Hypoglycemic

I had RNY 10/07 and have lost 110lbs.  But I am now having low blood sugars on a regular basis, has any one else had this or have any information on this.  It stinks because my fasting Blood sugars are around 70-75 each morning.  I test throughout the day and it has yet to get above 110 during the day.  It stinks because I feel horrible when it gets low.

what is the lowest you get and at what level are you symptomatic?

I have hit as low as 56 but I am staying around 75-85 testing 7 times a day.  I started getting sypmtoms around 70ish.  I can feel alittle funky at 75.

Hi, I had RNY almost 4 years ago. I started having problems with reactive hypoglycemia about a year ago and it has worsened over the past 6 months. There is a clear pattern related to what I've eaten. If I eat something with a high glycemic index, my blood sugar will drop within 30 or 40 minutes.  I become symptomatic when it hits the low 70s. I know "70s" is supposed to be in the low normal range, but I think I have symptoms because of the dramatic drop. The only "fix" is to eat something to bring it back up.  Because of the negative feedback loop of eating something that caused me to crash/then eating something to bring my blood sugar level back up -- I've started to gain weight.  The simple preventative measures I know I have to take to avoid these episodes is to go back to the basics and stick with small frequent meals or snacks AND avoid carbs.   Back to someone else's comment -- just because I think I can get a way with eating "normal" foods -- doesn't mean I truly can.  I have started working toward retraining my brain to eating like I did the first year after surgery. I KNOW I've become complacant and let old habits slip back into my eating patterns.   With all that said, have you seen your doctor? There may be more to the problem, so it wouldn't hurt to run your symptoms by him/her just in case.   I did recently see my endocrinologist, who basically agreed -- my problem with hypoglycemia could/should be managed with monitoring my diet more rigidly. So there's no magic cure. Just back to the basics -- I GO...

Hey: What was the advice of the endo you saw?  Did he/she hink it could be managed by cutting out all refined carbs?  I am 4.5 years out and am having increased low blood sugar issues. I had issues before my bypass for years if I ate carbs alone. Once I had the surgery it disappeared for a while but eventually got back to how it was before surgery, e.g., if I had a bagel or refined carbs on an empty stomach. After the first 8 mo or so post op I could eat small amounts of refined carbs. Then a bit more without any bad side effects. After about an hour I would get the shakes, so what I would do is eat some protein before or after to balance out. Lately though I have been having increased symptoms and at times when I am eating more balanced meals too. It is scaring me. I read on line that this can happen to bypass patients due to the stomach emptying too quickly, which mine does.  How have you been doing managing your diet recently?  Are you feeling any better?  I wish you luck, will power and good health! Maryann

 

Hi Maryann, My endocrinologist thought my problems could be controlled with my diet and referred me to a nutritionist. I saw her a week ago and I AM already seeing improvement. I haven't had one episode with my blood sugar dropping this week. Another plus was my nutritionist is a WLS patient too! So she could relate to where I've been.  The main things we discussed was:  1. Stop drinking with meals. I had stopped after surgery but in the last 6 months, I'd started drinking water during my meal.   She recommended not having anything to drink for at least 1 hour but preferrably 2 hours after eating. Food gets washed out sooner, causing blood sugar reactions to be out of synch. AND, food washes out sooner, so I would be hungry sooner. The hunger was crazy and I felt unsatisfied most of the time.  That one tip seems to have made the most difference. 2. She said eat protein with each meal or snack. If I eat carbs, I should have it WITH protein. That's no big surprise. 3. I had been eating to prevent a hypoglycemic attack; but I realized I was eating even when I wasn't hungry. I had gotten into the habit of eating something every 2 hours and sometimes I don't really need to. She said not to wait more than 4 hours but it was ok to stretch it out if I felt like it.  4. Keep a food diary (not my favorite activity). It helps track my eating habits to see if that is contributing to blood sugar drops or pinpoint patterns. Being brutally honest about everything I've been eating is holding more accountable too. I was cheating more than I could/should have been before keeping a food log. 5. Exercise. Something is better than nothing. I've started riding my bike to the park for about a 2 mile ride in the evenings. I see her again in a month. I don't think there is any thing to do but just EAT RIGHT! And not fall back into the old bad habits I had before my surgery... no big news there either.  Ha!

Good advice. Is your energy increasing too? Hopefully diet restriciton is all it will take, though I had a balanced meal the other night and still dropped. But now that I think of it I was hungry and ate 3 white crackers waiting for my husband to pick me up for dinner. I wonder if that could have caused my crash an hour after eating. Thanks and keep me posted on how you do.

I had one episode last month when I KNEW I hadn't eaten anything I shouldn't have -- and still had a drop in my BS about 45 minutes afterwards. It happened when I had a completely empty stomach. I mentioned it to my endocrinologist, who said I probably NEED to snack in between meals to keep a more steady rhythm in my blood sugar.  I do have more energy and I'm not having and after meal slump. BEFORE I started paying more attention to this, I was always unreasonably hungry. I realize it was because the food wasn't being processed as efficiently and moving through to my intestine too quickly.   The nutritionist I'm going to specializes in WLS patients and I feel lucky to have found her. She said I probably shouldn't go any longer than 4 hours before eating something. I'm usually hungry before that time, but if I'm not feeling shaky - I've been stretching it out to see if that would help prevent the weight gain. I know it may seem too good to be true, but I've lost 5# in the past month and all I've done is stop drinking with meals, started writing things down I'm eating, I've stopped grazing and I've added a little exercise to my routine 3 or 4 times a week.