Gastric bypass hypoglycemia

Just an fyi.. I had gastric bypass 20 yrs ago and all of a sudden any carbs or sugar will raise my blood glucose and then drop it. Endo did a lot of labs to see if my pancreas is putting out too much insulin and it is.This is not dumping. It's called Postprandial hypoglycemia and it develops due to the disregulated insulin released from pancreatic ?-cells . It's a possible Complication of gastric bypass. My glucose has been as low as 36 so very dangerous. Almost all insurance companies would not pay for a continuous glucose monitor unless you are diabetic. I have been paying the self pay price and it's expensive. Thankfully recently Medicare/Medicaid has decided to expand the coverage for hypoglycemia and other insurance companies should follow if not already.

It's really important for us not to eat just simple carbs. This can happen even a year or rptwo out from surgery. Eating a mix of protein and fat with carbs will keep blood sugars stable. Of course, keeping simple carbs limited is a good strategy, regardless.

I had dumping for the first 2 yrs ..so I did not eat any carbs or sugar..then after getting to goal , maintaining it and lots of therapy ... I ate a normal diet. Did that for 15 yrs no problem with dumping, blood glucose issues and maintained weight..What's happening now is due to the rerouting of gastric bypass it's caused damaged pancreas cells . Endo did say it generally occurs 2 yrs after gastric bypass but has seen cases like mine where it's 15+ yrs later and not sure why it occurs that late for some people.. So with me..it has rapidly progressed in the past 6 months to where eating any sugar, any simple or any complex carbs shoots up glucose high and then drops it low. Doesn't matter if I eat carbs with a mix of fat and protein. I was looking at a reversal but that doesn't fix the damaged pancreas cells. A partial pancreas removal can help but then you risk getting diabetes. Currently trying ozempic to regulate insulin.

You were fortunate enough to escape this for fifteen years. Many of us develop it much earlier. The solution is to eat high protein and avoid carbs. It is not a normal American diet, but it can be done. There are substitutes for sugar and flour that can be tasty and satisfying, but it takes work to find what you will enjoy.

It's crazy how gastric bypass can have these unexpected effects, right? I can imagine dealing with postprandial hypoglycemia can be quite a challenge. Good to know that Medicare/Medicaid is expanding their coverage for it, though.

Yes I'm grateful that my insurance is paying for the continuous glucose monitor and the ozempic. I'm still on a lower dose of ozempic so I haven't noticed it helping much yet but I'm going to continue to titrate up to give it a shot. I have lost 12 pounds in 6 weeks on it so that's a plus. I have consulted with another bariatric surgeon and he said reversal helps for some and not for others . I don't want to go through a surgery where I don't know if I will get results or not. so I'm really hoping ozempic will help.

I had VSG surgery over 10 years ago and have always struggled with this. It is particularly easy to cause an episode if I consume the sugar or carbs on an empty stomach (like first thing in the morning)

Yes. For me it's gotten to the point of if I eat any carbs. Doesn't matter when.

Nikke!!!!!!

Haha hey hello! I was randomly thinking of this site the other day and got curious as to whether or not anyone was still around! Activity is slow...