Why does my husband get shaky a couple of hours after eating pancakes or waffles?

Well the obvious things: has he checked his sugar when this happens? has he had any bloodwork done recently? Is his diet ok? Has he ruled out allergies, like what if he takes a benadryl and then eats pancakes?

I’d guess allergies or diabetes-related. Have him see his doctor.

Is it maple syrup or “pancake syrup”? What’s the main ingredient?

Doesn’t everyone get shaky a couple of hours after eating pancakes or waffles for breakfast? You mention that it doesn’t happen with other sweet foods, but it may be because he’s not treating those other sweet foods as breakfast.

I’ll assume he’s starting the day off with pancakes/waffles, maple syrup, and coffee. This is pure sugar and caffeine. So, after fasting for the night, he’s expecting this carb/sugar load to serve as a meal. A dessert may come after a meal that contains fats and proteins. This may slow the surge in blood glucose and reduce the possibility of a crash. But the pancake/waffle/syrup “meal” is likely happening on an empty stomach.

Just a guess.

My mom has type 2 diabetes and syrup is like sugar on steroids for her. She simply knows she can’t put it in her body without fucking her ketones.

I know it sucks to get bad news but if it is what my mom has it is totally manageable. And a simple blood test will solve the mystery.

I was thinking the same as @DoNotKnowMuch.

Your husband needs some protein in the morning.

Dnkm answer is reasonable

^^As stated above, a healthier breakfast is probably the answer.

If he resists this, try sugar-free syrup once and see what happens. If he doesn’t get the shakes, you have your answer. The product is a lot better than it used to be. In developed countries we spend our lives eating foods that tax our pancreas, the organ that produces insulin. By the time many of is hit forty, the pancreas is tired and can’t handle the load anymore. It’s time to change things, or become a fully blown diabetic.

A warning: Diabetes is no fun. Even though there are insulins one can take to help metabolize carbs such as sugar in order to live a relatively normal life, the end comes gradually and early in the form of kidney and cardiac problems due to the insulin. Best nip this at the bud.

@Dutchess_III: He should be tested for diabetes. They make the person drink a very sugary drink after a fast and then test their blood sugar. That might help solve the mystery.

Guys, this is not new development. It’s happened for as long as he can remember. I think @DoNotKnowMuch knows a little, anyway. Sometimes he’ll have bacon and eggs with a pancake on the side, and it doesn’t happen then. It only seems to be when a pancake is the main breakfast food. Too much sugar (and yes, coffee, ick) first thing in the day is probably the answer.

Overall, he eats OK. It isn’t a diet I’d want for myself, but I’m not a 6 foot, 210 pound male, either.

For those who are assuming pancakes and waffles are a mainstay for breakfast your assumptions are wrong. He has them as a meal only a few of times a year. He had a waffle yesterday, at a restaurant that is famous for their waffles, and when he got shaky he mentioned it, so I thought I’d ask the question.

@DoNotKnowMuch…you asked “Doesn’t everyone get shaky a couple of hours after eating pancakes…” I don’t…I don’t think. Or maybe I just don’t notice. (And I can sit and eat pancakes for hours!)

Next time he goes to the doc (which is too rarely) I’ll try to remember to ask him to mention it. With all the blood work they’ve been doing in the last 8 years, due to blood clots, you’d think they’d check for diabetes just for the hell of it at some point. But IDK.

Update. Hubs said he was checked for diabetes 6 months ago, and also when he was first hospitalized for the deep vein thrombosis in 2008. It was negative.

DVT, that sucks. Factor V? Is he taking a baby aspirin now? My shitty genetics puts me at great risk for that. Yeah~.

DVT? What?

@Dutchess_III Let us travel back in time to about July 22, 2016 and read your next to last post.

From that answer, I’d guess that DVT=deep vein thrombosis. ;-

OIC. No. No baby aspirin @ARE_you_kidding_me. He’s on Warfarin and Atovastiatin (sp). Which has nothing to with pancakes and syrup. That’ why it threw me.

This happens to me also. I am getting tested for diabetes this weekend. It only happens when I have syrup. I’m thinking my pancreas has a harder time breaking down the syrup.