reactive hypoglycemia
Hello fellow WLS buds....hope everyone is doing well. Does anyone know about or have any info regarding reative hypoglycemia....(maybe Miss skinny Melissa, I know you are such a wealth of knowledge)
I believe I have had 3 episodes of this in the past 2 weeks - aprox. 1 to 1 1/2 hrs after a meal( with a mild dumping episode) I get very disoriented, uncontrollable shaking, and lots of sweating. I believe my pancreas is overproducing insulin after a meal and my sugar bottoms out, which I believe can be dangerous. I was insulin resistant before WLS but not diabetic. Any info would be appriciated, my one yr follow up is on Friday.
Thanks again, Erin
Hey Erin! Just checking in and let me see if I can help some as I also "suffer" from reactive hypglycemia. For me this is worse than any dumping. This is what seems to help for me.
1) eat 5-6 times a day "mini meals" if you don't already. This will be an adjustment for you if you are used to eating 3 times a day but its pretty much necessary. It keeps the body more even with glucose/insulin levels.
2) Google search "low glycemic index" foods. Make sure the choices you are choosing to eat minimally impact blood sugar. This is why I only eat whole grains and low glycemic fruits (if I eat any of those at all) and avoid all white flours, rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, etc. Whole grains impact blood sugar a lot less and not as quickly so you don't have that immediate spike in glucose which makes the pancreas react by dumping too much insulin (for some of us anyway) too quickly and lead you to an attack.
3) Make sure EVERY meal has some protein with it. If I eat an apple or popcorn.. you but I need cheese or peanut butter or something with those items b/c they are a "medium level" glycemic index food and can spike me up and crash me down.
4) Make sure you have a monitor so that when these things happen you can really watch how these foods impact your blood sugar when this happens and take this info to your doctor. Overall, I find that if I watch the foods I am eating that I can control this really well. Basically if its refined white flours, or the others I mentioned above. I will bottom out. Or if I eat real sugar, I may or may not dump (depending on how much I have eaten, only done it three times) but I *WILL* get a hypoglycemic attack.. have each time.. Its nuts. I look at it as a good thing.. keeps me in line.
5) Do a high protein/complex carb snack a couple hours before bed to sustain you and I always keep a SB high protein cereal bar (b/c it is "smaller" has some carbs and protein to it and touch of real sugar like 5 grams I think) in the event you need something to bring your sugar up quickly when out and about. Again, if I am eating "right" this isn't a problem and if I am breaking my meals up through the day.
It can be trying b/c its ONE MORE thing to think about.. but I have just made it my post way of life and now its fine.. make some little changes I said above and I bet you won't have much problem with it anymore.. be sure and get a monitor if you don't have one. B/c when it does drop.. mine go up and and drops, up and drops, up and drops before it finally stabalizes.. can be kinda scary honestly. I hate it when it happens.. low blood sugar is not fun at all.
Let me know if you have questions! Be sure your doc is informed again, of course.
Love ya and uh.. welcome to the low sugar club ;)
Melissa thank you so much. I have done a little more research and I am convinced that is what happened to me. Scared the crap out of me the last time it happened (sat) I really apprciate your advice to me. I will take all of it to heart. I really feel like now I have to eat like a true diabetic, even though I am not one.
I'll let you know how my visit with the dr goes on Friday.
Love ya too sis...Erin
I don't dump or get shaky, I just go straight to sleep. Oatmeal is famous for doing this to me, so I have it very seldom, or/and much smaller doses than the full Lower Sugar packet.
Sometimes too much protein can also do it to me. I just monitor with my glucometer, and then report to the PA. We seem to have fixed my problem, same way Melissa described. Watch the cars, choose the lower glycemic index foods, eat more often, and basically think like a diabetic.
Once you do it for awhile, it becomes second nature.
Not diabetic, insulin resistant due to the PCOS. This was all new for me. Started at about 6 months out. Haven't had a really bad episode in about a month, though on Monday I did a minor one where I ate, and WHAM, was out like a light 30 minutes later. Teach me to lay down to watch a sitcom after eating.
Didn't even realize I'd done it, until I woke up 3 hours later. ROFL
(deactivated member)
on 12/23/07 8:56 pm
on 12/23/07 8:56 pm
On the Grad MB, the following thread talks about RHG... Hope it helps... Ro
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/wls_grads/a,messageboard/action,replies/board_id,5491/ca
t_id,5091/topic_id,3481009/