[smaguire]

I didn't have a problem with my blood sugar before Sugery. I do have a family histury of it. I have spells when I get dizzy and light headed and then very sleepy. This especially happens in the am around 10:00. I have also noticed it after eating certain foods,such a those low fat sugar free klondike bars. I also get very shakey. Afterwards or as it's subsiding i feel so sleepy that I'm worried about driving. When I consulted my DR they said it sounds like Low blood sugar or hypoglosemia. My Dad has this and he usually drinks orange juice and cheese as well as candy to stabalize him self. I have tried cheese which works ok but not quickly. I can't drink any juice no matter how watered down it gives me dumping. SO can any one help me out?
Sue

[Kenyar]

hey there. sorry you are going thru this. are you sure it isnt dumping as well. it DOES sometimes present itself like low blood sugar, sluggish sleepy kind of feeling? what do you eat right before this happends? I get this way after eating "white" things; saltines especially, but also potato, white toast etc. i nearly fall asleep at my desk at work or wherever i am. once almost in the car. needless to say i stay away from these things now, but thought i'd mention it to you. I had no idea at the time that sleepiness was a dumping symptom. there is an article on here about this somewhere. doc sanae posted it.

[DocSanae]

Bariatric Surgery: Postoperative Concerns
The above post has a link to the article with the same title. It's a PDF file, so I suggest you download, print it out, and keep it in your file.

A bit about post op hypoglycemia. This take place basically because your pouch is small. It happens not only to gastric bypass for weight loss post ops, but to other people who have had gastric surgery for such things as cancer and refractory ulcers that ended in perforations.

The how/why of the works is like this.
Since you have a small pouch, your food doesn't get the chance for it to be all mixed up and crunched up the way it is with a normal stomach. Also, the amount you eat is much smaller. So, the food passes through to the area that it is absorbed--the intestines--faster than the normal stomach. With the normal stomach, the mixed up food takes time (because of the total amount) in passing through, and also a lot of the digestive juices are mixed up in the stomach, so the harder to digest proteins and fats are already in a much easier state to absorb than with a pouch, where almost none of such juices are mixed up. This all makes for the carbs/sugars to be passed into the blood stream much faster, and in a lump, than with the normal stomach. Add to this, with the loss of extra weight, iinsulin resistance will improve, so there is *more* insluin to do the job of working on the absorbed glucose and get it out of the blood stream. This will make it easier for dumping to take place. Since you say your father gets hypoglycemic, you probably have a genetic tendency for overacting pancreas (where insulin is produced) that leads to overproduction of insulin in reaction to glucose in your blood stream. Before you lost weight, this didn't show up because of the amount you ate and the normal absorbtion, and because of insulin resistance. Now that the two big factors that prevented the symptoms from becoming apparent (overt) have gone, you are getting frequent symptoms.

One way to prevent this is to get your protein in first, or to eat carb type foods that also has protein, like peanut chocolates--not that I mean you can eat chocolates, but as an example. Choosing wholesome carbs instead of refined carbs should also help ease the problem. Never take carb foods without protein or fat. (A little bit of fat won't do you harm, as the total amount you can eat is much much less than before.)

Anyway, one of the reasons you are instructed to get protein in first, other than because you need a specific amount of protein daily and your pouch is small, is also to prevent hypoglycemia which is much more likelier to happen if you take carbs by itself.

If juice doesn't work for you, what about a glass of milk with 2-5grams of glucose added to it?

[shell102301]

I WAS GOT HYPOGLYCEMIA AFTER 2YRS OUT OF SURGERY I DO THE SAME THING YOUR SAYING YOU DO PNUT BUTTER WORKS GOOD ALSO JUST A FEW SIPS OF APPLE JUICE OR GRAPE JUICE THE REGULAR KIND WILL HELP YOU ALSO DONT OVER DO IT JUST TAKE LIKE 5 OR 6 SIPS AN YOU SHOULD BE FINE...IF YOUR DRIVING ALWAYS, ALWAYS PULL OVER TRY TO FIND A GAS STATION OR SOMETHING SO YOU CAN BUY THIS IF YOU DONT HAVE IT ONE YOU. ALSO I ALWAYS CARRY P-NUTBUTTER AN CHEESE CRACKERS PREPACKAGED KIND WITH ME MOST ALL THE TIME...NO ONE IN MY FAMILY AT ALL HAS ANY KIND OF SUGAR PROBLEMS BUT ME. SO WE HAD SOME ADJUSTING TO DO. GOOD LUCK. YOU CAN CHECK OUT MY PICTURES HERE...IM ALMOST 6YRS OUT.... www.myspace.com/protectivemomof2jJUST CLICK ON PICTURES...

