Tired After Eating

[twe0708]

Does anyone have this problem? Today I hat oatmill for breakfast and 3 hours later for snack I had an apple with p-nut butter and low fat Yoplait yogurt and now I feel so tired. I have had this before with other foods too. Any thoughts on why this is?

[StephanieM]

I have the same reaction when I eat gluten.. It's like it knocks me out sometimes.. I have such an overwhelmingly desire to sleep that I cannot ignore.. I have 2 kids, and cannot physically stay awake, almost narcoleptic.

I have no idea what the physiology is behind it... Are your oats gluten free? I tried eating oats once, and my reaction was so volatile, it was equivalent to the stomach flu. I haven't ventured near them again out of fear!!

[StephanieM]

one more thing... I am wondering about the whole 'maltodextrin' issue. I too eat peanut butter, but find myself wondering if I'm reacting to it. I know that maltodextrin is supposed to be safe, and that's the only ingredient in my pb that it could be, but I'm starting to wonder about the differing things i've read about that additive..

[Ahorsesoul]

I suggest you cut out anything with oats and drop the yogurt from your diet for two weeks to see if that helps. I can't tolerate oats no matter if they are the gluten free kind. My dd can't tolerate yogurt. Also cut out anything diet or light since a lot of times these items can't be tolerated well or have gluten added to their recipe.

If you haven't been gluten free for long, no dairy or soy until you have healed your intestines.

[twe0708]

  Ahorsesoul said:

I suggest you cut out anything with oats and drop the yogurt from your diet for two weeks to see if that helps. I can't tolerate oats no matter if they are the gluten free kind. My dd can't tolerate yogurt. Also cut out anything diet or light since a lot of times these items can't be tolerated well or have gluten added to their recipe.

If you haven't been gluten free for long, no dairy or soy until you have healed your intestines.

Thanks for the advice. I have only been gluten free for about 8 weeks now, so why no dairy or soy? Also, I am fine after eating oatmill, it's just today after my apple and yogurt did I notice being tired. I can't recall what foods I ate before and then getting tired so will start to keep better track so I can see what's going on.

[CGally81]

Are you still in the "hungry all the time" phase of recovery? Foods seem to make me tired as well, now, to some extent. It's like a new phase. I read some other people say that it happened to them too. If tiredness is the only symptom you have, and not the glutened symptoms such as the constant stomach noises or being mentally fogged and so on, then I'd say you probably weren't glutened. It might be another phase of the recovery process.

[tarnalberry]

  twe0708 said:

Thanks for the advice. I have only been gluten free for about 8 weeks now, so why no dairy or soy? Also, I am fine after eating oatmill, it's just today after my apple and yogurt did I notice being tired. I can't recall what foods I ate before and then getting tired so will start to keep better track so I can see what's going on.

I wouldn't say that you're fine after eating oatmeal. You generally eat it in the morning, eat other foods, and then get quite tired. You cannot rule out oats from causing the problem. Oh, yes, it could certainly be something else, but it could also still be a delayed reaction to oats.

Can you keep a food diary, try to rotate through foods and not repeat them many days in a row, and see if you can track your symptoms to something?

Also, it's really not that uncommon (especially if you have a desk job, imho , to have a mid-morning tiredness).

The last thing that comes to mind - depending on how much oatmeal you're eating, you may only be getting 600* calories by the time you get tired. If this is 600 calories to get you through 6 or 10 hours of being awake (say, wake at 6am, eat lunch at 1pm), you may not be getting enough food. Not only is that far less than half your calories for a day during the most active part of the day (even if it's only the brain, which consumes a lot of energy!), but some people do better with the bulk of their calories coming earlier, rather than later. (And some the opposite, of course.)

*(100 to 200calories from oatmeal, 100 calories from the apple, 200 from the peanut butter, and 100 from the yogurt)

[momxyz]

  tarnalberry said:

Also, it's really not that uncommon (especially if you have a desk job, imho , to have a mid-morning tiredness).

