Dysautonomia And Dieting

[Anoj]

Hi, I haven't been here in ages. I'll keep it quick.

I'm trying to get rid of a stubborn 80 pounds that I gained on Zoloft. Unfortunately, every time I diet, I feel faint. This most recent turn has been with Weight Watchers. I don't believe I was doing anything unusual. Eating healthy and restricting calories in a healthy way. It seems that I'm OK until about 3 weeks in. Then, suddenly, I start feeling shaky and faint, and the only remedy is to eat more than is required in order to lose weight. Therefore, I am unable to lose weight. Just when I start making progress, I feel sick and fainty. If I push too hard at that point, I'll end up bedridden. When I have a syncope spell, I need 2 months to recover from dizziness. It's extremely frustrating.

I'm concerned that this is a blood sugar thing. I have always tended to be low. I started checking recently, and my levels are good to low. 70s fasting, 80s between meals and about 100 after a meal. I went to the doc, and he's running blood tests (full metabolic panel), and I'll go in for a 3-hour glucose test. TBH, I'm scared to do that, because I'm afraid I'll faint during the test.

Anyway, he suggested putting me on Metformin after we get the test results. He said this should level me out and help me to lose weight better. He said that people who are hypoglycemic when they are younger tend to develop diabetes later in life. I had hypo problems in my 20s. Now, I'm in my 40s.

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[Katybug]

I gained weight due to meds as well. Due to new food allergy testing results, I have had to cut out all grains including corn, rice, and soy from my diet. I was unable to lose weight on a restricted calorie diet (even as low as 800 calories a day, started at 1200 and gained wt, gained wt even on 800). I have been on the no grain diet for 3 months and have lost 12 pounds. I am losing at about the same rate that I gained, so it is slow but probably healthier for me this way. I can still eat potatoes, so I can still include a starch in my meals. I feel much better eating this way and the weight loss is an added bonus. I am still on some meds that cause wt gain, so I have to wonder if eating things I was allergic to wasn't part of the problem. I didn't have typical food allergy symptoms like itching, swelling, rashes. I had GI symptoms and inflammatory mostly. We are waiting to see if any of my neuro symptoms eventually resolve. I find this "diet" much easier than restrictions calories. I can eat what and when I need to to feel well as long as I make the right food choices. I, too, have always been borderline hypoglycemic and I haven't had any issues with this dietary change. The only time I skipped sticking to the diet was with a nasty intestinal infection I had in January. I did resort to pretzels and crackers for a couple weeks during that episode. I could definitely feel the drag on my body from eating those things again. Good luck on the wt loss. (I gained about 80 lbs too and it has not been pleasant as someone who used to be the skinniest one in the room.) Hang in there!

[targs66]

I can relate - I'm probably not overweight but I really have to watch what I eat to avoid gaining weight (which I can do at the drop of a hat). If I gain a few pounds, I'm pretty diligent about eating less for as long as it takes to get rid of it -- and I'm always surprised at how bad I can feel when I'm eating less. I don't ever fast or go on extreme diets, and my diet is quite healthy, but just limiting quantities can make me shaky very quickly. I may start monitoring my blood sugar to see if I'm hypoglycemic.

I'd be curious to know whether the Metformin makes a difference - keep us posted!

[Anoj]

I went to the endocrinologist and all of my blood sugar tests were normal. not even remotely pre-diabetic -- which is good! however, it doesn't explain the low-blood sugar feeling I get 3 weeks into a diet. he suggested that at 3 weeks in, I may be getting dehydrated because of weight loss causing a ketogenic process to happen, therefore making me dehydrated. honestly, I'm not sure if I buy this explanation, because I've never felt "shaky" and "hungry" from being dehydrated, and food always fixes the feeling.

he prescribed metformin. I took one pill this weekend and it became obvious within 24 hours that I will not be able to tolerate this medication. I'm sensitive to everything. I ended up seriously dizzy, weak and sleeping allllll day.

still obese as ever.

[Katybug]

Sorry you haven't gotten any good answers on this. It's really a hard balance to strike between feeling as though your having lowblood sugar and finding a weight loss program that doesn't aggravate our symptoms. I hope you get it figured out. I feel your frustration and can totally relate.

[Eagle3312]

I am experiencing this and going to weight watchers as well. First I had lost 10 pounds when lightheadedness and exercise intolerance started out of the blue. Then I gained 10 pounds and decided to start weight watchers again. I see increased dizziness with dieting although I am more used to it now and am pushing through.

[Anoj]

I am experiencing this and going to weight watchers as well. First I had lost 10 pounds when lightheadedness and exercise intolerance started out of the blue. Then I gained 10 pounds and decided to start weight watchers again. I see increased dizziness with dieting although I am more used to it now and am pushing through.

EXACTLY what happened to me. i lost about 10 and then gained the 10 back when i started feeling bad. my body just would not let me diet. i'm trying to hop back on the point tracking again. the only thing i can think to try this time is to stay even more hydrated before and try to make my meals as protein-heavy as possible. i'll try to keep you posted, and please let me know how you progress, too!

what's really frustrating is that i know how to lose weigh and WANT to lose weight, but my body doesn't seem to want to let me!

[m@t]

In 2013 I lost around 30kg by maintaining 1600 kcal a day and doing loads of PT and it was after this my dysautonomia symptoms started. Now my symptoms get worse if I do strict diet or exercise and I have put around 10kg back on. Its bloody annoying!

I think the dieting and exercise appears to the sympathetic nervous sytem as a level of stress which irritates it and causes flare ups.

At the moment I am logging what I am eating but I am just eating what I want. This seems to be having a positive effect on my flare up And I am feeling better day on day. I then intend to back this off by a few hundred calories a day over a few weeks slowly and gradually so as to not shock the system. Hopefully this will at least stop the gain and then hopefuly move to a drop.

I know I have been guilty in the past of taking in say 3500kcal a day without realising and doing little activity. I would then start a diet where you drop to 2000kcal or less on weight watchers and throwing in exercise on top which on reflection isn't a good plan.

Not sure if thats any use to you guys?

[Anoj]

it does seem as though any dieting will need to be less extreme than what "normal" people can do, which means slower weight loss.

I would be ok with this theory IF I could actually lose weight on a regular ol' healthy diet. unfortunately, when I just watch what I eat and reduce calories by a moderate amount, I DON'T LOSE ANY WEIGHT! once my body adjusts to the lower calories, it just stays stuck. I've found that in order for me to lose any weight at all, I have to really diet.

I have an idea to diet for 3 weeks then when I start feeling bad, perhaps give myself a week (or so) break, and then try to get back on it. I may have to diet in spurts ...

[m@t]

How much is the moderate calorie drop? Have you tried stepping down to your really dieting calorific levels but reducing at say 200kcal / day / week? I would be interested to see if that helps. I'll report back how my experiments go too :-)