July 11, 2011

Sensitive

I was thinking today about a side effect of my weight loss that I haven't talked about before. I'm not sure if it's a positive thing or a negative thing, but it has certainly made me learn things the hard way. Once I got down to a "normal" weight, I discovered that I was much more sensitive to things like medications and alcohol.

When I was fat, I could drink beer like water and it took a LOT for me to feel a buzz from it. A bottle of wine? No problem. Now I'm a lightweight drinker. I feel a buzz from a small glass of wine or one beer. I consider this a positive thing, because it means I consume less calories :)


Jello shots at a Christmas party (Dec 2008)
When I was fat and had to take a medication (whatever it may have been for), I never even bothered to pay attention to side effects of the meds because I never got them. Nausea, headaches, dizziness, etc.--all those side effects listed on pretty much every prescription label--never happened to me.

An empty glass ;)
But now, since I've lost the weight, I seem to get all the side effects of medications. It's like my body is very sensitive to anything I put in it now. These antibiotics I'm taking have me completely knocked on my ass. I am SO lethargic and tired. I also was really dizzy and so nauseous I thought I was going to throw up today. It has to be from the antibiotics or the tetanus shot.

What's really scary is that I'm 99% positive that medication is to blame for my fainting and breaking my jaw in November. I was sick for the week prior to the accident, and taking Sudafed and Mucinex DM. I was nauseous and dizzy and ended up fainting and breaking my jaw. In the hospital, the doctors ran every test imaginable to find out the cause of my fainting, and never found anything.

Completely numb mouth, and high on Vicodin and Xanax for my arch bar removal
Then, a few months later, I got sick again. And I was worried about taking the Sudafed, thinking that may have been the culprit, so I just took the Mucinex DM that time. And after about 2 days, I was having extreme dizzy spells and I felt exactly like I did before I fainted.

Surprisingly, it was the Mucinex that was causing the problem!  But my whole point is, when I was fat I took Mucinex DM all the time (I got bronchitis from my kids numerous times, and Mucinex was wonderful for clearing my lungs). I never had a problem with Mucinex until I lost weight. I've noticed this with every medication--it seems so much stronger now that I'm thinner.

And finally, along with alcohol and medications, I am super sensitive to sugar now. In a really bad way. This is the thing that actually scares me the most. When I binge on sugar, I feel fine for about an hour. And then I feel completely sick. It's almost like I can feel sugar rushing through my veins. My heart races for hours, I get horrible anxiety and have panic attacks, and I can't sleep.

My FAVORITE form of sugar!
When I was fat, there was no limit to the amount of sugar I could eat and not feel a thing. Now, I can eat a small amount and feel okay, but when I binge on sugary food, I get all the problems.  You know that feeling when you drink too much alcohol, and you feel like the room is spinning and you just want to get rid of the alcohol from your blood so you can feel "normal" again? That's what a sugar high is like for me now. I wish that I could just pump the sugar from my body and feel "normal" again.

You would think that this would cause me to stop eating sugar. But it's so hard to remember the feeling after the fact (like after drinking too much, and you say you'll never drink again, and then a few weeks later, you DO...). 

Anyway, this is just something I've been thinking about while feeling completely nauseous, achy, irritable, and anxious from this stupid antibiotic.  Hopefully the side effects go away soon.


What is your favorite form of sugar? Mine is obviously cookies with frosting!  ;)


18 comments:

  1. cotton candy.....mmmmmmm.....sugar in it's finest form....hahahaha

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  2. Yes, if I consume something really sugary like fudge or peanut butter cups or straight up frosting (not like I *ever* do that or anything) - I feel the same thing you do. The shakes, the blood rush and all that. But, like you - it doesn't stop me.

    My favorite form of sugar would be cupcakes, probably - with extra frosting.

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  3. Chocolate... i love chocolate... ummm chocolate...

    You are beautiful. You husband is very lucky. Even before you have always been beautiful.

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  4. I love home made cookies and really sweet candies ... gummy bears, etc.

    I am super sensitive to medication so usually pick up something hollistic. I use a lot of lemon juice and honey - cures everything! :o)

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  5. REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUPS ... mmmmm!! I think I could eat hundreds at a time!

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  6. You know oddly, the same thing has happened to me with medicine over the last 3-5 years, but I always attributed it to age. My weight has gone up and down in that time so I dont' think it's related to that, but every year that I get older, I get more sensitive both to medicine and to caffeine. I get the same nauseous and dizzy feeling with many medicines: tylenol, Nyquil or Dayquil, lots of over the counter stuff.

    My worst sugar poison is mini cadbury eggs, the ones that are the hard shell over solid chocolate (not the mini creme eggs). I'm really glad they're only in stores once a year because they are just too good to resist. Chocolate chip cookie dough is another big one.

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  7. I am way sensitive to alcohol right now, and very obese. It doesn't take much for me to feel a buzz...I can't imagine what it will be like when I'm thinner!

    My favorite form of sugar has to be tootsie rolls, and reeses peanut butter anything!

