Dr Hive...is this low blood sugar or something else possibly??

[Samiam]

I can go all day without eating, and feel completely fine.  I'll drink water, maybe a cup of coffee with creamer, perhaps iced chai with whole milk.  But literally, I can go until dinner and not be hungry or tired from lack of eating. Sometimes depending on dinner and schedule, I may not even eat dinner.

 

But if I eat something during the day, especially something with carbs, I'm done within a few hours.   Exhausted by early afternoon, and needing a nap badly.   

 

Now I know not eating all day is killing my metabolism....and yes, I am chubby.  I've done different diets, plans etc over the years, and have even done the eat several small meals throughout the day, in hopes to rev up metabolism, but it seems to just make me gain weight.  I've focused on exercise...went to the Y 3-5 days a week, from Feb-May...walked 1-2 miles each time...which isn't ALOT but way more than I was doing prior....didn't lose a pound.  

 

Anyhoo, the weight thing is off on another tangent...back to the "exhausted after eating".   The other day we went with friends at Panera for a coffee/breakfast.  I felt fine, energetic, etc. I only had a caramel coffed..no food.   My DS7 didn't finish his bagel, so we took it home.  He said he wasnt' planning on eating so I finished it.   Two hours later, I can't keep my eyes open.  Just exhausted.   I mean, EXHAUSTED.   We'd done nothing physical...sat at Panera's for 90 minutes, came home, did some schoolwork, and by 12:30p, I need a nap.

 

The other thing I noticed is if I eat carbs for dinner, like pasta, baked potato, or large bread...within 30 minutes or so..again, I'm completely wiped.  I say it's my after dinner food coma...I'm so exhausted, I lay on the couch, and I can kinda hear what's happening around me, but I literally just can not wake up, can't get up, can't open my eyes.  

 

I'm not overeating dinner either.  I've gotten to the point where I avoid carbs for dinner, and I'm not having the food coma issue.   So I can go all day, and eat barely anything until dinner, and be completely fine, not feel tired at all.  If I eat anything bready during the day, or carby for dinner....done...flat-out exhausted.   The fact that I barely eat, yet as chubby as ever...is annoying.  

 

Is this a low blood sugar issue?  Something else?  Ideas?

[Whereneverever]

Have you tested your blood sugar?

[Lara in Colo]

sounds llike low blood sugar to me...... try to eat high protein, low carb meals four times a day for the next three days and report your findings.

 

Breakfast-- egg and bacon

 

3 hours later--- some chicken (get a cooked rotisserie ) and some apple & cheese

4hours later  -- ham and cheese and fruit

 

dinner-- meat and veggie

 

have glass of whole milk before bed

 

eat nuts

I personally find coconut oil with my coffee to make all the difference in my day+

[ondreeuh]

I am EXACTLY the same way, and I don't know why. My fasting blood sugar is like 95, which is normal. My A1C is normal (it shows an average blood sugar). A few years ago I bought a glucose monitor and even when I felt weak and dizzy, my blood sugar was still totally within the normal range. Yet I pretty much go narcoleptic if I have too much carbs. A small muffin made with wheat bread is ok, but a mini white bread bagel with cream cheese isn't. I can eat steel cut oats sweetened with agave nectar, but not pancakes. White bread is definitely worse for me than whole wheat. Most of the time a beer or glass of wine makes me very tired. I don't even try juice.

 

I had a scary episode where my body almost fell asleep while I was driving. I had had a good night's sleep, had gone out for breakfast and eaten pancakes, and was driving home. My brain was awake but my body almost shut off. Another time I was late for work so ate some bread at my desk just before I started work. I literally could not stay awake and i was trying so hard! It really is something like narcolepsy. When I do crash, I dream immediately which is unusual, and is a sign of narcolepsy too I believe.

 

I drink coffee with breakfast and lunch, and avoid white carbs. I have been doing much bett since I have been sticking to that plan. Not losing any weight, though.

[Pawz4me]

I have a close relatively with diagnosed hypoglycemia.  She has never had sleepiness as a symptom.  She experiences shakiness, anxiousness, sweating, fuzzy thinking.  Pretty much the polar opposite of sleepiness.

[Soror]

Low blood sugar can cause low blood pressure. I would start eating more but try meals w/out heavy carbs. Eating a bunch on an empty stomach is just going to compound the effect. I would think if you start eating more protein(and fat!) in there and more often that the carbs won't affect you as much. Generally I've timed my carbs w/ increasing amounts through the day as that works best for me.

[Soror]

Low blood pressure however results in feeling dizzy, especially when standing up too quickly.

