Gastric Bypass on Channel 8 News!!!

Did anyone see it? ABout low blood sugar....can someone explain this to me...is the news just trying to hype people up by talking about only a fewe cases? They said that after GB people's blood sugar dipped so low that things started happening......confusion etc.... Im sure my family is going to ask me about this and I dont know what to say............... HELP!!!! Thanks so much!!! ~Bethany Hoping to have surgery this fall 260 hey I lost 1 pound this week!!! BMI 41 5'6 30 yr old

Hi Bethany, I can tell you about my experence. I was type 2 diabetic on 2 different medications. After surgery I no longer needed either. I check my blood suger regularly and it always tests pefectly. I guess it depends on the person and that should be all sorted out by your doctor by the time your surgery and hospital stay afterward. I was also on blood pressure meds and am no longer on those either. So for me, the surgery was a blessing. Don't let "Over Reaction 8" scare you. They will always to extremes to make storys interesting. Take care! Julio

Ahhhh Thankyou Julio!!!!! Over Reaction 8 totally cracked me up!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for making me feel better ~Bethany

Hi...I just read this on the Texas Board - it was posted this afternoon - not sure if it will hel*****t... I have heard about this recently as well. July 20, 2005 -- Weight loss surgery is an increasingly popular way to treat obesity, but researchers suggest that the procedure may also lead to an unusual complication. Researchers in this week's New England Journal of Medicine describe six cases in which people were diagnosed with noncancerous tumors in their pancreas following gastric bypass surgery. These tumors caused the pancreas to produce too much insulin, the hormone that processes blood sugar, resulting in symptoms of low blood sugar -- especially following meals. In each case, the symptoms and low blood sugar problems resolved after surgical removal of the affected part of the pancreas. Well I am going to the doctor to get this checked out, now! Hugs... Erika ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Good Luck! Nancy

Nancy, let us know what you find out. What's missing is the study, the control group, the correlation. That is, how many of these folks would have had such a mass without gastric bypass surgery anyway. I'm not a physician but I do try to understand the information as it relates to me. For example, 80% of mucinous cystic tumors occur in females and the majority of the tumors occur in the younger female patient with a median age of 54 years. Increasingly, that's the most popular age bracket for gastric bypass, and women are more likely to have the surgery. Here's what they said in the NEJM: "We describe six patients (five women and one man; median age, 47 years; range, 39 to 54) with postprandial symptoms of neuroglycopenia owing to endogenous hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery." The age group is right in the range, and five of the six were women. I think that the data from this study have to be compared with other studies before any solid conclusions are drawn. It could indicate another possible complication of gastric bypass surgery (who needs another?) or perhaps its another complication of obesity. I wouldn't hold my surgery up because I think the benefits of the surgery outweigh the risks, but it is something else for us to keep an eye on. Thanks for posting, and let us know if you find out anything more. --Steve

I see what your saying Steve, do we know how many people they studied? Was this 6 out of 100 people, 6 out of 1000 people? In other words, what is the risk percentage of this complication? ~Robin 1 month out -34 lbs. to 249 Lovin' Life!

Great points...I am new to this and had seen this other post so I copied it in here. I am in the process of weighing all of these things I see and read to make sure I am doing the right thing. You are obviously very educated on WLS and thinking about all of those factors that you mention makes a lot of sense. I will definitely research anything else I hear. Thanks, Nancy