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What Causes Body Tremors, Fatigue, Brain Fog And Vision Choking Sensation?
Question: Good afternoon, I'm back in attempt for some more help and to update you. I recently visited an endocrinologist barely last Friday, and I have a follow-up next Friday. He took some blood for tests, and I will know the results then. I'm not sure what tests he did (they took quite a few samples) but the ones I know for sure are stress hormone, Vitamin D, and the rest I didn't grasp. Anyhow, he seemed very nice and attentive and listened to my symptoms and said he thought I had reactive hypoglycemia as well. Therefore he told me to take my readings for high carbs meals, and low carb mixed meals which I've been doing and now it has raised a few questions from my part. I've been dealing with this for over a month now so I'm pretty in tune with what I'm feeling. Furthermore, what makes me skeptical as to whether or not it really is reactive hypoglycemia are the readings, symptoms, timing, etc of certain meals. See, the symptoms I experience (shakiness, fatigue, brain fog, "tight" vision sensation, confusion or slowed thinking) change. One of the times I took in a mixed complex high carb meal (40g of brown rice) and I felt in a brain fog for about two whole hours. Another day, I ate 4 slices of meat lovers pizza and I only had slight brain fog and that "tight" vision feeling for only 30 minutes. Another day I didn't even have carbs for breakfast and still felt "out of it" (by out of it I mean I feel like my thinking is slowed down or something) for 2 hours even though there was no carb intake, just fats. Other times I feel perfectly fine when I don't eat carbs (though I feel like carbs always do affect me if even slightly). So that's what makes no sense to me? The readings never demonstrate a blood sugar below 70mg/dL and never high. The highest I went was after eating nachos, pizza, and ice cream which put me at around 130mg/dL and I only felt "out of it" a bit for about half an hour. After an hour my blood sugar was back at 115 that time. When I do low carb meals it's very rare it ever goes above 100. So either way, whether I do low carb, or high carb I'm still being affected. What could be causing this? Another thing I've noticed (and I'm not exaggerating) is that I feel my vision go from feeling normally relaxed, to that "tight" feeling and some brain fog kicking in almost AS SOON as I begin eating. I have checked my blood sugar right at the moment I begin eating and at times it drops by like 6 points but nothing drastic. Other times it's risen a few points, and the times it rised a little, I felt a tiny bit of dizziness but no brain fog after that (that was following a very low carb mixed meal). So I'm just confused, I don't know what's going on. If it means anything, I've also noticed that the brain fog, tight vision, and "out of it" feelings NEVER lasts more than 2 hours. Sometimes I feel back to normal after 30 mins (even if it's a high carb meal of low carb, it doesn't matter) sometimes it takes 1 hour for me to feel back to feeling normal, other times it's been 2 hours, again the two hours sometimes even if I hadn't had carbs! What could it be? Last week I also had headaches linger after I already felt normal but I may have not been drinking enough water. But I would only begin to get the headaches as soon as food ingestion would begin. I had these headaches for about 5 days, they're gone now thankfully. Still think it's reactive hypoglycemia?
Brief Answer:
Hi
Detailed Answer:
I was just recently thinking about you and wondering how things were going. I recall that at the time we talked you were getting prepared to see an endocrinologist. I see you followed through and am happy to see that he seems to have been in agreement with my suspicions....not bad for an 'ole country neurologist, que tal? I'm happy to here that he's been listening to your symptoms and wants you to document things. Aren't you glad you already got somewhat of a headstart on that end of things? Makes it easy going forward for you.
So at 130mg/dl you felt a bit zoned? Wow....it's because you keep your body so tight while in competition that when you let yourself "go" and you SHOOT all the way to 130 (which for most of my diabetics they haven't seen since 6th grade!) your body is simply not acclimated to that since it's so much higher than normal....and kerplop! You're feeling zoned out...sounds like in an hour you were back to 115. So then, your high peaks range from 100-130 depending on what you're eating.
As far as the rapid triggering effect you're mentioning as to why you IMMEDIATELY FEEL symptoms when you start to eat...again, it goes to my theory that your system is so tightly controlled within a narrow range depending upon what you're eating that the mere sight of food let alone tasting sends vigrous signals to the brain that all trigger pathways to start the secretions of these hormones and signalling pathways that immediately begin releasing insulin which has a profound effect on your blood sugar since it's already "low'ish" to begin with.
But remember a 6 point drop in fact, can be a drastic change for YOU because if your sugars are at say 100 or even 90 and the immediate release of insulin occurs which drops you by 6 points then, that translates into 6% of the total. That's a HUGE XXXXXXX (change) in baseline sugar which is even before anything has literally even hit your stomach. The duration of the brain fog is contingent upon the length of time that it takes for your system to go up and then, come back down after a meal which sounds to be around 1-2 hrs.
Did you get an ultrasound or CT scan of the abdomen. I would still get those studies done if I were your physician just to rule out the presence of anything that shouldn't be in the belly that could be causing these wild swings of the sugars.
And yes, the symptoms are still consistent with reactive hypoglycemia. But again, I think it all goes back to some of original thoughts that I expressed before about the sensitivity of your system, perhaps a bit of a lack of RESERVE capacity against drops of 5-10% because you are a bit older than you were a few years ago....OBVIOUSLY...(but still just as competitive and well trained!) HAHA! Does your endocrinologist know about your bodybuilding competition career?
Ok....let's stop at this point and see what other information the endocrinologist gives you. Ask him about a diagnostic study of the abdomen of either CT scan vs. Ultrasound. You can blame me for the studies if you want. Tell him that you've got this suspicion that something other than RH could be at play.
Write back soon......are you currently in training for competition or do you have a break coming up?
Mucha suerte y tanto gusto saludarte de nuevo..... CIAO!
