Low Blood Sugar (Dumping?)

Hi Everyone, I just made my 3 year anniversary down about 180 lbs.   Was hoping someone can make sense or can id with what I'm experiencing.  I had breakfast a waffle 1 hour later in the bathroom.  Two minutes later my blood sugar dropped to 40.  Later that day it dropped again to 57.   I've never experienced dumping and can eat everything in small portion.  I get sweaty, light heading, and can't even have a conversation or comprehend a thing. Anyone else out there experiencing the same thing?

This is becoming known as a side effect of RNY. Many people experience reactive hypoglycemia after a year or so out from surgery. It's when the body has an overproduction of insulin as a reaction to whatever you ate( and for some people it can be almost anything) which then causes a very low blood sugar. You need to go to a doctor and explain about your surgery and what you think is wrong. In the meantime, don't eat any simple carbs or sugars, and eat protein with a complex carb about every 2-3 hours.

hello please email at [email protected] have been having the same problem and i am very scared.my name is terry i am 34 with two little girls and had rny 21 months ago lost 160 have been so great until now.better yet if you would like call me 609-288-6150 looking for someone to talk to about this.it is not a nice feeling..missed worked this weekend because i passed out at a marshall store on friday and ended in the er...thanks for listening...terry

More information can be obtained by going to the Iowa forum and looking up low blood sugar posts from Lyn.... Many are developing this condition and it can be life threatening.....also more information can be found by searching the internet for terms like "hypogylcemia after gastric bypass" and a condition called "nesidioblastosis".... Make sure you keep track of what you eat; don't eat sugar or carbs and begin to limit caffiene... Call your doctor and get a referral to an endocrinologist if needed... The Mayo Clinic is helping a lot of post-GBS patients with this problem I have developed it, too, and am eating only protein foods and vegetables....I am waiting for an appointment at Mayo.... post more if you have questions....

 hi iowa girl im from council bluffs. i had rny i 2005, haveing all low surar symptoms, need more information can  you email me  at   [email protected]?   thank you for the in formation

I was diagnosed with nesidioblastosis.  I had blood sugars go as low as 28 and still be awake and talking because it had happened so often that my body lost the "signals" that my sugar was getting too low.  Now that I am being properly treated the signals are back and when my sugar drops too low I get the headache, shakiness, etc., like I used to.  I am almost 4 years post-op and slightly underweight.  My diet is protein and complex carbs because they keep your blood sugar stable for a longer time in your system as opposed to spiking then diving.  I am also on medications that are not all that easy to manage.  If you are in the early stages of this, get the best endocrinologist you can get in your area and take the New England Journal of Medicine article with you on "Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglecmia with Nesidioblastosis after Gastric Bypass Surgery" dated July 21, 2005.  You can be a guest on the NEJM site and download the article for free I believe.  I hope this helps and best of luck to you.

I have the same problem.  If I eat carbs on an empty stomach my blood sugar will crash in an instant about an hour or so later.  I start my day with a healthy dose of lean protein because dumping, general hypoglycemia issues and ketosis are still problems.

Hello,
  I had surgery 3 1/2 years ago and lost weight.  I only had "dumping" when I ate pancakes at a pancake house and when I ate icing of a certain cake made by a local grocery store.  Otherwise I was able to eat anything in small amounts and I was fine until the last 8 mos.  I have been trying to find info on this but it is almost non existent.  I have begun to have very low blood sugar(as per symptoms and measured on a meter) and then my blood sugar can go as high as 300 with symptoms also (nauseous and vomiting etc). 
  It is a very difficult problem for me as I can only eat so much, never have hunger pains and I am allergic to soy (this predates the gastric bypass) and seem to have developed an allergy to wheat. Most protein supplements are soy or whey so I can't use them.  I had the surgery so I could have bi -lateral hip replacements and I have had surgery twice for severe spinal stenosis so my mobility is limited.  I am disabled so my income is also limited and I can no longer go to the physical therapist or to other doctors my family doctor wants me to go to because of co-pays.  
  There is very little help after the surgery-I even had two bowel blockages and had two emergency surgeries but I never saw the doctor after them, just the nurse practitioner. I worry about what the highs and lows of the blood sugar is doing to me but I can only try and control it with diet which is effective most of the time.  I even ended up in the emergency room once as they took my symptoms for a stroke and the emrgency room doctor didn't seem to be the least concerned about this low/high blood sugar and didn't even know it could be related to the bypass.  If anyone has any info or new sites to go to please let me know.  This has become a real problem and I think the bypass surgeons need to be more aware of it and help patients deal with it and take more interest in their patients after they have gotten the fees for the surgery. Debbie Adams

Hi, I am also at my 3 year anniversary.  I lost about 120 lbs.  I haven't had any real issues until last August.  I started having low sugar symptoms.  I was told I am now hypoglycemic by many doctors.  In November, I had a grand Mal seizure.  The docs all said it was a side effect of a medication I was taking.  For the last three weeks I have had no energy, confused, felt like i was drinking alcohol (even though I wasn't).  It would start out like a buzz but next thing I would be in bed and the bed would be spinning.  I was so tired and out of it, I would be in bed for 2 or 3 days before I started feeling normal again.  I recently started seeing a new doc and he did some blood work to test my thyroid and that test came back normal and then he did a barium swallow test to either confirm DUMPING or rule it out once and for all.  I got the call this morning and the test completely ruled out the DUMPING syndrome that all the other docs wanted to say it was.  My new doc is still working and I feel like he wont stop until he figures out what is going on. 

I would like to ask if you have checked your blood pressure though?  I have also been diagnosed with hypo-tension.  It makes you feel just like your having low sugar.  I had the glucose test done and it came back that I am hypoglycemic.  However, when I have an episode my sugar levels are normal or elevated and my blood pressure is low.  below 90/60 low.  Just thought this information might help you.

Good luck
Monica Knight

I have this too and after the first couple times of it happening, I know exactly how my body feels when it's coming on.  When I start to feel that shaky feeling, the only thing to stop it is to EAT.  Trust me..eat some carbs when you feel this coming on and it'll subside.  Even if you just ate, eat again.  Then don't eat what you ate to cause it anymore or it'll keep happening.  It's definitely hypoglycemia but I'm not sure if it's a part of the dumping syndrome or not since I haven't really had dumping (3 yrs out now).  The only thing I do know is, eating will stop it..dont ride it out.  Having blood sugar 40 or lower could cause a seizure or worse.  Eating will raise your blood sugar and stop the decline.