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Sugar Cravings Help

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TheSpydah

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Did anyone else develop uncharacteristic sugar cravings after trauma?

I don't have a big sugar tooth. Sugar actually makes me jittery and greatly disturbs my stomach. Diabetes runs in the family. I am kind of like an athlete (long story), so i should also have extra incentives to eat rationally.

I had a really hard time eating for about a month after the accident. Then I started having sugar cravings. Mostly at nights. I am capable of eating a cup plain brown sugar if I can't find anything else (I don't keep candy etc... anymore for that very reason), and then feel physically and mentally very ill.

I normally don't even like sugary foods. I don't know what to do to stop them.

No medications except zolpidem. Most of my "close" people are geographically very, very far away from me (thousands of miles far), and I don't have anyone who can keep me company and help me with this.

Can anyone understand this? What can I do?
 
Within weeks of experiencing a very, very traumatic incident, I soon after also developed cravings for sugar, as well as an intolerance to various foods I never had issues with consuming before. People who suffer from anxiety, PTSD, adrenal fatigue, and many other disorders which involve chronic stress seem to develop sub clinical hypoglycemia. I recommend searching up some articles online regarding the relationship between hypoglycemia and chronic stress.
 
Ok, I will...

Any thoughts about what I could do to prevent myself from falling into that trap? It is making me physically ill, and yet I seem unable to stop it.

Calling a friend is not an option because of time zones, and I don't have close friends that live within a distance that would allow me to have someone to hang out me to distract me.
 
Ick, raw brown sugar? If you must have sugar, I recommend a good sugarless cereal with banana cut up into it. Or a lowfat yogurt without aspertame (which I believe is a dangerous additive; much worse than natural sugar). I also have a deep family history of type 1 diabetes and was diagnosed myself with hypoglycemia at 6 years old. I also had to go to the ER once because of low blood sugar and an infection. I believe the latest best info is that bad fats are worse for diabetes than sugar. Good fats, like olives and avocados are good. Sugars are okay in moderation (like everything), but bad fats are definitely not good. They'll raise your blood sugar sometimes worse than actual sugars. Think deep-fried stuff and greasy pizzas.

I recommend doing a google search on diabetic diet and Mayo Clinic. It's a really great source. Good luck :-)
 
For the super-bad sugar cravings, a healthy smoothie made with berries, fruits, healthy fats, coconut or almond milk, and a dash of honey do wonders. It gives the body the "sugar" rush it needs while also balancing out the fat/proteins necessary to keep from exacerbating diabetic tendencies, and is chock-full of other healthy nutrients the body is craving. Add cinnamon for extra natural blood sugar-balancing effects. Also, look into getting a magnesium/potassium supplement. Fruits high in natural sugars are also high in these electrolytes, and people under high stress tend to need supplementation there.
 
There are a number of supplements that you can take that will supposedly help with sugar cravings. I think the gist of it is that it's not sugar that our bodies need, rather we are deficient in other things which regulate blood sugar levels in our bloodstream. There are quite a few articles about this on Google if you search for "supplements for sugar cravings".
 
I appreciate your comments, but maybe I was not clear. Let's try to explain it better by giving some breakfast.

I am a fitness professional. Not someone who eats sugar by habit or who needs help eating healthy. I have taught food culture syllabi to college students, too, and I have never eaten at a fast food or at a chain restaurant in my life. I do not eat out, at all, unless I am going fine dining - which obviously isn't very often because that's $300+ a pop. I do not need to satisfy a sugar craving. I am having an abnormal response to sugar that only seems to be associated with trauma, and that it is causing me physical pain, and trust me, I have been eating fruit to "satisfy the craving" and it has absolutely nothing to do with that.

I am asking for help figuring out the connection between a sudden, abnormal shift in feeding habits and trauma. Not for diet advice.

I do not eat candy bars. I actually don't even eat candy, to be honest, because I don't like it. 95% of what I eat on a daily basis is made from scratch and comes without a label, i.e. it's produce, with very minimal amounts of eggs, occasionally fish, very rarely meat (poultry only if I know the person who raised the bird, and if I have seen the space where the bird was raised). The most "processed" things you will find in my kitchen are flour, milk, extra virgin olive oil, sugar, yogurt, maybe pasta, because I buy ingredients, not foods, and I love cooking, and baking. Yes, I consider plain yogurt a processed food. I also consider whole grass fed milk a processed food.

No, I do not eat cereal, unless by unsweetened cereal we mean rice grains, then I will eat that as steamed rice or risotto every now and again. I don't even eat smoothies because I like my fruits as nature intended - whole, raw, and fresh. I don't sweeten any of my foods, but I am an amateur baker and I am studying ice-cream making, and so, yes, there is sugar in the house, but it's not like I am making sweets every week, either, especially since my accident. I eat quite carefully, and I don't mean it in a "foods good for you" internet article kind of scenario. My life partner, whose terrible death is the reason why I am here on this website, was a chef. I have some sense of food and their properties.