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  8. damn... this does make sense. i remember at my heaviest having to pop double the normal dosage for things like tylenol just to be able to relieve my pain or fever enough.

    i already get buzzed after a drink so when i lose more weight, well damn... im not sure i can continue drinking. lol.

    the feeling the sugar in my veins thing i totally get. i used to feel like that when i havent had a dr pepper in a while. its like the syrup was rushing through my bloodstream and slowing my whole body down. i havent had one since january though and everytime i think about having one i just go back to thinking about how sluggish and run down i would feel when having one again after not having one for awhile

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  9. Ice cream!! :)

    I had a similar reaction to antibiotics a few weeks ago. I've never had a reaction in the past but this last batch made me incredibly lethargic and almost narcoleptic :) I literally could NOT stay awake. I almost called my doctor but finished the prescription and the side effects went away. I am 65 pounds down with only 25 to go so I am assuming the side effects are stronger because I weigh less :)

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  10. AnonymousJuly 11, 2011

    It's weird, I have only lost a little over 50 lbs so far but I am WAY more sensitive to alcohol already! My favorite sugar is definatley the same as yours. I LOVE big, soft cookies with buttercream frosting!!! Yum!

    -Jen (jennygump21)

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  11. Hi There-
    It's long, but if you have some time you might want to check out the U tube lecture 'Sugar: The Bitter Truth' put out by Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology. It is quite illuminating- Basically the biological reaction that your body has from sugar are just like that of alcohol with the exception of the Buzz... Just a fascinating lecture.

    Also thanks so much for the Blog- it really does help in the mornings to keep on track and see that this weight can go in a sensible manner! It's also a relief to see that 2 boys close in age do see to get along - mine are 3yrs & 18 months and it seems like I am losing my mind on an hourly basis!

    ~ Casey (Bellydancehappy)

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  12. Brownies are my favorite! Can't get enough of that dark chocolate.

    And though I haven't lost any weight- just switching my diet to more natural, non-processed foods has caused me to have the same reactions to sugar. I can't even think about eating pixie sticks without getting sick to my stomach. It's like snorting crack to me!

    Caffeine has the same effect that sugar does these days. Ever since I quit drinking coffee and soda, one cup of something with caffeine makes me break into a sweat, my heart starts pounding and I feel so stressed. This happens with just a cup of Chai tea! Can't imagine what a coffee would do these days.

    -Casey (writecasey)

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  13. I haven't drank much for a long time--used to do more of that in my youth. And it took a lot of drinking to get a buzz. I was just wondering the other day if I would get a buzz quicker now that I'm not as fat. (I almost said thinner, but I just can't use that word to apply to myself.) But I still hate to drink my calories, (I like to save them for food which I prefer to alcohol), so I'm probably not going to test it out. Well--maybe on New Year's Eve???
    Favorite sugar? Hmmm, there's so many. It's hard to beat a Snickers bar!

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  14. My favorite sugary treat is ice cream or homemade cookies (snickerdoodles, choc. chippers, or oatmeal). I love candy too much to pick a favorite but mini pb cups and rolos are two of many that I adore. :)

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  15. Sugar is DEFINITELY a drug. It causes reactions in your brain and body like a drug, is addictive and habit forming, makes you crave it (it's very seductive), and is processed in your liver the SAME way as alcohol (through the same bio-chemical pathway, yadda, yadda).

    I definitely know that I'm an addict (oh yeah) and I abstain from it for the most part... but I still have my days. (Can't be 100% perfect all the time - that isn't healthy either) - but my "cheats" are like once every month or two because my reaction to sugar is SO ACUTE. It makes me less interested in normal foods, it triggers severe overeating (of it) and obsessive thoughts, it totally messes my sleep up... and then I feel hungover the next day! Like really.

    Regardless... my favorite sugar-thing would have to be... well, as far as food is concerned: dried figs. I know that they are 'healthy' but they are SUGAR BOMBs. And so very delicious. Turkish ones are probably my favorite... they are so sweet that they actually naturally form crystallized sugar on the outside. Nomnomnom.

    And I'm a fan of pouring maple syrup (the REAL stuff) on everything.

    And I have to include hard cider... Yes it is alcohol, but it is sweet. And amazing.

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  16. On the medicine like Mucinex you might try using a kids dosage and see if it does the same thing. Some medicine is VERY weight sensitive.

    As for the sugar rush and alcohol your pancreas is probably having a difficult time adjusting after eating healthy for so long. When you were heavier and had more binges it was "normal" for you body. Now its like "what the hell are you thinking" lol!

    I think my favorite sugar binge is chocolate chips. I will eat the whole dang bag if I could. My absolute worst food that I crave so badly is french fries..(McDonalds to be exact)

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  17. I find this interesting, because I've also noticed that I can drink a LOT before I feel a buzz. I've always tended to be like that, but especially when I'm fat. I'll be on the look out for medicine side effects now, though. Thank you! -- Joan

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  18. Interesting--I haven't lost a huge amount of weight (yet!), but since I've been cutting sweets out, I've noticed that when I do binge on sugary stuff, I get KILLER headaches. After really big binges I get lightheaded, too, but mostly I've just noticed the headaches....

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