Hoping to find an answer

I will be 4 weeks out this Friday, and everything seems to be going good, besides the fact I can't eat much, and chicken and meat is starting to gross me out, anyway, after I am up and walking for about 10 minutes I get very light-headed and feel very faint, the same goes when I'm in the shower for longer than 6 minutes (chilled water and window open), has anyone gone through this and is there a way to stop this from happening? I have to admit, I don't get enough fluids in because I feel full almost all of the time and I don't like to get the "over-filled" feeling. I see Dr. A on Friday, but was wondering if this happened to anyone first hand.

Hi, Stacy! I didn't have a problem with lightheadedness, but was told that feeling faint or lightheaded could be a sign of low blood pressure (was told that by my PCP as signs to watch out for while still on blood pressure meds initially after WLS). Are you on blood pressure meds? You may be getting dehydrated if you're not getting enough fluids in, but I don't know if lightheadedness is a sign of dehydration. I know that one of the signs is urine that's dark. I was told that if you look in the toilet after urinating, the color of the water should be close to that of lemonade. If it looks more like apple juice, you're getting dehydrated. I understand that you don't like the "over-filled" feeling, so don't drink a lot at once...just keep sipping a little at a time. Also, try sugar-free popsicles. They count as fluid, but you're getting just a little in at a time, as they melt in your mouth. Hope you figure out what's causing this soon, Debby

Ok, you are not alone and many, many postops have this problem. You are right about not enough water, but it is also your blood sugar. Some of us needed to put something in us every 2-3 hours to keep blood sugar regulated. Now the big thing that causes it is carbs. I don't know what you are eating, but if it does contain some carbs, your natural insulin is playing games with your body. Try to stick to just protein (and it doesn't mean dense meats if they are bothering you) I did lots of ricotta and cottage cheese and softer meats. You dont' have to go crazy on how much you eat, but just get something in you to help yourself regulate. It takes quite a bit of time for this to go away. I would say I had it for almost 7 months, but that was because I had low bloodsugar and low bloodpressure issues that were tag teaming each other. Since I've gone on maintenance, it's been very rare it will happen to me. Hang in there and watch out for those foods that spike the insulin and don't forge****er, water, water!!!!!! Tee

Hi Stacy, I had this same exact thing after my surgery and my blood pressure was very low. I had to add some sodium to my diet and it helped. I would just have some bouillion broth with some unflavored protein in it and it went away. Please, please try to push your fluids. The first thing that DR Aranow will ask you on Friday is how many gms of protein a day are you getting and how many fluids... Keep sip, sip, sipping all day long. You are healing and still need to flush out the toxins from surgery out of your body along with all of the fat that you are suddenly losing. If plain water hurts to go down, don't fret, that's normal for many people post op. Chrystal Lite was too sweet for me, so I'd just add a little to my water just to give it a bit of taste... Keep walking, that's good for getting rid of toxins too... Hang in there...it gets SO much easier day to day and you'll hardly remember this beginning stage in no time! paula

Thank you all for helping me. I have never had an issue with my blood pressure and when I saw Dr. A 2 weeks ago he said that was fine and I mentioned the light-headedness to him then, he said e wasnt sure what it was, as in his words " you don't look anemic and your BP is fine". I am not on carbs yet, still on stage 4. I am getting 55-60 grams of protein everyday, so I'm sure that's not the problem. I will try to intake more fluids as hard as is it seems to do, and will hopefully get a better answer from Dr. A tomorrow. Thank you guys again for your help!!!