[Crumbles]

OK, so I have had this seriously weird problem for about 2 years now, and I wanted to throw this out there to:

1) see if anyone has heard of anything like this
and
2) see what anyone has to say about this

I have this lame problem where I have to eat every 2 hours, and if I don't eat anything, I start feeling all weak, sleepy, and light headed. I have been to about 100 doctors and no one can figure it out. I've had my blood sugar checked a billion times, and everything is fine. I even fasted at my dads house for about 5 hours (and felt like I was going to die) but my blood sugar was fine the entire time, and after I ate I felt better.

This has been going on for two years now, and it started one night where I got light headed out of no where (after not eating for about 6 hours), and I ate and then felt better. And every since then, every 2 hours, I get light headed and eat and feel better. It's almost like I've programed myself or something to be like this. It's really annoying. I've gained a ton of weight (because I'm eating all the damn time.) Anyway, what do you think this could be? It's really annoying, and I have no clue what's going on. Could this be some sort of anxiety or something? What do you guys think?

If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask, and I'll reply with the answer.

 

[Scattered]

I would think it would be psychological and probably some type of eating disorder. I have no knowledge at all about these types of things but its something to look into.

 

[Sojourner]

You should arrange to be at your doctor's office in a lab when you're due to get lightheaded and feel that you must eat. Let them draw blood and do other tests while you are in that state.

 

[Crumbles]

You should arrange to be at your doctor's office in a lab when you're due to get lightheaded and feel that you must eat. Let them draw blood and do other tests while you are in that state.

I have. One of the things they had me do was do a fasting blood test. I have about an hour or so after I wake up in the morning before this happens, and I spent that hour driving to the doc's in the morning for them to draw blood one time. By the time they had finally got me in, and taken my blood I thought I was ready to pass out. Of course, all the blood work came back normal....

 

[Milan]

That's a weird one Crumbles.

I can relate in part. If I don't eat every 3-4hrs I feel the tension headaches, dizzyness and my anxiety level increases drastically. After I eat it feels like I have had a couple of drinks and feel great. I don't have to eat every two hrs though. If I have a really big meal I can last several hrs without eating and still feel reasonable.

Do bigger meals allow more time to pass before you feel the symptoms?

 

[BMF54123]

Wow...the same thing happens to me, though my interval is a little more than 2 hours. My last blood test showed my blood sugar to be slightly higher than normal, yet I hadn't eaten anything since the night before (isn't it supposed to be the other way around?). All my previous tests had come back normal, and if I were to have one done right now, I'm willing to bet it would be normal as well... :?

 

[Guest]

Naturally, go to a doctor, get tests, etc. etc. etc. And I?m not a doctor and have no more medical knowledge than any of you. But?I have considerable knowledge about the psychological origins of some symptoms.

So?.this is ONLY for the folks who are looking for psychological explanations, cool?

Think of someone who has a severe ?war trauma? (Post-traumatic stress). The poor fellow is petrified anytime he hears or sees or smells or senses ANYthing unusual in his territory. You know you can?t sneak up on him, you know he might freak out when the mailman suddenly pushes mail through the slot, you know he stays up at night listening for footsteps.
He is terrified of BEING SURPRISED by anything in his external world.

Unlike him, many of us are equally terrified of being surprised by anything INSIDE us. We are, at all costs, trying to maintain a pathological inner ?status quo? ? no surprises, no fluctuations, no ?differences? that were not anticipated and accepted beforehand. Well, nobody can live this way, and hence, our predicament of not being able to exist in anything bordering on a pleasurable life.

If we are that terrified of any internal changes, then something like ?hunger? or even the results of digestion (a few hours after you?ve eaten) can feel catastrophic. It is DIFFERENT. Something is ?happening? inside you and that alone, despite whether its normal, good, or bad is perceived as catastrophic. RETURN TO STATUS QUO. At all costs, stop this ?new feeling.? So you eat. You digest. A few hours later, digestion is done. You eat again. You digest. It?s as if THAT is as ?adventurous? as you?re willing to be. Any additional pings or pangs of hunger, emptiness, fullness, metabolic shifts, etc. are ?threats? to the ever-desperately held status quo.

This kind of hyper-control over internal change extends way beyond the body, too. We are like this with other people, in relationships, in interactions.

There is a ?very fine line? of ?leeway? that many of us can tolerate. We need to be THIS close to others and no closer. THIS far from others and no farther. A tiny little space of navigation room. Anything closer feels like impingement, anything more distant feels like abandonment.

We insist that we only feel safe when we are limiting our "playing field" to about three square inches, lol. And it will never work. But we don?t know that, so as we get more and more scared, we shave off yet another inch, and our ability to tolerate change grows smaller and smaller.

 

[Scattered]

So true. I can particularly relate to the relationship example. Needing for someone to be there but not TOO close or I start to freak out. It does makes sense that this all stems from some neurotic and unrealistic need for control. Not only do we need to control our bodies to an impossible extent but also the very nature of the external physical world and how it operates.

 

[Crumbles]

So assuming that IS the problem, then what do I do to fix it? Just not eat, and make myself feel like I'm going to die for a day?

