Passing Out after few mouthfuls of food

[WolfH]

Hi I am a newbie
I have had this issue for a number of years and never really done anything until now. I'm 52 fairly fit not overweight but have gained a few pounds since menopause.
I went out for a long bike ride (not slow) about 34 miles i had two peices of marmite on wholemeal toast before i went then when i got back i had some chopped vegtables with humous and all was fine. Later on went out for a meal i had one glass of wine and then a goats cheese salad then i felt very faint and really sweating and i went very grey (so im told) i knew what was coming so thought i am not paassing out in the middle of restaurant so got up to go to toilet and bang i came to on a chair feeling bloody awful i managed to burble sugar and they bought me a sugar drink and after 10 mins i felt human.The next day i felt awful as well a bit like wiped out. The thing is this has happended quite a few times over the past 15 years and i have always put it down to drinking/eating on an empty stomach as has once happended in a kfc with no alcohol on one bite of food (ended up sick and bad head that time from smacking the floor).
After doing research as my new partner was worried, we came up with RH was the closest, i have since been to the docs and they have given me a monitor and done tests which came out at the high end of normal and said i had pre diabetes and was only diet and excersize keeping it at bay, i have to do a two week chart of readings, food and excercise and then they will access. I had gestational diabetes with both my kids so figured i would probably get it one day. I gues its the excersizing bit that is making me a bit concerned as everytime i have passed out albeit once was later on in the day after i had excercised. My readings atm are coming out slightly above average i think ie: 2hrs after food 9.4, my diet is healthy i think. I'm looking for some advice as the doctors weren't that helpful at all.

 

[Lamont D]

Hi @WolfH and welcome to our forum.
The first thing I would ask, have you had an hba1c blood test?
If you have then this why you have been told you are prediabetic.
The good thing is you have been asked to do a food diary. But it how you test is important.
You should always test pre meal, and at this stage of not knowing, one hour, two hours and even three hours after first bite is fundamental to seeing what is happening when you eat. I won't go into the details until you get any results but to add have the same meal more than once so you can compare, even as far as same food, same portion size, same drink, preferably water. Try and make the mea!s simple by not adding sauces, condiments, gravy etc.
If you have read anything about RH, exercise can be a bit of a kerfuffle about how much you can do. My own experience with testing and results is that strenuous exercise is not good for me, because it causes the trigger for the reactive part of the condition.
As simple as I can put it, without the boring science, when your energy levels are depleted during, your blood and brain need more glucose. Food or drink usually give this to you but because you are not eating, your body needs a source, and your liver will provide, but it will in my case cause the reactive trigger.
Your body because of our dietary norm is mainly carbs, this is what your energy levels are topped up by.
With RH it is the carbs that are the problem and cause the trigger.
If you don't eat carbs, you body will go into using ketones instead, and this is how your energy levels are better managed with RH.
After the food diary if you are still fainting(?????) I would ask for a referral.
You definitely need diagnostic tests wether it is RH or something else.
I have read of all conditions that cause sugar crashing, but not as quick as you describe, it is odd, mind you I do odd and weird and nothing like this would surprise me!
Your fasting levels are important if you have RH, it would be odd if you were diagnosed with RH and they were above or below normal levels (4-6 mmols)
Let us know how you get on.
Keep asking.

 

[Dr Snoddy]

Just based on the information that you have given I would suggest the following. Your energy intake during the day was low compared to the energy that you expended on the bike ride and you had used up your available stores of muscle glycogen. The alcohol would then have blocked any additional release of liver glycogen as the liver would prioritise the removal of a toxin over the conversion of glycogen into glucose. A goat's cheese salad would provide little glucose either. Result = hypoglycaemia and all its typical symptoms: sweating, tremors, feeling faint etc. This is exactly how I would respond if I did the same! I do wonder sometimes about glucagon deficiency as this hormone barely gets mentioned.

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome,

Have you eliminated food allergy as a possibility?
I am not suggesting it isn't RH, but it is important to eliminate every possibility.
Your doc should pursue this too.

 

[WolfH]

Just based on the information that you have given I would suggest the following. Your energy intake during the day was low compared to the energy that you expended on the bike ride and you had used up your available stores of muscle glycogen. The alcohol would then have blocked any additional release of liver glycogen as the liver would prioritise the removal of a toxin over the conversion of glycogen into glucose. A goat's cheese salad would provide little glucose either. Result = hypoglycaemia and all its typical symptoms: sweating, tremors, feeling faint etc. This is exactly how I would respond if I did the same! I do wonder sometimes about glucagon deficiency as this hormone barely gets mentioned.

That sounds the most logical explanation for that particular time & the only other person to mention something similar was the doctor when i got taken to hospital for passing out in KFC after a bite of a burger (no alcohol that time) that was the first time it happended 15 years ago and she said when ou eat your body releases a hormone and mine had released too much and with it being on an empty stomach and i was stood at the time it caused me to pass out, so i took it from then if i hadnt eaten much to never stand and eat.... but it has stillhappened numerous times since then.

