How do you deal with low blood sugars post-op?

Hi everyone/anyone, I am a type 1 diabetic for 32 years and I am currently awaiting insurance approval for Gastric bypass. Neither my surgeon or my endocrinologist have had a type 1 patient go for GB. I  have a lot of questions regarding low and high blood sugars. So anyone w/ info, please feel free to respond & help.  What happens post-op when you have a low sugar? Currently I load up on Lipton ice tea or Country Time lemonade. Can I still use this method post-op or will I vomit or be sick the whole day? What have been anyone out there's expieriences?  What about high sugars? I often drink excessive amounts of water when I am high. Will I be sick or bloated from drinking a lot? Will I have the ability to drink a lot of water if I need to? How about recovery? I have had 3 c-sections and recovered rather quickly as I am a terrible patient and CANNOT be a patient easily. I do not take to that role very well. I currently do not have a surgery date yet but I am hoping for sometime in the next 3-4 weeks (Sometime in the end of FEB.). We have a family cruise planned for April 21-28, is this a good idea possibly being 4-6 weeks post -op? I know everyone is different, but I wanted to pick some brains about the aboved mentioned questions. Anyone with any info, please help! Thanks so much, Beth    

Hi Beth, Your situation sounds a lot like mine.  I was the first type 1 patient for both my surgeon and endo.  How I deal with lows now is that I take 3 glucose tabs and turn off my insulin pump.  I have had a few lows in the 40s where I had to take more than 4 glucose tabs and eat something else.  I will tell you that I did  dump but my bg did come up.  I am trying to catch the lows quicker before it gets so low.  As for highs, I just give myself more insulin through my pump and I don't have any problems. After surgery your pouch will be about the size of an egg so you can't drink large quantities of water all at once.  You will be taking little sips for a while and eventually may be able to handle up to 3 or 4 oz at a time. My pain was pretty minimal because I was on some really good drugs.  I was off the pain meds after a week and felt ready to go back to work after a week and a half.  You will have limitations on how much you can lift and what you can eat.  If the cruise has lots of soft mushy, low-carb foods then you should be fine.  You can also pack some of your favorite protein powders or drinks and a small blender like the Magic Bullet. I am not on here as often I used to be so please send me a pm if I can help you out in any way.  Also check my profile for info on how I managed my bg while in the hospital.  Fortunatly I was able to keep my pump on during the surgery and managed my own diabetes care in the hospital.

Thanks for responding Elizabeth. I will check out your profile & I am sure I will have a lot of questions for you! Have a great weekend. Beth

Elizabeth and Beth.... wow is this forum awesome or what .... Beth if you want someone to talk to instead of typing out all of these answers to all your questions.... I would love to help you out .... I remember oh so well how scared I was. And like Elizabeth I am on an insulin pump too. Mine also reads my BS readings every 5 minutes so this really helped me out during this whole process. Be sure to read my blog and my posting on this forum regarding alcohol after GBS with diabetes. It's some serious stuff!! Let me know if you would like my phone number.... I live in EST zone in Fla so keep that in mind when calling.

Hi I had the exact same questions and wondered all of the above I am now 8 weeks out and what I did find is regular popsicles worked for my lows also I was able to have juice as long as I siped and usually 8 sips got my sugar up I am on a pump 18yrs now so often I lowered my basil rate so I did not have as many lows as I thought when I was on 1st week post op on broth I had wonderful sugars now I am stuggleing a bit with my numbers but hopeing with more weight loss it will come into control. Good luck