Weakness between meals

Cravings and feelings of weakness

Some people have very typical complaints:

Usually one or two hours after eating, the craving for something sweet comes, and it comes suddenly and with force. This condition is difficult to control and should not be confused with hunger or, more generally, with a desire for sweets.

For others, this craving comes primarily stress.

The symptomatology can be so pronounced that, over time, many unnecessary pounds accumulate.

In the following, we will mainly deal with the complaints in which no organic findings can be found.

Symptoms

Limits

The symptoms of hypoglycemia depend on the blood glucose level. The lower this is, the more significant the symptoms.

Between 70 and 100 mg/100 ml, healthy people have no symptoms. Young, slim women can also have values around 55 at one time.

It should not be overlooked that the individual threshold is quite variable. The threshold value of 50 mg/dl is only partially correct. Some people react very late to the lowered glucose level, others much earlier.

Typical complaints

Cravings
Fatigue
Dizziness
Headache
Impaired vision and speech
Concentration disorders
confusion up to loss of consciousness
Sweating
Palpitations
tremor
Dizziness
Anxiety
Hyperventilation(breathing too fast - usually associated with great anxiety, lumpy feeling in the throat, tingling in the hands and feet )

Difference between hunger and cravings

The symptoms have nothing to do with hunger or craving for something sweet.

Hunger manifests itself slowly, it can be postponed and is not accompanied by weakness or concentration problems. Normal hunger can wait for hours, even if not willingly.
A desire for something sweet or savory is expressed by a strong craving, but not with weakness, trembling or sweating.

Counter regulation

If the glucose (sugar) level in the blood drops, the body releases numerous hormones to correct this disorder:

Glucagon
Adrenaline
Cortisone
Growth hormone

Adrenaline and cortisone are the two typical stress hormones. The reaction looks accordingly:

Sweating
Palpitations
trembling
Dizziness
Anxiety
hyperventilation (breathing too fast)

Diagnosis

Caution

Since you do not know at the beginning what type of disorder is present, a doctor should be on standby for all examinations because of the possible side effects.

3 days!

A 72-hour fast can exclude many of the listed causes.

Within this time, blood sugar, insulin and C-peptide and other hormones are determined regularly. This examination should be performed in the hospital.

However, fasting is undoubtedly not for everyone...

Glucose load

The examination by means of an oral glucose load ("sugar load taken by mouth") is simpler.

A "test meal" of 75 g glucose is consumed early in the morning on an empty stomach. A normal amount of carbohydrates should have been eaten on the days before (e.g. potatoes, rice, pasta, bread).

As an alternative, a sweet breakfast can be given, e.g. toast with plenty of jam.

After the administration of glucose or the test meal, the blood glucose level is checked at close intervals. It can be determined whether this drops too much.

Sometimes the blood glucose does not drop within 2 hours, but much later. By extending the test up to 6 hours, this delayed reaction can be detected. The usual determination is over 2 to 4 hours.

Pathological is a drop in blood glucose below 50 mg/100 ml associated with a corresponding symptomatology.

(A glucose load test is usually done to determine if blood glucose is rising too high. Such a test would be done to rule out possible diabetes. If the blood glucose would be above 140 or even 200 mg/100 ml after 2 hrs, then it would be an indication of diabetes).

Causes

Dumping

Likewise, cravings and weakness may appear following gastric surgery. After such an operation, too much food suddenly enters the intestines too quickly. This is manifested by rumbling, flatulence, bowel sounds or intestinal cramps.

Hypoglycemia and breathing

Recently, breathing has become the focus of our attention. During - mostly unconscious - hyperventilation, the brain vessels constrict, possibly suggesting to the brain a state of deficiency that does not exist in the rest of the body.

The anxiety triggered by this may then lead to a vicious circle, as anxiety further accelerates breathing, thus further reducing cerebral blood flow.

This mechanism may explain why the measured blood glucose levels are relatively unremarkable, but the symptoms (especially dizziness, palpitations, lightheadedness, feelings of absorbent cotton, tightness, panic) are pronounced. These are often fueled by prolonged stress.

This symptomatology is also called adrenergic postprandial syndrome - APS - or postprandial reactive hypoglycemia.

Therapy

Depending on the cause

If there are organic causes for the complaints, these must of course be specifically treated. However, it is not uncommon for there to be no physical findings whatsoever for the symptoms. In this case, the cause is probably a functional event.

In this case, a training approach is recommended.

Training!

The therapy is actually simple: training of blood sugar regulation.

Just as circulatory problems are not trained by rest or circulatory drops, the constant supply of sugar does not improve the symptoms.

Only two things to keep in mind:

Avoidance of rapid release of insulin, i.e. nothing sweet and if necessary also no alcohol.
Systematic training of the body's own counter-regulation system.

Do without "drugs

At the beginning, of course, there is the diagnosis. Only when it has been clarified that the problem is a vegetative dysregulation can the corresponding training program be started.

At the beginning, it is recommended to avoid sugar to a large extent or completely. This sounds easy, but it is often not.

Sugar can be addictive! Not much different than alcohol or cigarettes. The good thing about sugar addiction: it passes quickly! After a few weeks, the desire for a sweet breakfast is hardly present anymore.

So instead of eating a breakfast with toast and jam, whole-grain bread with cheese or whole-grain muesli is recommended. The same applies to the other meals of the day.

White flour should be replaced by whole grain products. The lower the glycemic index, the better. The glycemic index tells how quickly a food enters the blood. By definition, glucose has a value of 100.

Videos

Please follow the instructions that apply to all personal reports.

Important note

Weakness between meals

Cravings and feelings of weakness

Symptoms

Limits

Typical complaints

Difference between hunger and cravings

Counter regulation

Diagnosis

Caution

3 days!

Glucose load

Causes

Dumping

Hypoglycemia and breathing

Therapy

Depending on the cause

Training!

Do without "drugs

Videos

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