Hi
Detailed Answer:
I was just recently thinking about you and wondering how things were going. I recall that at the time we talked you were getting prepared to see an endocrinologist. I see you followed through and am happy to see that he seems to have been in agreement with my suspicions....not bad for an 'ole country neurologist, que tal? I'm happy to here that he's been listening to your symptoms and wants you to document things. Aren't you glad you already got somewhat of a headstart on that end of things? Makes it easy going forward for you.
So at 130mg/dl you felt a bit zoned? Wow....it's because you keep your body so tight while in competition that when you let yourself "go" and you SHOOT all the way to 130 (which for most of my diabetics they haven't seen since 6th grade!) your body is simply not acclimated to that since it's so much higher than normal....and kerplop! You're feeling zoned out...sounds like in an hour you were back to 115. So then, your high peaks range from 100-130 depending on what you're eating.
As far as the rapid triggering effect you're mentioning as to why you IMMEDIATELY FEEL symptoms when you start to eat...again, it goes to my theory that your system is so tightly controlled within a narrow range depending upon what you're eating that the mere sight of food let alone tasting sends vigrous signals to the brain that all trigger pathways to start the secretions of these hormones and signalling pathways that immediately begin releasing insulin which has a profound effect on your blood sugar since it's already "low'ish" to begin with.
But remember a 6 point drop in fact, can be a drastic change for YOU because if your sugars are at say 100 or even 90 and the immediate release of insulin occurs which drops you by 6 points then, that translates into 6% of the total. That's a HUGE XXXXXXX (change) in baseline sugar which is even before anything has literally even hit your stomach. The duration of the brain fog is contingent upon the length of time that it takes for your system to go up and then, come back down after a meal which sounds to be around 1-2 hrs.
Did you get an ultrasound or CT scan of the abdomen. I would still get those studies done if I were your physician just to rule out the presence of anything that shouldn't be in the belly that could be causing these wild swings of the sugars.
And yes, the symptoms are still consistent with reactive hypoglycemia. But again, I think it all goes back to some of original thoughts that I expressed before about the sensitivity of your system, perhaps a bit of a lack of RESERVE capacity against drops of 5-10% because you are a bit older than you were a few years ago....OBVIOUSLY...(but still just as competitive and well trained!) HAHA! Does your endocrinologist know about your bodybuilding competition career?
Ok....let's stop at this point and see what other information the endocrinologist gives you. Ask him about a diagnostic study of the abdomen of either CT scan vs. Ultrasound. You can blame me for the studies if you want. Tell him that you've got this suspicion that something other than RH could be at play.
Write back soon......are you currently in training for competition or do you have a break coming up?
Mucha suerte y tanto gusto saludarte de nuevo..... CIAO!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
I see... It makes sense. How does it go away? :( it's so uncomfortable, I want new hormones! lol. There's no diet that I can say I'm safe with because they've all affected me! Can I re-wire my brain? LOL!!! I'll ask about the scan and ultrasound on Friday just to be sure everything is ok. I asked because someone had mentioned "leaky gut" to me and how some of symptoms correlate to the brain fog. So they suggested I try doing a "cleanse" with probiotics in attempt to heal it but I'm going to wait until Friday before I consider that. And then I was reading that can affect a lot of your system like that as well but one thing at a time I suppose. How are reactive hypoglycemics diagnosed anyway as far as blood sugars? Like today for example I haven't ate sikce 9:30am and its already 3pm (I know that's horrible... I've been running errands like crazy) but I feel completely fine! Just hungry but no feelings of hypoglycemia. All I had for breakfast was an egg omelette with cheese and some cut up sausage. Oh and a few bites of pancakes with coffee, and I felt pretty good? Just wired from the coffee. I also just recently found out two weeks ago that I have ovaraian cysts. So then I thought, "Is it a thyroid problem or hormonal???" And as of yesterday I found that there is some black mold growing under the sink which apparently was leaking, and I read on that (I read too much I know lol I like to be informed) that the spores being released can cause a variety of health issues if exposed to them over a prolonged time. So then I was like "OMG I'M BEING POISONED." lol!!!! It's just so random how the brain fog literally just hit me one day in May, and how it went away when I was away from my apt for 3 weeks, and came back when I got back home.. so that's why it got me thinking. But I don't know, could just be a coincidence. Can I visit you for some brain surgey? Hahahaha.I want to eat without feeling drunk already.
Brief Answer:
If the endocrinologist is going to rule out other things as well THEN,..
Detailed Answer:
I think your best bet is to follow his lead and see what he wants to do.
I definitely think this problem can be fixed but it just takes a little patience now that someone else has the right diagnosis to work with....the problem is the other doctors weren't in line with the right frame of thinking so that's what caused your delay.
Check with the specialist on whether he plans on ruling other things out (that's why I suggested the imaging studies of the abdomen) since rarely there are mimickers of this problem in the form of other things. Keep your diary going according to what he's asking you do and then, let's see where that goes.
Your hormones are FINE.....it's just they're being triggered in strange ways right now. I can't say for sure why this all started happening now...except by way of the theory I proposed to you above....I dunno....kind of a cop out I guess but I'm not that deeply into this diagnosis to understand all the details. I run into certainly as a neurologist when confronted with people complaining of changes in mental status or syncope (passing out) so I'm usually asked just to be sure it's not a seizure or blocked artery to the head, or tumor....something like that....beyond that I let the GI, Cardiac, and whoever else needs to get involved take the ball and run with it once I've told them that it ain't neurological.
Now, let me check on a couple of other quick details that I can't remember if we hashed out or not. As far as labs are concerned do you have the results for any of the following tests: TSH, FT4, Cortisol (either random or 24hr. dexamethasone suppression test), Vit. B12, Folate, Vit. D, D2, and D3 levels?