 

[Sojourner]

Ask your doctor, and if he or she cannot suggest anything useful, ask for a referral to a psychiatrist. You do not want to just deal with this on your own without support. That would be a big mistake. With a psychiatrist, you can explore your options; maybe therapy would help, maybe a psychiatrist would recommend something else. It's hard to tell. But don't give up and don't do anything like force yourself to feel as if you are going to die just because they cannot find anything wrong. If you decide with the help of a physician (a psychiatrist is an MD) to do that, you will need plenty of support for yourself while you do it.

You should not consider yourself to be at a dead end at all and should NOT just force yourself to go through hell alone.

 

[Sojourner]

Also, rereading your post, I notice that the only test you mention is a blood test. That's not good enough. You need a complete (upper and lower) GI (gastrointestinal) workup. Complete.

 

[Crumbles]

Also, rereading your post, I notice that the only test you mention is a blood test. That's not good enough. You need a complete (upper and lower) GI (gastrointestinal) workup. Complete.

Yea, I have been seeing an endocronologist who did a bunch of bloodwork as well. He told me I'm not diabetic, nor do I have cushings, or any other thing he can see. He noticed that my testosterone was low, and my prolactin is elevated, but that can happen from sudden weight gain. He had me do 3 different MRI's looking for a tumor on my putitary gland, but nothing was ever found.

He wants me to take medicine to loose weight, and take medicine to lower my prolactin (in hopes it will elevate my testosorone.)

I'm not so sure I want to take the med, as that's treating the symptoms, not the cause...

 

[Crumbles]

I should probably say that I was seeing doctors for like 3 months and no one could figure this out. That's why I figured I'd throw it out here to see if anyone else has ever heard of this. I'm not just asking advice here for the first time! I have seen numerous doc's about this. All of them are mystified...

Like having the mysterious DP/DR wasn't enough, now I have to have this as well ...

 

[dakotajo]

Hi,

It makes sense. Do you have sugar and carb cravings? Anxiety(dp/dr), depression are related to serotonin levels. It might be your bodies' way of asking for a serotonin boost. Ive read most people with depression/anxiety(low serotonin) also have carb and sugar cravings. When the blood sugar spikes from consumption of simple or complex carbs, insulin is released which clears the blood stream to allow tryptophan(serotonin precursor) to go unchallenged to the brain. Eating a diet high in complex carbs(potatoes!!) should be part of your arsenal to help fight depression/anxiety.

Joe

 

[Sojourner]

Crumbles,

But did you have a complete GI series?

 

[Crumbles]

Crumbles,

But did you have a complete GI series?

Not sure what that is exactly. I will call my endocronologist and ask him. Is that exactly how I should ask? Is that what it's called? Should I call and say..

In the tests you gave me, did we ever do a complete GI series?

 

[Crumbles]

OK, I just read this page:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 003816.htm

And I can tell you that was never done. How would this help to tell why I'm getting weak when I don't eat?

*edit*
The only things that have been done are:

MRI's (w/and w/o contrast)
a crapload of blood work
the normal "can you feel this prick?" tests
blood pressure/pulse, other misc. checkup things ...

 

[Sojourner]

You need a complete check of your entire gastrointestinal (GI) system -- from mouth to anus.

Your endocrinologist is not the right doctor for this. You need a physician who is a gastroenterologist.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/index.htm

You asked, "And I can tell you that was never done. How would this help to tell why I'm getting weak when I don't eat?"

Because you appear to have a digestive problem, and to rule out a physical cause, your digestive system must be thoroughly examined to determine if there is anything wrong.

 

[Crumbles]

Because you appear to have a digestive problem, and to rule out a physical cause, your digestive system must be thoroughly examined to determine if there is anything wrong.

Yea, I have thought about that as well. I think there was something that was found that pointed out that that wasn't an issue. But who knows. I have thought about it being a million things over the past 2 years (how long it's been going on)

The only thing is, I can feel really bad, and then go to a place that relaxes me (such as my car) and I feel better. It seems to be worse while I'm at work, and better when I'm at home. That's why I thought it might be some sort of stupid anxiety thing.

Hi,

It makes sense. Do you have sugar and carb cravings? Anxiety(dp/dr), depression are related to serotonin levels. It might be your bodies' way of asking for a serotonin boost. Ive read most people with depression/anxiety(low serotonin) also have carb and sugar cravings. When the blood sugar spikes from consumption of simple or complex carbs, insulin is released which clears the blood stream to allow tryptophan(serotonin precursor) to go unchallenged to the brain. Eating a diet high in complex carbs(potatoes!!) should be part of your arsenal to help fight depression/anxiety.

Joe

This is a very interesting theory. It may very well be, but I don't know. As for the sugar and carb cravings, I don't really crave anything, I just eat something to feel better. I carry peanut butter sandwiches around with me everywhere I go, because it's the most durable food I can think of to take with me. It's really annoying to have to make sandwiches everytime before I leave the house to bring with me. :x

 

[Tom Servo]

Have you tried fooling your body by eating something that's, say, only protein or only fat? I'm trying to think of something that doesn't have any calories at all that would totally fool it. That might be a good test. I can't think of what that stuff might be, though, short of you having to gnaw on a block of wood. I've heard that the act of eating things like celery and cucumbers burns more calories eating than they contain. You could try that. If you ask me, though, they make that block of wood sound mighty tasty in comparison.