my luck ran out...

ok, so I haven't posted about my new "issue" mostly because its all new to me and I've been trying to research as much as I can about it before posting and not having a clue as to what I'm talking about! lol I've developed something called Reactive Hypoglycemia... Its a form of Hypoglycemia that happens to post-ops around the 2 year mark (I guess mine decided to pay an early visit). Ordinarily after you eat, food stays in your stomach for a long period of time and is slowly released into the intestines. After gastric bypass surgery, much of what we eat goes rapidly into the small intestines and there is a rapid absorption of carbohydrates. This rapid absorption is followed by a big insulin release which can drive the blood sugar level very low. Treatment is a dietary adjustment. This includes more frequent meals of protein and complex carbohydrates rather than simple carbohydrates which are broken down rapidly and cause your glucose to spike and bottom. Common symptoms Although symptoms vary according to individuals' sensitivity to the elevation and decline of glucose levels, some of the more common symptoms are: fatigue, dizziness, light-headedness, sweating, headaches, palpitations, depression, nervousness, irritability, tremors, flushing, craving sweets, increased appetite, rhinitis epileptic-type response to rapidly flashing bright lights Treatment To relieve reactive hypoglycemia, some health professionals recommend taking the following steps: Eat small meals and snacks about every 3 hours. Exercise regularly. Eat a variety of foods, including meat, poultry, fish, or non-meat sources of protein, foods such as whole-grain bread, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Choose high-fiber foods and food with a moderate-to-low glycemic index. Avoid or limit foods high in sugar, especially on an empty stomach. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and highly starchy foods such as white rice, potatoes, corn, and popcorn (all very high on the glycemic index). Adding soluble fibers (e.g., 5 to 10 grams of hemicellulose, pectin, or guar gum) to a meal may help to relieve symptoms, especially in dumping syndrome. Thats it in a nutshell... I didn't know what my problem was and apparently neither did my wls dr., an endocronoligist, internal medicine dr and my primary I started looking into my symptoms, and the symptoms here fit me exact. A few weeks ago I "tested" myself with simple carbs every few hours then checked my blood sugar.. uggh it was awful! My blood sugar was dropping between 47-55 and I felt horible. Now, my Dr. has confirmed it and I'm going to meet with the nutritionist to see where we go from here. If I eat every 3 hours I feel great, when the "crash" (what they call it when your blood sugar drops) I'm miserable, shaking, the insulin in my stomach itches (weird huh) sometimes I'm incoherant or feel like I want to pass out.. just not a good thing at all! Peanut butter is the fastest counteraction to it so I carry it everywhere (even in the car and a travel container in my bag ) good thing I like the stuff! So the bad of it, its something I'll have to learn about and live with. It does make me a little nervous eating every 3 hours, but I'm not a big eater so I'll just have to stay cautious of portion sizes. The good... It will make me eat right! If I eat white startches or something with a high glycemic index I'll feel awful and I don't like when it happens so I'll stay away as much as I can. I guess even later in our journey we have to worry about things happening more than just eating more than we could at 2 months out hope all is well with everyone!

at least you know what is wrong and how to correct it. I think eating meals like that speeds up your metabolism. stay healthy

thanks MJ, you do the same

Thank you for providing us with this information. It helps to know what to look for if problems develop. I'm sorry if you had to diagnose this yourself, but it sounds like you are on the right track. Take care, Rick

Thanks Rick and lets keep our fingers crossed no one else comes down the the symptoms, we need to keep our Marchers healthy and happy in our new bodies

Oh my goodness! I didn't know that this could develop! You've got no choice but to be on the straight and narrow now! Good but crappy.

I didn't know we could either, I figured now that we're so far out its a clear road, but maybe not! I'm staying optimistic about it since it could be so much worse, so its trial and error with foods til I find the right combinations. Thats one of the other reasons I tried quinoa, rice and pasta have a high glycemic index (too high for me) by having quinoa I can still enjoy "rice type" meals, just with more protein. Did you say you bought the red quinoa too? You've got me curious now, I'm going to stop at Trader Joes today and see what they have

Oh honey, I'm so sorry! You've been SUCH a perfect post op and great example of how to be successful by following protocol! it doesn't seem fair you should have any complications, especially this far out when we feel so healthy and "normal"! Well at least it sounds pretty manageable, and you do a lot of the good stuff already (eat small meals, exercise...) so hopefully it won't be too much of bump in the road for you. I'm glad you let us know and thanks for the info, helpful to have a reference of symptoms to look for should we experience something like this ourselves. It's great you were able to figure out what it was. It amazes me how often we have to point our DR'S in the right direction and diagnosing ourselves! Way to be proactive! Now you can get to feeling better. Sending you big (((HUGS))) take care!

it looks like sugar will never be on the menu even if i wanted to try it. thats deffinately a good thing since it was such a problem pre-op! I feel great if I eat right and awful if I don't (the cream of chicken soup day it took me a day and a half to recover... what the h@ll was I thinking??) Atleast its something I can control and know if I eat right I'll be ok. It does make me nervous that I have to eat every 3 hours, so I bought another food scale for work so I don't start overdoing it. The doctors kill me, when I was obese the only diagnosis I could get was.. well you need to lose weight.. now that im skinny, their diagnosis is ... they ran a few tests to figure out why my blood pressure was dropping and said.. add salt, the shakey feeling they were all puzzled about. I see the nutritionist again in 2 weeks, I'm interested to see what she'll have to say..

Stylz- I'm sorry you are having this problem. This was recently discussed on the main forums, too. Not sure if you saw the post, it got 79 replies. Its becoming a more "common knowledge" type risk of RNY surgery... more and more people are finding this happening. Here are some posts and profiles of people who have/had issues with this: Reactive Hypoglycemia in RNYGB post-ops: http://meltingmama.typepad.com/wls/hyper_hypoglycemia/index.html http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/inhonorofmarywright/ http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/a,messageboard/action,replies/board_id,4856/cat_id, 4456/topic_id,3440920/ It sounds like you are getting this under control before it gets worse. Some people have crashed their car while driving. Some were told they need part (or all) of their pancreas removed, which they are now finding is not always a good idea (see mary wright profile, she died after doctors removed her whole pancreas). Melting Mama has blogged a lot about her struggles with this post-op. I'm sure you have seen her around the main boards before, she's really active. Anyways, I hope the above links are helpful in learning about this problem.