 

I would say as well that if you are feeling like you are going to pass out after eating carbs when you've fasted that you are not doing fine. You are really going to screw yourself up. I have a friend who does this a lot, she said she was fine as well, however I frequently notice that she has a slight shake to her on those days she hasn't ate. She is so used it that it doesn't bother her. Eat more and I bet you will notice a very discernible difference in your energy level.

 

(* I mean this kindly- so I hope it comes off this way! You just make me think of my dear friend whom I'm always reminding to eat! Take care of yourself!)

[Momof3littles]

I have PCOS and am therefore somewhat insulin resistant, even though I have never been overweight. That's how I react to carbs, including whole grains. Basically I get a quick blood sugar rise, and my body pumps out excess insulin to compensate. That then causes blood sugar to drop to hypoglycemic levels.

 

Look into reactive hypoglycemia and insulin resistance. I'd request a 2 or 3 hour glucose tolerance test with insulin levels (edited to add: even that isn't a great test, but one of the more practical options. The gold standard is a euglycemic clamp test, which is rarely done outside of a research setting). A GTT alone won't give you enough information, you need to see how your insulin levels respond to a glucose load. I once had a lab screw that up despite the reproductive endocrinologist writing GTT with insulin levels on the script, and had to do it all over again. So make sure they get it right. Fasting insulin levels won't give much info, ditto fasting blood sugar. None of those #s are ever out of range for me.

 

Until I got my diagnosis it never made sense to me why I could eat a bagel or bowl of cereal and be positively ravenous an hour later. I would always end up far hungrier than if I had never eaten in the first place. That was 10+ years ago, and I was fortunate to get my diagnosis in my early 20s. If PCOS gave me one gift, it was piecing together the insulin issues with metabolic syndrome (family history of those issues made sense once I got my diagnosis) and so forth so I could better manage my health as an adult.

[Samiam]

Thanks all.  I've not tested my blood sugar.  I'm just noticing the carb + coma+sleepy in the last year...I mean, I'm just linking it...if I think back, it's happened for a few years.  

 

PCOS is something I've often considered I have.   I once got tested for it, about 5 years ago, and the Dr. said the blood tests were negative for PCOS.  I didn't know all the numbers and questions to ask, but I didn't quite believe him.  I have many of the signs for PCOS.   I'd like to go to a PCOS "friendly" Dr, one who believes it is real and looks beyond the basic blood work. It's just a matter of finding time.

 

I'm going to do the high protein/low carb for four days, as recommended and pay close attention.  I mean, I can do anything for FOUR days, right?  Probably the way I should be eating anyway...would likely help with the weight issue too.

[Soror]

Good luck, I hope you figure it out! It is a wretched feeling but if that is the cause then it shouldn't take long before you are feeling better!

[KathyJo]

I used to have tons of problems with blood sugar. They all went away when I went low-carb and starting eating more fat and protein.

[Momof3littles]

Thanks all.  I've not tested my blood sugar.  I'm just noticing the carb + coma+sleepy in the last year...I mean, I'm just linking it...if I think back, it's happened for a few years.  

 

PCOS is something I've often considered I have.   I once got tested for it, about 5 years ago, and the Dr. said the blood tests were negative for PCOS.  I didn't know all the numbers and questions to ask, but I didn't quite believe him.  I have many of the signs for PCOS.   I'd like to go to a PCOS "friendly" Dr, one who believes it is real and looks beyond the basic blood work. It's just a matter of finding time.

 

I'm going to do the high protein/low carb for four days, as recommended and pay close attention.  I mean, I can do anything for FOUR days, right?  Probably the way I should be eating anyway...would likely help with the weight issue too.

Have you ever been to soulcysters? It is incredibly helpful and they have info on pcos friendly docs. My diagnosis was also missed initially. Doctor did an incomplete panel of bloodwork, and some of my levels came back "high end of normal." But I was symptomatic, and those levels were not normal. I pushed and he said I didn't have PCOS because I "wasn't overweight." I started putting a few things together and self referred to a reproductive endo at a top university medical center, where I was diagnosed right away. Many docs still go by dated criteria or don't know that the diagnostic criteria have changed (and are sometimes still up for debate). As you probably know, pcos has health implications related to type 2 risk, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, endometrial cancer, etc. so it is important to get a proper diagnosis. If you haven't yet, check out soulcystes and see if you can find an endo in your area with PCOS expertise.

 

Do you still have your test results by any chance? For example, my first doc tested total testosterone (mine was higher end of normal), but the reproductive endo knew that free testosterone is a more sensitive test for PCOS. That one came back higher for me. My original ob/gyn tested androstenedione and DHEA-S, but missed a bunch of other tests he should have done as part of the original panel.

[abacus2]

That could be caused by high blood sugar. I would get a blood sugar meter and test.