Sleepiness After Eating

Hi @shelleyr. When I experienced this explained to me that any action drains your energy like a battery causing extreme fatigue/tiredness. Just chewing or swallowing with our bodies efforts to digest is draining. May I suggest you try something liquid no chewing like protein shake to see any difference?🙃 Ive learned how to manage by planning type of food, time of day, what I plan on having to do during day… knowing as the day goes on things will drain me faster🙃 Hope this helped and quickest healing to you🌈

@law59 What a wonderful suggestion! I normally don't eat my first meal of the day until noon, because I know it makes me fall asleep. And I do have more energy early in the day, so I try to get as much done as possible and by noon, I am worn out. It never occurred to me to sip on a liquid protein shake and save my energy that way. It makes perfect sense though. I plan to give it a try right away and hope this small change makes a difference. Thank you so much! ❤

@shelleyr I love to drink Atkin's chocolate drinks. They are kind of pricey, but I can order them off Amazon. They are a meal and low in sugar which I find is helpful. I know that if I eat something with a lot of carbs, I get really sleepy. That, I believe is related to blood sugar. If you like fruit, and have a blender, you can make your own fruit smoothies, using frozen fruit, low fat vanilla yogurt and stevia. Hang in there. You are not alone. I was as healthy as I have ever been and I did not get "vaxed" either and from what I have read, I am glad. I got Covid 2 times in 2022 (January and March). Came through it well and then in June of 2022, I woke up sicker than I have ever been, so sick that I could not really do much of anything. I got labs and my ANA titer was flagged, RA was flagged and a reactivation of Epstein Barr Virus. I have not been well since and fight this SH*T a day at a time. I am on several medications and I also take turmeric, psyllium husks, drink 8 oz of water with Emergen C mixed in. The fatigue and post-exertion malaise are the worst, brain fog, tinnitus and joint pain, bladder pain...I have run the gamut of symptoms over the last 3 years. The fatigue and PEM are the ones that have devastated me and changed my life. I used to run every morning, now, scooping litter boxes, or even basic activities make me feel poisoned the next day. One day at a time is how I have to do this. So grateful for all of you and thank you for sharing. Hang in there!!

yes same
thinking to try eating only once a day. Will try the protein shake first.

I have the same thing. Very soon after I eat, I get so drowsy that I can barely stay awake, and I usually try to take a nap. I figure my body needs rest. I don't know for sure but I think, for me, this sleepiness is part of long Covid autonomic nervous system problems. My autonomic/sympathetic nervous system is out of balance. The parasympathetic nervous system has been called "rest and digest" so I give my body the rest it is asking for, if I can. Hang in there.

@diverdown1 I just turned in another Walmart order and I'm getting some of the Premier Protein Shakes to try. I have been watching my carb intake for years to keep my weight in check, so my problem isn't from carbs. I also stay away from sugar, so it isn't that either. I am more of a naturalist, so I don't take any prescription type medications, but I am taking several vitamin supplements...( B Complex, Vitamin C, Zinc, Probiotics, CoQ10, D3 K2, Magnesium....and I am waiting for L-Arginine to be delivered )....all supposed to help, but nothing has made a big difference. At this point, I'm just trying my best to stay as healthy as possible. The fatigue and PEM have devastated me as well. A friend of mine recently said, "You used to be so bouncy." My "bounce" is completely gone now. I spend a lot of time just resting and literally force myself to do routine chores when I have the energy. And I have to throw this in....with so many people suffering these side effects of Covid, I am so disappointed in our President and JFK Jr. who have not mentioned anything about this at all. I feel like they have turned a blind eye to us. I do have hope that the med beds I've read about will be available to us soon and we can be helped by them. Until then, I'm doing like you and others....just taking it one day at a time. God bless you, my friend. ❤

@quickstepper I recently read a couple of articles about the "rest and digest" theory and the nervous system being out of balance. It makes sense. Sadly, the only recommendation is to sleep when you're tired. That wouldn't be so bad if I could just take a short 30 - 60 minute nap. But my naps are usually 2 - 3 hours and are very deep. To the point that I wake up so groggy that it takes another 2 hours to get my body moving again. By then, the day is almost over. I just get so frustrated with it all. I'm sorry that you suffer the same sleepiness after eating, but it makes me feel better to know others are in this boat with me. Thank you. ❤

@ccbwell I tried eating only one meal a day for a while and all it did was make me feel weaker and more sluggish. I think our bodies need the nourishment on a regular basis. I do limit myself to two meals a day and I make sure I get a lot of protein and veggies. I'm hoping the protein shakes help. If you buy the right ones, you get a lot of additional vitamins and minerals that the body needs to stay healthy. Fingers crossed 🙏

Hi @shelleyr. Hope it helps and may I further suggest if your energy etc isn't improved, pacing is critical for me to I've learned so maybe try to do task then assure rest after before you even “feel” it in any way and it may extend your battery time later in day to accomplish things important to you after 12!🌈

@shelleyr Agreed. This is reminiscent of HIV back in the late 80's and early 90's. There is not the stigma, but there are people who do not even believe this is a real thing. There are millions of us. I did not have much regard for this administration from the get go. I won't discuss here as I do not want to offend anyone. Thank you for your reply. One day at a time!!