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Carbs/Sugar practically puts me in a coma - Why does this happen?

Jwarrior77

Senior Member
Messages
119
I know many many people here have issues with carbs/sugar but I for whatever reason seem to be very extreme when it comes to this. When I first got ill I became intolerant very quickly and had increased fatigue and palpitations whenever I had any. Now it's become so bad that it feels like I'm overdosing on a drug or something. I become extremely tired/fatigued, all my mental capacities go down, and I basically black out for hours feeling like I'm dying. Now I believe this in part to being poisoned by D-lactic acid but I don't think it explains everything entirely. I've been on the Carnivore diet for around two months now. I'm still very disabled but this diet has taken me from being immobilized in bed to being able to walk around an do moderate activity now. I believe it has corrected most of the D-lactic acid production issue. I may post a thread on the carnivore diet itself. It's stabilized my blood sugars as well for the most part. My body greatly prefers ketones and just absolutely cannot process sugar anymore.

But the thing is, if I eat a lot of protein without fat it will turn into glucose via gluconeogenisis. I then get all the symptoms again which I become super tired and fatigued. It's not nearly as strong when eating carbs/sugar like before but its still bad. When I check my blood sugar when this happens it will be in the low 100's. I feel great when my blood sugar is in the 80-90 range or when fasting. I only start feeling bad when it goes into the 100s. But low 100s isn't a horrible blood sugar at all. So why do I feel so bad when this happens? I can't solely blame this on the D-lactic acid as that only occurs when the bacteria ferments the carb/sugar in your gut. With only meat/protein it can't do that anymore and the bacteria begins to die off and the D-lactic acid production decreases. So to me this purely seems like the glucose in the blood stream cant be used for energy in the cell anymore. Whatever pathway that used sugar for energy has been broken and now my body can only use fats. Do you think this assessment is correct? I'm pretty sure I'm not diabetic or anything and even then I don't think diabetics have these symptoms/issues. I remember seeing research articles in which ME/CFS patients cant properly process glucose anymore. Can anyone link them? Also can anyone give their advice or insight to why this happens? Why am I so sensitive? Anyone else with issues similar? Thanks.
 

Wolfcub

Senior Member
Messages
7,089
Location
SW UK
So far I'm lucky. Carbs and sugar always have a relaxing effect on me. A far distance from the "hyper sugar high" we all hear about! But the effect on me is not as strong as your reaction @Jwarrior77 (yet)
 

skwag

Senior Member
Messages
222
I have similar issues. I have been carnivore for almost two years now and it has helped a great deal.

Before carnivore, I was definitely getting blood sugar spikes from carbohydrates. I put this down to rapid gastric emptying, which appears to be a common symptom associated with POTS and general autonomic dysfunction. The blood sugar spikes usually occurred about 45 min after eating and were very short lived, The following rapid descent of blood sugar always made me feel horrible.

I have the same issue as you do with eating too lean. I'm not sure whether or not this is blood sugar issue since, like you, my blood sugar never went that high from just protein.

Sorry I don't have an answer for you. It doesn't make much sense to me either.
 
Last edited:

Dufresne

almost there...
Messages
1,039
Location
Laurentians, Quebec
I had something similar where any carb meal would cause me to crash into a coma-like sleep whether I was tired or not. Turned out to be a circulatory issue.

Blood is shunted to the stomach for digestion and if your peripheral vasculature cannot tighten up to accommodate this you end up passing out as if hit by a truck. Insulin dilates blood vessels, which is what makes it worse with a carb meal, but the problem can still exist on a carb free diet.

If you think this might be what's happening in your case you can run various experiments to confirm:
1. What effect does garlic have? As garlic is a vasodilator you'd expect it to worsen your condition.
2. Try a norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor. Ritalin, dexedrine, reboxetine, etc all eliminate this problem for me. Coffee might also work to some extent in this regard.

High dose vitamin B5 treats this in me.

