A word of warning: I'm going down...

tracieangeletti
tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This was what was going through my mind as I almost fell face first into an arcade machine. Went to the movies Friday night and everything was fine until it all of a sudden wasn't. Sitting there and felt fine and then instantly got very sick to my stomach and started sweating buckets, like someone had turned a faucet on. Panicked and confused I stood up to make my way to the lobby. It wasn't good and I'm still not sure how I made it that far. Got to lobby and was stumbling, walking like I was drunk, tripping, and then my sight started to go dim and I thought "Holy crap, I'm going down right into that arcade game." Next thing I know I'm on the ground and terrified. I laid there for a minute and then started to make my way to the bathroom. I was pale as a ghost, shaking, confused, and all around not good. The only thing that made sense to me was I had to be having a dip in blood sugar. I must have scared the crap out of the ladies in the bathroom and someone gave me a twizzler. I was shaking so bad I couldn't even open the wrapper. I THOUGHT I had eaten enough. Wrong. So very wrong. When I got home and looked over my diary I realized that I had barely eaten 1200 calories. I was saving the rest of my calories for later that night but I had worked out hard that day and I guess my body couldn't wait til later.

I'm posting this because this was totally avoidable, if I wasn't such a dumb a**, if I had paid better attention it wouldn't have happened. It could have been worse. I could have been driving when it happened. PLEASE people, please take care of yourselves and make sure you're eating enough, often enough. This was a terrifying experience. I've had a blood sugar dip before but it always came with warnings before so I knew I needed to eat but not this time. Please be careful folks!

Btw, we saw Rush. A MUST see!!! Just make sure you eat enough before you go!!!

Replies

  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    Got to lobby and was stumbling, walking like I was drunk, tripping, and then my sight started to go dim and I thought "Holy crap, I'm going down right into that arcade game." Next thing I know I'm on the ground and terrified. I laid there for a minute and then started to make my way to the bathroom. I was pale as a ghost, shaking, confused, and all around not good.

    When I got home and looked over my diary I realized that I had barely eaten 1200 calories.

    Death by 1200 calories. It's taken out lots of poor unsuspecting souls. If you're working hard then make sure you're getting the fuel you need.
  • Alex_is_Hawks
    Alex_is_Hawks Posts: 3,499 Member
    Got to lobby and was stumbling, walking like I was drunk, tripping, and then my sight started to go dim and I thought "Holy crap, I'm going down right into that arcade game." Next thing I know I'm on the ground and terrified. I laid there for a minute and then started to make my way to the bathroom. I was pale as a ghost, shaking, confused, and all around not good.

    When I got home and looked over my diary I realized that I had barely eaten 1200 calories.

    Death by 1200 calories. It's taken out lots of poor unsuspecting souls. If you're working hard then make sure you're getting the fuel you need.

    QFT....glad you weren't driving at the time...that could have been deadly!
  • MiloBloom83
    MiloBloom83 Posts: 2,724 Member
    So not what i wanted this to be about....
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
    The thing was I know better, but I guess what I didn't realize that even though I planned on eating my calories for the day later I hadn't eaten enough up to that point. I often go hours without eating and have been fine. Not anymore. :-/
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Welcome to my world....

    I go from 0 to starved in 60secs flat and if I don't eat...not only am I a raving b**** but I get weak...knees buckle...black spots...etc

    As well as with my water (low blood pressure).

    You were lucky this time that you didn't hit your head....
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
    Welcome to my world....

    I go from 0 to starved in 60secs flat and if I don't eat...not only am I a raving b**** but I get weak...knees buckle...black spots...etc

    As well as with my water (low blood pressure).

    You were lucky this time that you didn't hit your head....

    Yes, yes I was!! Thank you! The scariest part was how quickly it happened. From fine to passing out in a flash. Like someone pulled the rug right out underneath me.
  • lawlorka
    lawlorka Posts: 484 Member
    I'm exactly the same and sometimes have this experience on the train to work in the morning if I haven't had anything to eat or drink before I get on. I can be fine one second and then sweating buckets with my vision blacking out seconds later! I also go from not hungry at all to absolutely ravenous in the space of a minute!! And properly ravenous, like I have to sit down and feel sick because I'm so hungry!

    I have high blood pressure - I'm not sure if its related - but now I don't go anywhere without a bottle of water!
  • Sxy_Mace
    Sxy_Mace Posts: 5
    I can vouch for the danger of not eating enough. When I was counting calories last year, I was so excited about the weight loss I was experiencing that I started playing the dangerous "How few calories can I get away with?" game. Sure, it reflected on the scale but after a month or so my body had enough: For about two-three months straight I was having 24-36 hrs "stomach bug" episodes every couple of weeks. Violent headaches (extreme dizziness/pressure) and constant vomiting every 20 mins. I thought it was due to another medical condition I have, but when I started lapsing on my exercise/diet and was eating more, I stopped getting sick. Coincidence? I think not. Nowadays, my head will instantly start pounding if I go too long without something substantial to eat or aren't properly hydrated. Granted, I'm still probably not eating enough but at least I have never gotten back to being that ill again.
  • YesIAm17
    YesIAm17 Posts: 817 Member
    I used to weigh 265lbs (am 170lbs now) and got virtually all of my calories in on my very bad "eat out"/"take out" menu dinner (complete with appetizers and desserts).

