Feeling you're going to pass out if you don't eat?

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Francl27
Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Does it happen to anyone else? Feeling a weird intense nausea like you're going to throw up or pass out if you're not eating something as soon as possible. It usually doesn't come with any other sign of hunger and is pretty sudden.

It happens to me a lot after I drink tea (not as much if I add sugar or milk), and it just happened to me for no reason, considering it's 11.30am and I had already eaten 600 calories this morning (including a snack at 10am). So I had an early lunch and I'm fine now, but it's really weird. Any idea what could cause it? I've also drunk 1.5 liter of water this morning so it can't be that...
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Replies

  • kowajenn
    kowajenn Posts: 274 Member
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    You should see a doctor. How's your blood sugar?
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I do get that feeling sometimes, usually I get off work at 5 and eat dinner around 5:30 and if I don't eat by six on the dot, I feel "hangry" and very dizzy and/or weak.

    But yeah I don't know why you are getting it especially after the tea.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    You should see a doctor. How's your blood sugar?

    It's fine. Last blood work was all normal.
  • MzMikyla
    MzMikyla Posts: 1
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    I felt that too. I think it may be because you're not eating early enough and when you eat, the caloric intake is too high. Even though I'm up at 5 am to get to work, I would wait until 730 am to have breakfast and then wait till 12 for lunch at my desk, AFTER my 11 am workout! My body kicked my *kitten* about that. I got sick. felt dizzy and it took about 2 hours to get myself back together again even after I ate!!!
    1. I've turned it around by having a small Starbucks nut bar and a glass of water when I first get up in the morning. (5 am) only about 200 calories.
    2. Then, I once I got to work, (7am) I have a half cup of coffee with a glass of water and lemon wedge at 7am. About 50 Calories.
    3. Once and I've responded to emails and the cafeteria opens at 7:30 am, I I eat 1 egg (any style you want. I prefer over easy) with a side of bacon. I REFUSE TO GIVE UP MY PORK! Balance people... it's all about balance. LMAO About 200 Calories
    4. Then 1/2 hour BEFORE my workout I scarf down a half grapefruit. About 60 calories (So I don't get the shakes after my workout.)
    5. During my workout at 11:15 am I drink my whole 3 cup container of water. (Because Spin or Kickboxing kicks the hell outta me.)
    6. By 12:15pm my workout is over and I RUN to get a small salad from the salad bar and small soup from the soup bar at the cafeteria and DASH to my cubicle to get back to work. I eat the small soup right away and get back to the meetings, conference calls, etc. About 300 calories.
    7. Around 3pm ( a 1/2 hour before I get off work) I eat my salad and have some water. (Not tea, because I hate to use the subway bathrooms. LOL)
    8. As soon as I get home at 5pm and get out of the monkey suit, I eat a100 calorie bowl of cereal with lactaid free, fat free milk to calm the beast.
    9. By 6:30 dinner is done and all my chores and I have a small plate of whatever I cooked,. Homemade soup or a protein and veg. About 300 calories, cause I'm not starving but I don't want to make a suicidal run to 7-11 for dangerous midnight snacks. Best to get some healthy calories in before bed.

    Total: 1460 Calories with a Net total of 1000 calories after my 450-500 calorie workout. No starving, no shakes, no guilt.

    I think the key is to have more meals, smaller portions, so you body doesn't crash. I hope this helps!:happy:
  • EMTFreakGirl
    EMTFreakGirl Posts: 597 Member
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    Actually, I "greyed out" a couple weeks ago. My calories for the day were very low, NOT on purpose! I wasn't feeling well, and that makes it hard to eat. I was feeling so puny that I fell asleep very early, missing my last few meals. I was on call for the ambulance and got called out at 4 in the morning. While on scene, I started feeling that way. :sick: Made eye contact with my partner and excused myself. Didn't make it 5 steps before my legs gave out and down I went (knees always seem to take a beating!) Anyway, thank goodness I didn't completely pass out! Orange juice saved the day! Note: I do tend toward hypoglycemia but as long as I eat every 3-4 hours, a small high-protein meal, I'm usually good. This was just a weird thing, a "perfect storm" of not feeling well and not thinking to grab a small snack on my way out the door. I've since stocked my locker with snack baggies of good snacks and boxed juice to take with me, just for situations like this one.

    I also have blood sugar issues if I drink caffeine without eating. Doc friends say it SHOULDN'T have an effect, but admit that with me it does. Maybe we have some weird metabolic/caffeine intolerance that hasn't been discovered yet! :ohwell:
  • fruttibiscotti
    fruttibiscotti Posts: 987 Member
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    Please see a doctor. Maybe blood sugar is unstable?

    Tea is a diuretic, perhaps it is triggering something as a diuretic?
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
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    Could be reactive hypoglycaemia. It wouldn't show on a normal fasting blood panel. You can buy blood glucose meters and strips over the counter at any pharmacy and and track how your blood sugar reacts to various foods and meal timings.

    I had a grand mal seizure last August from exercise induced hypoglycaemia. Now I bring the glucose meter to the gym and make sure my numbers are good before I start. If they are low, I will eat a bar or drink a Gatorade a d check again after 20 minutes.

    If you don't want to spend the money, the simplest way to tell if it's blood sugar is just to eat something with simple carbs next time it happens and see if it helps. If it does, you probably need to start eating to manage your blood sugar through the day. I eat complex carbs at every meal and snack and I try not to eat simple carbs on their own, as it will cause a blood sugar spike and overproduction of insulin, and my glucose will drop like a stone.

