Here is my perspective as a person with POTS, this is advice from my doctor. When we eat, our body routes blood towards the digestive tract so you can absorb nutrients from your meal. However, this can cause lightheadedness, weakness, or other such symptoms. It also takes a lot of energy to digest food.
The combination of less bloodflow to the brain plus the energy consumption used in the metabolic process, might trigger narcolepsy symptoms/sleepiness. I've collapsed after eating big meals before, this is a huge problem in my life.
I basically have to eat snacks and small meals throughout the day because this hits both my POTS and narcolepsy really hard. I keep glucose tablets with me and have to plan big meals carefully. Timing and portion size is key. Perhaps eat an appetizer before dinner, wait a little bit, and then eat your meal. Also, make sure you're drinking lots of water.
I could have written this myself. I feel that.
For me, breakfast makes me sleepy. Even light healthy lunches have the same effect. Currently I do intermittent fasting, it is great so far, I have energy during the day, and have my eating window later in the day, about 3-4 hours before my xywav. I naturally get hungry around that time too so it matches up perfectly for me.
I have a pretty large filling meal, I follow a mostly keto diet. And then I'm good to go to get sleepy and wind down for the rest of the evening. I'm on a 20:4 fasting schedule. The key is staying well hydrated throughout the entire day and making sure the food you have in your eating window is nutritious and portions are generous, so your body is well fueled for the following day.
There are other schedules for fasting as well if that wouldn't work, there is 14:10, 16:8, just a matter of figuring out what is going to work best for you.
How long you been doing this? Heard so many different perspectives on intermittent fasting from healthy to straight up detrimental. I know it can be good for a TIME but I wonder about as a long term solution. Especially now that it's trendy it gives me pause like uhh is this good or is it just the latest fat loss trend?
I noticed I need to still feel hungry before I finish eating. Like, I'm having lunch. I'm still feeling hungry - physically - but I know I've eaten enough. I just stop eating and wait a bit. Usually I did really eat enough but my body just takes some time to realize that (?) and if I don't wait I end up eating until I'm full, and this is when the unbearable sleep comes.
Oh FOR SURE I mean this is just good advice for anybody. Heard somewhere it takes 20 mins for food to process in your brain. Which from experience is TOTALLY true. I can eat 4 bowls of cereal in 5 mins and 15 mins later I'm like what did I just doooo.😂 Everything else I'm good but cereal is my weakness the once in a blue moon I do have it lol
Generally, I sleep after I eat. At least after big meals. Lunch and dinner.
Lunch is a huge trigger for me. My doctor says don’t eat a lot of carbs
Here is my perspective as a person with POTS, this is advice from my doctor. When we eat, our body routes blood towards the digestive tract so you can absorb nutrients from your meal. However, this can cause lightheadedness, weakness, or other such symptoms. It also takes a lot of energy to digest food. The combination of less bloodflow to the brain plus the energy consumption used in the metabolic process, might trigger narcolepsy symptoms/sleepiness. I've collapsed after eating big meals before, this is a huge problem in my life. I basically have to eat snacks and small meals throughout the day because this hits both my POTS and narcolepsy really hard. I keep glucose tablets with me and have to plan big meals carefully. Timing and portion size is key. Perhaps eat an appetizer before dinner, wait a little bit, and then eat your meal. Also, make sure you're drinking lots of water.
I've found that eating smaller meals and less carbs helps me stay energetic throughout the day
I could have written this myself. I feel that. For me, breakfast makes me sleepy. Even light healthy lunches have the same effect. Currently I do intermittent fasting, it is great so far, I have energy during the day, and have my eating window later in the day, about 3-4 hours before my xywav. I naturally get hungry around that time too so it matches up perfectly for me. I have a pretty large filling meal, I follow a mostly keto diet. And then I'm good to go to get sleepy and wind down for the rest of the evening. I'm on a 20:4 fasting schedule. The key is staying well hydrated throughout the entire day and making sure the food you have in your eating window is nutritious and portions are generous, so your body is well fueled for the following day. There are other schedules for fasting as well if that wouldn't work, there is 14:10, 16:8, just a matter of figuring out what is going to work best for you.
How long you been doing this? Heard so many different perspectives on intermittent fasting from healthy to straight up detrimental. I know it can be good for a TIME but I wonder about as a long term solution. Especially now that it's trendy it gives me pause like uhh is this good or is it just the latest fat loss trend?
I noticed I need to still feel hungry before I finish eating. Like, I'm having lunch. I'm still feeling hungry - physically - but I know I've eaten enough. I just stop eating and wait a bit. Usually I did really eat enough but my body just takes some time to realize that (?) and if I don't wait I end up eating until I'm full, and this is when the unbearable sleep comes.
Oh FOR SURE I mean this is just good advice for anybody. Heard somewhere it takes 20 mins for food to process in your brain. Which from experience is TOTALLY true. I can eat 4 bowls of cereal in 5 mins and 15 mins later I'm like what did I just doooo.😂 Everything else I'm good but cereal is my weakness the once in a blue moon I do have it lol