    I was extremely sedentary then.

    I started slowly cutting the desserts back, then the appetizers, then not eating the entire plate of food. The weight melted off easily and quickly with little to no exercise.

    I was still eating little to nothing all day, and getting most of my calories at night.

    While I wasn't counting calories I think it is safe to say I was at a significant (probably excessive) calorie deficit.

    Ultimately the result was I felt like crap all day, with no energy, and then felt even worse after eating.

    I got rid of a lot of my fat this way, but surely lost significant muscle mass that I could have avoided, and my quality of life suffered needlessly as well.

    That poor diet and feeling like crap all day went on for years without me realizing what the problem was.

    Moral of the story....

    1 - You NEED food early in the day and balanced throughout the day.
    2 - You NEED to pay attention to how your body feels and adjust accordingly.
    3 - You NEED to lose/gain/maintain your weight in a healthy well thought out manner.

    ...if you don't follow this advice you will suffer, you will hurt yourself, you will not be healthy.

    If on the other hand...

    1 - You fuel your body throughout the day
    2 - You pay attention to how you feel and adjust as needed
    3 - You employ a healthy well thought out strategy

    ...you will reach your health and fitness goals and feel great while doing it.

    Fitness > Fat loss

    Fat loss =/= Fitness

    (fitness is greater than fat loss and fat loss does not equal fitness)
  • Gee_24
    Gee_24 Posts: 359 Member
    I posted a thread about how ill I was at a Rod Stewart concert last night and I have just realised that THIS could be why.

    Im eating at 1600 calories, but yesterday I hadn't eaten anything till 4pm. I had 2 vodkas and one cheeseburger meal. By the time I hit the concert I was violently sick and dizzy. In fact I was clinging on to randomers in the crowd to stay upright.

    I had saved all of my calories for the calorific restaurant meal and drinking session. In future I will have a cereal, maybe soup for lunch and THEN go out.

    Never.Again.

    I have no good memories of the night of the year because of my stupidity.
  • ladymm40
    ladymm40 Posts: 31
    So glad you are OK now.....what a scary feeling.....btdt. Also glad that there were some kind ladies to help you.....

    Take care of yourself....
  • Chubbysnacker
    Chubbysnacker Posts: 4 Member
    Hi,

    I read this with interest as I used to have this sort of thing quite often without knowing what caused it. While it could have been caused by too few calories in your case, especially as you had worked out hard (and I am not in any way a doctor) I would really recommend reading a book called The Harcombe Diet, by Zoe Harcombe (that's diet as in 'way of eating', not 'follow this ridiculous plan and lose x amount of lbs in 1 week). There's lots of info about it on the internet. Basically when I read it I realised I had hypoglycaemia, which means I am prone to episodes like this that are caused by eating certain things. Since I've adopted her way of eating I haven't had a single 'hypo'. Just thought I'd mention it as I wish someone had told me about it earlier! : )
  • joshdann
    joshdann Posts: 618 Member
    Correlation does not equal causation. Just because this happened *and* you ate 1200 calories (so far) that day does not mean it happened *because* you ate 1200 calories that day. I'm a 6'6" active man and my intake is usually under 1200 calories until diner time. And I'm the healthiest I've been in *years*.

    If you have an episode like that, go see your doctor. There is almost certainly something else going on.
  • LiminalAscendance
    LiminalAscendance Posts: 489 Member
    Hi,

    I read this with interest as I used to have this sort of thing quite often without knowing what caused it. While it could have been caused by too few calories in your case, especially as you had worked out hard (and I am not in any way a doctor) I would really recommend reading a book called The Harcombe Diet, by Zoe Harcombe (that's diet as in 'way of eating', not 'follow this ridiculous plan and lose x amount of lbs in 1 week). There's lots of info about it on the internet. Basically when I read it I realised I had hypoglycaemia, which means I am prone to episodes like this that are caused by eating certain things. Since I've adopted her way of eating I haven't had a single 'hypo'. Just thought I'd mention it as I wish someone had told me about it earlier! : )

    Hmmm...first post and you're recommending someone (most likely) purchase a book?

    How very helpful of you.
  • 4homer
    4homer Posts: 457 Member
    I thought this thread would include something about an elevator
  • YesIAm17
    YesIAm17 Posts: 817 Member
    Correlation does not equal causation. Just because this happened *and* you ate 1200 calories (so far) that day does not mean it happened *because* you ate 1200 calories that day. I'm a 6'6" active man and my intake is usually under 1200 calories until diner time. And I'm the healthiest I've been in *years*.

    If you have an episode like that, go see your doctor. There is almost certainly something else going on.

