8 years out and suddenly can't tolerate carbs
So I'm 8 years out. I used to dump a lot the first few years and it gradually went away but over the last year I have been havingajor problems with carbs, especially anything with flour. It makes me a have a panic attack, heart races so high and I feel terrible and usually tired afterwards. It seems to be a lot worse when I am stressed and gives me anxiety to the point that I hardly want to eat. It seems like even many foods that are not fatty/carby make me feel slightly off but carbs really get to me. Has anyone else had problems like these so far out?
It is not related to your surgery. Many people who never had weight loss surgery have this reaction to flour and other refined carbs.
Carbs cause your insulin to spike. Then adrenaline and cortisol, the stress hormones, rush in to keep your blood sugar from crashing. Those hormones cause the panic attacks. The best solution is to eat as little as possible of things made with flour, sugar, and other carbs.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
White Dove is on the money!
It is the type of carb, must be limited and any high carb foods... peas, potatoes,beans, butterbeans, corn.
.. if you need a little for balance when you are home begin w/ trial of 1/4 of the portion you would normally eat. The gastric symptoms come before the blood sugar changes... all of those responses are connected to the vagal nerve..
This condition. used to be called relative hypoglycemia..(relative to food ingested, and your body's individual response to the amount you consume.It s now called prediabetes.
.I have had it over 40 years.WLS was 26 years ago/Oct. I am giving you the same warning i was given when my post paradial blood sugar of 19 was found....( this is a blood sugar taken after a -10 hour fast, followed by a heavy carb meal, wait is 2 hours...then blood draw.Make sure you have adequate supervision for this test-are not alone when it is done, loss of consciousness can occur.and is dangerous.)
..Control it now or you will become insulin dependent within 1-5 years... I was a nurse active for 20 years and personally don't want any size needle coming at me.
I eat high protein and max of 30-50 grams carbs a day. every other month take a 20 day round of bitter melon...have been doing this for several years..( this is my maintainence schedule)...it is taken half the time 1x daily, for 3-4 months to initiate and get sugars stable. There s no majic pill to take to stabilize your sugar.. must be dietary... yes meds like glucophage will, for the short term... they also have side effects . Take care of yourself. You can do this.
Veggiewoman,
Sorry if i made it sound complicated. It really is not.Let me see if I can clarify.- The most important thing you can take away from this post is your body's response is individual to you and YOU must to control it or it will control you. here is a few things you can do to improve your stabilization and how i have approached this for over 40 years. I no longer have to check my sugar daily. usually check t every couple weeks. unless i am having symptoms of intolerance
Your tolerances are common for pre-diabetics.
It is not about the food that is on your plate. IT is the amount of total Carbs one consumes.
Everyone's carb trigger is individual. Indvidual tolerances change.You can modify YOUR tolerances over time if you understand your personal limits......After 2 weeks of a very strict diet, I can begin tweaking my carbs for increased energy- without the drop..NOTE: this tweak may include increasing carbs by as little as 3 or 4 Grams a meal, for breakfast.My limit s now about 15-16 grams total carbs for breakfast. If i can get good start with heavy protein meal and sufficient and low carbs my energy level is good. too few cars for me means not enough energy to allow for any increase in the activities of my normal life.. This is MY experience. Yours will vary. this will give you an idea where to start!
Those with pre diabetes indicated by low blood sugars in the morning- or blood sugar drops after ingestion of carbs...have low toleranceof carbs.. So total carbs is key. Beans, lentils have significant protein. The carbs in them is processed with the protein = greater tolerance .
The key to eating a variety of food w/o blood sugar drops is in controlling the size serving= thereby limiting carbs -(to below the trigger thresh-hold of the individual.).
"The trigger thresh hold" is the amount of carbs that causes your body to trigger a greater insulin release than is required to digest the food you have consumed.
ADA serving for rice is 4 oz. cooked.Fruits is 1/2 raw apple.. or 4" banana
A serving of rice for reduced tolerance diets/life plan: 1 tablespoon.....A serving of raw apple -could look like three thin slices topped with teaspoon of peanut or nut butter.or two tbsp of unsweet applesauce. (cooking changes sugars in apples)
Rice: 1 Tbsp ..served w/of a carbed veg like sweet peas or corn it will keep overall carb ingestion low per meal and allow variety of food.
FOR ALL CARBS:Think of new serv, size- as 1/4-1/3 serving marked on package.no more than 2 carb sources per meal.
Tweak your recipes.
If you want that pizza, get a thin crust, and top it with as much protein and as few carbs as you like and tolerate.if you eat and like cheese double it...by adding a second or third kind. reduce sauce...it has added sugars.
. If you want beans and rice.. double the beans in the recipe, and half the rice., keep serving size to 1/3 cup. to check tolerance.
I avoid most sauces/and condiments/dressings including ones marked low fat- they always have added sweetner to balance flavors. ketchup and bbq sauces servings i tolerate are 1 tsp./commercally prepared.
I have other intolerances,and things-to consider,some i did not tolerate well before WLS others..ie... i tolerate only in significantly reduced amounts... now. including msg, nuts,legumes, raw fruit and raw food,all cheeses and most dairy- regular milk,. ..all artificial sweetners....aspartain and ilk, i react to. w/ allergy symptoms. tingling of lips, itching, ..... i can use pyure brand stevia,mung fruit, pure cane sugar..in 1/2 tsp serv. to add to a sauce..etc to balance...whole family uses sugars lightly. sometimes 4 # will last us 8-10 months.
How i found my triggering amounts-of carbs that cause excess insulin release- I had to do a deep dive into my own sugar swings..i was needing to eat every1- 2 hours during the day to keep sugars above 60 and below the point i knew they were dropping.(90, for me.)
to do this ,i had an Eight hour fast( hard for someone whose blood sugars rarely went above 80,, and morning fasting was routinely 34-40) checked blood sugar before i put my feet on floor. and every 15 minutes for 3 hours with a complete paper activity and diet log. after 3 hours i did every 30 min, checks for a total of 6 hours.
I found i could track total carbs, total protein and variances with a paper log and go back and find trends over several months- by keeping as complete a log as possible. I had to find how I responded- to everything i would/could eat.This is how i found many of my intolerances.
I made up a chart... for blood sugar, activity increase with room to place duration of exercise and intensity.( brief intense increases make sugar bottom)carb and protein intake with note portion for measured amounts...think typing paper turned sideways.up to 4 lines..(off college ruled size blocks deep for adding in information.
I would experiment over the next months to find how i tolerated (or did not-) food combinations..This was done at age 21.., 20 yrs. before my gastric surgery!i am 62. Most pre-diabetics become insulin dependent within a few years of that diagnosis. I do use Bitter Melon for improved stabilization, it works for both PCOS and Prediabtes for me- and my Daughter who has both. Both tendancys are heriditary.
I found my carb tolerance was 10 grams total carbs per meal..AT FIRST.. after i had achieved stable sugars for a couple of weeks i was able to determine i could ingest a total of 14 carbs per meal. without a sugar drop below 65.( which I then tolerated well)
I found my sugars had an upper trigger of about 90. anything i ate that would spike my sugar above 90 ...in first 45 min also triggered an insulin release.w/ significant drop-(usually between 45 minutes and 75 minutes.)
The higher the sugar in first 45 minutes of ingestion of carbs, the greater the corresponding blood sugar drop.
I found some foods had to be eliminated longer term - for me: all raw fruit, total carbs for the day of less than 50, and they needed to be taken in consistently and with protein.. My diet became regimented, until I found how my body tolerated each combination.