Ditto on that one! From time to time I've had drowsiness after lunch too - really hard not to fall asleep during afternoon meetings! Although it still happens - like today - I have to say that its less frequent since going gluten free.

Addressing the caloric intake issue.... a pattern of eating that I've fallen into, w/o really planning on it, is sort of grazing through the day. Basically eating every 2 to 3 hours... I am not a morning person and sleep til the last possible moment. At home all I have is a full glass of OJ and a full glass of milk, and a cup of joe on the way out the door. A couple of hours later I will have coffee and fruit, sometimes with oatmeal (I know, I know). Then a couple of more hours later a complete lunch packed from home - meat,rice, veggies. More fruit in the afternoon... then home for dinner. I don't know if these eating habits are a contributing factor or not but I have been way less draggy lately.

[BKKloppenborg]

I also get very tired after eating. It drives me nuts tonight I had a coffee with 2 add shots in it to wake my butt up. Worked for about one to two hours only. I just ate those big hot dogs (forgot the name) with some glutten free rice alfreado and I am so tired. Been on the verge of falling asleep for last 3 hours. Plus my damn stomich is a little sore/ annoyed at me for some reason. I think I am going to bed early night guys and gals!

[VioletBlue]

Some people appear to be unable to tolerate oats, even certified gluten free ones. The protein in oats is very similar in structure to the protein or gluten in wheat rye and barley. Some people don't have a problem with oats and some people do. Your intolerance reaction to oats, if you had a problem with them, wouldn't be instant, it could take an hour or more to affect you.

  twe0708 said:

Thanks for the advice. I have only been gluten free for about 8 weeks now, so why no dairy or soy? Also, I am fine after eating oatmill, it's just today after my apple and yogurt did I notice being tired. I can't recall what foods I ate before and then getting tired so will start to keep better track so I can see what's going on.

[vampkestrel]

Your not the only one! I've been gluten free since June and I get extremly sleepy after eating non gluten food.

Turns out in my case after eating my blood pressure plummets downward. I'm now on a low dose of blood pressure meds to keep it balanced and it helps. If you start feeling sleepy you might have someone take you to a pharmacy that has a blood pressure tester and see if it's low. (mine has always been on the low side but after eating it really plummets)

Other symptoms i notice are bad headaches and light headedness in general.

[CGally81]

  vampkestrel said:

Your not the only one! I've been gluten free since June and I get extremly sleepy after eating non gluten food.

Turns out in my case after eating my blood pressure plummets downward. I'm now on a low dose of blood pressure meds to keep it balanced and it helps. If you start feeling sleepy you might have someone take you to a pharmacy that has a blood pressure tester and see if it's low. (mine has always been on the low side but after eating it really plummets)

Other symptoms i notice are bad headaches and light headedness in general.

Interesting that you mention that, along with the headaches and lightheadedness.

For the past week or two I've been having the same problem. Eating ANYTHING would make me very tired, and also give me a headache. But in the past few days, the headaches and tiredness have been getting better.

Want to know what I did differently?

I discovered that the Fudgsicles I'd been eating as a frequent snack contained malt powder. In other words, small amounts of gluten. I cut them out of my diet, and to be safe, the turkey lunch meat I had for breakfast (it's "gluten-free", but the cutting board and knife have risk of cross contamination).

I'm typing this about 15 minutes after having had popcorn, a snack that tends to really fill me up (it's whole grain and full of fiber), and I'm definitely having a bit of a headache and fatigue from it. However, it's MUCH better than it was, say, last Wednesday, where I was so tired I took the day off from work, and lay in bed during a good part of the afternoon after having lunch.

So, it remains to be seen if this problem clears up for me, but it looks like it's getting better. If that's the case, then my advice to you is to look for "hidden gluten" you may be consuming without realizing it. It's possible that "eating makes me sleepy" is another side effect of celiac that showed up recently.