WLS and hypoglycemia cross posted

  ok....I just had the strangest event happen today.  all of a sudden within the course of 2 minutes, I could not control my body.  my whole body shook so bad I couldn't type and I started sweating profusely.  

Tia asked me what I had to eat today.....of course I didn't have anything yet because it was not yet my scheduled breakfast time.  She told me to go eat something so I had my lunch.  I started feeling better.....tired but better and I'm not as shaky anymore but still a little quivery.  As you might have guessed, my sugar bottomed out.

My question to the board is I'm wondering how common is it really for WLS patients to become hypoglycemic.  Especially those who cannot have sugar.  Luckily, I had cheese and a bag of popcorn for extra carbs and the milk for natural sugar.  This is the first time this has ever happened to me and frankly, it scared me to death.  As Tia put it, "I felt outside of myself"  i could see what's happening but couldn't control it.

Hypoglycemia sucks.  It will totally drain you when it hits and the only thing I've found to stop it when I feel it creeping up, is eating and quickly eating at that.  I'm preop on the WLS so I don't know how the two mix but I've often wondered.  If eating is what fixes it but you can't eat...then what?  I'll be watching this thread to see if anyone post op has dealt with this.  Thanks for the post. 

The same exact thing happened to me 3 times now since surgery. And one time it woke me up out of a dead sleep. I barely could make it down the stairs I was shaking so bad. I grabbed a cereal bar and some milk and I felt better. WOW was it scary though.

 check out the hypoglycemia entry on webmd.  there's a handy little chart there of what you can eat (and how much) to increase your blood sugar levels when having an episode.  I think I did the right thing by getting in a milk product as well as some carbs.

Aaron, hypoglycemia after WLS is VERY common.  I have it, as do a large number of RNYers here on OH. 

The very best thing you can do is eat every 2-3 hours.  Your meals should consist of protein, complex carbs, and fat ~ in that order. 

Do NOT use sugar to bring your sugar levels up.  It will just lead to a bigger crash later.

wow i though i was the only person this happened to. i get it 1 or 2 times every couple of days. it feels horrible like i'm going to pass out. =[ i was in walmart the other day and had to grab some food out of my  basket and and sit on a bench for like 20 minutes. it was sooo horrible.

I have to keep carbs in me at all times or I black out or get very light headed... surgeon said it was VERY common.

Stick with Complex Carbs

This has been happening to me a few times a month for well over a year. Tonight at work I started feeling shakey, unable to concentrate, then sweaty. Within a matter of a min or two I was weak in the knees. My BGL (blood glucose level) was only 37. I had a yogurt a couple pretzels and a peach. Re-checked BGL and 18mins. later and it was 109. Sometimes this happens because I've had too many carbs, but mostly because I haven't eaten in a while. I get busy at work and it's easy to forget to eat or eat poorly. It can be very scary and dangerous. A client across campus from my bldg. had a seizure when their BGL hit 30. Mine has been as low as 32. Think about getting a glucometer to monitor your levels. Keep a snack with you at all times. tell others around you what is going on, what to expect and what to do to help. ~April