Digesting Dinner Feels Like Running A Marathon

[Freaked]

Every **** evening. It's not even the volume of food, it's the type. I can handle something liquid or snacky fine, but proper food of any sort is a struggle. Anything above cereal, really. I start getting a bad POTS attack that lasts like an hour. Basically I get short of breath, weak and my BP drops. Then I sweat and my heart speeds up and my BP goes back up, but I'm so full of adrenaline it feels horrible. It almost feels like my heart is struggling. Then once it's over, I feel a lot better for the rest of the evening, cos I needed the food. I know the symptoms are cos blood is diverted to digestion, but I don't know how to get around the symptoms short of barely eating. Anyone else have these symptoms so bad?

[gofl1]

Do you have any digestive symptoms? I am trying to get the test for SIBO (small bowel overgrowth) to see if that is contributing to my issues.

[Becia]

I have a lot if issues with my stomach and esophagus due to recurrent bouts of refeeding syndrome, according to my gp at least, I have moments where I'm able to get food in me, but it promptly comes back up because my body just can't handle solid foods sometimes, and all that happens if I'm just able to swallow anything. I do much better with fluids, soft foods, but one can only eat so many bananas, lol. Today we went to a Japanese steakhouse where we did the hibachi table (total fun, but total trigger for me, I basically went to the bathroom for the 20 minutes it took to do the clanging and clinking), and while what I had was noodles, stir fried veggies (soft), and he cut my chicken very small and seasoned very bland, I still had struggles swallowing the few bites I ate, and about 20 minutes later, while I was in the middle of lowes getting seeds, I still had to rush off and throw up. Pain intense in stomach, never ending nausea, nothing helped my headache that's for sure.

My housemate pointed out that I love miso soup, and had a cup there. Miso is a total sodium bomb to my body and stomach, and while it was sooooooo good, that is possibly what my stomach started revolting at. I can't handle tons of sodium at all through my digestive system, and I may have just done myself in just enjoying my cup of soup. The same thing happens here at the house if I have something salty to eat or drink too.

It takes so much out of me physically with all the high runs of tachy (today I woke up with it at 125, and it just got higher and higher with everything), the nausea/attempts to swallow food and keep it down, and in the end, the sweats from throwing up and shakes while all of this is affecting me.

[xRobin]

I get some of the same symptoms though no shortness of breath, and some tightness in my chest after meals.

I've found that making sure I'm sitting up for an hour or so afterward and drinking extra fluids is a little helpful but not much. I also avoid any strenuous activity because that makes it worse!

Wish I had better pointers, maybe someone else does.

[lewis]

I also limit my evening meals to cereal specifically gluten free cereal with coconut milk. Thats the only thing I have found that helped.

[MomtoGiuliana]

Yes I used to get these symptoms and still do somewhat. For me too I believe it was/is a blood volume issue. I found that drinking a lot of fluids and eating more frequent, smaller meals that were high in protein helped somewhat.

[DeGenesis]

Gastroparesis? Certainly this is a known complication of dysautonomia and POTS. Cisapride, a prokinetic, was an incredibly effective treatment but it was pulled off of the market because some dim-witted doctors prescribed it with an antibiotic that greatly amplified its QT prolongation effects.

Prucalopride is available in the EU and Canada and it is virtually side-effect free. Low-dose erythromycin is sometimes used as a prokinetic in the US.

Take a look at foods that delay stomach empyting. Fats and indigestable carbohydrates (solulable and insolulable fibre, FODMAPS) greatly slow down digestion.

gofl1, nice. SIBO is often a complication of gastroparesis. I suggest that anyone with digestive issues investigates SIBO seriously.

If you have SIBO, avoid disaccharides like sucrose and lactose in addition to the foods I mentioned above that slow digestion.

[Katybug]

I struggle with dinner too (and my bowel moves too quickly). But any meal between 5-8 pm knocks me down and I have to lay down after. I get pale, weak, nauseous, and feel like I'm going to faint. If I eat earlier or later I'm fine. I have no idea why that time of day is a problem.

[DeGenesis]

Do any of you have a hiatial hernia? There is a connection between the vagus nerve and a hiatial hernia. Eating will increase gas in the colon and temporarily worsen your hernia by pushing up the stomach, potentially further impacting the vagus nerve and causing autonomic dysfunction. Sometimes the vagus nerve can become impinged with a hiatial hernia.

[Poohbear]

I've always had similar issues to what you describe with eating. We are all different so I don't know what the answer is for you but you aren't alone!!

For me, I react much worse with carbs (especially in the morning) and I can't eat much quantity either. I tend to eat an egg in the morning and from there I kinda 'snack' the rest of the day--literally just a few bites of something here and there. I tend to eat my biggest "meal" around 3pm (because I don't work and have the ability to do it that way) and then around 6 I'll have a snack that is high in protein &/or fiber.

I too find that if my blood volume is not up (i.e. not drinking enough water) that my symptoms are worse.

Have you tried adding some cornstarch to a food item in your meal to slow absorption of sugar? That is helpful for some people and if you haven't tried it yet it's something you could think about.

[Katybug]

I do have a hiatal hernia but it still doesn't explain why it's only that time of day that I have a problem.

[lewis]

Do any of you have a hiatial hernia? There is a connection between the vagus nerve and a hiatial hernia. Eating will increase gas in the colon and temporarily worsen your hernia by pushing up the stomach, potentially further impacting the vagus nerve and causing autonomic dysfunction. Sometimes the vagus nerve can become impinged with a hiatial hernia.

I have one of these, however my doctors don't seem to think that it could in any way be causing sympathetic dysfunction and my blood vessels to be dilating. I was very curious about it for awhile. Some of it would make sense since every single time I burp it causes my heart to skip a beat.

[xRobin]

TMI BOWEL WARNING, but, as I understand it gastroparesis is a slow digestive tract. That would suggest to me irregularity - can you have that and be regular? I have episodes of poor appetite which I know is a symptom of gastroparesis but otherwise the pipes are in good working order.

[gofl1]

TMI BOWEL WARNING, but, as I understand it gastroparesis is a slow digestive tract. That would suggest to me irregularity - can you have that and be regular? I have episodes of poor appetite which I know is a symptom of gastroparesis but otherwise the pipes are in good working order.

Gastroparesis can mean paralysis of the stomach itself or of the entire digestive tract. I have slow stomach emptying but normal lower gi transit time.

[xRobin]

Good to know, thanks!

[bunny]

That's interesting... I get the same symptoms after eating, especially weakness, dizziness, and the BP drop. My drs theorized that it's the blood vessels in the digestive tract opening up to exchange nutrients. I try to plan my day so I can take a nap after eating. I figure if I'm not feeling well, I might as well not be awake. Carbs / protein / processed foods seem to be harder for me to digest than fruits & veg. I also seem to do better when "grazing" over a few hours than trying to do a sit-down meal.