Food coma and depression

[Progecitor]

I could not find anyone mention this before, but there is a phenomenon called food coma. It may be also called food fatigue I think, although I am not exactly apt in English. I also often have this when I eat a lot at once and especially sugar rich foods. What is interesting that the depression I feel at the time is exactly like the one induced by POIS. When there is a pre-existing POIS depression it can be especially bad with blurry eyes, sleepiness and the inability to focus on anything or to think at all. Coffee can acutely help in both cases, however later this leads to increased POIS activity. POIS depression tends to be the worst in the mornings when I have not eaten for about 10 hours, so it is hard to imagine a connection. It is true though that not eating anything well before going to sleep I can have better mornings, but when I am feeling hungry I just can’t sleep. POIS also makes me ravenous so it is difficult to restrict myself even if I know that it only leads to depression. Another peak for depression is usually after 9 pm in the evening and sometimes it seems so accurate that it could be more related to the diurnal rhythm than to any food I ate before.
Another thing I wanted to emphasize by this relation is that the depression I feel is not an emotional entity as others may believe when I mention it. Thus it may be important to tell this to doctors to avoid any misconceptions and as something that even healthy people could relate to.

[Prospero]

I don't suffer depression, however sometimes after meal (mainly large meals) I do have POIS-like symptoms, specifically tachycardia, fatigue/sleepiness and breathing alteration.

[fidalgo]

I could not find anyone mention this before, but there is a phenomenon called food coma. It may be also called food fatigue I think, although I am not exactly apt in English. I also often have this when I eat a lot at once and especially sugar rich foods. What is interesting that the depression I feel at the time is exactly like the one induced by POIS. When there is a pre-existing POIS depression it can be especially bad with blurry eyes, sleepiness and the inability to focus on anything or to think at all. Coffee can acutely help in both cases, however later this leads to increased POIS activity. POIS depression tends to be the worst in the mornings when I have not eaten for about 10 hours, so it is hard to imagine a connection. It is true though that not eating anything well before going to sleep I can have better mornings, but when I am feeling hungry I just can’t sleep. POIS also makes me ravenous so it is difficult to restrict myself even if I know that it only leads to depression. Another peak for depression is usually after 9 pm in the evening and sometimes it seems so accurate that it could be more related to the diurnal rhythm than to any food I ate before.
Another thing I wanted to emphasize by this relation is that the depression I feel is not an emotional entity as others may believe when I mention it. Thus it may be important to tell this to doctors to avoid any misconceptions and as something that even healthy people could relate to.

In my opinion, all the things you say are POIS symptoms an the majority of people in the forum has the same symtoms.

[demografx]

I could not find anyone mention this before, but…

In my opinion, all the things you say are POIS symptoms an the majority of people in the forum has the same symtoms.

fidalgo, thank you - - once again - - for your most generou$ contribution to our 2022 POIS Research Study!!

Below is your very motivating quote during our difficult fundraising time.

Best!
Demo

I just gave $100.00 for the POIS fund and I will still be donating this amount for each of the next 12 months. I expect that I could give more in the next months, but this amount I guarantee.

I´m giving for POIS because this disease screw up my life and I know that, even that we have chance to descover a cure for our own, our chances will be a lot more with especialist researchs and methods.

I know that a lot of people here don´t have a lot of money but the situation isn't easy for no one. For me, in particular, is more expensive because brasilian coin has a half the value of dolar.
Let´s go people,
let’s donate.

[an-y-more]

 I used to feel significant fatigue/sleepiness after sugary/unhealthy food too, though that was years ago. Maybe gut microbioma that was changed by treatments not once since then is the reason why it's gone now.
 Or maybe it was my treated gastritis from condition called Hiatal hernia- which basically causes upper part of the stomach to not close properly and let it contents go out in the chest (causing heartburn, overall discomfort and corroding esophagus with acid) It can cause malabsorption or let things that should not be there go through gut lining into the blood stream.
 I get this type of acid reflux quite often and when it breaks some point of damage it 1) makes me feel tightness/heaviness in my upper part of the stomach after food, which makes me feel more tired, less energized. 2) Makes me more susceptible to gut allergies after processed foods. 3) I feel hot sensation/burning in stomach area which makes me more alert and anxious during the day and can cause troubles going to sleep (oatmeal without milk 1 hour before sleep helps it significantly)
 Nowadays when this flare happens I manage to get it in control relatively quickly but maybe if I didn't treat it for the long time and consume healthier diet malabsorption and gut lining impairment would get me to that state I was in before.
 TL:DR - gastritis/Hiatal hernia gut impairment causes malabsorption and allergies which causes "physical" depression and problems after eating.

[berlin1984]

Which kind of depression do you have, Progecitor (and others)?

Is it the lethargy fatigue depression?
Or the sadness doom depression?

[Progecitor]

Which kind of depression do you have, Progecitor (and others)?

Is it the lethargy fatigue depression?
Or the sadness doom depression?

It is the type where I have blurry sight, unable to focus or think, which makes me slow, feel tiredness and fatigue and is often accompanied by photophobia. If I am well rested there may be only the blurry sight and inability to think. Of course it affects my mood, but more like I am unable to exert emotions as they take too much of an effort. I would rather call it a perpetual resignation and feeling doomed would also take too much of an effort. There may have been a time when I also felt doomed or saddened, but as the years went on only resignation remained. I also don't feel anxious when I am depressed, it is more of a relaxed state, even so I can get really anxious if I am expected to do things that exceed my capabilities in such a state. Thus depression itself doesn’t make me physiologically anxious. At the same time if I watch a funny series I can still laugh and feel happy momentarily, even though depression is still there. So to put it short it is evidently a kind of fatigue depression and not an emotional one.

Anyway the most important detail I forgot to mention earlier is that using supplements that have anti-depressive effects on POIS also often ameliorate or prevent the development of food coma which makes it likely that the same mechanisms are involved.