I don't think you need an MRI of the brain UNLESS there is a suspicion on the endocrinologist's part (and this is a possibility) that there could be something in the area of your pituitary gland that could be driving some of this picture. Maybe that's why there's this weirdness of you feeling badly almost IMMEDIATELY when you just literally THINK about eating something?? Don't know....but if there's no suspicion for a pituitary problem then, I wouldn't necessarily do any imaging studies of the brain at this time. Nor would I do an EEG (electroencephalogram) because you clearly don't have seizures. But beware, becoming significantly hypoglycemic can definitely lead to full blown seizures so let's NOT DO THAT please....
Now, tell me....are you in competitions still? Any way I can convince you not to be actively in training while the workup of this is going on only because that could alter the results of some tests. Actually, it's a sword with 2 edges. On the one hand if you relax your eating and training schedule so that you're just like...NORMAL.....like everyone else....then, that could mask all of this hypoglycemia that's going on...and maybe at some point the whole thing goes away. Well, that's not necessarily a bad option since that's kind of the goal...fix the problem so that you can eat normally without worrying about crashing through the floor with your sugars and feeling awful. So, that's one philosophy.
The other would be...."Let her train and put the stresses on her body that she NORMALLY DOES while being on weight, following the strict diets, etc." so that we can duplicate from a metabolic point of view exactly what her body is like when she is having one of her episodes. But---for me, that's almost unnecessary since I think we know what's going on at this point with your restricted diets, your physical training, hydration protocol....everything...I'm not sure we need to see all of that which we knows is associated with or tied to your attacks. It's time to get to the healing part of the equation......I dunno.....maybe you've got some thoughts?
And BTW, if I didn't mention it I'm sure you knew it anyway...but while you may feel somewhat "fat" when you're not in training and obviously I'm using that term very loosely....the fact is you look amazing in that light as well. I know that you wouldn't be able to win competitions though when you're in your "fat mode" though because the incredibly restrictive parameters that I'm sure the judges use to rate you and because of the competition.... But what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is.....that I believe you MAY need to brace for the possibility that as you continue to experience more and more of these episodes due to the fact that you're on such a restrictive set of dieting and exercise parameters that your body may simply be running out of the reserve to do what you've been so easily able to do before.
But again, that's just a WRESTLER talking out the side of his mouth. I know how to make weight very well. I can crash down by 10 lbs. in a day (have done it on multiple occasions), go out and do competitive matches and tournaments...be hungry and thirsty as S**** and at the end of the day maybe even win something.....but the price I pay pretty big at least in my comfort levels.....and of course, that scratch weight goes back up in 24-48 hrs. after I've rehydrated and eaten those 3 dozen bananas and then, we start the cycle all over again....
Get my point? There's a price to be paid....and I would hate to see you get into that realm of things at such an early age of your life....you look great and you could likely maintain that "increased" weight line with ongoing workouts and some measure of dieting but at least it wouldn't have to be at extremes or to the same diligent extent that your in training diets require. Make sense?
Easy for me to say as I sip on my Vanilla Frap, 32 oz. right now while writing all this! I am going to get about a 2 hr. workout in later on for a crossfit competition I'm entering at the end of the month....It's like a tri-event thing with rowing, biking, and then, a 1 mile run at the end.....so I'm with 'ya kiddo on this working out thing...I know what you're going through. I just don't want you to do any long term damage to yourself.
It may be able to design a program for you with a professional sports nutritionist though that could keep you from having these hypoglycemic spells but I'm not necessarily sure how that diet would be set up. I know we've got people here in XXXXXXX that can do it because our having both the XXXXXXX Clinic as well as University Hospitals as well as 3 professional sports teams that confront some of these issues...though in much different ways than you....
As far as the ovarian cysts are concerned.....I don't know what to make of those....do you have them in your family? They don't necessarily suggest any abnormalities anywhere else in your body in terms of thyroid or anything cuz that's not directly related. I think it's a good idea to get those ovarian cysts worked up. There is a condition known as PCOS (Stein-Levanthal syndrome) in women and the earlier it's recognized the better chance you have of preventing other problems. Reactive hypoglycemia IS NOT ONE of these problems that PCOS causes....still get it looked at and see where that leads.
Black mold.....it's highly overrated in terms of THE FEAR FACTOR.....trust me, you've probably breathed in so many mold spores in your lifetime that you might want to just go jump into a pool of chlorine or something for the rest of your life if I suggested to you how many tons of the stuff you've probably taken in....and hey, you're still around, functioning, and able to write "OMG I'M BEING POISONED." And you're not....by all means though get that taken care of....but don't let the people who come in to clean scare the crapola out of you to the point where you allow them to tear your house apart.....they're looking for business just like anybody else and will go to any lengths sometimes to take customers who already have some mold growing and make it sound like the end of the earth results in tons of money spent that doesn't need to be spent! But, yes, get that stuff cleaned out and just check up on a regular basis to make sure it doesn't come back or grow elsewhere....but I guarantee you will not be eaten by any of that mold in the future....no matter whether it's hiding in your closets, floorboards, or even VENTILATING SYSTEM! HAHA! Chill kiddo'....you're good......
Please read the first few lines of the first paragraph at the CDC's website on molds which is not hyped up nor candied down...it tells the facts.....then, schedule your visit to XXXXXXX but NOT FOR BRAIN SURGERY---- just so we can meet and I can get you hooked up with some amazing specialists who can help you get on the right programs of diet and body sculpting techniques that can still help you maintain that competitive form while not feeling like a zombie.....!!
So bottom line is this my dear.....
