Low Blood Sugar symptoms
(deactivated member)
on 7/15/09 2:23 am
on 7/15/09 2:23 am
Hi all. I’m pre-op for VSG, and I’ve noticed on here that several people mention they have developed reactive hypoglycemia after WLS. I’ve had reactive hypoglycemia for years, most likely due to severe dieting/fasting/bulimia when I was younger (10 years ago) and a family history of diabetes. I didn’t get my official diagnosis of reactive hypoglycemia until a year ago, when my symptoms had gotten progressively worse and more frequent. For a while there I thought I was just hopelessly mental, but now I know how much havoc low blood sugar can wreak on physical and emotional health. I currently have about 90% of the symptoms in the following list. It’s not fun!!
Symptoms of persons with reactive hypoglycemia (note: not ALL symptoms need to be present to have hypoglycemia, and some are more common than others, but the more you have on a regular basis, the more likely it is that you have reactive hypoglycemia, which is causing these symptoms):
"motor mouth" (constant talking)
accident prone
aching eye sockets
alcoholism
allergies
anxiety
asocial behavior
asthma
backache and muscle pain
bad breath
blurred vision
cold hands and/or feet
cold sweats
coma
concentration problems
convulsions with no known cause
craving for sweets
crying spells
depression
digestive problems
dilated pupils
dizziness
drowsiness
excessive sweating
exhaustion
fainting/blackouts
family history of diabetes or low blood sugar
feel best after 7 pm
feeling of going mad, insane
forgetfulness
gasping for breath
headaches
heart palpitations
impotence
indecisiveness
internal trembling
irritability
itching and crawling sensations on skin
lack of sex drive
mental confusion
migraines
mood swings
muscle pains
negative thoughts and attitudes
nervousness
nightmares
obesity
phobias
PMS
restlessness
sensitivity to light
sensitivity to noise
shortness of breath
sighing and yawning
skin tags
sleeping difficulties
sneezing
staggering
suicidal thoughts or tendencies
temper outbursts
tiredness
tremors
vertigo
visual disturbances
waking up tired and exhausted
weakness
worrying excessively and unnecessarily
I’m posting this list for those of you who have been diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia (which seems to happen to some people after RNY) and want to know what symptoms are related to it. This is not meant to be a self-diagnosis tool, however, because other things could be causing some of these symptoms. If you think you might have it, let your doctor know!
If you do have it, eating high protein, low glycemic foods helps control the symptoms and keep blood sugar from getting too low. It’s best to eat frequent meals (every 2 to 3 hours) in small portions. Larger portions cause more of an insulin response, which in turn will cause the blood sugar to drop lower than with a smaller meal. It’s also best to avoid stress (ha! as if), caffeine, sugars/carbs on an empty stomach, and most artificial sweeteners.
I’ve found the book “The Low Blood Sugar Handbook” to be very helpful in understanding more about reactive hypoglycemia and how to manage it better.
This seems to happen to some of those who have had RNY, right? Has anyone with other types of WLS had problems with developing hypoglycemia post-op? If so, please let me know, because I’m hoping the VSG will help with my low blood sugar problems, not make it worse!
Symptoms of persons with reactive hypoglycemia (note: not ALL symptoms need to be present to have hypoglycemia, and some are more common than others, but the more you have on a regular basis, the more likely it is that you have reactive hypoglycemia, which is causing these symptoms):
"motor mouth" (constant talking)
accident prone
aching eye sockets
alcoholism
allergies
anxiety
asocial behavior
asthma
backache and muscle pain
bad breath
blurred vision
cold hands and/or feet
cold sweats
coma
concentration problems
convulsions with no known cause
craving for sweets
crying spells
depression
digestive problems
dilated pupils
dizziness
drowsiness
excessive sweating
exhaustion
fainting/blackouts
family history of diabetes or low blood sugar
feel best after 7 pm
feeling of going mad, insane
forgetfulness
gasping for breath
headaches
heart palpitations
impotence
indecisiveness
internal trembling
irritability
itching and crawling sensations on skin
lack of sex drive
mental confusion
migraines
mood swings
muscle pains
negative thoughts and attitudes
nervousness
nightmares
obesity
phobias
PMS
restlessness
sensitivity to light
sensitivity to noise
shortness of breath
sighing and yawning
skin tags
sleeping difficulties
sneezing
staggering
suicidal thoughts or tendencies
temper outbursts
tiredness
tremors
vertigo
visual disturbances
waking up tired and exhausted
weakness
worrying excessively and unnecessarily
I’m posting this list for those of you who have been diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia (which seems to happen to some people after RNY) and want to know what symptoms are related to it. This is not meant to be a self-diagnosis tool, however, because other things could be causing some of these symptoms. If you think you might have it, let your doctor know!
If you do have it, eating high protein, low glycemic foods helps control the symptoms and keep blood sugar from getting too low. It’s best to eat frequent meals (every 2 to 3 hours) in small portions. Larger portions cause more of an insulin response, which in turn will cause the blood sugar to drop lower than with a smaller meal. It’s also best to avoid stress (ha! as if), caffeine, sugars/carbs on an empty stomach, and most artificial sweeteners.
I’ve found the book “The Low Blood Sugar Handbook” to be very helpful in understanding more about reactive hypoglycemia and how to manage it better.
This seems to happen to some of those who have had RNY, right? Has anyone with other types of WLS had problems with developing hypoglycemia post-op? If so, please let me know, because I’m hoping the VSG will help with my low blood sugar problems, not make it worse!
OMG! I have been having such problems with my sugar and it seems to have started 6 months ago. I will have a reading of 80 something I will eat and then it must spike and all of a sudden I plumet to 32 and get shakey, dizzy confused sweaty and I have my doctor baffeled. I tried to tell him or should I say ask him if it could be bypass related, and he wasn't sure. I have gained weight too! This helped me a bit, I think I am going to just go back to basics and see what happens, use the Time out diet for us bypass patients and go from there. Thank you!