Sugar Sensitive

[Juliecc913]

Is anyone else out there sugar sensitive like me?

[Abear]

Please describe what you mean by "sugar sensitive".

Thanks!

[MauraM]

YES! I just responded to another posting that talked about "insulin resistant" and asked if that is the same thing as being sugar sensitive. I've given up coffee and chocolate to narrow down why I get such bad headaches (I use to add hot chocolate mix to my coffee...(read sugar).

I've abstained from coffee off and on to see if I felt better, and I do. But I think I've determined that its not the coffee, its the sugar from the hot chocolate. I'm still getting headaches after I eat something with white sugar (donuts, pastries, candy coating peanuts, oreo cookies, etc.) And my response time to eating anything with white sugar to when I get a headache has accelerated and the length of the headache is getting longer (now a min. of 3 days).

From my reading, I think it is an excess yeast condition (candida). Candida has been implicated in many health problems, anywhere from food allergies to fibromyaglia to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). My daughter has had CFS symptoms and the only thing that has helped her is being on a yeast-busting regiman. She's also EXTREMELY sugar sensitive, with immediate fatigue and weakness. Products like Candex and Caprylic Acid (related to calcium I believe) have helped her tremendously. And, to clarify, you don't need to have a chronic "female yeast" problem to have candida.

Thanks! I'm anxious to hear more!

MauraM
Is this similar to what you are experiencing?

[Juliecc913]

By sugar sensitive I mean that it seems like the more sugar I eat, the more sugar I want--an uncontrollable craving. I don't get headaches but I get real fuzzy headed (almost a drunk feeling) and I crash and have to sleep for an hour or two.

While I know I feel this way, I still eat the white stuff--I feel like I'm poisoning myself. I am trying to eat protein with each meal and to not eat obvious sugar stuff but it is hard. I want what I want SO bad that it doesn't have to be in the house--I will get in the car and go get it.

Anyone else this weak?

[Abear]

My paternal grandmother was diabetic as well as several cousins. Both my father & older sister are diabetics. My Dad controls his with diet & exercise while my sister is on oral medications. My FIL is diabetic as was my now-deceased MIL. My DH is a diabetic as is two of his sisters.

Anyway, based on my dealings with all of the above diabetics, I'd say that you are a pre-diabetic or in the early staged of diabetes. I would bet that those headaches you get are from an elevated blood sugar. You really need to be evaluated by a physician. In the meantime, try checking your blood sugar when you have those headaches after consuming sugar. I would bet that you will see a connection.

I am the opposite. When I eat sweets, my blood sugar drops and sometimes very quickly! The doctor said my body tends to put out too much insulin when I eat sweets. The doc also said this can be a sign that I will become diabetic later on. So, I try to watch what I eat but sometimes that is difficult!

[Abear]

That fuzzy-headed feeling can be from an elevated blood sugar too!

Sounds to me that you are a sugar addict!

I used to be a severe chocoholic! Then, in 2001, I gave up chocolate for Lent. It was the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life! I wasn't sure I would survive it.......or that my marriage would make it through! Seriously though, it did get ugly a few times. I felt like I was going through the same withdraw that cocaine & heroin addicts go through! I took it one day at a time. Making a trip to the store to get something wasn't so easy for me. The closest grocery store is 7 miles one way. We do have a "Mom & Pop" family owned store that is closer but they close very early and are closed on weekends. Whenever I would be tempted to make that long drive just for a chocolate bar, I'd rationalize just how much that it was going to cost me after adding in the cost of the gas to go get it..also adding in to the fact that I would have failed myself and God.

It was hard, but I made it! I expected to wake up the morning after Easter and eat the first chocolate I saw! But, it didn't happen.....in fact it was 3 days before I finally ate some chocolate. And then it was my niece's birthday cake!

Now the only time I really crave chocolate is when I have PMS. I keep one of those small bags of Hershey Kisses (the ones with just 5 kisses in it) for that week.

Okay, getting to the point I was trying to make........IF you ARE a sugar addict, *please* try to find a way to control your addiction or more than likely, you will become a diabetic later on. And trust me, thats NOT fun!

[Caroline]

Julie, I feel similar to you concerning sugar. I crave it also, but I realize that it has bad effects on me. In addition to the tiredness, I also blame sugar for a constant nasal drip. I'm pretty sure it is due to sugar, but I can't seem to stay away from it long enough to test my theory.
With the tiredness, though, it's like a vicious cycle--I'm tired so I reach for more sugar to give me a boost, then it makes me more tired, so more sugar... it's crazy. I feel for all of you!

[Abear]

An elevated blood sugar can also make you feel tired.

[HeatherLee]

Julie, it's been proven that sugar will affect your body like that. you're not imagining it. The more sugar you eat, the more your body will crave it. I've been fighting with that for years, and have recently found out that I'm hyperglycemic (or is it hypoglycemic, I'm not sure) but anyways, it's the stage before diabetes. If you can tough it out for a week or so with as little sugar as possible, you're body will snap back away from the cravings. This is such a scary issue. I had gestational diabetes with my daughter, and it runs in my family, so I'm bound and determined that I'm going to beat it. I read Dr. Atkins book, and although I don't cut my carbs as drastically as he suggests, he knows what he's talking about, and explains the whole deal in an understandable way. I wrote a post in another thread, that I'm also cutting the refined sugars and carbs down in my kids diets...they're both ADHD and their behaviour changes dramatically when they have refined sugar. Best of luck to all of you who are fighting with this!!

[Juliecc913]

Thanks to all of you who responded. Nice to know I'm not alone and I have been worried about diabetes. I don't know if I'm ready to give it up yet but I am going to try really hard. Thanks again.