I have babesia, which resides in one's circulatory system, and it may be this is another one of its complications.
 

xebex

Senior Member
Messages
840
I had something similar where any carb meal would cause me to crash into a coma-like sleep whether I was tired or not. Turned out to be a circulatory issue.

Blood is shunted to the stomach for digestion and if your peripheral vasculature cannot tighten up to accommodate this you end up passing out as if hit by a truck. Insulin dilates blood vessels, which is what makes it worse with a carb meal, but the problem can still exist on a carb free diet.

If you think this might be what's happening in your case you can run various experiments to confirm:
1. What effect does garlic have? As garlic is a vasodilator you'd expect it to worsen your condition.
2. Try a norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor. Ritalin, dexedrine, reboxetine, etc all eliminate this problem for me. Coffee might also work to some extent in this regard.

High dose vitamin B5 treats this in me.

I have babesia, which resides in one's circulatory system, and it may be this is another one of its complications.

Wow great info! Garlic makes my symptoms worse And ritalin helps BUT ritalin seems to stop working for me after three days when it then causes said symptoms. So I have to pulse it. Any thoughts on that? Also do you have extreme muscle fatigue in your back? Thanks
 

xebex

Senior Member
Messages
840
Nope. Your not alone.
Pure poison to me also.
Sauna and about 3 litres of the fizziest (carbonated) mineral water you can get will pull you back quicker.

I think it plays with our serum acidity...plummets mito respiraton and hooray our friend lactate arrives.
Fat burning the obvious out
why does carbonated water help? I find it preferable to water but not sure why, it does kind of give me a boost!
 

xebex

Senior Member
Messages
840
My guess would be the electrolytes and Bicarbonate in itm
oh my carbonated water is just water with carbon dioxide put through it at high pressure with a dispenser. But I have tried water with salt and bicarbonate of soda and it helps with headaches.
 

Dufresne

almost there...
Messages
1,039
Location
Laurentians, Quebec
Wow great info! Garlic makes my symptoms worse And ritalin helps BUT ritalin seems to stop working for me after three days when it then causes said symptoms. So I have to pulse it. Any thoughts on that? Also do you have extreme muscle fatigue in your back? Thanks

I've ankylosing spondylitis, an autoimmune condition that hits the tissues in the back. Probably not the case for you.

Perhaps try the high dose B5 (500-1000mg a couple times a day). This eliminated the problem for me quickly. I believe it works by energizing the adrenal medulla, which is what produces norepinephrine for the circulatory system and gets the blood vessels to constrict.
 

judyinthesky

Senior Member
Messages
361
Hi! I have pancreas insufficiency and I get exhaustion after everything I eat. It is a nervous issue - because I also can feel my nerves (vagus nerve) in different ways postprandially.
I also get postprandial fatigue. To me it is a vagus nerve issue...
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
Another thing to consider:

After eating, blood flow to the gut increases to facilitate digestion. This is a phenomenon referred to as postprandial or functional hyperemia:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53094/

This means that there may be less blood left over for pumping up into the brain, worsening orthostatic intolerance. For more information, see:

Orthostatic Intolerance Basics: Dysautonomia of Blood Vessels, Low Blood Volume, and Baroreflexes
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...sels-low-blood-volume-and-baroreflexes.86445/
 
Messages
8
I’m also completely intolerant to carbohydrates and sugar. Eating carbs I am bed bound but going on a ketogenic diet I can exercise a bit. I’ve done a bit of experimentation and testing and beleive it is driven by a Candida overgrowth or some microbiome imbalance. Carbs/sugar feed fungus which will release toxins causing fatigue and other symptoms. However you can’t kill a fungus just by starving it and it can leach glucose from your blood stream.
 

perchance dreamer

Senior Member
Messages
1,688
I don't have a problem with complex carbs in vegetables as long as I don't eat them by themselves. I often eat a sweet potato at dinner because it helps me sleep. However, I do eat the sweet potato last, after the entree protein and nonstarchy vegetables. Protein and fat help buffer the effect from carbs.