Between Meal Hunger

[nneighbour]

Lately I've noticed that I've been getting very hungry between meals. Yesterday for lunch I hate a cup of chili and a sandwich baggie completely stuffed with raw green veggies. Around 2:30 I had a snack-sized package of mixed nuts. Yet by 5 I was really hungry and when I ate at six I wasn't full until I ate almost 2 plates of food. And was still hungry a couple hours later. My BG is stable and I haven't been going hypo. I manage it with oral meds.

Help! This is getting ridiculous.

[ant hill]

Lately I've noticed that I've been getting very hungry between meals.

This sounds like you basal insulin is not enough. What is your blood sugar readings, High?? :)

[nneighbour]

I'm not on insulin. My pre-meal readings tend to be around 4.5-6.0 I haven't been taking post-meal readings.

[wiseguy]

I'm not on insulin. My pre-meal readings tend to be around 4.5-6.0 I haven't been taking post-meal readings.
You would be better off testing 2 hours after meals. It's the post meal BG spikes that you are trying to avoid. I know the feeling of being hungry between meals. I feel like I'm starving if I don't eat for two hours. Unless I'm out running around I will eat constantly. But only zero carb stuff between meals.

[sweetcheeks]

i do this also on occasion, even tho I eat enough, somtimes im eating low carb and ill do it, then sometimes i eat medium carbs and still does it, i dunno...... i think i got mine pinpointed i think, when i get hungry I test my sugar and its going lower, so I think thats just my body's mechanism to tell me to eat something lol

even if its small.... here lately ill bring two or three things for lunch, ill eat my main course, and hold off on eating the other two things till later.

[Peter Lee]

Lately I've noticed that I've been getting very hungry between meals. Yesterday for lunch I hate a cup of chili and a sandwich baggie completely stuffed with raw green veggies. Around 2:30 I had a snack-sized package of mixed nuts. Yet by 5 I was really hungry and when I ate at six I wasn't full until I ate almost 2 plates of food. And was still hungry a couple hours later. My BG is stable and I haven't been going hypo. I manage it with oral meds.

Help! This is getting ridiculous.

You said in another thread that you are going through a very stressful time and it could simply be that your body needs more energy to cope. If your sugar levels and your weight are stable then why worry?

[princesslinda]

I have times when I am excessively hungry, for no apparent reasons. This can happed within 1/2 hr after eating. I'm not stressed, am eating enough food, but am constantly hungry. I have read that this is a symptom of insulin resistence. Your cells aren't absorbing the insulin your body is making, so they are sending hunger alerts. I've found if I exercise when I am hungry like this, the hunger goes away within about 10 minutes of exercise. Also, the more protein I eat, the less hungry I feel and the longer I stay satiated.

[slipperyelm]

That is intersting that one person thinks that maybe you aren't getting enough insulin, because my impression is that it is an overload of insulin that can cause hunger. Not an overload relative to what is required to get glucose into your body cells and bring down you blood glucose level, but an overload relative to other things that high insulin levels do in the body. Or perhaps it is the peculiar balance of other hormones, either the intestinal ones or pancreatic ones that are causing hunger.

By the way, in using glyburide, you are causing your pancreas to make lots of insulin, so you probably do have an unusally high amount of insulin in your system, unless you've "burned out" the insulin-producing cells. Probably you have not done that, or else you would not still be getting good BG control.

I am sympathetic because hunger seems to be my cross to bear in life. In the last few months it has been only a lightweight cross, real nonetheless. In the past I have had excrutiating, illogical hunger even when BG levels were good.

If you are interested in trying another med, you can inquire about Symlin (synthetic amylin, which is also a pancreatic hormone). One of the affects of Symlin is to help with hunger feelings. Symlin is injected, but I hear some people literally do not feel the injection because the needle is so tiny.

Princesslinda, I'm interested! What kind of exercise quells your hunger? How long must you do it? Do you perhaps find yourself hungry on days when you have not had any good excercise for a spell? I wonder if it is an endorphins thing--the endorphins effect overcoming whatever the heck causes the hunger. Could be another mechanism.

[princesslinda]

When I was diagnosed, I was told I was insulin resistant. Apparently in T2s who have a component of this, we make enough insulin to cover the foods we eat (actually many T2s make MORE insulin than needed and eventually wear out the poor pancreas), but the insulin does not attach to the cells to convert the glucose into energy, so we continue to feel hungry or get hungry more often, eat more and thus cause the pancreas to keep making more even more insulin.

I read this regarding exercise:

"How Does Exercise Affect Blood Glucose Levels?
Normally, insulin is released from the pancreas when the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood increases, such as after eating. Insulin stimulates the liver and muscles to take in excess glucose. This results in a lowering of the blood glucose level.

When exercising, the body needs extra energy or fuel (in the form of glucose) for the exercising muscles. For short bursts of exercise, such as a quick sprint to catch the bus, the muscles and the liver can release stores of glucose for fuel. With continued moderate exercising, however, your muscles take up glucose at almost 20 times the normal rate. This lowers blood glucose levels."

I do both aerobic and strength training as studies have shown that both help lessen the insulin resistence and when the cells can actually GET the insulin and can utilize it for energy, the hunger lessens. When bad hunger strikes, I usually just ride the bike or walk on treadmill for approx. 10 minutes and then it lessens, whether endorphins or better use of insulin, I'm not sure, I just know it helps.

