Adrenal Fatigue or Hypoglycaemia

balance_happy_mum
balance_happy_mum Posts: 25 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi can anyone give me any feedback on either Adrendal Fatigue or Hypoglycaemia.

I have found just lately after my runs, a couple days later I feel so ill, with anxiety like symptoms, strange taste in my mouth, feeling lightheaded, not *with it* I feel shaky on my feet and generally unwell.

When I do my body pump classes I used to be able to squat 20kg in the second track of the class, now Im struggling to do10kg, I feel shaky and like im going to pass out and that I may vomit. Having jelly beans or a protein bar while this is happening seems to help.
A concerned friend alerted me to adrenal fatigue as she was worried I wasn't eating enough food to fuel all the extra exercise I was doing......she may have been right?

I also sometimes get shaky and light headed and need sugar. Other times even a hot chocolate at night can bring on what I call a sugar hang over, in that I get the yukky feeling in my tummy, fluffy head, nausea and again general unwellness.

Could anyone share with me any knowledge they have of these illnesses.

Im 5ft 9inch and aim for approx. 1450cals per day.

Since becoming ill, im resetting my nutrition and aiming to eat mainly whole foods with a pre breakfast juice using fruit and veg I have here.

Im really over not being able to do my body step and body pump classes (high calorie burn) maybe I need to switch to strength training and walking for a while?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Replies

  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    You're doing a whole bunch of exercise and not eating enough. If you only eat 1450 and then burn 300-500 a day, then you're not giving yourself what you need to perform. Make sure you are getting enough carbs, too.

    Unless you mean you are setting 1450 as your baseline and then eating back exercise calories? In which case, go see a doctor.
  • FitFroglet
    FitFroglet Posts: 219 Member
    I know nothing of adrenal fatigue, but having had Type 1 diabetes since my teens I know a fair amount about hypoglycaemia.

    I would say the symptoms of a hypo would be far sooner after exertion, after you've used the sugar in your muscles and your body tries to replace it with the sugar in your blood. (all in layman's terms, I'm not a fitness expert or a doctor).
    That said, if I've been weight training my body uses more sugar for the entire time my muscles are aching, but not enough to cause me hypos.

    The first symptom for me is feeling like I'm watching rather than taking part (this is much easier to spot in a social situation).
    Then my brain isn't as sharp as it normally would be.
    Then I get clammy, go pale and sweat profusely irrespective of the temperature
    Then I get shaky.
    After that if I've not eaten, I'm in trouble. I still interact with people around me but I don't feel like it's me as I have no recollection of it afterwards. I generally speak gibberish and have to be force-fed.

    To me, your symptoms seem to come too long after working out to be blood-sugar related, it wouldn't harm to speak to a doctor if you're worried, or you can buy blood-sugar test kits from pharmacies in the UK, I'm sure other countries are similar.

    Hope this helps
  • flexninja
    flexninja Posts: 3
    it sounds like a combination of overexcersising and not enough eating. if you do have hypoglycemia I would suggest carrying glucose tabs with you which when you are feeling shaky can take to stop the shaking. it will help the blood stream in your body by giving you an insulin spike which will bring your blood flow to normal. I was diagnosied with severe hypoglcemaia after starving myself for 8 months. I would excersise and try not to eat anything. my numbers were low I was supposed to be in a coma. however make sure your getting the attequte amount of calories and when you are feeling shaky take a simple sugar. pixy sticks,glucose tabs etc...
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    As you might have read on Google, "adrenal fatigue" isn't an accepted diagnosis by doctors, so you can pretty much scratch that off your list of possibilities.

    It does sound like low blood sugar, but since it happens after running and lasts for days, you might have anemia too. Running can cause anemia in some people, and so can undereating. Whatever the reason, see a doctor if you're not sure what to do.
  • balance_happy_mum
    balance_happy_mum Posts: 25 Member
    Thanks guys, I am going to the drs and getting bloods and glucose tolerance tests done, but it wont be until beginning of august then the follow up in sept :( small country town and not enough doctors im afraid.

    Yes it most probably is over exercising and not enough food, I eat well but obviously need to up it. I have other symtoms that I am also getting checked out and iron and B12 deficiency are two others, so thanks for the heads up on anaemia.

