Tired after eating

Two things cause fatigue after eating for me:
1) Post-prandial hypotension - this means that blood pressure drops after eating because blood is moved to the gut as part of digestion.

For someone with low, or very low blood pressure a normal size meal can be far too much for the body to handle all at once. I need to eat very small meals to avoid lower BP after eating. If I overeat by even a few mouthfuls then I can feel the difference in my energy levels.

Before I realized the connection between food quantity and fatigue after eating, I would eat normal sized meals and wonder why I could barely stay conscious for the next three hours afterward.

2) Low stomach acid - If I don't take BetaineHCL with Pepsin when eating any food with protein in it then I will be very tired after eating. The amount of BetaineHCL required increases for higher amounts of protein.

Now that I eat very small meals and take BetaineHCL to help with protein digestion my life is much better. I used to spend so much time feeling like a zombie while my body tried to deal with digesting food. The only time I felt normal (for a person with CFS/ME at least) was first thing in the morning because I hadn't eaten anything at night.

 

The mention of gluten just reminded me of another source of fatigue for me after eating. I think this would be rare for most people but I'll mention it anyway: LDN + gluten. Since I've been taking LDN I haven't been able to tolerate any gluten containing foods. If I eat gluten I can become extremely tired for up to 24 hours afterward.

Both gluten and dairy are foods to avoid when taking LDN because they can interfere with LDN's effectiveness.

Before LDN I was able to eat gluten foods without any problem, and sourdough bread was a staple food for me.

 

I've read several books about hypoglycemia and they usually point out that the rate your blood sugar drops during a hypoglycemic episode is more important than being near, or below, the low end of the range. And, your low level may be higher than the average low.

When I was certain that I was having hypoglycemic episodes I tested my blood sugar using a pin-prick tester and found that the meter could be off by a full point when using the same drop of blood for multiple samples. There is a quite a difference between 2.5 and 3.5.

Eventually I just learned to trust my symptoms and the remedy, not the meter. If my symptoms match those of a hypoglycemic episode, and eating quickly relieves my symptoms, then I'm pretty sure I was having low blood sugar and the food raised it. This is something that I have confirmed thousands of times by now.

I've also tested different foods to see how I feel after. If I eat an apple then I'll get a blood sugar high, with a blood sugar crash within 30-45 minutes. If I eat something that takes longer to digest then I can go for up to 2 hours before the hypo symptoms start again.

If I take apple cider vinegar before eating (often suggested to help increase stomach acid, and to slow the rate of blood sugar increase after eating) then I'll feel very tired. I think it slows the blood sugar increase too much in my case, so that my blood sugar takes a much longer time to rise to a normal level. This may be another cause of fatigue after eating for some people.