Eating improves exertion induced fatigue and symptoms of orthostatic intolerance

Recently, I walked for longer than usual. While I was still out of the house, I gradually became more symptomatic: weaker, fatigued, dizzy, etc. After eating a slice of pizza, these symptoms improved significantly despite still being on my feet and walking. I think that is an important observation that points to a problem with energy metabolism.

 

I think I noticed within two minutes that symptoms were beginning to improve.

 

I tend to have more energy after a meal while most healthy people seem to experience the opposite and feel a bit fatigued. Not really a dramatic effect, but perhaps this is similar to what you mean Strategist?

 

sounds more like the natural patterns of m e . when I am walking it can start out hard then ease of for a short period then back to wtf am I doing . this bloody disease likes to mess with you so it is understandable why there is so much conflicting information around this am I feeling better because I did something or is it just one of those small short lasting upturns in the symptom pattern or as often as not no discernible pattern .

 

I find eating (whether i'm hungry or not) improves all my symptoms a little bit within about 5-10mins. it's short lived (lasts 15-30mins) but is surprisingly predictable, especially if I eat sugar.
I've always suspected it of being a psychological/placebo thing for me, since I find food comforting but at the same time my symptoms do not get worse when I need comfort or am feeling low, so maybe not who knows.
The more I eat the better I feel - up to a point, obviously feeling over full is uncomfortable - but what I mean is that for example a 2 slice sandwich has more of an effect than a one slice one.

 

I'm wondering if it was the high sodium content from the pizza? I have recently started electrolytes drinks with BCCA after my power walks and finding improvements so far. I can be upright for longer periods.

 

I'm more sensitive to low glucose. A glucose meal definitely will raise my energy. ME inhibits mitochondria so this makes sense.

 

Eating helps me with maintaining blood sugar during exertion, but anything too much worsens the dysautonomia (presumably from blood going to digestion). Alcohol provides me the best quick improvement and as a bonus improves OI symptoms, temporarily only, of course.

 

You may want to edit the title of your thread. It currently sounds like the thread is about "eating rapidly".

 

Sounds like a blood sugar drop being rectified by food?

 

As far as I know 2 minutes is not time enough to allow useful digestion, apart with some very rapidly digested sugars (dextrose or something similar?).

Conventional wisdom suggests 20 minutes is needed after eating to assess if you are still hungry, so presumably for normal food thats how long it takes for the body to signal the brain it's had enough to get on with processing for the moment.

I would suspect it's the simple act of eating that's responsible.

I would suggest further research, using cake, chocolate, ice cream etc. - using something you really detest as a control.

 

I have been wondering whether the act of eating (e.g. The taste of food in your mouth) stimulates something?

 

What toppings were on the pizza?

 

It does, at least I have seen stuff that says it does for sweet stuff

ETA - and it seems possible it could also cause a release of dopamine (or something of that nature) - as an encouragement to persuade those who've never eaten before that it's a desirable activity from a biological perspective.

 

I suspect. I find this too (without having ME), but the response time is far too quick for it to be real. Eating something sweet in my case can ward off a migraine-like headache, feeling sick, and various other things.

 

A further control could be sugar-free chewing gum to test if it's the action of eating, i.e. chewing and salivating, that has an effect. You sometimes see cricketers chewing gum on the field to settle the nerves so there could be some neurotransmitter thing going on there.

 

It could be a signalling thing. Something like a metabolic switch from "starvation" to "abundant energy".

Conventional wisdom can also be wrong. I'm not strongly convinced that it is wrong but it's a possibility that has to be considered.

I understand that some carbs are digested and absorbed in the mouth already and could in theory very quickly be reaching the brain.

 

That doesn't fit with the pattern of the response. Salt water drinks don't have such a noticable effect and don't pull me out of a symptomatic state. I'm pretty sure there's more salt in many of these drinks that I've consumed than the entire pizza.

 

Something else worth considering might be if eating is changing your breathing patterns. Would likely have some impact if you have OI and tend to breathe excessively, as many of us do without realising it. That could certainly bring about a rapid improvement in symptoms like dizziness.