1. Get me as much of the laboratory information as you can that has been done or plans to get done. I'd like to just see what all they are doing and what they're thinking. I'm not out to criticize the specialist...just wanna be in the loop. You do what he tells you....and BTW, why don't you want to start the probiotic regimen yet?
2. Find out how he plans on making sure nothing else could be mimicking these symptoms. In other words, how is going to guarantee that the diagnosis is going to be REACTIVE HYPOGLYCEMIA and not something else that could be messing with your hormones and stuff.
3. Get those ovarian cysts checked out and make sure you don't have PCOS...that's important.
4. Save up some money to come by XXXXXXX and visit us while the weather is till nice! LOL....(#4 is optional though highly recommended! LOL).
Ok....enough....this treatise took over 65 minutes! Whew.....and I just had a pancake/bacon sandwich while doing it.....
If the endocrinologist is going to rule out other things as well THEN,..
Detailed Answer:
I think your best bet is to follow his lead and see what he wants to do.
I definitely think this problem can be fixed but it just takes a little patience now that someone else has the right diagnosis to work with....the problem is the other doctors weren't in line with the right frame of thinking so that's what caused your delay.
Check with the specialist on whether he plans on ruling other things out (that's why I suggested the imaging studies of the abdomen) since rarely there are mimickers of this problem in the form of other things. Keep your diary going according to what he's asking you do and then, let's see where that goes.
Your hormones are FINE.....it's just they're being triggered in strange ways right now. I can't say for sure why this all started happening now...except by way of the theory I proposed to you above....I dunno....kind of a cop out I guess but I'm not that deeply into this diagnosis to understand all the details. I run into certainly as a neurologist when confronted with people complaining of changes in mental status or syncope (passing out) so I'm usually asked just to be sure it's not a seizure or blocked artery to the head, or tumor....something like that....beyond that I let the GI, Cardiac, and whoever else needs to get involved take the ball and run with it once I've told them that it ain't neurological.
Now, let me check on a couple of other quick details that I can't remember if we hashed out or not. As far as labs are concerned do you have the results for any of the following tests: TSH, FT4, Cortisol (either random or 24hr. dexamethasone suppression test), Vit. B12, Folate, Vit. D, D2, and D3 levels?
I don't think you need an MRI of the brain UNLESS there is a suspicion on the endocrinologist's part (and this is a possibility) that there could be something in the area of your pituitary gland that could be driving some of this picture. Maybe that's why there's this weirdness of you feeling badly almost IMMEDIATELY when you just literally THINK about eating something?? Don't know....but if there's no suspicion for a pituitary problem then, I wouldn't necessarily do any imaging studies of the brain at this time. Nor would I do an EEG (electroencephalogram) because you clearly don't have seizures. But beware, becoming significantly hypoglycemic can definitely lead to full blown seizures so let's NOT DO THAT please....
Now, tell me....are you in competitions still? Any way I can convince you not to be actively in training while the workup of this is going on only because that could alter the results of some tests. Actually, it's a sword with 2 edges. On the one hand if you relax your eating and training schedule so that you're just like...NORMAL.....like everyone else....then, that could mask all of this hypoglycemia that's going on...and maybe at some point the whole thing goes away. Well, that's not necessarily a bad option since that's kind of the goal...fix the problem so that you can eat normally without worrying about crashing through the floor with your sugars and feeling awful. So, that's one philosophy.
The other would be...."Let her train and put the stresses on her body that she NORMALLY DOES while being on weight, following the strict diets, etc." so that we can duplicate from a metabolic point of view exactly what her body is like when she is having one of her episodes. But---for me, that's almost unnecessary since I think we know what's going on at this point with your restricted diets, your physical training, hydration protocol....everything...I'm not sure we need to see all of that which we knows is associated with or tied to your attacks. It's time to get to the healing part of the equation......I dunno.....maybe you've got some thoughts?
And BTW, if I didn't mention it I'm sure you knew it anyway...but while you may feel somewhat "fat" when you're not in training and obviously I'm using that term very loosely....the fact is you look amazing in that light as well. I know that you wouldn't be able to win competitions though when you're in your "fat mode" though because the incredibly restrictive parameters that I'm sure the judges use to rate you and because of the competition.... But what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is.....that I believe you MAY need to brace for the possibility that as you continue to experience more and more of these episodes due to the fact that you're on such a restrictive set of dieting and exercise parameters that your body may simply be running out of the reserve to do what you've been so easily able to do before.
But again, that's just a WRESTLER talking out the side of his mouth. I know how to make weight very well. I can crash down by 10 lbs. in a day (have done it on multiple occasions), go out and do competitive matches and tournaments...be hungry and thirsty as S**** and at the end of the day maybe even win something.....but the price I pay pretty big at least in my comfort levels.....and of course, that scratch weight goes back up in 24-48 hrs. after I've rehydrated and eaten those 3 dozen bananas and then, we start the cycle all over again....
Get my point? There's a price to be paid....and I would hate to see you get into that realm of things at such an early age of your life....you look great and you could likely maintain that "increased" weight line with ongoing workouts and some measure of dieting but at least it wouldn't have to be at extremes or to the same diligent extent that your in training diets require. Make sense?
Easy for me to say as I sip on my Vanilla Frap, 32 oz. right now while writing all this! I am going to get about a 2 hr. workout in later on for a crossfit competition I'm entering at the end of the month....It's like a tri-event thing with rowing, biking, and then, a 1 mile run at the end.....so I'm with 'ya kiddo on this working out thing...I know what you're going through. I just don't want you to do any long term damage to yourself.
It may be able to design a program for you with a professional sports nutritionist though that could keep you from having these hypoglycemic spells but I'm not necessarily sure how that diet would be set up. I know we've got people here in XXXXXXX that can do it because our having both the XXXXXXX Clinic as well as University Hospitals as well as 3 professional sports teams that confront some of these issues...though in much different ways than you....