    ^^Yes that!

    Although the OP hadn't had 1200 calories yet that day the premise is still solid... correlation =/= causation.

    This could have been a lot of different things, related or not related to your diet at all, for example it could have been a panic attack which may or may not have been affected by your diet.

    See a doctor = good advice!
  • Chubbysnacker
    Chubbysnacker Posts: 4 Member
    I can assure you I have no affiliation with the diet I mentioned whatsoever, I didn't say the OP should buy it, as I said, there is lots of info about it on the internet, and there is lots of info about hypoglycaemia on the internet, which can be obtained for free. I simply thought it might help the OP, as untreated hypoglycaemia can be very serious indeed. The diet I mentioned just happens to explain it in an easy to understand way, which I found useful. The reason this was my first post is that I usually don't feel strongly enough about most topics to post replies, but I thought in this case my reply might help. As you can see I have been a member since January, if I was here to plug things surely I would have done it by now. Some people are very suspicious!
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    Correlation does not equal causation. Just because this happened *and* you ate 1200 calories (so far) that day does not mean it happened *because* you ate 1200 calories that day. I'm a 6'6" active man and my intake is usually under 1200 calories until diner time. And I'm the healthiest I've been in *years*.

    If you have an episode like that, go see your doctor. There is almost certainly something else going on.

    Yep, that.

    While stuff like that certainly can happen due to blood sugar issues (I don't mean to discount anything), not having gotten to 1200 by later in the day doesn't seem like quite extreme enough to cause something like what you described unless you have already been diagnosed with an ongoing medical issue that would cause something like that. How much do you normally eat total in a day? What's your TDEE? Has something like this ever happened before? Many, many people go through their day having eaten that little or less, or even fast for a day or two, without these issues. Particularly if this is the first time this has happened, I'd not assume that you hadn't eaten enough that day, and rather RUN to an MD.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    Hi,

    I read this with interest as I used to have this sort of thing quite often without knowing what caused it. While it could have been caused by too few calories in your case, especially as you had worked out hard (and I am not in any way a doctor) I would really recommend reading a book called The Harcombe Diet, by Zoe Harcombe (that's diet as in 'way of eating', not 'follow this ridiculous plan and lose x amount of lbs in 1 week). There's lots of info about it on the internet. Basically when I read it I realised I had hypoglycaemia, which means I am prone to episodes like this that are caused by eating certain things. Since I've adopted her way of eating I haven't had a single 'hypo'. Just thought I'd mention it as I wish someone had told me about it earlier! : )

    Hmmm...first post and you're recommending someone (most likely) purchase a book?

    How very helpful of you.

    Not to mention encouraging self diagnosis and self treatment of a potentially serious health problem.

    OP, I'm on team go to the doctor here.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
    Interesting theory. Whilst I cannot, and have no desire to, vouch for accuracy it is worth remembering to avoid running out of calories in the tank! Thanks for sharing
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    So not what i wanted this to be about....


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  • She_Hulk
    She_Hulk Posts: 277
    Correlation does not equal causation. Just because this happened *and* you ate 1200 calories (so far) that day does not mean it happened *because* you ate 1200 calories that day. I'm a 6'6" active man and my intake is usually under 1200 calories until diner time. And I'm the healthiest I've been in *years*.

    If you have an episode like that, go see your doctor. There is almost certainly something else going on.

    This^^^ Sounds like you could be border-line diabetic. My MIL is and she gets the same way. One day at eating under 1200 calories shouldn't cause you to pass out like this unless you have an underlying health issue. Please see a doctor just to be sure. I'm glad you didn't really hurt yourself. It could have been a lot worse. :heart:
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    I always keep some kind of full sugar candy or glucose tablets on me just in case. I've only had a couple really low blood sugars, but they scared me enough to keep something handy.
  • jennlos
    jennlos Posts: 200
    Thank you for posting this. I am glad that you was not driving that would have been a very bad outcome.
    I have been doing this couple days a week eating about 1000 to 1100 cal a day. like today lol I usually don't work out the days that I do this but it is good to keep in mind so nothing bad happens.
    thanks again
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    Correlation does not equal causation. Just because this happened *and* you ate 1200 calories (so far) that day does not mean it happened *because* you ate 1200 calories that day. I'm a 6'6" active man and my intake is usually under 1200 calories until diner time. And I'm the healthiest I've been in *years*.

    If you have an episode like that, go see your doctor. There is almost certainly something else going on.

    I'm glad someone else pointed this out. OP, I'm glad you are okay now but please go to your doctor.

    Often before dinner, I have eaten anywhere from 900- 1,000 calories and I feel energetic.
  • tracieangeletti
    tracieangeletti Posts: 432 Member
    Hmmmm... I just assumed it was a blood sugar issue. I do have MS, but I've never had anything like that before and I'm not sure that MS would even cause that to happen. I will ask my doc at my next appt about it and of course if it happens again I will go to the doctor immediately. I certainly hope it's not diabetes. :-/

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