Adrenergic reaction after eating

[Wolfcub]

I am guessing some other people might get this, and sometimes this symptom gives me a hard time.
I get a very scared, shaky, queasy, fast heart-rate, adrenalin-type reaction sometimes after eating.
No it isn't a panic attack. It is purely physical yet very intermittent and unreliable.

I recall once in the 1980s at the dentist's when I was given a triple anaesthetic shot for some work, and I had a bad sudden adrenalin-type reaction.
The dentist actually told me he was sure the adrenalin in the shot had caused me to feel like that.
His advice was to get a double brandy when I got home ! (which I did!)

I don't know for sure as I haven't been tested, but I don't think it's a reactive hypoglycemia. For one thing, a dinner for me consists of many healthy foods, not simple sugars or high carbs. Yes there are some carbs, but not the main content of the meal.
I may have a super-healthy dinner...proteins, vegetables or salad, perhaps a little wholemeal seed toast on the side, or quinoa.
The reaction does not seem related to any specific foods.
I can eat the same foods as I've eaten when an "attack" comes, on another occasion and not get that reaction.
It doesn't seem to be related to anything else either, which I have done or not done. It has a mind of its own.

And surely (?) a reactive hypoglycemia tendency wouldn't be so intermittent??

And it doesn't happen every day. Just sometimes. It's unpleasant though when it does happen.

This can happen 30 minutes after eating, but often it is within 2- 2+1/2 hours. A very similar feeling to that time I had too much adrenalin at the dentist's.

 

[skwag]

Hi @Wolfcub ,

Have you looked into "rapid gastric emptying" and its relation to POTS? @ryan31337 linked to a very informative video presentation in this post.

 

[Thinktank]

THIS, exactly this is what happened to me in the first year of my illness after almost every meal. It's probably caused by dysautonomia.
Doc. diagnosed me with panic disorder and put me on benzodiazepines.
I then developed GAD and panic disorder later on, i didn't suffer from that before i was put on benzo's.

For a long time i pursued the idea of the adrenergic reaction being caused by histamine intolerance and MCAS.
Treatment for MCAS helped me on other aspects of my health, but the adrenergic reaction after eating remained.

I now 100% know it's caused by dysautonomia. I still have it sometimes but not as severe or often like a few years ago.
One thing though, DON'T let yourself be labeled with a panic or anxiety disorder by a psychobabbler and then put on benzodiazepines for years and years....

 

[Wolfcub]

@Thinktank yes I can see how easy it would be to label such a thing as "anxiety" or "panic disorder"....which in my estimation and my knowledge of myself -it isn't.

 

[Hip]

I get a very scared, shaky, queasy, fast heart-rate, adrenalin-type reaction sometimes after eating.
No it isn't a panic attack. It is purely physical yet very intermittent and unreliable.

Not suggesting that your symptoms are necessarily panic disorder. It might well be something else.

But it's worth pointing out that panic disorder can be thought of as a physical process, which involves secretion of adrenaline that leads to the heart rate increases, as well as triggering mental symptoms like anxiety and fear.

I developed the anxiety disorder known as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) after catching a viral infection. The anxiety I experienced was a mental symptom, but I think the underlying cause of my GAD was physical (due to the effects of the virus on the brain).

I think most anxiety disorders are likely caused by physical processes in the body, rather than having mental causes. Anxiety disorders involve mental symptoms, but the mind is generated by the physical brain, so these disorders can have physical causes in the brain.

In panic disorder, I believe you will typically get attacks at random, and at random places like say in the supermarket or while in a train station. It's not particularly food-related. Although this article suggests that MSG in food might trigger panic attacks.

So unless you are also getting these attacks at random, it does not sound like panic disorder.

 

[Wolfcub]

Yes that's interesting @Hip
I do occasionally get those sensations at other times, and always when I have crashed from doing too much. As if the whole system is in overdrive and utterly exhausted.

In those instances it's rather more like a queasy shakiness/weakness very similar to the utter exhaustion I used to feel when much younger and I had climbed too many mountains in a day or run too far.

When it happens after food it almost feels like the system is stressed terribly by the simple process of digestion. (Mind you....as we know, the process of digestion isn't as simple as we imagine is it?)

 

[Gingergrrl]

I get a very scared, shaky, queasy, fast heart-rate, adrenalin-type reaction sometimes after eating.

To me this sounds exactly like a histamine surge triggered by food.

 

[Wolfcub]

To me this sounds exactly like a histamine surge triggered by food.

So, that sounds rather like a food intolerance ? Or a mast cell activation?

What I can't understand is, if that were the cause with me, why it would happen -say once -to the same foods that when eaten at other times would cause no such reaction, and at other times everything would feel normal...
It's a mystery to me.

 

[Hip]

If you want to consider MCAS as an explanation, here are some of the symptoms of MCAS:

You can also find good MCAS symptom lists here and here. But my understanding is that MCAS can vary greatly in its presentation from one person to the next, and patients will usually have only a subset of these symptoms, with each patient having a different subset. That's what makes it hard to diagnose.

 

[Hope4]

Yes that's interesting @Hip
I do occasionally get those sensations at other times, and always when I have crashed from doing too much. As if the whole system is in overdrive and utterly exhausted.

In those instances it's rather more like a queasy shakiness/weakness very similar to the utter exhaustion I used to feel when much younger and I had climbed too many mountains in a day or run too far.