As far as the ovarian cysts are concerned.....I don't know what to make of those....do you have them in your family? They don't necessarily suggest any abnormalities anywhere else in your body in terms of thyroid or anything cuz that's not directly related. I think it's a good idea to get those ovarian cysts worked up. There is a condition known as PCOS (Stein-Levanthal syndrome) in women and the earlier it's recognized the better chance you have of preventing other problems. Reactive hypoglycemia IS NOT ONE of these problems that PCOS causes....still get it looked at and see where that leads.
Black mold.....it's highly overrated in terms of THE FEAR FACTOR.....trust me, you've probably breathed in so many mold spores in your lifetime that you might want to just go jump into a pool of chlorine or something for the rest of your life if I suggested to you how many tons of the stuff you've probably taken in....and hey, you're still around, functioning, and able to write "OMG I'M BEING POISONED." And you're not....by all means though get that taken care of....but don't let the people who come in to clean scare the crapola out of you to the point where you allow them to tear your house apart.....they're looking for business just like anybody else and will go to any lengths sometimes to take customers who already have some mold growing and make it sound like the end of the earth results in tons of money spent that doesn't need to be spent! But, yes, get that stuff cleaned out and just check up on a regular basis to make sure it doesn't come back or grow elsewhere....but I guarantee you will not be eaten by any of that mold in the future....no matter whether it's hiding in your closets, floorboards, or even VENTILATING SYSTEM! HAHA! Chill kiddo'....you're good......
Please read the first few lines of the first paragraph at the CDC's website on molds which is not hyped up nor candied down...it tells the facts.....then, schedule your visit to XXXXXXX but NOT FOR BRAIN SURGERY---- just so we can meet and I can get you hooked up with some amazing specialists who can help you get on the right programs of diet and body sculpting techniques that can still help you maintain that competitive form while not feeling like a zombie.....!!
So bottom line is this my dear.....
1. Get me as much of the laboratory information as you can that has been done or plans to get done. I'd like to just see what all they are doing and what they're thinking. I'm not out to criticize the specialist...just wanna be in the loop. You do what he tells you....and BTW, why don't you want to start the probiotic regimen yet?
2. Find out how he plans on making sure nothing else could be mimicking these symptoms. In other words, how is going to guarantee that the diagnosis is going to be REACTIVE HYPOGLYCEMIA and not something else that could be messing with your hormones and stuff.
3. Get those ovarian cysts checked out and make sure you don't have PCOS...that's important.
4. Save up some money to come by XXXXXXX and visit us while the weather is till nice! LOL....(#4 is optional though highly recommended! LOL).
Ok....enough....this treatise took over 65 minutes! Whew.....and I just had a pancake/bacon sandwich while doing it.....
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks so much! You always make me feel at ease. Yes I definitely want him to rule out other possibilities because to be honest, my blood sugars have always been pretty low even before colpetition and never had these reactions. I know the body changes but I don't know because another thing that's odd is that during prep when I began to get them in May (even though I had been prepping since beginning of March) during the time I was still prepping the episode would only happen ONCE a day. After competition was over and I went back to eating relaxed they went away for a while. Then when they came back about 3 weeks after it was with a vengance! Thats when they were happening after every meal pretty much and the brain fog was so intense I felt as though my thinking was impaired.
Then again, isn't brain fog caused due to the inflamation of microglial brain cells which slow down the rate at which neurons are firing thus causing that brain fog? Which would point to something off in the body right? Not bad for a "zoned out" student ah? :)
Anyhow, so as the time has gone by ever since it started back up nowadays I don't feel that these episodes are as intense nor do they last as long despite the higher carbohydrate intake. So I'm hoping it's somehow balancing out? I don't know but it gives me hope because they're not as bad. Maybe my body and brain needed time to get used to a "normal" routine again???
As far as what I'm eating. I eat about 2000 calories a day whether it'd be high fat (essential fats) or higher carb. And I still train though not as intense. My routine is definitely a lot more relaxed. So hopefully my body just needs some time to keep steady? Since I am feeling better?
I tried not working out and doing both higher carb/moderate fat and low carb/high fat meeting a 2000 caloric intake and they both gave me the same reactions :/
Even 1800 calories at my maintenance didn't help much. What I've noticed is the steadier I keep my diet, the less intense the symptoms and the duration of them are. Then when I change it, I feel them a bit more. Which takes me back to when it first happened was during a carb cycle (alternating high carbs one day, moderate carbs another, low carbs/high fat another) so there has to be some sort of correlation there!
My endocrinologist wasn't familiar with carb cycling though :( I had to explain it to him but he still looked a bit confused. I'm going to have to have a long talk with him Friday lol.
I would love to go to you guys! So well informed! I would have to save though :( so for now I'll keep trying here and keep you in the loop.
As far as the tests, I'll ask him on Friday what it was he took. I remember quite an amount of blood containers. Like 5 or 7.
Good luck on your Crossfit endeavor! How exciting! Glad to have a physician on my side who understands training :)
Thanks for all your input!
Then again, isn't brain fog caused due to the inflamation of microglial brain cells which slow down the rate at which neurons are firing thus causing that brain fog? Which would point to something off in the body right? Not bad for a "zoned out" student ah? :)
Anyhow, so as the time has gone by ever since it started back up nowadays I don't feel that these episodes are as intense nor do they last as long despite the higher carbohydrate intake. So I'm hoping it's somehow balancing out? I don't know but it gives me hope because they're not as bad. Maybe my body and brain needed time to get used to a "normal" routine again???
