feeling shaky and anxious after eating! Is this related to thyroid?

[rjerome812]

I noticed the last couple weeks I feel shaky after eating(lunch). Its weird, its almost like im having an anxiety attack. My A1C came back good. Could this be related to thyroid? I also have had a short surge of energy and then exhausted after. This is weird because for a long time I just feel tired and achy and then now i have a couple episodes like this. Oh and I had a cropped salad for lunch. Its always after lunch. My TSH is at 4.17 and i go tomorrow to test T4 and T3. So I will find out if there is an issue with the thyroid.

[ShootingStars]

Hi! That could be a blood glucose issue, since the trigger is food. A sugar crash. In your other post you mentioned having higher than should be glucose levels? When symptoms are connected to eating, it could be reactive hypoglycemia. Since food is the trigger and you have high glucose, it's probably not your thyroid causing the surge/crash. You have Hashimoto's, right? Then you already have a big issue with your thyroid: Hashimoto's. It's two big problems, not just one. Fun! 1) Autoimmune disease, 2) hypothyroid as a result of your body attacking your thyroid. At 4.17, your TSH is getting too high, indicating that your thyroid is getting too slow, which means hypothyroid. With a TSH at that level, don't be surprised to see both or one of your FT3 and FT4 to be too low in the lab range. Too low is under 1/2 range for both. Patients reporting the least symptoms usually have both FT3 and FT4 should be over 1/2 range, with FT3 being closer to 3/4. It would be surprising to have TSH at 4.17 and FT3 and FT4 as high those optimal levels. Some of your other symptoms sound like hypothyroid symptoms. I missed it if you already mentioned this, are you getting your thyroid antibodies tested to see how they compare to previous tests?

I'm not sure what all was in your salad, or what was in your other meals that caused the surge/spike, but certain foods cause a spike glucose, so you get a rush, and then glucose suddenly falls and you get a crash. Meals containing mainly carbohydrates (pasta, vegetables, etc) do this, or meals that do not contain enough protein and fat to keep the glucose at a more constant level.

If your salad was mainly vegetables, then it was mainly carbohydrates, which are quick to digest, so are considered quick energy compared to protein and fat. That's where the spike/crash comes about. Complex carbs (whole grains - gluten free of course :-), rice, sweet potatoes, beans, lentils) are best, because they are digested more slowly, keeping your blood sugar more even, as opposed to quick digesting simple carbs (processed foods, sweets). Either type of carbs cause a spike, then quick decline in blood glucose, but complex carbs less than simple carbs. This is possibly what you've been experiencing. Your body can only process so many carbs at one time. Extra carbs are stored in your liver as glycogen, which is on called upone later for energy. However, your liver can only store so much glycogen, so once it's reached it's limit, excess glycogen is stored as fat.

Protein is slower to digest, taking 3 or 4 hours, and does not cause a much of an increase glucose. Same with fat. Fat is slow to digest and is also long term energy. When combined with a carb-filled meal, fat slows down digestion and helps to keep blood sugar at more of an even level. Same with a carb and protein meal. The ideal meal will have carbs, protein and fat, for sustained energy and no crash.

Do you remember those 40/30/30 Balance protein bars that I think first went on the market back in the 90's? Those bars were designed to keep blood sugar balanced by providing 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat. The same principles apply to any meal if the goal is sustained energy and balance blood sugar. balance.com/40-30-30/

[rjerome812 in reply to ShootingStars]

Thank you, I will look for those bars. I had antibodies done a couple years ago and they were high. Just had T3 and T4 tested today so curious what the results will be. The salad had cabbage, romaine and kale in it. The dressing was a southwest Ranch, so maybe the dressing was high in sugar. It came as a salad kit, I just mixed everything together.

[ShootingStars in reply to rjerome812]

The bars were more of an illustration about the balance of percentages of carbs, protein and fat used to keep glucose levels balanced. I'm not sure about their gluten, soy and dairy content. I don't eat that brand, so there's probably something in it I can't have. If I ever have to buy processed food, I read every single label before purchasing. Allergen and chemical content cancels out about 98% of processed foods that I'd ever buy.

That must be exciting to get your T3 and T4, so then you'll have a more accurate ideas about what's going on! Which T3 and T4 test was it? Total or Free?

A salad of just carbs/veggies, and then ranch dressing would definitely not have any substance or nutritional value to sustain energy and keep glucose from surging, then crashing. It's probably something like 80% carbs, 5% protein, 15% fat. And there is probably gluten or soy in the salad dressing.

Kale and cabbage are both goitrogenic vegetables. Raw goitrogens are worse for your thyroid than those that are cooked. Goitrogens are cruciferous vegetables such as common ones like kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage egg plant. Also sweet potato, plus these fruits and nuts:

smartkitchen.com/assets/kcf...

Here's a similar list that was posted here: d2f7pix2c73koy.cloudfront.n...

Goiter, goitrogen. See the similarity in the words? These foods interfere with iodine (are you taking any iodine supplements?) absorption found in your diet, and can suppress thyroid hormones. It's recommended that anyone with thyroid disease eat goitrogenic foods in moderation and to only eat them cooked. Soy is on this no list too. There are some websites that claim that these foods don't matter. I've even had doctors tell go ahead and eat them. These foods are known goitrogens and the effects of goitrogens on the thyroid is known. Goitrogens are also certain drugs and chemicals.

This is an interesting link. It says it's veterinary, but not all the articles are, but are more general. sciencedirect.com/topics/ve...

I am not going to lie. To eat right when you have Hashimoto's to try to give your thyroid and your body the best chance is not easy. You have to be very mindful of what goes into your body, otherwise a price will be paid. Gluten is the top food to avoid 100%, followed by dairy and soy. Goitrogens, too, but eaten in moderation and only cooked might be ok.

Testing your antibodies (updated TPO and TG) will show if the attack on your body has increased or not, and how much and might aid in explaining some of your symptoms. They've probably gone due to diet and having other illnesses.

[rmd27]

Hi,

I too sometimes suffered from 'internal shaking' after eating in late 2012 until sometime in 2013. At the time when it first occurred, I had been diagnosed as hypothyroid and was on 50 micrograms thyroxine, which I took at night. My tsh was still elevated. In my case, I had eaten breakfast, gone for a 2 km swim and come home. I did not feel tired. I ate a banana and immediately felt what I can only describe as 'internal shaking'. It was a very strange sensation and only stopped when I ate some cheese.

It started happening at night. My doctor said it was nerves, but it was not nerves. I thought it was a blood sugar thing. I wondered if it was due to an adrenal problem. I also had a lot of stress in my life at the time, including my mother being in the latter stages of Alzheimers. I was going into work early, working a full day, then sitting in the dementia ward for hours. Perhaps it was in part stress related.

I found a new doctor in 2013, who tested my blood sugar on many occasions and this was not the problem. He even suggested coming into the surgery when I felt the sensation so that he could take a blood sample, but it never happened at the right time. It settled down. What changed? By then, I was on 100 micrograms of thyroxine and my tsh levels were considered normal. I was now taking the medication in the morning, instead of at night. My mother had died, so I was no longer spending hours sitting in the dementia ward. I cannot say why it started or why it stopped but do believe that it was thyroid related.

I hope you can find a doctor that takes your symptoms seriously. Good luck with the test results.

[rjerome812 in reply to rmd27]

Thank you and sorry about your mom.

[lafrederick]

Did you ever figure out what was causing your issues? This has been happening to me lately