Mystery Food Headaches - Insulin Resistance?

[Deleted member 555277]

Hi everyone,

I’m currently experiencing headaches, palpitations, and sleepiness following eating anything but usually carbohydrates.

I believe it’s a blood sugar or insulin issue. So today I tried eating food and testing my blood glucose levels to see if it could be diabetes.

I measured before eating and my sugar was normal, about 90 mg/dL. I ate a spicy chicken sandwich from Chick Fil A with BBQ sauce, a Coke Zero, and French fries.

60 minutes after eating my blood sugar level was 122 mg/dL.

I also tried this with Trader Joe’s blintzes (96 grams of carbs) and 1 hour later I reached 120 mg/dL.

However, at the 2 hour mark, I reached back to 92 mg/dL. Close to that for the other food too.

Some high carb foods after an hour I reach 90 and it stays the same after 2 hours too.

Any advice would be helpful. Everyone I eat I get headaches for the whole day and I’m also tired for the whole day and the only way I can get rid of them is I have to sleep it off.

 

[EllieM]

Any advice would be helpful. Everyone I eat I get headaches for the whole day and I’m also tired for the whole day and the only way I can get rid of them is I have to sleep it off.

Have you considered that it might be a food allergy rather than a carb issue? To be honest, those blood sugar levels look pretty normal to me....

 

[Deleted member 555277]

Have you considered that it might be a food allergy rather than a carb issue? To be honest, those blood sugar levels look pretty normal to me....

I did but no specific food is a trigger. Every food I eat gives me headaches. So I suspect a carb issue.

I did get an A1C and it was 4.7% and the scale said 4.8% - 5.6% was normal range. Could I be experiencing reactive hypoglycemia so that’s why the A1C is below the normal range?

I did have 1 fasting glucose at the doctors that was 104 mg/dL, but I also get super nervous/stressed around the doctors office. At home my readings are in the 90s for fasting, and I even tried taking my sugar to see how it compares with lab readings and my blood sugar does increase when I’m stressed.

 

[bulkbiker]

I did but no specific food is a trigger. Every food I eat gives me headaches. So I suspect a carb issue.

I did get an A1C and it was 4.7% and the scale said 4.8% - 5.6% was normal range. Could I be experiencing reactive hypoglycemia so that’s why the A1C is below the normal range?

I did have 1 fasting glucose at the doctors that was 104 mg/dL, but I also get super nervous/stressed around the doctors office. At home my readings are in the 90s for fasting, and I even tried taking my sugar to see how it compares with lab readings and my blood sugar does increase when I’m stressed.

Could it be something like grain?
I'm guessing most of the carb content in that "food" comes from grain products.

 

[Deleted member 555277]

Could it be something like grain?
I'm guessing most of the carb content in that "food" comes from grain products.

Maybe. But even a fruit smoothie with strawberries and banana and almond milk can still give me the headache. And no grain in that I believe.

A low carb egg with sausage “sandwich” (instead of bread slices it is eggs) does not give me that issue. So that’s why I’m thinking it could be a carb thing.

Are these normal symptoms of hypo or hyper glycemia?

 

[bulkbiker]

A low carb egg with sausage “sandwich” (instead of bread slices it is eggs) does not give me that issue. So that’s why I’m thinking it could be a carb thing.

Could be.. maybe try more virtually carb free meals and if you don't get the problem then you have addressed the root cause. You could then introduce what you think might be problem foods back in individually and see when the problem re-surfaces.
Or you could just eat ultra low carb and not worry ever again?

Are these normal symptoms of hypo or hyper glycemia?

When I had hyper glycemia I didn't experience any headaches. At the time I was ill I never had hypos so can't really say.

 

[EllieM]

I think you'd need to test for longer to see if your blood sugar was going low after carbs, much later than 1 hour after the meal.
Have you ever done a formal elimination diet to rule out specific food intolerances though?

 

[Deleted member 555277]

Could be.. maybe try more virtually carb free meals and if you don't get the problem then you have addressed the root cause. You could then introduce what you think might be problem foods back in individually and see when the problem re-surfaces.
Or you could just eat ultra low carb and not worry ever again?

