Question:
Anyone had problems with Low Blood Sugar?
About 6 months after surgery, I noticed that I would have attacks (blurred vision, sweating on the back, hot) and if I ignored it, it only got worse. I started checking my blood with a machine here lately and theres a pattern of it dropping as low as 42. Doctor said it should be around 115-120. But if I eat something sweet it goes away. Any information would be great. Thanks again. — DuboisJCJ (posted on February 18, 2006)
February 18, 2006
Hey Christy,
I'm 1yr, 4 months out. I have problems with hypoglycemia too. I would
be sleeping at night & wake up shaking, starving & very sweaty. I
would eat 1 ounce of Kashi Go Lean (13 grams of protein, not the other one
with only 9) and the symptoms would go away. I increased my protein for the
day & these attacks stopped at night. I still get them periodically
during the day but eating protein help a lot. I only eat fruit sugar &
no white, brown, refined ect. I understand that there is a small number of
patients who go through this. I was this way before surgery though.
— ColleenW
February 18, 2006
Hi Christy, I am pre op 5 days to go but I had that also during pregnancy.
It's called Hypoglycemia. My doctor said it was caused from eating sweets.
So, you're really not supposed to ewat sweets to make you feel better. But,
I know what you mean, I did the same thing. My sugar would get low and I
would eat something sweet and it would go away. But dr said that is a no
no. I don't quite understand it myself.~Melissa
— WannaBSlim
February 18, 2006
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG , many of us here have this
issue. Eating sugar doesn't help but for a moment. Shoots the sugar WAY up,
then it fals again later. You might want to pop in and read the files on
reactive hypoglycemia
— vitalady
February 18, 2006
My experience has been that if I eat protien every few hours, I avoid the
"attacks" that you are referring too. Eating sugar is okay in
pinch, but for the long term I think it only adds to the problem. If you
keep your blood sugar steady by eating protien at regular intervals (every
2-3 hours), you should not be having these attacks. Again, just my
experience.
— MissKimberly
February 18, 2006
When your blood sugar is low and you eat something sweet, it will give you
an immediate boost, meaning your blood sugar will rise. The problem with
that is, it also triggers a response in your body to release more insulin.
Once that insulin is released, it can cause your blood sugar to
"bottom out" or get too low again. The best way to raise blood
sugar without triggering that response is to eat protein instead of
something sweet. Protein lasts longer and is better able to stabalize your
blood sugar level. In emergency situations, giving something sweet will
work faster, but should be followed up with the protein. Pre-op this would
be something like peanut butter and crackers. I'm not sure about post-op
yet, but I think anything allowed on the diet that contains protein, low/no
sugar and low carb would be good. Remember, foods with high carbs can also
trigger fluctuations in blood sugar.
— prjones40
February 18, 2006
What everyone is saying here is true. I've never had a problem with this
before and have been tested negative twice for Diabetes. It's kinda like
dumping, if you eat more sugar or carbs than you are supposed to you sugar
levels spike then crash and then I usually eat everything in sight that has
more carbs and sugar just to level it out. Mine occurs about 45 minutes
after eating something very high in carbs or sugar. Just one more reason
to eat healthy.
— boonikki29
February 19, 2006
you are dumping, it occurs later on as u have depleted the stores of
glycogen in your fatty liver, now that they are stores are gone the dumping
syndrome is apparent.
— walter A.
February 19, 2006
I had this before surgery and especially when I was pg. I still get it
almost 4 years after surgery as well. It is hypoglycemia most likely (ask
the doc for sure). I have to keep some food with me at all times because
it strikes anywhere/anytime. I always carry nutrigrain, special K bars,
etc. in my bag. If it is really bad, I have to chug down a bit of soda to
bring it back up. It will especially happen about 1-2 hours after I eat a
high sugar or high carb meal, so I try not to do that at all......I call it
"the crash." I know it can be a pain.
— emilyfink
February 20, 2006
I am 3 years post-op and suffer from this also. It was much worse in my
3rd trimester of pregnancy. Now my levels tend to drop around
ovulation/menstration... I can't figure out the connection. Anyway, here
is a little info...]
Alimentary hypoglycemia is another form of reactive hypoglycemia that
occurs in patients who have had prior upper GI surgical procedures
(gastrectomy, gastrojejunostomy, vagotomy, pyloroplasty) and allows rapid
glucose entry and absorption in the intestine, provoking excessive insulin
response to a meal. This may occur within 1 to 3 hours after a meal. Very
rare cases of idiopathic alimentary hypoglycemia occur in patients who have
not had GI operations.
You can email me at [email protected] if you want.
— dl_roark
February 20, 2006
I am 3 years out and have noticed this for the last couple of years. Once
they found out that my B-12 levels were low and I started to get regular
shots these symptons have gone away.
— C. Zibrowski
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