Same here. I’ve become accustomed to only having one meal per day; but it makes me fall asleep pretty quickly which isn’t good for my GERD or my apnea. I’ve tried no carb meals thinking that was the culprit but no difference. Anyone else?

Hello, Cindy-
I’ll spare you the technical cause & effect terminology here. Simplified; people stay awake much better on an empty stomach. Evolution-wise, If we got sleepy when we’re hungry, we’d go to sleep & starve to death, then go extinct. When we eat, our body starts a process of changes that make us sleepy (okay, we’ve eaten, NOW we can go to sleep!)
Since I’ve had narcolepsy I can’t eat much at all- it seems I’m a LOT more sensitive to becoming sleepy after I eat, no doubt due to the fact that my hypothalamus isn’t producing the hypocretin it used to- in my case due to radiation damage. (hypocretin [also called orexin] is the neuropeptide that keeps us awake, which in narcoleptics is lacking in production, or the utilization of it) I used to be a big breakfast eater- no more, unless I want to sleep all day. I have to have very little to eat until evening, then I can have a full meal, but it will knock me out- as you’re finding. I’ve had to eat just enough of a snack to kill my hunger during the day, but nothing like a full meal until later. I hope this helps in some way…? Jeff4

I run, and with longer runs, I bring glucose tablets or maple syrup. I put a Gatorade like mixture in the water in my camelbak. (Dextrose plus a little salt) . Helps level it out.