As far as what I'm eating. I eat about 2000 calories a day whether it'd be high fat (essential fats) or higher carb. And I still train though not as intense. My routine is definitely a lot more relaxed. So hopefully my body just needs some time to keep steady? Since I am feeling better?
I tried not working out and doing both higher carb/moderate fat and low carb/high fat meeting a 2000 caloric intake and they both gave me the same reactions :/
Even 1800 calories at my maintenance didn't help much. What I've noticed is the steadier I keep my diet, the less intense the symptoms and the duration of them are. Then when I change it, I feel them a bit more. Which takes me back to when it first happened was during a carb cycle (alternating high carbs one day, moderate carbs another, low carbs/high fat another) so there has to be some sort of correlation there!
My endocrinologist wasn't familiar with carb cycling though :( I had to explain it to him but he still looked a bit confused. I'm going to have to have a long talk with him Friday lol.
I would love to go to you guys! So well informed! I would have to save though :( so for now I'll keep trying here and keep you in the loop.
As far as the tests, I'll ask him on Friday what it was he took. I remember quite an amount of blood containers. Like 5 or 7.
Good luck on your Crossfit endeavor! How exciting! Glad to have a physician on my side who understands training :)
Thanks for all your input!
Brief Answer:
We need to tweak your carb cycling program
Detailed Answer:
Hola senorita--- And so, after reading through your notes a few more times I definitely get the idea that things CAN IMPROVE....(even without your having to come all the way to XXXXXXX ...unless you just wanted to visit some the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, The XXXXXXX Orchestra, or any number of fine dining and cuisine entities...many of which people would CLAMOR FOR IN THE HEART OF TEXAS! LOL)......And all you need to do is tweak your carb cycling protocol. You are absolutely on the right track when you made the observation that the more restrictive your carbs are in terms of swings from relatively HIGH HIGH (like maybe what....180-200 grams?) to low low low....like maybe 25-35g (on the days you are doing the low end of the cycle).... that your symptoms seem to be worse.
In other words, we're approaching my theory that your body's reserve for doing those sorts of drastic swings is running skinny....(no pun intended!)....I believe that the more MODERATELY based carb cycling protocols are going to make you feel better..at least cognitively speaking.....the more drastic swings will make you feel worse.
As far as how that could affect your body fat percentage and overall shape, etc. for competitive purposes....I can't say....but I'm sure that there must be a way of compensating in terms of your caloric burn ratio in the gym if you were to "relax" the swings of your carb cycling....make sense? And do you do 2 days without carbs? Could you trim that to 1 day.....OR BETTER YET perhaps.....ZERO days WITHOUT carbs....take something in...on a daily basis.
I know you're going to want to throw me to the dogs when I say this....but honestly, as a doctor I have to say that there is more HYPE in the beneficial effects of carb cycling strategies when it comes to fat burn than I believe actually exists. I believe that you can burn virtually all the fat you want STILL...but keeping your carbs relatively stable....pick something in the middle between 25-200g/day.....and then, if you want to still cycle do something more like
150-125-100 followed by 100-100-125 and then, maybe 1 day OFF.....
Now, that's just a suggestion....I don't know what your caloric burn daily is...you say you're on a 2000 cal/day regimen....what's your caloric burn daily?
At any rate, your endocrinologist first needs to rule out other stuff as we discussed....but I think the answer is to attack this carb cycling thing and make it as stable and reasonable as possible....you've got to start feeding your body...remember, you're studying in school as well, right? So you have to feed your brain good stuff.....it needs carbs 7 days a week.
Your thoughts? BTW, I looked up the competition you were in on Facebook.....I was trying to find you on there but was having trouble.....SO MANY PICTURES! LOL.....
So, I'd like to hear your thoughts.....tell me about your gym routines....can we compensate in the gym for whatever carbs we need to add back to your diet?
This query has required a total time of 82 minutes for physician review, research, and compilation for return envoy to the patient.
We need to tweak your carb cycling program
Detailed Answer:
Hola senorita--- And so, after reading through your notes a few more times I definitely get the idea that things CAN IMPROVE....(even without your having to come all the way to XXXXXXX ...unless you just wanted to visit some the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, The XXXXXXX Orchestra, or any number of fine dining and cuisine entities...many of which people would CLAMOR FOR IN THE HEART OF TEXAS! LOL)......And all you need to do is tweak your carb cycling protocol. You are absolutely on the right track when you made the observation that the more restrictive your carbs are in terms of swings from relatively HIGH HIGH (like maybe what....180-200 grams?) to low low low....like maybe 25-35g (on the days you are doing the low end of the cycle).... that your symptoms seem to be worse.
In other words, we're approaching my theory that your body's reserve for doing those sorts of drastic swings is running skinny....(no pun intended!)....I believe that the more MODERATELY based carb cycling protocols are going to make you feel better..at least cognitively speaking.....the more drastic swings will make you feel worse.
As far as how that could affect your body fat percentage and overall shape, etc. for competitive purposes....I can't say....but I'm sure that there must be a way of compensating in terms of your caloric burn ratio in the gym if you were to "relax" the swings of your carb cycling....make sense? And do you do 2 days without carbs? Could you trim that to 1 day.....OR BETTER YET perhaps.....ZERO days WITHOUT carbs....take something in...on a daily basis.
I know you're going to want to throw me to the dogs when I say this....but honestly, as a doctor I have to say that there is more HYPE in the beneficial effects of carb cycling strategies when it comes to fat burn than I believe actually exists. I believe that you can burn virtually all the fat you want STILL...but keeping your carbs relatively stable....pick something in the middle between 25-200g/day.....and then, if you want to still cycle do something more like
150-125-100 followed by 100-100-125 and then, maybe 1 day OFF.....
