Need Help with Related/Unrelated Symptoms? (Long)

Ok, gang, I need the think tank here... I'm at my wits end and am looking for any ideas, possibilities, paths to research, etc. And yes, I AM seeing my doc - have an appt with my PCP on Monday morning... Here's the deal: Menses: Have not really had a period since March. Since then, I had one very weird, very light "period" in July which was basically just prolonged spotting. Had another episode a couple weeks later after 10 days of Provera prescribed by my OB/GYN to try to jump-start my period. She also did hormone tests and everything came back normal - in fact, my testosterone was on the high side of normal. No indication of perimenopause. Sexual: Same time frame, since March, have had serious FSAD (female sexual arousal disorder) - mentally, I'm all there, at first my body responds and then it shuts down - ****** is almost impossible. This has NEVER been an issue before. Blood Sugars: Been experiencing some hypoglycemic incidents. Whether it's the same time period as the other stuff, I don't know. It seemed to come on gradually - just a couple of incidents here and there but it's get worse. I average 3-4 instances a week even though I do my best to eat every 2-3 hours. They can come on fast - feel fine and 30 seconds later I'm having severe trembling, heart palps, hot flashes, dizziness, nervousness, etc. Other times it comes on slowly and I start off feeling a little muzzy-headed... Within 15 minutes of eating, I typically feel fine. Today was the first opportunity to actually check my sugars. I was at work and just before lunch started feeling a little "off". Had the nurse check my sugars and registered a 56 which she indicated was pretty low. I had an apple about an hour and a half before that and a bowl of oatmeal and a banana about 3 hours before that. Numbness/Drop-Foot: Off and on, I've experienced what I *think* may be drop foot... My left foot often feels a little, for lack of a better word, "gimpy", especially when I'm walking for exercise. It's not constant. I have noticed over the last couple of weeks though that there's some partial numbness on the top of my foot - not completely numb but a pretty much constant decrease in sensation if I, for example, scratch the top of my foot... Weight: My weight for the most part has remained stable since March, which is okay, I guess. I'm pretty much happy where I am although I've really been working to lose another 5-10 pounds just for me. Doesn't seem to matter what I do, and psychologically, I'm struggling because of my need to eat every couple of hours to stave off the hypoglycemia. If I don't lose it, that's okay, but I'm throwing it in because it started the same time as pretty much everything else. Based on stuff I've been reading, it could be a myriad of things, the top of the list being Diabetes, which I didn't have, ironically, at my highest weight of almost 300 pounds... I know it's possible to become diabetic after WLS, but I don't know how common it is or what the signs are... Any ideas?

Aww, Becky. So much going on with you. I'm with you in spirit. (((hugs))) I am at a loss about what is going on. I can relate to the sexual issue, experience that myself. The numbness makes me nervous. Maybe a trip to a neurologist? Laura

Becky, sorry you are going through all this. I have had some of the same problems/issues you relate here, with not allot of help determining if they are related or not. As for the numbness/drop foot though: Have you had your B vits checked lately. I was experiencing this with my b-1 and b-12 levels dropping some, increased my daily intake in it went away. For me it was almost as if my foot was asleep but not as much tingling. When I tried walking I had no perception of distance on raising and lowering my foot to ground level. I haven't had a hypoglycemia episode in a few weeks. I was logging my food to see if I could figure out if certain foods were triggering the episodes along with skipping meals or waiting to long. Now that I watch closer I am doing better but one thing that I found caused it was oatmeal, weird I know but I cannot eat oatmeal often and NEVER in the morning. Hope you find a solution soon. Dana

You said: As for the numbness/drop foot though: Have you had your B vits checked lately. I was experiencing this with my b-1 and b-12 levels dropping some, increased my daily intake in it went away. For me it was almost as if my foot was asleep but not as much tingling. When I tried walking I had no perception of distance on raising and lowering my foot to ground level. That's EXACTLY how I would describe it. To a T... I made an appt with my doc for Monday and am going to ask him to run my Bs while I'm there. I'll probalby talk to him about switching to the shot, as well... One thing Kathy (and Rich) mentioned is that the FSAD could be a form of neuropathy, as well... I gotta tell you, I hadn't thought of that, but it fits. Gonna ask my doc about that, too. As far as the oatmeal, could be... I've been eating oatmeal at least 3 times a week since I was about 3 months out, so I'm not sure what's changed, unless it's just sort of one of those new weird developments.... Anyway, today I had 2 eggs with cheese for breakfast and a protein bar for a snack and 3 hours later my blood sugar was 79... so, it could be the carbs... Who knows? I guess I'll see how the fasting draw goes on Monday. Thanks for your input! MUAH!

Becky, two days ago I met a friend for lunch. After leaving the table, my left foot "dragged" behind me and I tripped over it. I stopped and gathered myself and then took a couple more steps. It dragged again and I tripped and went flying into a wall, bruising my arm, hand, knee and spraining my ankle. I thought maybe I had a stroke. Anyway, a RNY friend and I spoke that evening and came to the conclusion that I may have a B12 deficiency. I called my surgeon and told him what happened and he sent me in for lab work this morning. Don't wait until your next appointment, or until you fall, to discuss your symptoms with your doctor. I contacted my surgeon because I believe he is probably more familiar with the complications of RNY than my PCP would be. However, I asked that the blood work be drawn by my PCP so he will get the results and can review them also. It sounds like you should get your blood drawn also and have things looked at. Please request that be done today!

Fat has estrogen, and less fat means less estrogen, and possible period problems. Many people have posted about low blood sugar episodes ESPECIALLY after RNY. They start anywhere from 1-2 years post-op, and seem to be difficult to control for many people. There has been a Mayo Clinic study about this issue, and is directly related to RNY.The numbness in your foot is most likely neuropathy, which is nerve damage, usually affecting diabetics, but seems to either develope after RNY, or get worse if the person already had it. It included numbness, tingling, and sometimes burning sensations or pain. Vitamin deficiencies seem to be a possible cause, and we RNY post-ops have a hard time absorbing the vitamins we need. Your hypoglicemia can be very serious if it affects you during the night and the symptoms don't wake you up. Possibly waking up by an alarm to check your sugars is a possible plan, so is eating a complex carb snack before bed, that may help. Good luck.