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Problems eating carbohydrates / Increased blood pressure
I have a problem eating basic carbohydrates. Rice, oats, potatoes, etc. When I eat rice my blood pressure will elevate a bit from normal, increasing 30-50 points systolic and 10-15 points diastolic. Along with this comes a feeling of tightness and discomfort in my chest and an increase of heart rate. The feeling is bad enough that I go to ER and get checked out. EKG etc & cardiologist says there is no problem with my heart. All of this goes away 3-5 days later. Oats cause the same effect. Wheat causes symptoms of celiac disease.
Typical scenario: eat a small amount of rice and in a few hours blood pressure will elevate with increased heart rate. I will get a tightness in my chest but not angina or heart attack pain. for the duration, I will also have a feeling in my body like there is something wrong. I just do not feel good and this feeling lasts for the duration. After 12-24 hours I will have controllable loose stools during my normal poop schedule. Then 1-2 days of higher than normal BP and HR. On the last day, I will urinate a lot more frequently for a couple of hours. The next day I feel fine.
Potatoes increase BP & heart rate a little bit but not like rice & oats do. With potatoes, I get an irregular heartbeat once in a while. Maybe a couple every hour or so.
This situation has been getting worse over 6-7 years. I've asked several Drs along the way but the only response has been the wheat is probably celiac disease. I've not had a biopsy to confirm celiac. I just stopped eating wheat. Rice allergy test is negative. Blood sugar is OK. What specialty should I see to understand this better?
I am 65 yo male. 5'-8" and 160lbs. I have heart disease. Previous stents. Meds are statins, asprin 81, losartan, and metaprolol (off and on as I have difficulty with this). My normal resting heart rate is usually around 60-65 without beta-blockers. Blood pressure is usually around 115/70 first thing in the morning. I exercise 2-3 times a week on a treadmill or elliptical and some weights, etc. I walk a lot and usually choose stairs over the elevator in my building.
I don't feel this is a heart issue. I think it is the processing of the food triggering the heart and digestive issues. Maybe I'm short on some enzyme needed or something. I don't have a lot of options for complex carbohydrates. What specialty should I see to understand this better? Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.
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@dorisena I think they are recognizing more and more that isolation is causing mental health problems such as depression. It's a very tough situation. Most days I'm OK, but then I will suddenly have a day when I am very depressed.
Keep up the good work with your A1c. It is difficult to deny ourselves the little pleasures of eating an enticing snack. I am trying to not purchase anything that will be overly tempting. Of course my husband has no problem so I do have to purchase and cook things for him. I know this may sound like an odd "addiction", but I LOVE toasty Cheezits! I can't buy them anymore because I know I will eat too many. My husband loves Goldfish so I buy them for him but they aren't as cheesy tasting so less tempting for me.
Our son and daughter get very upset if I mention going ANYWHERE except for walks in an area that is not at all crowded. My son has been maintaining a fairly decent social life doing things outside with his friends but my daughter is very much isolating herself. She and her husband are isolating strongly right now and getting tested so they can visit next week for a few days.
JK
Yes, I am working on the problem. I feel more grateful for my life when I think about the permanently injured veterans who can't do the physical things the rest of us do. But they try anyway, and I admire their courage so much. I need to remember that my abusive life from the past is gone and I am living in very nice circumstances with no debt. I must remember constantly that I am not deprived. I am lonely and can't understand why my friends and acquaintances don't use those cell phones that seem attached to their bodies and ears to call me once in a while to chat. I know my hearing is poor but I am getting my hearing aids checked soon. I guess they presume I have everything I need and that my busy family is taking care of me. Even my busy family thinks I have everything under control. I am competent but not perfect, the same as everyone else. I hate it that I can't volunteer to help others in need as I did in the past.
That's why I come here often, because the teacher in me wants to share the latest facts with others for everyone's benefit. Dorisena
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1 ReactionI do not miss most enticing snacks because I only bake once in a great while then eat one serving and share the rest. I do bake All-Bran muffins for breakfast and give half of the batch to my son who wants them for his breakfast as well. An empty bowel makes me feel more cheerful and energetic. Dorisena
Guys I have this problem where everytime I eat I start yawning excessively and the urge to yawn keeps coming and I don’t know what’s causing it feels like I’m allergic to everything. Last night I had an episode woke up from my sleep I had the urge to yawn and couldn’t take a deep breath so I started shaking and I had to call 911 do you know what could cause it because this started very slow and got really bad to the point where I can’t eat anything or drink when I don’t eat I’m fine please help me.
I read something about this years ago and remember that they suspected it had to do with narcolepsy. Read about that issue, as I think I had the problem and stopped using coffee to stimulate my sleepiness. I also exercised more by walking a couple of miles. I never had shaking, however. It may be associated with low blood sugar because when the numbers get too low, you shake and want to pass out.
When I was in that condition, I drank milk and ate a snack and the blood sugar recovered. I ate six times a day. But I always found it was not helpful to stimulate with coffee or chocolate. I only drank one cup of coffee in the morning for many years. Finally I gave it up because of gall bladder problems and had my gall bladder removed due to many "seeds" they called them. I never went back to coffee.
Coffee aids the bowel movements, so after that I ate dates which made my mornings better. I recommend dried fruit for that problem.
Sometimes it is a matter of tweeking the digestive system and coaxing the body to work more efficiently. Diabetes is a problem where the body in some places does not do its job well. Type one is when a body part quits working altogether so insulin is needed. Dorisena