As a matter of fact, I had to learn a lot about nutrition because medical staff mislabelled me as "having an eating disorder" (when I was going in complaining because I was losing a lot of weight and had insomnia) and they let my hyperthyroidism go untreated for so long they almost killed me, and then they completely messed up my recovery plan and added a whole other set of problems. And yes, I never fully recovered, mentally or physically, from that episode (even if that's not why I am on this forum).

So nutrition is not the problem here, which is why I am asking for help. For a clean, high-standards eater to suddenly crave just sugar like I do is a massive red flag. Maybe it's a form of self destruction or self harm, or maybe it's something else. I don't know. But no one is helping me figure this out.

I am asking for help understanding why this is happening and how I can stop it. Not for a lecture on how too much sugar is bad, or on how to curb sugar cravings. That's not the problem. The problem is in some thought process that prompts the behaviour, and that I cannot disentangle so as to make the behaviour stop.

My blood sugar levels were tested many many times, by the way. Including doing curves with glucose challenge and all. Before and after the trauma. My functioning is perfectly fine, no trace at all of any abnormalities (yet) in my blood sugar metabolism. I think it is a mental health problem, not a diet or a physiological one.

Hope this clarifies the situation. Sorry I did not give enough information at first.
 
Accident involving pain, by any chance?

Increased pain levels = increased 4th ventricular use (part of the brain that manufactures endorphins) = Increased need for glucose. As that's what your brain runs on.

The more active your brain, not mind but brain / grey matter, the greater it's need for fuel to burn.
 
Ok well people are trying to help.

I gave advice, what I consider to be good advice given that all of my bloodwork is normal, too-----and supplements were able to help me.

It's a great fallacy to think that just because blood work is normal that everything is fine.

The supplements that helped me aren't even tested for in regular blood work and I suspect they aren't even a part of specialized blood work. So how would you know if you're deficient? (You wouldn't.)

If you believe that cravings are a mental health problem then I'm going to steer you in the direction of CBT as that may help you. (Possibly, but since I believe cravings are a very physical thing, I doubt CBTs efficacy in this realm.)

But technically you don't know for sure that nutrition isn't the issue. Trauma stresses our bodies to the brink. Getting the RDA of vitamins/minerals, protein/carbs/fats isn't enough because when our bodies are extremely starved of something, ingesting normal amounts won't cut it------this is why high dose vitamin B and D shots exist, right?

I think that eating disorder forums may be able to help you more as they'd know more mental tricks for conquering cravings.
 
For a clean, high-standards eater to suddenly crave just sugar like I do is a massive red flag.
i wish they understood the brain better, because there probably is a definitive answer that will be arrived at in a decade or so.

Meanwhile, you'll need to do some trial and error. But I wouldn't totally rule out there being a physiological brain-gut connection.

You could see if it's a problem relating to your dopamine levels. Trauma leads to increased stress levels leads to (theories about cortisol) (theories about neurotransmitters) ... so, dopamine.

Sugar raises dopamine temporarily.

Amino acids can help solve that. I'm sure you know more about them than I do - all I can tell you acetyl-l-theanine is the straightest shot for helping dopamine, specifically. So, up that, and see if it helps the situation.

There are studies that have been done, trying to understand the link between mental health issues and carbohydrate cravings in general; the notion that sugar is a form of self-medicating. But none of the studies are very advanced or specific.

I think @Friday and @EveHarrington have very solid points as well, re: pain management and vitamin deficiency.

And CBT is the gold standard option, if it's some kind of self destructive urge. Just, given how you describe yourself and the cravings, I'm more inclined to think there's a biochemical reason.

Have you done any processing work on your trauma?

And how often do you use the zolpidem? Problems are emerging with long-term use, but studies are still fairly general. I wouldn't just discount it's possible role, though.
 
I have been on Zolpidem for close to two months now. I am not very consistent, though. Sometimes I take 5 mg, sometimes 10 mg, sometimes none (if I have drunk or if I have a very early appointment I am scared of missing). I didn't know about any effects with long term use.

I have not brought it up with the therapist yet (not super high on priorities now), but I have been thinking about the relationship between these cravings and the context surrounding the trauma, and not only because my deceased partner was a pastry chef.

About 5 years ago I was severely ill with hyperthyroidism, and doctors said it had gone undiagnosed for so long that thr damage had progressed far enough they were not sure if I would survive another two weeks. My partner at the time (we were going through a break up he thought he could deal by just not talking to me. He was also extremely controlling, and I had had to change my diet to accommodate his intolerances. He would often express his controlling side by makibg me change eating habits) was not all that great and accused me of being just restricting calories for attention. I was actually forcing myself to eat a lot of cake and sweets as a way to keep my weight up. After the diagnosis my fear of dying coupled with my desire to please him and I kept eating more sugar than I needed even if I did not even enjoy it. It eventually went away - when I met the man I have recently lost.

I am wondering if I am repeating just an older pattern here, and if that's the reason why it popped out with the PTSD.
 
Reading between your lines... your cravings would seem to be a reaction to your recent trauma that may also be tapping into some older trauma issues as well that you noted above. Something good for you and your T to work through as from what you wrote medical testing has been done already and your blood sugar/responses seem normal.

Maybe check into what @Friday wrote about as well. I'm not familiar with brain chemistry and PTSD, but it might be worth a little research.

Best to you. VB
 
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