Suddenly nauseated, day 2/Dinner

[carolinabird]

Let me ask y'all something... It's day two, I've been 100% on program. I had three excellent meals yesterday and I've had my three for today. I've not snacked in between meals either. Truthfully, I've not been hungry between meals... until tonight at dinner. But it wasn't a regular, I'm hungry, now lets go prepare dinner before I get TOO hungry... I literally thought I was going to pass out in the middle of the preparation of the meal. I have bad problems with low blood sugar and this crept up on me while I was cooking and now I feel ill. Not just ill but sort of high and sick at the same time. I broke out in a cold sweat even after I had eaten. What is going on with me? Has this happened to any of you? Am I experiencing some sort of toxic release? EVERYTHING I have put in my mouth has been clean and organic... Feel awful. Thanks for reading! 

[ShannonM816]

Some people find they feel tired the first few days, but what you're describing is not normal.

 

Could you list what you've eaten the last couple of days, including approximate serving sizes, along with water intake, exercise, sleep and anything else that might seem relevant?

 

If you have problems with blood sugar anyway, you're really going to have to be diligent in making sure you eat enough and in the right mix to keep your blood sugar stable. At first, this might be hard, as you adjust to having larger meals less often. Your goal is to ultimately compose your meals in a way that keeps this from happening, but while you're working on getting that dialed in, we don't want you to pass out, so if you really feel like that, and you need something right that instant, it's okay to have something. If fruit works for you, great. If this is something you've experienced pre-W30 and you usually use glucose tablets, it's not ideal, but again, we don't want you passing out, so do that, keeping in mind that that means you need to adjust something in your meals going forward.

 

When you get used to eating enough at meals, you should find that you don't have this problem anymore. Make sure your meals meet at least the minimum requirements of the meal template, and if you need a little more, it's okay. That means have at least 1-2 palm-sized portions of protein (that's length, width, and depth of your palm); at least 1-2 thumb-sized portions of fat (or a heaping handful or two of olives or coconut flakes, or 1/2-1 whole avocado, or a closed handful of nuts or seeds); and 1-3 cups of vegetables. For carbs, it's generally better to focus on starchy vegetables rather than fruit -- fruit for anyone should be no more than 1-2 pieces a day, always with meals, not by itself -- but you never have to eat any fruit, as long as you're eating a variety of vegetables.

[carolinabird]

Hi and thank you so much for your response. Here is what I've eaten... and for the record, it happened again.

 

Monday B'fast - three eggs poached, 3 pieces of bacon, 1 sliced Apple

Monday Lunch - Bacon chopped into cabbage & squash slaw, with Chicken

Monday Dinner - Left over slaw, Green beans, 2 Turkey burgers

 

Tuesday B'fast - 1 Turkey Burger, 3 slices of bacon, green beans

Tuesday Lunch - (had b'fast) three poached eggs, 3 slices of bacon, cooked carrots with L/O green beans

Tuesday Dinner - Chicken strips with 1 sweet potato with garlic mash, Olives and Pecans (handful of each)

 

Wednesday B'fast - last of the Chicken strips mixed with Eggs and veggie mix

 

Ok... all of the above is organic, FYI and all based on the correct portion size (pretty sure). I had the same feeling when I woke this AM - EXTREME weakness/Shaking with hunger and couldn't prepare it fast enough. Lunch today is the same... I am shaking as I am typing this. I should go cook but I wanted to capture the exact feeling. I feel a heat coming from the top of my head followed by the low blood sugar cold sweats... I'm nauseated and and feel what I would describe as anxiety coming on too. It feels like the feeling as if you're afraid you may never eat again. But I eat! And I eat a lot! I think I need some glucose. It is hard to keep my thoughts straight. I'm going to go eat right now... and report back. 

[carolinabird]

I had to have some Glucose. I did only about half as much as is called for and I felt my brain coming back to normal and the sweats subside. I'm going to continue with the Whole30, but I am going to test my sugars with regularity to establish some baseline of knowledge. I've only been down to 70 a few times but it is so horrible that I cannot let myself go there, ever. But that is precisely how I felt for the last three meals. Waking up feeling like that is especially horrible. I'm going to keep some tabs on this and report back in case others might be going through what I am. If there is anything else for me to know, do not hesitate to reach out to me! Thanks! 

[ladyshanny]

Is this a problem that you had prior to starting Whole30?  If so, have you seen someone for it to help you manage? It sounds fairly serious to me and not something that strangers on the internet should be helping you try to diagnose, we are not medically trained.

[carolinabird]

I'm laughing out loud... Yes you are all strangers. Ha ha ha... Ok, yes I've had this for my adult life, but it has gotten much worse since as I've gotten older. So you guys are not diagnosing me, that is a done deal. What I am wondering now though is if this is a safe thing for me to be doing at all. I think it would be best for me to stop, talk to the doc and see what he has to say before getting started again or if at all. I did just check my blood sugars and they've dropped REALLY low for only having eaten just four hours ago. If I wait another hour or two to eat, they'll be below 70, which is super dangerous. I will say, even with needing to likely stop this for now, I have learned some valuable lessons. The most important is that I didn't always feel my blood sugar dropping like I have for the last few days and it has made me hyper aware. I am now wondering if some of my other issues I was trying to solve with the Whole30 are actually related to Hypoglycemia... So all is not lost, just information gained to share with the doc. If it is helpful at all, I'll check back in with what he and I sort out. Cheers. 

