The FastDay Forum

Hi everyone,

I posted a few days ago (in the Negative Side Effects topic) about having tingly hands and low/slow pulse rate during a fast. A bunch of you said it was probably due to electrolyte depletion, so on my last fast (Monday), I consumed an electrolyte drink throughout the day and had some miso soup and was fine.

That same day, I went in for my check-up, and they did an EKG (normal) and some blood work. THe blood work was done after 23 hours of fasting (with the exception of my low-sodium miso soup worth 25 calories at 22 hours).

Everything came back in normal range except for three things: Chloride (just off a smidge), cortisol (stress hormone--and I was not at all surprised by that considering I was feeling VERY anxious), and GLUCOSE, SERUM. This last one is the one that shocked me and actually makes me feel a bit nervous.

The normal levels are supposed to be between 65 and 99, and mine came back at 100. The doctor didn't remark on this, but I thought it very odd. If anything, you'd think after fasting for 23 hours that my blood sugar would be LOW, not HIGH.

I haven't actually talked to my doctor yet about these results. He is supposed to talk to a cardiologist and get back to me. When he calls me, I am going to ask about this blood sugar level.

What are your thoughts, everyone? I was really surprised by this. And I think I've seen in other places that fasting sometimes doesn't do great things for women's insulin resistance. I hope I am not a bad candidate for this lifestyle, because I think it is great in so many respects.

Also, just as a point of interest: When I was a teenager, I had a glucose tolerance test and they found that I was slightly hypoglycemic (but I've since learned that those tests are highly unreliable at best).

Thoughts?

Thanks and I hope everyone in the UK is weathering the storm. Thinking of you!

Melinda

Think you need either @creakypete or @carorees for this.

I am not really a medic but if the normal range is 65-99 and your value is 100 I would say that is normal! High is surely 150ish?
I actually think that fasting produces normal blood sugar levels after a period of a few hours as your body stabilises its breaking down of fat stores to release energy.
Better wait for an expert to answer! xxx

Thanks @rawkaren for the mention - but I am no expert here. I did however take the precaution to check Wikipedia for elevated cortisol and yes, this increases blood sugar via gluconeogenesis (from fat stores) so whatever has caused the high cortisol level (probably fight-or-flight response) has likely upped your glucose level, to enable a quick getaway!

Hopefully Carorees will be here soon to set the record straight, it does not sound serious to me...

Fasting is mildly stressful and it was most likely that which caused the high cortisol, and, as Pete says, the slightly raised glucose. This mild stress is a good thing as it is the stress that helps to strengthen us, but it is also a reason not to over-do fasting (i.e., more than 36 hours at a time), as too much stress is not good.

I suspect that once your body becomes used to fasting it will adapt and the slightly high blood glucose will probably come down. It will be interesting to know what your result might be after you have been 5:2ing for a while. Meantime, a value of 100 is only outside the normal range by such a tiny amount it's nothing to worry about (which is why the doctor didn't comment, I'm sure).

It's probably not wise to have bloodwork done after such a long fast as you really want to know what your blood chemistry is like on a normal day.

Thanks, all, for your replies. the reason for my concern was I read this article a few months back:

http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering ... iterature/

I've been fasting now for 18 weeks, so I feel like I'm not really a newbie here....but maybe my body is just getting used to this new reality.

The doctor only seemed concerned about the cortisol (which I'm not at all, for the reasons Pete and Caroline mention). Anyway, I appreciate your comments.

Melinda

Would this be similar to what Miffy has referred to as "dawn phenomenon"? As I understand it, the blood sugar tends to go up for awhile after a fast (even from dinner to breakfast time). I believe that, to counteract this, she has a small protein snack before she goes to bed. Hopefully she will see this and respond. I've googled "dawn phenomenon", and this seems to be standard.

Everything I've read, heard, seen online, etc. suggests that you should either carb load or eat normally for a few days before blood work instead of fasting or low carbing. Like others have mentioned I wouldn't be too concerned with that number. It would be "high normal" in my opinion. Was this the 1 hour test or the 3 hour test? I think once a couple of years back I got something like 128 and the doctor had me do the longer one. It came back lower than the first one; but still high-normal. This was during a time when I had been regularly low carbing. But, I did the carb loading for a couple of days before the test.

Hi Melinda. I don't know if this is helpful to you. http://www.livestrong.com/article/20744 ... -cortisol/.

Since I have upped my exercise, I have been taking L-Glutamine, but some of the ideas in this article may be more appropriate for you.

Thanks for everyone's replies. I have decided I'm just not going to worry about it, as I feel fit and healthy (and other people tell me I look very healthy, too). BTW--I didn't know anything about the carb-loading or eating normally before getting my blood drawn, although it sort of does stand to reason that you are stressing your body out by fasting, so OF COURSE it is going to show some signs of distress. Fortunately, if we can believe the hype, all of this distress leads to good things in the end.

Thanks, everyone! I'll let you know if I find anything else out.

Melinda

Thanks Melinda for the link to http://www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering ... iterature/
It was very interesting! I think I have become a female rat...lack of sleep,increased energy levels etc. Hmmmmmm
I don't think you should worry, maybe your doctor is just being careful about your cortisol levels.Did you tell him/her that you were eating very low carb?