    Cherimoose, yep I know drs cant really test for AF because even though I might have markers for it, they have to be pretty high for the doctors to find it :) I guess I was looking for a reason for why I felt like poop and didn't really want to listen, so back to the drawing board.

    Im going to reset my body by increasing more whole foods, and jimmmer yes you could be right too, I did cut back bread intake, I know other foods are good carb sources but bread and peanut butter was easy to grab before going to the gym and I did cut that back.

    Ummm with the 1450 cals, no I wasn't always eating them back and I feel a bit silly, in that I was doing step classes and runs that were burning 600 and 800cals......silly me. I will plan food more and add extra food to compensate,

    I was hoping someone could give me some info as no one I know can really help

    Thank you everyone for taking the time to answer, I appreciate it. I think I just fell off the wagon big time and went a bit extreme......:( Thankyou xxx
  • balance_happy_mum
    balance_happy_mum Posts: 25 Member
    : I was hoping someone could give me some info as no one I know can really help Thank you for taking the time to answer, I appreciate it.
  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    Hi can anyone give me any feedback on either Adrendal Fatigue or Hypoglycaemia.

    I have found just lately after my runs, a couple days later I feel so ill, with anxiety like symptoms, strange taste in my mouth, feeling lightheaded, not *with it* I feel shaky on my feet and generally unwell.

    When I do my body pump classes I used to be able to squat 20kg in the second track of the class, now Im struggling to do10kg, I feel shaky and like im going to pass out and that I may vomit. Having jelly beans or a protein bar while this is happening seems to help.
    A concerned friend alerted me to adrenal fatigue as she was worried I wasn't eating enough food to fuel all the extra exercise I was doing......she may have been right?

    I also sometimes get shaky and light headed and need sugar. Other times even a hot chocolate at night can bring on what I call a sugar hang over, in that I get the yukky feeling in my tummy, fluffy head, nausea and again general unwellness.

    Could anyone share with me any knowledge they have of these illnesses.

    Im 5ft 9inch and aim for approx. 1450cals per day.

    Since becoming ill, im resetting my nutrition and aiming to eat mainly whole foods with a pre breakfast juice using fruit and veg I have here.

    Im really over not being able to do my body step and body pump classes (high calorie burn) maybe I need to switch to strength training and walking for a while?

    Any advice would be appreciated.

    Adrenal fatigue is produced when your adrenal glands cannot adequately meet the demands of stress.

    This does not sound like adrenal fatigue but hypoglycemia. I have severe hypoglycemia myself.

    First off, you aren't eating enough for the amount of exercise you are doing or how tall you are. You MUST increase calories. You also need to eat back your exercise calories. The main reason you are feeling shaky, dizzy, and lightheaded is because you aren't eating enough.

    You say hot chocolate brings on a "sugar hangover" which tells me you might have something called reactive hypoglycemia. RH occurs shortly after eating (typically within 4 hrs, although for some it can happen within 1 hr).

    My suggestion is to stay away from simple carbohydrates like hot chocolate, cake, cookies, juice, soda, etc. Stick to complex carbs only… i.e. quinoa, brown rice, sweet potatoes, veggies, and fruits. The lower glycemic fruits the better (i.e. berries). NEVER eat carbs alone. Always pair with protein and fat. This will help stabilize your blood sugar.

    DO NOT use candy, juice, or soda to bring up your blood sugar when you are symptomatic. Pure sugar is actually the worst thing you can give a hypoglycemic (unless their blood sugar is lower than 40). When you are experiencing symptoms, eat nuts, peanut butter on ONE slice of multigrain bread, greek yogurt (watch for carb/sugar content), protein bar, protein shake. Remember, protein stabilizes blood sugar.

    When you are exercising, always have a snack before and after. Always keep something on you in case of emergency.

    I would also suggest buying a blood glucose meter from a local pharmacy like CVS. OneTouch Ultra Mini is the most accurate meter on the market. It is $20. Testing your blood sugar will help the doctor diagnose you. They will be able to take the data off your meter when you go to your appointment. When you are experiencing symptoms, test your sugar. If it is below 70, you are experiencing hypoglycemia and should treat it with one of the above foods I mentioned. Don't eat more than 12-15 g of carbs though. Then you will experience a roller-coaster effect in blood sugar (rise, fall, rise, fall) which will make you feel 100x worse.

    For safety precautions, always keep food in your purse/car in case you begin experiencing symptoms while out grocery shopping or even driving.

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