[ladyshanny]

I'm laughing out loud... Yes you are all strangers. Ha ha ha... Ok, yes I've had this for my adult life, but it has gotten much worse since as I've gotten older. So you guys are not diagnosing me, that is a done deal. What I am wondering now though is if this is a safe thing for me to be doing at all. I think it would be best for me to stop, talk to the doc and see what he has to say before getting started again or if at all. I did just check my blood sugars and they've dropped REALLY low for only having eaten just four hours ago. If I wait another hour or two to eat, they'll be below 70, which is super dangerous. I will say, even with needing to likely stop this for now, I have learned some valuable lessons. The most important is that I didn't always feel my blood sugar dropping like I have for the last few days and it has made me hyper aware. I am now wondering if some of my other issues I was trying to solve with the Whole30 are actually related to Hypoglycemia... So all is not lost, just information gained to share with the doc. If it is helpful at all, I'll check back in with what he and I sort out. Cheers. 

OK, phew, I'm glad to hear you are under medical care.  It does sound like perhaps the time it may take you to find your perfect balance within Whole30 (we're all so different) could end up being rather dangerous for you at this time.

 

Please keep us posted!

 

Curious, if you do give up the Whole30 at this time, what are you going to eat differently that you think/hope is going to mitigate these problems? Just curious and trying to get my head around what's going on for you.  (I think I was a diagnostician in a previous life)

[ShannonM816]

I agree with ladyshanny, I'm glad you're seeing a professional for this.   Hopefully they'll have some answers for you.

 

Before this, did you tend to graze throughout the day to keep your blood sugar up? You could continue that, but with Whole30 foods -- maybe attempting to increase amounts at meals and play with the amounts of starchy vegetables and fats in an effort to work toward three meals a day -- basically think of it as three meals and 2-3 snacks a day, where the snacks may start out about the same size as the meals, but work on making the meals bigger and the snacks smaller over time. But only if your doctor thinks it would be okay, and you keep an eye on the blood sugar and make sure you keep it stable. We really, really don't want you passing out or anything.

 

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you find something that works for you.

[carolinabird]

I did tend to graze throughout the day to keep the blood sugar at a livable place. I tended to eat about 6 times a day - three major meals and three "snacks" that were really slightly bigger than a snack. I was trying to find out what was causing some inflammation and I can tell you that in spite of the low low low blood sugar, the last three days my stomach has been flat like it was in my 30's and gas and just general bloat has been very low as well. So I really feel like the Whole30 has some answers for me, I just may as not be able to do it the same as others. I like the idea of continuing this way of eating but doing it more often and seeing how that goes. This resonates well with me. Several of the things that I think have been an issue in the past and I'm not going to go back to eating for a while are; cheeses, dairy and nuts. One of the things I have relied heavily on in my life has been nuts. I am allergic to Cashews (and shellfish) and lately, I've wondered if I was allergic to other nuts. The only time I've had them was at lunch today when I thought I was going to pass out... guess who's all bloated in the belly now... This girl. Isn't life just one big experiment! At least this time when I go to the doc, I have to real proof and not just rhetoric. I'm keeping a food and blood sugar journal now so we'll have lots to discuss. THANKS!!

[ladyshanny]

I like the idea of continuing this way of eating but doing it more often and seeing how that goes. This resonates well with me. 

Excellent, I think that's a really awesome plan!  I would recommend, if you can help it, try to make each snack a mini meal of at least protein and fat.  Eating just fruit on its own will bring your blood sugar up, for sure, but won't retrain your body to access fat, long term.  Of course if you're feeling faint or sick then do whatever you have to do to get back to balanced, but if your planned snacks are more template-y, it's possible that you could eventually train your body out of this wild fluctuation.

[DBEld]

I agree with ladyshanny, I'm glad you're seeing a professional for this.   Hopefully they'll have some answers for you.

 

Before this, did you tend to graze throughout the day to keep your blood sugar up? You could continue that, but with Whole30 foods -- maybe attempting to increase amounts at meals and play with the amounts of starchy vegetables and fats in an effort to work toward three meals a day -- basically think of it as three meals and 2-3 snacks a day, where the snacks may start out about the same size as the meals, but work on making the meals bigger and the snacks smaller over time. But only if your doctor thinks it would be okay, and you keep an eye on the blood sugar and make sure you keep it stable. We really, really don't want you passing out or anything.

 

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you find something that works for you.

This is great advice! I'm only on day 2 but am having a hard time cutting out snacks. I like the idea of doing it over time, it takes the pressure off. 

[Kim1113]

I too had some nausea early on. I'm on day 8 and it has gone away. I added a snack of a banana and sunflower seed butter. Diabetes runs in my family but so far I've been able to avoid it. Like you, my stomach feels a lot flatter! Keep up the good work and modify to suit your sugar issues.

[carolinabird]

I am doing a lot better on this now. I think I have discovered a lot about myself and what my allergies might be. I've relied so much on tree nuts over the years as quick forms of protein. About 10 years ago my allergist found that I was allergic to Cashews. Through the process, I think it is all tree nuts. I had a day last week where I had a handful of Pecans and within an hour, my belly was so swollen and the next day my face was as well. I've stayed away from all nuts and the belly has been flatter and no bloat. Ahhhh discovery! Yay. I will miss the nuts, but I'm not going back to them. 

 

I also am wondering if my reliance on nuts for so many years as my rescue protein might have disrupted my stomach flora? If Peanuts can have mold... and I can have massive allergies from Tree's and Grasses, what's to say I wouldn't also be sensitive or allergic to the nuts from those trees? My logic is likely flawed, but if it makes me feel better to stay away from these things... I'm gonna do it! 

 

Cheers!