[BreeChick]

This is why I try try try to stick to eating on a schedule SMALL & OFTEN to prevent this. I get horrible episodes where I've had to be given glucose which is NO fun.

juices I personally do not think are a good idea for any postop of wls..it makes the whole dumping issue and drop worse. If I did juice or anything with sugar to get the glucose back up..which when you're so low people have to make you take anything with sugar...it makes it 'spike' and then drop further than it was before.

small and often..protein first & most..and like Doc said the protein FIRST is what helps the dumping and the glucose drop not happen or less likely to.

--bree

[BOOTS]

This Makes Sense. I Usually Take A Shot Of Protein Before I Eat A Meal And This Morning I Didnt Do The Shot Till Afterwards. This Coould Be What Happ To Me This Morning

[haziefrog4]

I am almost 5 years out and I have the same problem! I have learned to carry something in my purse, after I was Lowes and had to get a cashier to run to their break room and get me a candy bar.

Now I carry the little tube of glucose tablets. Most of the time it happens when I forget to eat. I have to make sure that I eat something every 2 or 3 hours, but that is really hard some days.

When it is happening and I need to eat sugar I am really careful to make sure that I eat protein with it, if not it will happen again.

[smaguire]

Thanks so much for all the advice. I think the problem is because I eat at 5:30 in the morning. Then around 6 I have some coffee my 1 cup a day. My job starts at 6:30am. I work for a residential community for kids with mental disabilities or drug and alcohol adictions or who have been severly abused. So I am on the go every minute. I don't get a break or a chance to eat untill around 10:00. It is hard to stop and eat. Right now I take the kids to school where I work one on one with a client. My main goal is to keep him on task. I have been changing things around as of recent. I have started haveing my coffee before I leave home and eating something right before i get to work like breakfast pizza. It has eggs and cheese and ham on it. I have noticed since switching my routine i don't have so many spells. I also had someone from the surgical weight loss program suggest beef Jerky. It needs to substitute a meal but it is a great source of protien. I had tried to eat peanut buuter but It makes me sick i think it because of the sugar in it dose anyone know if they make sugar free peanut butter? I have also started carrying a jar of peanuts because although I can't do pb I can eat peanuts. Thanks Doc for explaining things I find this helpfull. I'm glad to hear that I am not the only one with this problem. Will this problem go away or get better the further I get from sugery? Thanks Sue

[Kenyar]

with the peanut butter, i think there are some people who swear by natural or organic peanut butter. its low or no sugar. i stay away from the stuff altogether lol! beef jerky is kind of salty. be careful with that.

yeah isnt this a great place where you dont have to feel like you are going thru things alone? i LOVE this place

[haziefrog4]

Originally Posted by smaguire

Thanks so much for all the advice. I think the problem is because I eat at 5:30 in the morning. Then around 6 I have some coffee my 1 cup a day. My job starts at 6:30am. I work for a residential community for kids with mental disabilities or drug and alcohol adictions or who have been severly abused. So I am on the go every minute. I don't get a break or a chance to eat untill around 10:00. It is hard to stop and eat. Right now I take the kids to school where I work one on one with a client. My main goal is to keep him on task. I have been changing things around as of recent. I have started haveing my coffee before I leave home and eating something right before i get to work like breakfast pizza. It has eggs and cheese and ham on it. I have noticed since switching my routine i don't have so many spells. I also had someone from the surgical weight loss program suggest beef Jerky. It needs to substitute a meal but it is a great source of protien. I had tried to eat peanut buuter but It makes me sick i think it because of the sugar in it dose anyone know if they make sugar free peanut butter? I have also started carrying a jar of peanuts because although I can't do pb I can eat peanuts. Thanks Doc for explaining things I find this helpfull. I'm glad to hear that I am not the only one with this problem. Will this problem go away or get better the further I get from sugery? Thanks Sue

This is my life too, I get so busy that I forget to eat. I usually stop at the grocery store on the way to work (everyday) and buy a 1/4 of whatever deli meat sounds good to me, I get some string cheese and some kind of fruit and veggies.

I have a little fridge at work and when I get a second I run back there and grad a few bites of the meat. I keep the fruit and veggies up front with me and eat on it all day, the only veggie I have a problem eating up front are my avocados, I have learned that I cannot eat them at work, because if I eat the entire thing I dump, but I don't want to waste it so I save them for at home when me boys can help me eat it!!

I carry some beef jerky, and dried fruit (I have to be careful not to eat too much because of the sugar in it) in my bag everyday just in case I don't get a chance to stop at the store.