excessively tired after eating...WDYT?

[lia_joy]

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas or suggestions that might help a friend of mine. he's in his early 30s and is often excessively tired, especially after eating. He may have some mood/anxiety issues going on, but I don't know all the specifics. He thinks its 'normal' not to be able to stay awake when tired, even while doing something important (like studying for a big exam, spending time with someone, or even driving a car) He's getting at least 6 hours of sleep every night, and will start nodding off after a meal (while still at the table) when we go out or he comes to our house for dinner. He recently mentioned not being able to drink a glass of water after a meal because he was too full, while everyone at the table ate& drank more than him and even though we were full, it seemed unusual that he couldn't fit more than a sip of water. That lead me to wonder if he's not digesting/processing food properly and that is leading to the fatigue???

Thoughts???

Thanks!
Lia

[tanyalynn]

I've read of people solving this type of problem either by eliminating gluten or all grains, depends on the individual as to which it is. Mood issues can be strongly influenced by consuming gluten. Other folks go lower (or low) carb, which would have a lot less grains and gluten just by its very nature, but how sensitive someone is to each is a guess-and-check thing.

You can get ideas for what to eat, and why these foods can be problems, at wholehealthsource.blogspot.com or mark's daily apple (google for the site, I forget the exact url).

[blessedwithboys]

yes to what tanya said, and also, excessive daytime sleepiness can be due to narcolepsy, which can sometimes go unnoticed until later in life.

[aris99]

Wow! Sounds just like me a yr ago! I could not eat rice w/out feeling narcoleptic! I mean it was so bad I couldn't keep my eyes open! Since then I've taken/am taking a bunch of supplements including iodine, taurine, zinc to name a few and I seem to be able to tolerate small quantities of rice now....not sure which of the supps helped but it is possible to overcome this if it is metabolic (digestion related).

[sbgrace]

To start I think he needs a sleep study including a daytime nap study for narcolepsy. He needs to see a sleep medicine specialist. This is quite dangerous as he could fall asleep driving and he's missing out on a lot of life with that amount of fatigue.

[lia_joy]

Thanks, I'll be passing on your ideas... feel free to keep 'em comming!