the medicine you need and ride it out and I’m sure you’ll settle down in a few months.
Do you know what that is the reply I really needed. You’re right I’m suffering from extreme anxiety (hypochondria) and I’m a logical thinking so I’m looking for any and every possible reason why this is happening to me and why I’m feeling like this… I still think something in huel was stimulating my anxiety slightly but yeah I don’t think it caused it as of now 13 days on my anxiety is as bad as ever… I have been prescribed medication (sertraline/Zoloft) however I’m terrified to take it, I don’t like taking anything that will effect my mental state anymore as I used to smoke a lot when I was younger and have a fear now of anything mind altering but I’m struggling badly right now racing thoughts and anxiety about my health is really effecting my life. People are telling me to try the tablets but I’m actually petrified I just want my brain to recover on its own but it’s not looking likely. Thanks for your reply it really helped!!!
To answer your question, No.
The choice is stay the same, rely on hope, or take action. Your doctor has listened to you, taken your symptoms onboard, and then prescribed medication: All things being equal: You need to take it.
And you need to take it properly to their instructions, not just a couple days or here and there.
One step at a time, have patience, things will get better @Dantheman31.
I have terrible anxiety and huel doesnt make it worse or better so its highly unlikely that, though i have tried several antidepressants and if you have the kind of brain fog anxiety i have then i strongly advise against them as they make me worse!
If you can talk and find some of exercise that you can do that can help. Are you taking any other supplements? I tried macca and found that to make me very jittery and anxious initially
Hope you found what works for you though.
Just removed the direct advice that was given here. No hard feelings, sure it wasn’t meant to be potentially dangerous advice. But let’s try and avoid giving such direct medical advice and acknowledge that our GPs know better!
Hey I’m new here, I just want to say that I’m delighted to see that you’re a company that takes scientific literacy seriously and that you have a zero tolerance policy for disinformation on your platform.
Hi @Dantheman31 I actually had a similar reaction to the one you described - pretty bad anxiety out of nowhere.
I started Huel in January 2021, and it totally messed up my stomach. Over the course of about a week I lost my appetite and started getting really bad acid reflux, which I’d never had before. Maybe the size of the meals being physically so much smaller caused my stomach to shrink a bit, but I found it very hard to eat regular food for a week or two after stopping huel. I had to go on PPIs for the acid reflux, and at the same time, my anxiety, which I hadn’t experienced in over 4 years, reappeared and skyrocketed (before I stopped the Huel and started taking the PPIs).
I don’t know if it’s the artificial sweeteners, but my gut was super unhappy and it had a huge knock-on effect on my mental health. There were definitely other stressors in my life at the time, but I think this was a significant factor.
Hey @krward !
Firstly, I am so sorry to hear this. How are you doing now?
While I cannot comment on the mental health aspects as I am not an expert in that area and your doctor can help you best in that regard, I can certainly assist from a nutrition point of view!
Which Huel product were you consuming and how quickly were you consuming it? How often were you having it and how were you preparing it?
There are a few things to consider with regard to acid reflux:
- If you are consuming a food, such as Huel, in the liquid form super quickly, this can sometimes be a lot of volume for the stomach to handle at once, as you mentioned! This does not happen for every person, but for some, the stomach cannot handle the volume at the rate it’s being consumed. It’s pretty easy to gulp Huel down, but if you did not try this already or weren’t doing this before, one thing to consider is slowing down and consuming over 15-20 minutes and maybe try one scoop at a time and see how that goes. I have to sometimes remind myself to do this as I tend to consume it fast!
- If you were also consuming a higher fat Huel product in conjuction with consuming it quickly, it may be that the higher fat content wasn’t tolerated too. Of course, this is very individualized, but something to consider.
- How quickly Huel is introduced is also important. Meaning, if you started consuming Huel multiple times daily, this may have been a bit too rapid of a change (especially due to the higher fiber content). Any large fluctuations in dietary intake, especially with regard to fiber, may cause GI issues too.
Lastly, when it comes to loss of appetite, this could be related to the symptoms you were experiencing with acid reflux, and not wanting to eat as a result of the fact that you didn’t want more of those symptoms. Though, I cannot be certain and I know you mentioned there were other things going on too. However, if this was the case, once the symptoms subside (with any nutrition-related disease) in individual’s who have lost their appetite, usually the appetite comes back.
Hope this helps - let me know!