Now, that's just a suggestion....I don't know what your caloric burn daily is...you say you're on a 2000 cal/day regimen....what's your caloric burn daily?
At any rate, your endocrinologist first needs to rule out other stuff as we discussed....but I think the answer is to attack this carb cycling thing and make it as stable and reasonable as possible....you've got to start feeding your body...remember, you're studying in school as well, right? So you have to feed your brain good stuff.....it needs carbs 7 days a week.
Your thoughts? BTW, I looked up the competition you were in on Facebook.....I was trying to find you on there but was having trouble.....SO MANY PICTURES! LOL.....
So, I'd like to hear your thoughts.....tell me about your gym routines....can we compensate in the gym for whatever carbs we need to add back to your diet?
This query has required a total time of 82 minutes for physician review, research, and compilation for return envoy to the patient.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
At the moment I'm not carb cycling. I was only changing the amount of carbs week by week and thats how I noticed that as I would change it, the symptoms felt more intense. But I don't know if that was mere coincidence. At rest I burn about 1600 calories, when I dont workout and just do house work or school it can go up to about 1850, when I go to the gym I usually burn about 300 calories, so I was keeping myself in a maintenance caloric zone of 2000 calories a day whether it would be with higher carbs and less fats, or half and half, or higher fats and less carbs but all still to meet the 2000 calories. I'm not too worried about competitions right now, I'm hoping to fix my problems first. I eat 5 times a day and they are all meals because if I just "snack" say on a rice cake I noticed the symptoms are more intense. Yesterday when I ate 3 rice cakes with peanut butter, as I got to finishing the second one I had a pretty strong brain fog for about 40 minutes, and then after it was gone I was REALLY sleepy. So my thought was... Either I had already exceeded what my body thinks is right in grams of carbs? Or something I was eating? Because my breakfast meal yeaterday was about 40g of oats, and protein mixed in 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk and I felt a little out of it (though not horribly bad) for about half an hour and then back to normal. Then I went and worked out for about 1 hour and a half (included warmup and stretching) and as ny post workout shake I did another scoop of protein (25grams), and 1/2 scoop of Karbolyn (25g) in 16 oz of water. (Karbolyn is a quickly absorbed carb supplement. And those are the only 2 supplements I take aside from the probiotic I started taking daily). And after that meal, I only felt a tiny bit zoned (not bad though) for 10 minutes then nack to normal. It wasn't until it was time for me to eat my third meal about 3 hours later that I began cooking but was so hungry I couldn't wait, so I had the rice cakes while I cooked. Maybe that was a bad idea on a hungry stomach? Or too many carbs for the day already according to my weird body at the moment? I also began noticing this weird dull pain above my eyes (almost like deep in my eyelids I don't know how to describe) when the brain fog gets intense, but it the pain goes away as soon as the brain fog does. It may linger a bit but not bad. At night on my last two meals I've been taking carbs out altogether and just using essential fats (coconut oil, nuts, etc) just because I don't want to risk such strong brain fog or accompanying headache when I want to just relax and get ready for bed. On my low carb days I always made sure to have at least 60grams of carbs per day. High carb days yes usually above 150grams of carbs. Moderate carbs is lower around 100-120g a day. I want a burger, fries and milkshake so bad :( I really want this to go away so I can enjoy the occasional cheat meal without jittery feelings after... I'm not going to lie, I do get depressed and a little of anxiety having to anticipate all of my meals.. Sometimes I'm downright scared to eat just because I don't want to feel temporarily slowed down or drained, but I know I have to so I just suck it up and try to stay positive. It's pretty difficult dealing with day by day without answers and having others tell you it's not normal to feel that way. Not to mention the fact that I'm not even prepping for any competition and I'm still having to bestuck without being able to randomly pick up a little snack..
Brief Answer:
Let's see what the endocrinologist says
Detailed Answer:
Hey there lady--- what you're saying is exactly what I thought could be happening. I have a feeling that your carb cycling program is reaching a point where it is really starting to push your pancreas to the edge of tolerance levels. Another way to say that is that as time goes on your bodily systems are not able to react the same way anymore to the strict carb cycling program that you are using. I don't know whether you've changed this program or not or it's the exact same program you've always used. I don't know whether the supplements you're using could have anything to do with this issue either? Do you know if any of these problems started happening around any time period when either you CHANGED your carb cycling program or parameters (if you made any such changes) or when you started using the supplements...(don't EVEN get me started on what I think about these supplements and how people are likely hurting themselves..not only physically but financially...with this stuff which has become a multi GAZILLION dollar industry- sorry if I'm offending in any way because of course, you're a professional at what you do..so why should I criticize success....?).
But the truth is, you've got an incredible discipline for exercising and keeping to a strict diet that 99% of the planet could not stick to and you have the measurements, curves, and definition to put up for it....as well as the medals, trophies, and plaques, I'm sure....
However, can you not skin the cat without resorting to quite all of that other stuff? That's the way I always think of it....is there not another way to get those kind of killer body results without having to put your body through all of that chemical/biochemical and other pressure using stuff that for the most part is supported mainly but anecdotal as opposed to true scientifically gathered and tested methods? I think bodybuilders (forget about the guys on roids....) are so super disciplined in what they do that if supplements did not exist and all they had were normal dietary foods at their disposal and a weight room.....I would bet you that the majority of those folks (you are in that group) would still look like they were chiseled out of granite....or in your case....SATIN...but of course, with a STRONG and POWERFUL feel to it....HAHA! You know what I mean?
Anyways, my dear....your issue, in my opinion is that this carb cycling is simply too much drama for your pancreas these days....but I don't want to give you anything to do about it yet because that would be presuming over the endocrinologist which would be wrong for me to do....but I truly think that you will be able to eventually get back to being having cheat meals without feeling like you just took off for XXXXXXX ..but you're going to have to find some way of leveling out this carb cycling thing....
