Question Blood sugar out of control?

[Josh]

Hi, I am a 28 year old male and have been vegan for around 9 months now. At first, I felt incredible and was overloaded with energy. I was happy and everything was great. Now everything is wrong. I screwed up and didn't eat any fats for the first 3 months and this caused gallbladder sludge and gallstones. I feel this is what happened because I had no problems at all until about 3 months after I went vegan. So anytime I eat fat now I can't breath, my back hurts, I get sick, and feel lethargic. But I know I need fats to absorb the nutrients I need. I will say that I haven't tried chia seeds. Also, my blood sugar seems to be haywire. For the longest time I was eating about 6 bananas for breakfast and sometimes about an hour later I would eat a few potatoes, then I would go for a walk. During my walk I always feel exhausted, lethargic, weak, foggy headed and so on. There was even a few times my arms would go numb and I felt like passing out. I figured it was blood sugar issues so in the past couple of days I have cut way back on fruit. This morning I fixed some vegan pancakes made with a few dates, oats, a couple of bananas, and some almond milk and raw unsweetened cocao powder. I also had a few almonds. I felt okay for a while, not great but better. Then I went for my walk again and about half-way through sure enough it seemed like my blood sugar went crazy again and I felt dizzy and lethargic. It my have been the nuts affecting my gallbladder though. It seems like no matter what I do I feel like I am halfway dead and it is quite terrifying and I feel quite anxious a lot of the time, even with daily meditation. I eat enough calories, I make green smoothies(although I haven't determined how they made me feel yet), I eat other veggies and starches, I take vitamins, and I am pretty sure I am getting enough nutrients. So what is happening? I can't go on feeling like this anymore. I don't want to go back to eating meat and couldn't anyways with my gallbladder problems now. I feel like it might be a combination of gallbladder issues and maybe hypoglycemia, but I could be wrong. I am terrified right now and would really like some help/advice, thanks!

 

[Calliegirl]

Hi, I am a 28 year old male and have been vegan for around 9 months now. At first, I felt incredible and was overloaded with energy. I was happy and everything was great. Now everything is wrong. I screwed up and didn't eat any fats for the first 3 months and this caused gallbladder sludge and gallstones. I feel this is what happened because I had no problems at all until about 3 months after I went vegan. So anytime I eat fat now I can't breath, my back hurts, I get sick, and feel lethargic. But I know I need fats to absorb the nutrients I need. I will say that I haven't tried chia seeds. Also, my blood sugar seems to be haywire. For the longest time I was eating about 6 bananas for breakfast and sometimes about an hour later I would eat a few potatoes, then I would go for a walk. During my walk I always feel exhausted, lethargic, weak, foggy headed and so on. There was even a few times my arms would go numb and I felt like passing out. I figured it was blood sugar issues so in the past couple of days I have cut way back on fruit. This morning I fixed some vegan pancakes made with a few dates, oats, a couple of bananas, and some almond milk and raw unsweetened cocao powder. I also had a few almonds. I felt okay for a while, not great but better. Then I went for my walk again and about half-way through sure enough it seemed like my blood sugar went crazy again and I felt dizzy and lethargic. It my have been the nuts affecting my gallbladder though. It seems like no matter what I do I feel like I am halfway dead and it is quite terrifying and I feel quite anxious a lot of the time, even with daily meditation. I eat enough calories, I make green smoothies(although I haven't determined how they made me feel yet), I eat other veggies and starches, I take vitamins, and I am pretty sure I am getting enough nutrients. So what is happening? I can't go on feeling like this anymore. I don't want to go back to eating meat and couldn't anyways with my gallbladder problems now. I feel like it might be a combination of gallbladder issues and maybe hypoglycemia, but I could be wrong. I am terrified right now and would really like some help/advice, thanks!

I strongly suggest you see a doctor and have lab work done at the very least. There could be an underlying problem you don't know about.

Personally, that sounds like an awful lot of potassium to me between the bananas and potatoes, which can be dangerous if it builds up in your blood because of an issue with your kidneys.

Spoiler: Symptoms of high potassium

The symptoms of high potassium depend on the level of the mineral in your blood. You may not experience any symptoms at all. If your potassium levels are high enough to cause symptoms, you may have:

• fatigue or weakness
• a feeling of numbness or tingling
• nausea or vomiting
• problems breathing
• chest pain
• palpitations or skipped heartbeats

High Potassium

Is it possible you're allergic to nuts?

You can get healthy fats from avocados, olives, and soy beans.

Are you taking any kind of B12 supplement? A deficiency can cause fatigue, brain fog, weakness, and numbness.

Spoiler: Symptoms of B12 deficiency

Recognizing a B12 deficiency
Vitamin B12 deficiency can be slow to develop, causing symptoms to appear gradually and intensify over time. It can also come on relatively quickly. Given the array of symptoms it can cause, the condition can be overlooked or confused with something else. Symptoms may include:

• strange sensations, numbness, or tingling in the hands, legs, or feet
• difficulty walking (staggering, balance problems)
• anemia
• a swollen, inflamed tongue
• yellowed skin (jaundice)
• difficulty thinking and reasoning (cognitive difficulties), or memory loss
• paranoia or hallucinations
• weakness
• fatigue

While an experienced physician may be able to detect a vitamin B12 deficiency with a good interview and physical exam, a blood test is needed to confirm the condition.

Vitamin B12 deficiency can be sneaky, harmful - Harvard Health Blog

Also, a vegan diet can often help with type 2 diabetes, but not type 1 where the pancreas stops working.

I know the others who will be along to help will want to know what an average day of meals is like.

Again, I recommend seeing a doctor and getting blood work done. All anyone on here can do is guess as to what they think the problems is, and if there is something going on that needs medical attention, it could get worse during the time you try out what everyone here suggests.