When it happens after food it almost feels like the system is stressed terribly by the simple process of digestion. (Mind you....as we know, the process of digestion isn't as simple as we imagine is it?)

I could have written that. I get shaky from having too much to do, too much emotional stress, from too much noise or heat, too much bright light. I get shaky in the wee hours of the morning after the adrenal spurt slams me awake when I'm exhausted. I get shaky from low blood sugar. And when people are mean.

For me, there are many, many kinds of shakiness. Some with feeling like I could faint, some so strong my teeth chatter.

It's gotten so I can pinpoint many of them, as to their components. But, not all.

Regular rest, not pushing myself when doing chores, keeping my food plan on an even keel, keeping the protein, fat and carb grams constant, all help.

I feel like staying steady requires a great deal of having many things in their proper places. When too many of them go awry, I get various kinds of shakiness. Once in a while, it is as though the nerves themselves are shaking. Sometimes, it feels as though some muscles could cramp. And, it often brings on trips to the bathroom.

I'd like to calm it all down. . It is nice when the almost calm is there.

 

[Wolfcub]

Thanks @Hip I don't know a lot about MCAS so that is useful.

Quite a few symptoms there which I don't get. But during those "attacks" or whatever they are....then definitely a sense I have to breathe a bit more, which I guess is a kind of air hunger, faster heartbeat with palpitations, anxiety, difficulty concentrating (it's hard to concentrate when your body has suddenly decided to feel terribly yuck for no apparent reason), definite fatigue, and that shaky weakness with clumsiness, which isn't listed there

 

[Wolfcub]

I empathise @Hope4 I truly do.

 

[Hope4]

I empathise @Hope4 I truly do.

@Wolfcub Thanks for your kind thoughts.

I also get shaky from being contaminated by fragrances or car exhaust, -- much of the volatile oil compound poisoning. The benzenes, aldehydes, etc. can cause sudden nervous system disturbances. I know one man who cannot go to certain stores because the "fragrances" (VOC poisons) trigger seizures.

Is it possible that you are being exposed to something that is causing the shakiness?

Or dirty electricity, or stray electricity? or strong EMFs?

Sorry to put more wretched pieces into the puzzle.

I'm sending you good thoughts.

 

[Wolfcub]

Thanks @Hope4
As far as I know I'm not particularly sensitive to fragrances, or other smells...car exhaust (not nice but doesn't upset me) washing (laundry) powder -I have used the same one for years -or the other few chemicals in my environment. There are very few chemicals as I am frugal in my use of them.
Perfumes don't bother me, but I don't smell them very often, except lavender oil and my lavender/patchouli deodorant and hand wash, and a mildly, pleasantly scented hand /face cream.

Those things I am always exposed to one way or another. But haven't noticed any exacerbation of symptoms with them. And I get periods (remissions)....sometimes days, sometimes a week or more...in winter 3 weeks....without any symptoms at all, and no change to my exposures of anything.

EMFs...well I don't have an EMF detector but had a listen on a tuned-out radio, and was picking up strong signals from the router, adaptor for computer, and laptop.
Also a strong but much different signal from electrical wiring and where it comes in the house.

But apart from those things, I have no other electrical equipment except a mini oven and double electric cooking rings, one radio and lamplights with incandescent bulbs (no microwave) No TV, no washing machine/dryer, no smartphone or smart meter.
And live a quarter mile from nearest neighbour so doubt if I'd be picking theirs up. Plus nowhere near high voltage electricity cables.
The tuned-out radio test caught nothing at all outside the house.

The weird symptom, plus all the others that go with it seem more related to how exhausted I have got (even from doing nothing extreme!!). And they only happen during "crashes" or relapses.

It's a bit like detective work isn't it -all this trying to trace what the triggers might be?

 

[Hope4]

@Wolfcub. How you live sounds so very nice.

The other things which come to mind:

Cumulative build-up of whatever the stressors are.

Perhaps something sprayed in the air, or municipal pesticides, street re-surfacing, etc.

A toxicologist told me that the poisonous chemicals will grab the nerves in any system of the body at anytime, depending on which area is the most vulnerable. And that stress exacerbates the vulnerability, creating a vicious cycle of attack and vulnerability.

All I know to do is to rest and live as restoratively as I can, and try to reduce the toxic load.

I sometimes wonder if there is something in modern civilization that just degrades the myelin sheath. I keep looking for an explanation and a solution.

I am sending you best thoughts and smiles.

 

[Hd-x]

I had nearly the same problems, heart starts racing aprox. 30minutes after eating, usually 3-4h long.
Very annoying.
One exception: If i still eat vegetables = no heart racing.
I need lots off carbs to get some energy and eating daily lots of vegetables still makes my gut bloating.

The only remedy (that works for me) is LowDose Xanax + motherwort (it should be a strong 1:3 extraction Leonurus cardiaca tincture to get the herbal stuff working).
Leonurus helps with slight heart problems + balances thryroid hormone levels,
Xanax blocks Adrenaline, not so well known it is a strong muscarinic , histamine H1 and H2 receptor antagonist:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3194442
https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(08)02355-5/fulltext

I dont know 100% for sure if this "heart racing issue after eating" is at last more adrenaline, allergic, hyperglycemia, thyroid, MCA(S) or whatever so related. The illness is so complex that I dont questioning anymore such things, if stuff helps it is "ok", if stuff didnt help, another solution must be found.