And YES.....It's NOT NORMAL to feel zoned out when you put a piece of bread in your mouth....but you have to get your pancreas to not be so anxious that it unloads its insulin at the first sign of a drop of glucose....I've got ideas of course on how to fix it..but again, I'd rather wait to see what your doctor says.....make sense? Don't get depressed.....you will figure this out and I'm sure you'll still be able to compete and feel good....maybe you'll even visit XXXXXXX in the process?? LOL!
Hang in there....we will figure this out....start thinking in terms of what can we do to get you to burn 2000 calories per day in exchange for increasing your carbs per day and bringing the differential down on your cycle days...in other words, I want you your glucose levels to live at around 100-110 instead of in the 90's.
You don't have to burn the 2000 cals all at one time. Can we do a workout in the morning of say 500 cals....and then, kick ass in the afternoon with a 1500 burn? We can load up a bit in the afternoon on carbs and protein....and then, substitute more fats for carbs in the evening so you can still cycle down a little bit for dinner let's say and still be able to eat stuff that tastes good but we'll avoid adding that on to your adipose depots by making sure we keep burning enough throughout the week to keep up the necessary deficits to burn fat stores.
This BTW is the 4th and final response in this group of charged questions so could I ask you to close this query down if you would....rate our exchanges and then, reopen another set of questions (if you choose to keep me in the loop....;) ) by going to:
bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi and letting me know what the scoop is when you've got more info....which could include flight information as to when you're arriving in Cleveland! LOL!---
I'll use you as the example to our wrestling team about what REAL DIETING and fat burning is all about!.....on second thought I better not present you to them....I might lose the whole team to Texas! LOL....
This query has required a total time of 120 minutes for physician review, research, and compilation for return envoy to the patient.
Let's see what the endocrinologist says
Detailed Answer:
Hey there lady--- what you're saying is exactly what I thought could be happening. I have a feeling that your carb cycling program is reaching a point where it is really starting to push your pancreas to the edge of tolerance levels. Another way to say that is that as time goes on your bodily systems are not able to react the same way anymore to the strict carb cycling program that you are using. I don't know whether you've changed this program or not or it's the exact same program you've always used. I don't know whether the supplements you're using could have anything to do with this issue either? Do you know if any of these problems started happening around any time period when either you CHANGED your carb cycling program or parameters (if you made any such changes) or when you started using the supplements...(don't EVEN get me started on what I think about these supplements and how people are likely hurting themselves..not only physically but financially...with this stuff which has become a multi GAZILLION dollar industry- sorry if I'm offending in any way because of course, you're a professional at what you do..so why should I criticize success....?).
But the truth is, you've got an incredible discipline for exercising and keeping to a strict diet that 99% of the planet could not stick to and you have the measurements, curves, and definition to put up for it....as well as the medals, trophies, and plaques, I'm sure....
However, can you not skin the cat without resorting to quite all of that other stuff? That's the way I always think of it....is there not another way to get those kind of killer body results without having to put your body through all of that chemical/biochemical and other pressure using stuff that for the most part is supported mainly but anecdotal as opposed to true scientifically gathered and tested methods? I think bodybuilders (forget about the guys on roids....) are so super disciplined in what they do that if supplements did not exist and all they had were normal dietary foods at their disposal and a weight room.....I would bet you that the majority of those folks (you are in that group) would still look like they were chiseled out of granite....or in your case....SATIN...but of course, with a STRONG and POWERFUL feel to it....HAHA! You know what I mean?
Anyways, my dear....your issue, in my opinion is that this carb cycling is simply too much drama for your pancreas these days....but I don't want to give you anything to do about it yet because that would be presuming over the endocrinologist which would be wrong for me to do....but I truly think that you will be able to eventually get back to being having cheat meals without feeling like you just took off for XXXXXXX ..but you're going to have to find some way of leveling out this carb cycling thing....
And YES.....It's NOT NORMAL to feel zoned out when you put a piece of bread in your mouth....but you have to get your pancreas to not be so anxious that it unloads its insulin at the first sign of a drop of glucose....I've got ideas of course on how to fix it..but again, I'd rather wait to see what your doctor says.....make sense? Don't get depressed.....you will figure this out and I'm sure you'll still be able to compete and feel good....maybe you'll even visit XXXXXXX in the process?? LOL!
Hang in there....we will figure this out....start thinking in terms of what can we do to get you to burn 2000 calories per day in exchange for increasing your carbs per day and bringing the differential down on your cycle days...in other words, I want you your glucose levels to live at around 100-110 instead of in the 90's.
You don't have to burn the 2000 cals all at one time. Can we do a workout in the morning of say 500 cals....and then, kick ass in the afternoon with a 1500 burn? We can load up a bit in the afternoon on carbs and protein....and then, substitute more fats for carbs in the evening so you can still cycle down a little bit for dinner let's say and still be able to eat stuff that tastes good but we'll avoid adding that on to your adipose depots by making sure we keep burning enough throughout the week to keep up the necessary deficits to burn fat stores.
This BTW is the 4th and final response in this group of charged questions so could I ask you to close this query down if you would....rate our exchanges and then, reopen another set of questions (if you choose to keep me in the loop....;) ) by going to:
bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi and letting me know what the scoop is when you've got more info....which could include flight information as to when you're arriving in Cleveland! LOL!---
I'll use you as the example to our wrestling team about what REAL DIETING and fat burning is all about!.....on second thought I better not present you to them....I might lose the whole team to Texas! LOL....
This query has required a total time of 120 minutes for physician review, research, and compilation for return envoy to the patient.
Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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