Hypoglycemia, Anyone have it?

That's weird that they ignored the topic of hypoglycemia. You would think that they would want people to be aware of all of the potential side effects. I had heard of a few people having episodes but I never had heard of them going from one extreme to another. I don't regret having the surgery even though I having this issue. It's just a stumbling block and I have to learn how to control my episodes better.

I don't know why they ignored the topic.

As to choice of surgery...since I already have have reactive hypoglycemia inside my diabetes and it's pretty severe, I know better than choose a surgery that would have that side effect or even make it worse.

Liz

"So based on the replies so far, I wonder if RNY helps diabetics return to "normal" sugar levels, but (possibly) forces non-diabetics to hypoglycemia? This is a very interesting conversation."


I'm pretty sure it's the loss of the pylorus that's the culprit here, since the DS is even better than the RNY at resolving Type II diabetes, but we see very few DSers with post-op reactive hypoglycemia.

I was diabetic before surgery and now I have reactive hypoglycemia. I know about it from my friends here. I drop into the 30's all the time now...once or twice a week. It usually happens in the evenings.  When I was taking meds for diabetes and my blood sugar dropped into the 50's, I would get very shaky and feel sick. Now I drop much lower before I feel the effects! Weird!  Connie

I was not pre-diabetic, nor had I ever had any problems with my blood sugar prior to my RNY.  I developed frequent episodes of RH several years post op.  

I can successfully manage it for the most part through diet.  Although, sometimes, I will have an episode (like last night), that just comes out of the blue.

I have eliminated from my diet anything that has enriched white or wheat flour, no white rice, potatoes, tropical fruits, processed foods, sugar, HFCS, juices, etc.  I eat all whole grains, brown rice, lots of leafy greens, grilled chicken and fish, apples and berries and greek yogurt.  I snack on raw trail mix or almonds or whole grain flatbread and almond butter.  I usually nurse a Muscle Milk every morning at wor****il lunchtime.

I get in trouble if I go more than 2 hours without eating something.  I usually have raw nuts on hand for easy portability.  I can't do the peanut butter crackers, as they are too highly processed.  I drink coconu****er for potassium (as I can't have bananas).  I have to eat something right before bed to try and get me through the night.  It is usually Fage greek yogurt with some stevia or berries.  Or, I will keep a Muscle Milk bedside with me.  I will usually wake up a few hours after going to bed, and need a bite or a drink to feel "normal" again.  If I am lucky enough to sleep through the night, and have a "resting" glucose of 89 when I wake up, the roller coaster starts as soon as I eat.  

It is an extremely frustrating roller coaster of exhaustion.   I can't believe that your surgeon has heard nothing about this.  Although, I did have to educate the ER Dr. at Kaiser when I went in with a blood sugar reading of 24 a couple of years ago.

If I would have had the option at the time, I would have chosen the DS.

Karen

I have never heard of coconu****er.  What is that?  And where do you get it?  Is there a brand I might look for.  I have only had one bout with reactive hypoglycemia,... so far.  I find I can eat a little potato, crackers, etc. without a problem.  I don't have to eat every few hours,... yet. 

Hi Meredith,

Coconu****er is from young coconuts.  The "water" is an excellent source of potassium, as well as other nutrients.  Google it, it's an interesting read.  

I live in Southern California, so have quite a few "health food" markets to shop at in my area.  I do buy fresh coconuts when I can, but also load up on quite a supply of boxed coconu****er.  My preferred brand is: VitaCoco.  I usually have at least one per day.  I think you may be able to order it on Amazon.

If you happen to try any, let me know how you like it.

I am so sad I can't eat potatoes any more....I'm Norwegian and Irish.  I LOVE potatoes of any kind, cooked any way.

Karen 

Karen,
You are the first person beside me I see can't have bananas, or some other fruits.  
It looks like your foods limitation are like mine, except I can't even have most whole grains - like brown rice.  maybe i could have 1/4 cup - but no more than that.  I also have to pick and choose what fruits I can have and how much.  Berries are my staple... 
BTW: - I usually have nuts or nut butter before bed -  somehow that "sticks" and i do not need to snack at night.  

Wonder if you can drink milk - for me milk is like "sugary".  More than 4 oz and I am in trouble. 

My endo told me to avoid all tropical fruits, especially bananas.  I can do about 1/4 cup of brown rice, too.  Any more than that is too much.  Berries are my staple, although I do snack on apples during the day at work.  

Milk, I can tolerate in small amounts.  I was making a kefir drink at night that is supposed to help with hypoglycemia.  Since I broke my ankle, I don't do the upstairs/downstairs thing any more than I have to, so I just keep snacky stuff upstairs with me.  I usually eat nuts at night, or my daughter will kindly fix me a greek yogurt, stevia and berries.  That will usually "stick" with me for the night.

I get a weird burning in my stomach as my first signal my sugar is going wonky.  Then, I get spacey, they shaky, then buzzy headed.  I have been so shaky, I couldn't test myself, just knew to get food on board right away. 

It's so hard for other people to understand.  I have a hard time when traveling.  I pretty much have my routine down during my regular day to day.