The FastDay Forum

Just wondered if anyone else experiences a lot of nausea the morning after a fast? I have found each morning (I've only done 3 fast days) I feel incredibly sick. I keep heaving and having to stop what i'm doing and sit down - making me late for work on each occasion!

I have breakfast because I'm hungry when I wake and feel I need it, I generally have a poached egg on toast and a peppermint tea...then an hour or so after I have eaten it the sicky feeling passes and I feel fine, but the nausea for those first couple of hours is awful. I'm not pregnant which was my bf's first thought and it does seem to only happen after fast days.

has anyone else experienced this? Or have any idea why it's happening and what may help?

Thank you!

[Debs]

I don't but I'm sure someone will pop up with an answer. In fact I get the opposite and am no longer hungry in the morning. If it is extreme hunger you could try saving a few calories for a snack just before bed. Some people have a low cal hot chic for instance. I used to have a fat free yoghurt until I realised how much sugar was in it!

Same as Debs never feel nauseated even if my fast day is say 350 cals. Might need a medical check to see what is going on. Are you taking any tablets which ought to be taken with food. Sorry nit much help and all the best

Thank you both. I don't know what it is because I don't feel particularly hungry on my fast day at all. Interestingly though i do feel like I'm craving sugar on the fast day although I'm obviously not eating any. I remember reading something about blood sugar plummeting but I thought that shouldn't happen on the 5:2? I don't know...something is definitely going on though! I know that I have been quite malnourished due to my coeliac disease (overweight but malnourished - annoying!) so it may be related to that I guess?

Hi IndieGirl

I used to get the same when I didnt know I was wheat intolerant, a lot of morning nausea. I notice you're coeliac so it could well be a symptom of that. I still get the odd nausea, haven't noticed it any worse on days after fasting but I can't say i've really looked for a connection?

Maybe it's just a residual symptom, i've noticed mine getting better as my poor insides heal!

Wheat free for 19ish months

xx

It may be the type of food you are eating when you wake up. If you have coeliacs you shouldn't be eating ordinary toast, so I hope its gluten free what your eating? (listen to me, I sound like a right old mother hen).

Try changing your morning routine. Have a breakfast of yogurt or fruit or bacon to see if it makes any difference. Not all at once of course. Could you change your tea even. , generally something lighter on your stomach, easier to digest is usually recommended. Or to delay your breakfast till mid morning if you could. I must admit, personally, peppermint tea for breakfast would have me heaving too. But that is a personal observation.

Thank you for your input, it's much appreciated! It's before I eat, between waking and about an hour after I have eaten that i feel ill...eating seems to help.

rebelsue2 - I know that my Coeliac disease does mean my body reacts in all sorts of funny ways so it may well be related. I've been gluten free for 16 month and feel so much better, it's just this nausea which is new and very annoying!

Julieathome: Don't worry, i appreciate a mother hen...but sorry yes, it's gluten free toast - I don't think to make that clear as it's my 'norm' now! I have had different dinners each time on my fast days, (fish and veg, prawn curry with cauliflower rice and a chorizo soup/stew) and a different breakfast each time too (bacon and egg after the first fast, yoghurt and berries after the second and then egg on toast today) the peppermint tea is to help with the nausea as it settles my stomach so well. I don't know, I'll have to keep experimenting I guess but from the second i get out of bed I'm heaving - most attractively, haha!

[Moogie]

Sorry to hear about this unwanted side effect, experimenting does sound to be the best option to resolve it but I'd also consider eating something to settle the tummy before bed - perhaps some yogurt to aid digestion or a small glass of milk? Don't worry about the cals initially, just try to get this issue sorted first, an extra 50-100 cals isn't the end of the world and you certainly don't want to feel sick every day after a fast!

Thanks Moogie - I'll give that a go. You're right, I can't really continue with feeling like this everytime I've fasted so I will have a play around with what I eat and when!

[carorees]

I wonder if you are over-loading your stomach? Are you eating your normal sized breakfast? I used to feel very uncomfortable in the stomach after breakfast on the day after a fast day until I realized I needed to reduce the portion size by about a third. You could try having a very small portion of breakfast and then waiting a couple of hours before eating something more substantial.

I find eggs make me feel queasy anyway, but it's good to have something that is not too high in carbohydrate to break your fast. What about a small handful of nuts? Or something acidic as the nausea might be related to your stomach acid production shutting down during the fast. Maybe half a grapefruit or similar?

It might be low blood sugar. To know for sure you would have to have your blood work done.

To help stabilise your blood sugar eat a hard boiled egg before going to bed e.g. 1 hour (or so) before you go to sleep.

This post is not a diagnosis.

hths.

I agree that it could well be that you're feeling sick due to low sugar levels. I suffer with that but not in the mornings, more like the evening/afternoon time.
I think the suggestion of eating before bed might help you - I had a small amount of low fat greek yoghurt last fast day and it really helped me during the night/in the morning.
Or maybe lack of salt? Perhaps a bouillon (is that how you spell it?) would help before bed.
All the best!

I wondered about sugar levels because I felt queasy after my first fast ( which was monday). Hoping it will pass as my body accepts sugar is going to be cut down from now on.

Thanks so much for all the help and info - there's a wealth of knowledge here isn't there?

Carorees - it's before breakfast that i'm suffering and feel better after eating so i don't think it's an overload. I actually don't normally eat breakfast until later on a 'normal' day but am feeling I need it on the day after a fast because I'm so shaky. I will have a think about what to eat in a morning though.

Thefrog and officemonkey - I'll chat to my consultant about it but the more I think about it it could well be blood sugar related, my bloods sugar has always had a tendency to plummet due to having fairly rubbish intestines and not absorbing properly from the Coeliac. i will definitely try eating something late and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks everyone!

I often feel pukey in the morning when I wake up, only settled by eating something. This was my biggest challenge on fast days. But I find it passes after 30 minutes or so. I once went to the doctors for diagnosis, but once they found out I wasnt pregnant, they couldn't come up with any suggestions.

I think the only solution is as already suggested, experiment with what food relieves it the quickest.

I'm always starving first thing on the day after a fast, so I have an early breakfast.