Low batteries, the void in emotional energy

[Eggardon]

Travelling a lot for work I find my batteries get really low. Too low. Diagnosed coeliac four years ago it seems that this year I have found myself in several situations where like a mobile phone my batteries have gone to red! There is nothing left to give. In a social context this becomes very difficult as you have no emotional energy available to interact with people - they are seldom likely to understand the void you have gone into. Any thoughts?

[sassyl]

How often does this happen? Do you get things like aphasia (missing words)? Trembling or sweating? Do you have a little nap and then feel ok again?

If so, I would look into reactive hypoglycemia, which is common amongst coeliacs.

[Eggardon]

Thanks Saasyl will check it out.sounds all too familiar!

[Lynxcat]

Hi Eggerdon,

If you have had coeliac disease for four years, have you during this time had any checks to see whether you may be short of essential vitamins and minerals? This is really best practice as even if your intestines have by now fully healed you could still be suffering from an imbalance of micronutrients. This is where your body has been able to take in, absorb, make use of and store one micronutrient more easily one than another. In some instances they are used by the body in either equal amounts or in specified amounts and by ingesting large quantities of one in may cause a shortage of another. This results in all types of symptoms - so it is best to make sure that your body is absorbing all of them.

Here's a for instance - people with coeliac disease can find themselves short of magnesium; (and it is worth having a medical check-up for this) early symptoms include the following:

"Early signs of magnesium deficiency include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weakness. As magnesium deficiency worsens, numbness, tingling, muscle contractions and cramps, seizures (sudden changes in behaviors caused by excessive electrical activity in the brain), personality changes, abnormal heart rhythms, and coronary spasms can occur [1,3-4]. Severe magnesium deficiency can result in low levels of calcium in the blood (hypocalcemia). Magnesium deficiency is also associated with low levels of potassium in the blood (hypokalemia) [1,19-20].

Many of these symptoms are general and can result from a variety of medical conditions other than magnesium deficiency. It is important to have a physician evaluate health complaints and problems so that appropriate care can be given."

The above information is from the USA Government Health Fact Sheet (which also contains a list of foods high in magnesium) - please see the link below:

ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/M...

[Lynxcat]

A little bit of further information from Celiac.com for persistent fatigue suggests that adrenal testing may be worth considering. Here is the information they provide:

celiac.com/articles/21761/1...

I hope that this is of help - and that your doctor will be able to sort things out for you.

[ianwoowoo]

Hi Eggardon,

I know what you mean, I have been GF for 12 months but still feel crappy. I have days where I am knodding off while driving at 9am after a good night sleep. I struggle to concentrate on work and anything really - I find myself drifting off when people are talking to me which isn't great at work! Do you have problems with depression or mood swings ? I find that sometimes for no ears on I get really low and struggle to pull myself out of it, it causes real problems with the family.

I am having a 12 month check with a Gastro consultant next week so will be asking some more questions.

Sorry I don't have any answers, but there are many informed people on here to suggest things to look into - fingers crossed yo find a solution.

[Eggardon in reply to ianwoowoo]

Thx for feedback. Yes all sounds very familiar. Be interesting to hear what your consultant has to say.

[sassyl]

Ian, please ask your consultant about Reactive Hypoglycemia!!!! You sound just like me the last few years... I couldn't work out what it was for years, and the gastroent was no help. Finally my GP sent me to an endocrinologist who got the RH diagnosed.

My worst falling asleep episodes were after carbohydrate heavy foods, like breakfast cereal, sugary drinks, GF pasta. Had I not seen the endo I would not have linked it to food at all.