When I had hyper glycemia I didn't experience any headaches. At the time I was ill I never had hypos so can't really say.

Yeah I might try that. If I don’t have to, I would rather not give up carbs. If it is a carb issue than I guess I should do a ketogenic diet.

Gotcha, maybe symptoms differ by person.

 

[Deleted member 555277]

I think you'd need to test for longer to see if your blood sugar was going low after carbs, much later than 1 hour after the meal.
Have you ever done a formal elimination diet to rule out specific food intolerances though?

Is testing at 1 and 2 hours sufficient? I usually get the symptoms within 20 mins to an hour after eating.

I’ve never done an elimination diet. I’m not sure how that works? The only other metric I have is that my A1C at my last visit was 4.8%.

 

[boggle]

Sometimes too much caffeine or caffeine withdrawal can give me a headache. Some artificial sweeteners seem to trigger a headache too. Maybe it's the coke? Could also bee lack of electrolytes or dehydration with this hot weather we are having.

Although, seems unlikely dehydration if it coincides with eating.

 

[Deleted member 555277]

Sometimes too much caffeine or caffeine withdrawal can give me a headache. Some artificial sweeteners seem to trigger a headache too. Maybe it's the coke? Could also bee lack of electrolytes or dehydration with this hot weather we are having.

Although, seems unlikely dehydration if it coincides with eating.

Its been happening for over a year. Doesn’t seem to be a specific food. My blood sugar levels seem to be normal? I haven’t seen anything too crazy, even measuring 2 hours later.

My A1C is normal as well. My fasting at the doctor is usually at the borderline of non diabetic and prediabetic, although I’ve also heard stress/anxiety can increase fasting numbers. I would assume even if I was prediabetic I wouldn’t experience these symptoms. But who knows I could be wrong

 

[EllieM]

Is testing at 1 and 2 hours sufficient? I usually get the symptoms within 20 mins to an hour after eating.

I’ve never done an elimination diet. I’m not sure how that works? The only other metric I have is that my A1C at my last visit was 4.8%.

I'll tag in @Lamont D who is very knowledgeable on reactive hypoglycemia, but I've got to say that your symptoms don't seem to coincide with abnormal blood sugars to me (or at least not high ones, and you don't seem to have recorded any hypos either).

Here's a really interesting article about what normal blood sugars look like for non diabetics.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring Profiles in Healthy Nondiabetic Participants: A Multicenter Prospective Study - PMC (nih.gov)

Some people get headaches due to dental issues (eg my daughter grinds her teeth at night)?

My suggestion would be to keep a careful food and headache diary and see if any patterns emerge (which I'm guessing you may already do).. And I guess if the only pattern is the carbs, you have a plan for headache reduction.

And if you want to try a food elimination diet, I'd recommend talking to a dietician, though Dr Google has this description from the University of Wisconsin which describes the most likely foods to cause migraines.
https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/files/w.../outreach/im/handout_ha_elim_diet_patient.pdf
Edited to add: Note that they specifically say that this should be used only with a clinician.

 

[Deleted member 555277]

I'll tag in @Lamont D who is very knowledgeable on reactive hypoglycemia, but I've got to say that your symptoms don't seem to coincide with abnormal blood sugars to me (or at least not high ones, and you don't seem to have recorded any hypos either).

Here's a really interesting article about what normal blood sugars look like for non diabetics.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring Profiles in Healthy Nondiabetic Participants: A Multicenter Prospective Study - PMC (nih.gov)

Some people get headaches due to dental issues (eg my daughter grinds her teeth at night)?

My suggestion would be to keep a careful food and headache diary and see if any patterns emerge (which I'm guessing you may already do).. And I guess if the only pattern is the carbs, you have a plan for headache reduction.

And if you want to try a food elimination diet, I'd recommend talking to a dietician, though Dr Google has this description from the University of Wisconsin which describes the most likely foods to cause migraines.
https://www.fammed.wisc.edu/files/w.../outreach/im/handout_ha_elim_diet_patient.pdf
Edited to add: Note that they specifically say that this should be used only with a clinician.

