Question:
Today I drank some orange juice at work. I have had oj many
times but this time I dumped BIG time. My friend at work is a diabetic and had her test kit with her. She let me puncture my finger and put a drop of blood on her tester or whatever it is called. My blood sugar was 27!!! That is extremely low and I don't understand. I thought sugar raised the blood sugar. Please help me to understand this. Is this dangerous? — Mylou52 (posted on June 12, 2003)
June 12, 2003
Marilyn - my understanding of the hypoglycemic part of dumping (sometimes
referred to as late dumping) is since the sugar-containing product (and
liquids seem to do it more than solids) passes through the pouch and in to
the intestine so quickly, that it is sensed as a much higher concentration
than what it really is. The pancreas dumps a bunch of insulin into the
system - too much actually to counteract the short-term spike in the blood
sugar. So you end up with a hypoglycemic reaction from this excess
insulin. Actually, something with protein is better for low blood sugars
than carbs. How many times do you eat a day? I eat 5-6 meals a day on
the recommendation of my nutritionist who feels that this is better for
keeping blood glucose level from swinging wildly...JR
— John Rushton
June 12, 2003
Did you have anything else before the OJ? I have hypoglocemia, and if I
have an elevated blood sugar before drinking juice, the juice will top it
off and cause an extreme amount of insulin to dump into my body, causing a
plung in blood sugar. If this in fact happened to you, that would explain
the very low sugar. Just my experience...hope it helps.
— Sylvia E.
June 12, 2003
I get that alot, I feel ,like I am going to pass out...now I realize what
it is.....
— Nilda G.
June 12, 2003
Thanks to you all for your help. John, I checked the library and found a
great article on reactive hypoglycemia that I think you recommended. Wow,
I never knew this existed but it is so similar to dumping, it would be easy
to think it is just simple dumping......simple? Did I say that? Nothing
simple about dumping one day on OJ and then being able to drink it the next
day. Not that I will try! I don't think I will touch OJ again. By the
way, I did eat protein (sausage link and scrambled egg) before the OJ. This
is something I will definitely look into. The article is at
http://www.hcf-nutrition.org/diabetes_disease/hypoglycemia_article.html It
is very interesting. Thanks to all!
— Mylou52
June 12, 2003
Sorry you dumped. Maybe it would help if you mix your orange juice 50%
juice & 50% water. That way you get the flavor of the oj but not so
much sugar.
— Jennifer A.
June 12, 2003
I lived on juice pre-op. Drank it more than sodas but post-op I cant even
drink it mixed half and half with water with out dumping. But for some
reason I can eat fruit without dumping. So now I get my juice fix by
eating an orange or apple. We also get the added bonus of fiber when we
eat fruit. Yes, it is ok for me to eat fruit per my surgeon. ~Sidney~ Open
RNY 10-23-02 down 100 and counting
— Siddy I.
June 13, 2003
I love OJ post op. It is about the only juice I can drink. I mix mine 40%
juice to 60% water and put lots of artificial sugar in it. I love it that
way. Never have dumped on it, but will on other juices.
— Danmark
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