Hello. I'm a 40 year old male and have been struggling for as long as I can remember with energy problems and I guess, based on descriptions I've read - hypoglycemia. Doctors find nothing unusual with me though I think they believe I'm somewhat of a hypocondriac which I can understand from their point of view.

I seem to have two main problems. The first is an energy problem - where I will eat food and feel crushing exhaustion within about 10-15 minutes. I can feel it coming on after eating. It's not a good exhaustion - it feels horrible. I can wake up feeling great with lots of energy and eat and within minutes it all "flips". It doesn't seem to be hypoglycemia cause there is no shaking or other symptoms of hypoglycemia - more like a case of instant chronic fatigue - it takes about 6 hours to lift completely. It seems to come from certain kinds of carbs though any kind of carb can set if off if the quantity is sufficient.

With this energy problem, it seems the worst offenders for me are grains and some non grains like - Quinoa, buckwheat, oatmeal and wheat. I originally thought the problem could be gluten (wheat, rye, barley oats) but I got tested and was clear and like I said, some of the worst reactions were from non gluten grains. Potatoes generally don't give me this effect unless I have like say three potatoes - then I will start to slide. But if I have one potato I am ok. Yuca (a root vegetable like potato) is the same. No exhaustion unless I overindulge - which I usually don't. To compare, even 1/5 of a cup of oatmeal or even a few tablespoons of quinoa will bring extreme and inappropriate fatgiue. I find rice extremely constipating so I avoid it though it behaves like potatoes energy wise.

I suspect with these grainy things that the fatigue I get from them has something to do with their starch makeup or because the starch is fragmented into pieces as opposed to any protein based allergy because the effect is pretty fast and I get it from unrelated grains and non grains. What's funny is that potatoes are high GI and don't "crash" me while supposedly lower GI starches are horrible for me. I have read that there is a satiety index and potatoes rated higher than any other food in terms of an ability to satiate hunger. I wonder if there is some sort of connection.

The other problem I have seems to come from fructose. Certain fructose heavy foods give me "hypoglycemia" within 20 minutes - a sweaty, shaky paniky feeling - like exhaustion and wired anxiety at the same time often followed in a half hour by a ravenous hunger- not pleasant. The worst offenders for me are beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, dried fruits like dates and honey - honey crashes me and gets me shaking within minutes (maple syrup causes me no problem compared to honey). Oranges and apples seem to be not that bad if I keep the amount small. It's an odd thing because I can (but don't) drink soda with high fructose corn syrup and get no bad effect - it seems if there is a certain percentage of other sugars (glucose, sucrose) with fructose then it won't crash me. I don't understand it.

Sucrose (table sugar) itself (which is half fructose) gives me no bad reaction even in a relatively large quanity (though I generally avoid sugar). I have noticed in the past that if I added it to the oatmeal it made the oatmeal less crashy. Also, I get less of a crash effect if I eat something like oatmeal later in the day (though it still brings on an "inapproptiate" fatigue effect).

I've often wondered if the grainy things like quinoa and buckwheat, oatmeal and wheat had some relationship to fructose because the initial fatigue is very similar. The difference is the fructose will morph into hypogycemia after the initial fatigue and the grains/starches just go into extended fatigue/exhaustion. I've read about things called "fructans" which are composed of fructose molecules I think but I'm not sure if these grains are composed of that.

I don't believe that I have any serious herditary fructose intolerance because this would have showed up on tests and I would have damaged organs - maybe I have a very mild version of it? Also, i can eat things that have fructose with no bad effects - the problem seems to be the way the fructose is ratio'ed to other sugars - glucose seems to be protective somehow. Maybe the problem is high GI "fructose foods"?

On a separate note - I am "allergic" to dairy/soy (I was as a baby and both still make me feel terrible generally) so I avoid them pretty strictly. I also avoid chocolate - it gives me instant depression.

Because of these grainy and fructose problems I have (and that I can't eat dairy/soy) - I tend to avoid breakfast - which I know is bad - but I feel good when I don't eat compared to when I eat. In fact, I feel very good when I don't eat food for a while. I can definitely fast for periods with no ill effect so I guess I don't have any type of fasting hypoglycemia.

I do have one cup of coffee in the morning - it gives me a high - I know that is bad too - but that's the extent of my caffeine intake. I basically avoid sugar and caffeine. I intend on quitting the coffee totally tomorrow, which shouldn't be too bad cause its just one cup. I have stayed strictly caffeine free for long periods in the past and I still suffer the above effects so I can't blame the caffeine though I do believe it does makes everything generally worse.

What i would like to do, considering my issues here, is devise some sort of breakfast I could eat that won't make me feel so horrible. Potatoes get old very fast. Anyone have any suggestions? It is breakfast that has always screwed me up - that first meal. I don't want to eat protein all the time - I tried a few high protein diets (atkins, loren cordain, paleo, life without bread) and they seem to be fine at first but then I feel almost as bad as when eating my "reactive carbs". Probably because of the fruits. I wish there was some middle ground.

Anyways, thanks for reading and for any advice.