It could also be psychological? I thought I had diabetes due to an elevated fasting reading and have been unsure for the longest time. Maybe somehow my anxiety is giving me headaches and it’s all psychological?

I’ll also give a food diary a try

 

[Yulkuy]

Spiking only to 120 at 1 hour mark and going back to 90 after 96g of carbs is like perfect model glucose response, in case of episode of hypo you would go to 70s at least. A lot of healthy people stay elevated at 100-130 mg/dl at 2 hours mark after high fat high carb meals, and a lot of people go into unnoticeable light hypo after high carb meals. It doesn't seem like you are in either of those groups. Your A1C of 4.8 shows your estrimated average glucose at ~95 and that coincides nicely with you experiencing almost no spikes.

There are a lot of reasons for constant tiredness and headaches, chronic EBV and long COVID for example. Insulin resistance, which is the reason of type 2 diabetes, is often associated with cravings, constant hunger, sweet tooth, excess abdominal fat, those sympotms aren't that easy to notice and recognize so most people don't know they have impaired glucose metabolism.

You stressing out about having diabetes with having perfect numbers and perfect response shows it could be a psychological problem, and that is a pain to deal with

 

[Antje77]

Is testing at 1 and 2 hours sufficient? I usually get the symptoms within 20 mins to an hour after eating.

Symptoms from high or low BG occur at the moment the BG is too high or too low.
So if you test at the moment you have the symptoms and your BG is textbook perfect, it doesn't seem to be a glucose issue.

 

[Omar51]

I did but no specific food is a trigger. Every food I eat gives me headaches. So I suspect a carb issue.

I did get an A1C and it was 4.7% and the scale said 4.8% - 5.6% was normal range. Could I be experiencing reactive hypoglycemia so that’s why the A1C is below the normal range?

I did have 1 fasting glucose at the doctors that was 104 mg/dL, but I also get super nervous/stressed around the doctors office. At home my readings are in the 90s for fasting, and I even tried taking my sugar to see how it compares with lab readings and my blood sugar does increase when I’m stressed.

Obviously we all are different, I think you can try one thing about your headaches. Cut down on all processed food and eat only whole food and fresh food. Fresh food and indeed portion control. Good luck!
-Omar

 

[AndBreathe]

I did but no specific food is a trigger. Every food I eat gives me headaches. So I suspect a carb issue.

I did get an A1C and it was 4.7% and the scale said 4.8% - 5.6% was normal range. Could I be experiencing reactive hypoglycemia so that’s why the A1C is below the normal range?

I did have 1 fasting glucose at the doctors that was 104 mg/dL, but I also get super nervous/stressed around the doctors office. At home my readings are in the 90s for fasting, and I even tried taking my sugar to see how it compares with lab readings and my blood sugar does increase when I’m stressed.

Personally, I would be supremely unconcerned to have an A1c of 4.7%, versus a "normal" of 4.8%. The vast majority of "normal" ranges are approximations for the widest population, or all ages, genders, ethnicities and so on.

If you find you have headaches with "following eating anything but usually carbohydrates", it could be if are cutting them right out your body is protesting because in your case it is fueled by carbs. What happens if you eat, say, a half portion of your "usual carbs"?

I'd be inclined to think about either carb withdrawal or an intolerance of some sort.

 

[Diana Motei]

Its been happening for over a year. Doesn’t seem to be a specific food. My blood sugar levels seem to be normal? I haven’t seen anything too crazy, even measuring 2 hours later.

My A1C is normal as well. My fasting at the doctor is usually at the borderline of non diabetic and prediabetic, although I’ve also heard stress/anxiety can increase fasting numbers. I would assume even if I was prediabetic I wouldn’t experience these symptoms. But who knows I could be wrong

I am not a doctor but from my knowledge maybe you want to contact your GP and ask if is any probability the headaches after eating are related to the bile? I had a similar situation and I was told it might be that.