[slipperyelm]

In my case, I do not think the hunger is related to unmet glucose needs within the cells since I can just have eaten and cleared the glucose into the cells, yet still have hunger pop up. It frequently happens 20 minutes to an hour after a meal, which is why I want to connect it to high insulin levels. Also, don't some type 1s get hunger when they've used lot of insulin?

I do exercise routinely both weightlifting and light cardiovascular, but your idea to excercise at the moment of hunger is the idea that has piqued my curiosity.

[ant hill]

I'm not on insulin. My pre-meal readings tend to be around 4.5-6.0 I haven't been taking post-meal readings.

Gee i'd be happy with that :T so keep up the good work!! Do you do anything physical at all??

[ladytaz]

When I was first Dx'd and changed my eating habits I thought I was gonna starve to death, even tho I was eating more than before, and I never felt full. It drove me INSANE!! Finally, after a while (a couple/few months) that subsided, and my body just started to tell me when it was time to eat (about every 4 or so hours) Now, I have days that I don't feel hungry at all, especially if I'm really busy, or just involved with something, and I have to play really close attention to the time, or I'll go all day without eating! :( That doesn't happen too often tho! USUALLY, my body still lets me know every 4 or so hours that it's time to eat!! ;)

Try having more 'snacks' with you during the day. Low carb stuff of course! More raw veggies, or even some of the Sugar Free Pudding, maybe some cheese and crackers (saltines are only 20g carbs for 10 crackers and 1.5 oz of cheddar cheese has only 1g carbs! I often have this at night before bed ;))

Also it is VITAL that you check your BLG 2 hours after you've eaten (that's 2 hours after your first bite of food)!! That is the ONLY way you'll learn how different foods affect your BGL! And how you'll learn what you can and cannot eat - or limit certain foods that you eat! ;)

Good Luck hun, I hope that "hungry" feeling goes away soon! It's NO fun!!

[nneighbour]

Gee i'd be happy with that :T so keep up the good work!! Do you do anything physical at all??

Honestly, I find it hard to get motivated. Now that the weather is nicer, I want to take long exploratory walks, but I've just started to have a reaction to the hormone treatment I'm on, which makes me feel very sick. I know it's just another excuse. I really need to do better.

[Larry H.]

Perhaps another reason that many groups suggest more but smaller meals is that it settles that craving that developes if your eating a bit much, then waiting till the next meal time. Instead of three meals which most of us were used to, they recommend 5 smaller ones.
I know what your talking about, even though I have been on this now for about 5 months and lost quite a bit of weight for me, I am still running into wanting to overdo the snack times. At first I limited myself to a few crackers or nuts as a snack.. But now I find my self having the whole 18 or so carbs worth and then look for some peanuts besides. Actually it seems that the addtion of the peanuts seems to offset something in the carbs of the previous snacks. Added protein I think it might be. I think I am using the better readings as well as not wanting to get much thiner as an excuse.

[labob]

It's not exactly the same thing, but when I gave up smoking, the only thing that helped subdue the cravings was exercise. And so I would go for walks at midnight if I had to (not necessarily recommended) or leave meetings at work to hit the treadmill at odd hours of the day. But exercise did (and does) help. If nothing else, it's a distraction, and it eventually becomes a goal in itself. But in the short term, it was the only thing that kept me from going batsh*t insane.

[fizzgig_sh]

I found that when I was a little hungry I assumed I was losing a little weight. So for me that was a bonus. If I was ravenous when I 'shouldn't' be then I ate a protein-based filler. My thinking was that proteins took longer to digest, hence, less hungry. I also noticed that my extra hunger would kick in a few hours after I had been naughty i.e. ate something I knew I shouldn't i.e. chocolate thus dropping BSL too fast, what I call bouncing. Needless to say that I avoid bouncing.

Exercising ( shouldn't that be a four letter word? ) and eating well keeps me stable. Exercising metabolises the body better so everything is working better. I am only just getting the hang of exercising to improve my D. The bonus to using exercising in this way is I am losing weight this way, too.
Well there you go.
Cheers

[Jedi99]

I am a friend of Jedi99 who is a holistic practitioner. I want to suggest that you take Pancreatin digestive enzymes rather than medication. They are natural and support your body in the digestion of your foods for maximum absorption, so hunger is less.

Kaila

[slipperyelm]

Well, Jedi's Friend, I think I am the only one who has mentioned taking a medicine to help combat hunger. I mentioned taking a synthetic amylin. Amylin, like the pancreatic enzymes you mention, is produced in the pancreas naturally. One of the "purposes" of amylin in the body is to tell your brain that you have eaten sufficiently.

Amlyin is produced in the beta cells of the pancreas. A person who has reduced numbers of beta cells (Type 1, by definiton; Some Type 2 especially as their condition progresses or is treated with sulfonlyureas) may not have [enough] natural amylin triggering the brain to sense that she has been adequately filled by recent eating.

I don't think many type 2 diabetics are concerned with speeding up digestion. We usually prefer a leisurely digestion which introduces glucose into the bloodstream gradually, not quickly. One should not have to digest quickly in order to feel satiated by the meal. I do not want to speed digestion and cause a quick rise in blood sugar levels. A quick rise in blood sugar levels is one of the chief things I try to avoid because of diabetes.