    ETA: rereading this post, it might seem like I am advocating a high carb diet. I am not. It's important to get your protein and fat requirements, and eating fats and proteins will help slow the blood sugar rise, which can avoid the reactive dips. I aim for about 75g of protein daily, and at least 40g of fat (usually well over). Most days I have about a 55/17/28% split of carbs/protein/fat. Do t k ow if it's optimal, but it seems to work well enough for me.
  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
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    You should see a doctor. How's your blood sugar?

    It's fine. Last blood work was all normal.

    I apologize in advance if this comes off as snarky but . . . did your doctor just say "Everything is normal! Come back in a year!" Did you actually look at the results, go over them and have him/her explain to you what they are looking at, what the ranges are, what they should be, what they would like to see it at etc. because my guess is no. A lot of times doctors will say that your numbers are fine even if they're on the high or low side of what is considered normal because it's not *that* out of whack.

    Honestly I'd get it checked again and make sure you sit down with the doctor and go over the results line by line and have them explain everything to you. I get my blood work done twice a year and I go over it with the doctors line by line and have them explain everything.
  • kenzietate
    kenzietate Posts: 399 Member
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    Could be reactive hypoglycaemia. It wouldn't show on a normal fasting blood panel. You can buy blood glucose meters and strips over the counter at any pharmacy and and track how your blood sugar reacts to various foods and meal timings.

    I agree with this. I had a lot of issues with this kind of thing when I was going through puberty and nothing ever showed up in the standard panel. I had to get on a very strict eating schedule every 2-2.5 hrs to keep this from happening. I finally found out I was insulin resistant and had trouble keeping my blood sugar level. After that I started tracking my blood sugar and I started to find the best things to eat and the ones to avoid. If my food spiked my blood sugar really high then I was much more likely to have the issue of low blood sugar before I ate next time.

    Good luck! I hope you figure it out!
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    It could also be a reaction to the tea. Try an herbal tea. I sometimes get a similar reaction from regular tea but am not sure why.
  • endoftheside
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
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    I would see if switching out your snack makes a difference. Sugar alcohols like maltitol can affect blood sugar and like PPs mentioned reactive hypoglycemia would not show up in a standard test. Measuring your blood sugar when you are feeling symptoms would be easy enough if you wanted to check it out.
  • claire671
    claire671 Posts: 93 Member
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    I get this. My blood pressure is on the low side of normal and my iron count has never been the same since I had my son. I get dizzy and shaky if it's been a while since I have eaten or if my calories for the day are low. Its a vicious circle because I feel so sick yet I know I need to eat but it's the last thing I feel like doing. Keeping hydrated plays a big part for me, I make sure I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and that helps.
  • ElizabethFuller
    ElizabethFuller Posts: 352 Member
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    I got this when I first started my diet in June. I leave work at 3pm and I always used to go home and have a snack of tea with buttered toast or biscuits or cake or perhaps all three! When I cut back to just the tea I had very similar symptoms, an overwhelming, panicky urge to eat, making me feel very weak and shaky.
    I changed my routine, either went shopping or to the gym or visited friends etc straight after work, this meant that I arrived home later, when my son was home. I could start preparing dinner and the problem with the snack attack just vanished.
    Now, if I come home straight after work it doesn't happen, I think it was just my brain missing a regular snack.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    It's fine if I eat something with the tea really. I know I was anemic a year ago, might be that too. It really doesn't happen much at all, only if I have tea and haven't eaten something recently really... it's odd. I sure hope it's not anything else though, I can't imagine limiting carbs (I have reflux so too much fat is not good for me, so what could I eat LOL).
  • Aine8046
    Aine8046 Posts: 2,122 Member
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    I had this feeling sometimes when I drank strong green tea in the morning and ate nothing. So I stopped doing it. Now I drink my tea after I eat.
  • ElizabethFuller
    ElizabethFuller Posts: 352 Member
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    Maybe the tea makes your body think it's going to be fed, releasing insulin which then crashes your blood sugar? I've read that this can happen with diet drinks that taste sweet but are sugar free? The fact that tea with milk and sugar doesn't do the same could support this. Maybe caffeine? Do you have the same problem with coffee or diet Coke?
    As other posters have said, it may be interesting to check your blood sugar to see exactly what is happening.
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
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    Some things should be discussed with a doctor not a bunch of strangers on the internet.
  • smc864
    smc864 Posts: 570 Member
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    I've done 24 hour fasts before without nausea or dizziness, but if I drink some kinds of herbal tea on an empty stomach I can get extremely nauseous. It may just be the tea.
  • healthymissfit
    healthymissfit Posts: 648 Member
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    This happens to me often, I just had a spell of it earlier this morning. I've never, ever thought of it as something I needed to discuss with my doctor, I just wait for the spell to end, and I immediately eat (because by the time I'm feeling dizzy and nauseous, I'm obviously lacking any kind of appetite) I'd love to hear what you find out about this. I haven't got insurance and can't waste time and money I don't have checking on something that's pretty easily resolved for me, but I'd love to hear what happens with you! :)
  • doctorsookie
    doctorsookie Posts: 1,084 Member
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    I get a sudden drop in sugar sometimes and get that exact feeling. My sugar test was fine, its just that my body crashes and as soon as I eat something I'm fine. Keep mints in your pocket or have orange juice handy. That's my go to when it happens. As long as I eat a good breakfast I'm fine. I can't drink pekoe tea because it will make me feel sick everytime. Monitor what you ate and when before you get this feeling and try the o.j. or mints to see how you feel. If this doesn't help see a doctor for bloodwork. And if you drink red bull or any of that other stuff...don't. You'll crash for sure. Good luck.


    Edited for typo

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