confused about low blood sugar and carbs -- dietician input?

Hi - I've had some low blood sugar issues lately - at my 1-year blood work I had VERY low blood sugar.  Since then I've had 1 time when I was lightheaded and it was resolved after eating a protein bar.  And then last week on vacation I passed out - mostly because I screwed up and had a mixed drink at the Bette Midler concert in Vegas.  I talked to my surgeon and she said to have no carbs (I can have fruit), and she's setting me up with an appt. with an endrochronologist (sp?) and I'll talk to them about this too. But in the meantime, I'm confused.    If I have low blood sugar wouldn't it make sense to continue having "good" carbs?  Just trying to understand and do things correctly! And...does anyone have a good list of simple vs. complex carbs? Thanks!!

Hi there.. boy do I UNDERSTAND your situation!  I am not a nutritionist.. but a nurse who has had RNY who deals with this daily.. so I would love to respond to you and hope you don't mind! First off, are you experiencing reactive hypoglycemia you think?  Where you may eat something high in carbs (for me its even complex like oatmeal) and 2 hours later your sugar takes a dive? That is what happens to me.. I was told to cut out all white, refined carbs.. ok, never ate them to begin with when this started happening.  So then I was told to make sure I always paired protein with my carbohydrates.. if I had an apple, eat cheese with it. etc.  I have to be careful though, one package of oatmeal even tho it has some protein in it will have me crashing later.  I do find that the more i limit my carbs the better I do but i know this isn't healthy either.. I work out a lot and I need the carbs for fuel, so honestly I am struggling too to figure it out.  I am tired of feeling like crap when I do add in whole grains such as whole grain wasa crackers, apples, I have to eat low glycemic fruits like berries for best results.. very limited. Good carbs vs. bad.. simple vs. complex.. think nothing White.. "white aint right!"  No white potatoes, tortillas, flour, sugar, bread, rice, pasta.. only brown stuff.. rather sweet potatoes, whole grain tortillas, wheat flour, whole grain bread, brown rice, whole grain pasta.  Be sure on the label it says from whole wheat or grain and not "enriched" for the best sources.  It should have at least 3 grams of fiber also.. thats sort of a hint that it's good for you as opposed to white, refined simple carbohydrates. I also use hood calorie count down milk.. less carbs, sugar.. more fat though.. as it is 2%.  I do much better with some fats rather than too high of carbs. it is a struggle but I do find for *ME* its best to get my carbs from low fat dairy sources (for some reason, not even really understandable, milk carbs don't react the same way with me as whole grains do), beans and nonstarchy veggies, low glycemic index fruits.  You may do just fine with oatmeal, apples, etc.. just gotta try and see what happens.  Watch your sugars too like in protein bars.. keep a log of how your sugars do with certain foods so you can find patterns and take this to your nutritionist and doctor to see what they think.  I also have contemplated seeing an endocrinologist but I think i can get  grip on it based on food choices first.. however working out and not getting enough carbs is a problem and I gotta figure out a way.  So I may be right behind you at the endo's office. I wish you luck with this.. its not fun, I know first hand.  *hugs* Hang in there!

GREAT Post Melissa, very informative and great tips.  I believe that I suffer from a very mild case of reactive hypoglycemia based on the symptoms that I have and others have mentioned.  I too do my best to find that balance. Keep up the great work! ~Shannon

ME, TOO. I have been mildly experiencing low blood sugar but when it happens it is like having a diabetic crash. One day my sugar went down to 47 and I was not in good shape. The nutrionist told me to be sure to eat fruit but I have found that they key is to eat enough protein at a meal and have protein snacks every few hours especially if I am getting a lot of exercise. If I get low, I eat fruit or drink juice or milk to counter immediate problem. They say I am a bit early for this . . . .it started at 6 mos. out but when I was young I had hypoglycemia.

Hi - Thanks for the replies!  I do think I have reactionary hypoglycemia.  That's just what I needed - to have it put into English and in simple terms.  I like "white isn't right" - that helps a lot!!

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Before passing out last week I had been eating a small amount of carbs (within my post-op guidelines) each day and it wasn't affecting me.  I think it was the alcohol that got me!  When my surgeon said "no carbs other than fruits & veggies" I said ok, no problem.  Then when I started reading labels - there's carbs in pretty much everything and I was worried things would be very limited from here out.  But it sounds like I have more options - yea! I'll keep doing what I'm doing until I meet with the endro. and see what he/she says.  I'll let you know. Thanks again for your help!!