 

[WolfH]

Hi @WolfH and welcome to our forum.
The first thing I would ask, have you had an hba1c blood test?
If you have then this why you have been told you are prediabetic.
The good thing is you have been asked to do a food diary. But it how you test is important.
You should always test pre meal, and at this stage of not knowing, one hour, two hours and even three hours after first bite is fundamental to seeing what is happening when you eat. I won't go into the details until you get any results but to add have the same meal more than once so you can compare, even as far as same food, same portion size, same drink, preferably water. Try and make the mea!s simple by not adding sauces, condiments, gravy etc.
If you have read anything about RH, exercise can be a bit of a kerfuffle about how much you can do. My own experience with testing and results is that strenuous exercise is not good for me, because it causes the trigger for the reactive part of the condition.
As simple as I can put it, without the boring science, when your energy levels are depleted during, your blood and brain need more glucose. Food or drink usually give this to you but because you are not eating, your body needs a source, and your liver will provide, but it will in my case cause the reactive trigger.
Your body because of our dietary norm is mainly carbs, this is what your energy levels are topped up by.
With RH it is the carbs that are the problem and cause the trigger.
If you don't eat carbs, you body will go into using ketones instead, and this is how your energy levels are better managed with RH.
After the food diary if you are still fainting(?????) I would ask for a referral.
You definitely need diagnostic tests wether it is RH or something else.
I have read of all conditions that cause sugar crashing, but not as quick as you describe, it is odd, mind you I do odd and weird and nothing like this would surprise me!
Your fasting levels are important if you have RH, it would be odd if you were diagnosed with RH and they were above or below normal levels (4-6 mmols)
Let us know how you get on.
Keep asking.

 

[WolfH]

Hi @WolfH and welcome to our forum.
The first thing I would ask, have you had an hba1c blood test?
If you have then this why you have been told you are prediabetic.
The good thing is you have been asked to do a food diary. But it how you test is important.
You should always test pre meal, and at this stage of not knowing, one hour, two hours and even three hours after first bite is fundamental to seeing what is happening when you eat. I won't go into the details until you get any results but to add have the same meal more than once so you can compare, even as far as same food, same portion size, same drink, preferably water. Try and make the mea!s simple by not adding sauces, condiments, gravy etc.
If you have read anything about RH, exercise can be a bit of a kerfuffle about how much you can do. My own experience with testing and results is that strenuous exercise is not good for me, because it causes the trigger for the reactive part of the condition.
As simple as I can put it, without the boring science, when your energy levels are depleted during, your blood and brain need more glucose. Food or drink usually give this to you but because you are not eating, your body needs a source, and your liver will provide, but it will in my case cause the reactive trigger.
Your body because of our dietary norm is mainly carbs, this is what your energy levels are topped up by.
With RH it is the carbs that are the problem and cause the trigger.
If you don't eat carbs, you body will go into using ketones instead, and this is how your energy levels are better managed with RH.
After the food diary if you are still fainting(?????) I would ask for a referral.
You definitely need diagnostic tests wether it is RH or something else.
I have read of all conditions that cause sugar crashing, but not as quick as you describe, it is odd, mind you I do odd and weird and nothing like this would surprise me!
Your fasting levels are important if you have RH, it would be odd if you were diagnosed with RH and they were above or below normal levels (4-6 mmols)
Let us know how you get on.
Keep asking.

Hi I don't know if i have had an RBa1 test all the doctor said who then reffered me to the nurse who then went through all the tests and results was my liver, kidney cholesterol, blood pressure was all good and i was fit and healthy for my age but my sugar was at the top end of normal and as the test was taken around 4.30pm and i hadnt eaten for a good few hours she thought pre diabetes given my history.
i have just started a chart today and it was 6.7 upon waking and two hours after my lunch of whoelmeal roll with ham and a bit of mustard it was 9.8 dunno if thats a bad reading as all the things seem to have different charts.
I have been so much hungrier this past year than i have my whole life as in i never really cared too much abiout food it was an inconvenience but now my stomach rumbles sooo loud and it feels like its trying to eat itself, i thought this particular sympton was menopause but the more i read it says hunger. As im older now i guess i just want to get to the bottom of whats going wrong with my body and if i can try and sort it.

 

[Lamont D]

Hi I don't know if i have had an RBa1 test all the doctor said who then reffered me to the nurse who then went through all the tests and results was my liver, kidney cholesterol, blood pressure was all good and i was fit and healthy for my age but my sugar was at the top end of normal and as the test was taken around 4.30pm and i hadnt eaten for a good few hours she thought pre diabetes given my history.
i have just started a chart today and it was 6.7 upon waking and two hours after my lunch of whoelmeal roll with ham and a bit of mustard it was 9.8 dunno if thats a bad reading as all the things seem to have different charts.
I have been so much hungrier this past year than i have my whole life as in i never really cared too much abiout food it was an inconvenience but now my stomach rumbles sooo loud and it feels like its trying to eat itself, i thought this particular sympton was menopause but the more i read it says hunger. As im older now i guess i just want to get to the bottom of whats going wrong with my body and if i can try and sort it.

I think the next course for your doctors is to test which hormone is the one that is getting over produced. Any hormone that is either over produced or under (hyper or hypo) will effect your body and try to compensate by producing more other hormones to counteract the hormonal response imbalance.
In my case the low insulin response causes high glucose after carbs, which causes more insulin and so on.
Which one? No idea, but I'm not convinced it is hypoglycaemia, with your recent results indicating prediabetic levels. Which can be addressed by dietary intervention.

Let us know how you get on. It's always interesting to find out what is going on.
Best wishes