I suffer from this on and off but today was a doozie!!! i couldnt stop shaking i went for some protein that didnt work then some glucose that didnt even work. I had to cancel my clients for today and come home. I took a nap and woke up and i still feel really out of it and tired. Have any of you suffered from this? and what did you do about it. My doc said if it happened again to come in....but do you think i could get a same day appt??? NOoooooo!
*group hug*

Hey Kelli...

Sorry you had a problem with this particular monster - yeah, I've got it, and bad too... I've had it for years, and my surgeon didn't think it'd be a problem for me, but, like with many other things, he was mistaken about that one too!

My first weeks after surgery were torture, I was crashing all the time - even after solid protein... I've finally gotten a handle on it again, but, it's taken me a bit of detective work to understand what's been going on... I now understand that WLS patients are quite prone to what's called "reactive" hypoglycemia - essentially, not just low blood sugar, but, low blood sugar caused as a reaction to something you've eaten - or not eaten. Hence the name. It is extremely hard to diagnose because unless you're in the middle of a crash, your tests are gonna come up normal. Even the Glucose tolerance test doesn't always show reactive hypoglycemia... Why? I dunno... never did get a good answer on that one... (Bamagal may know, and I hope she chimes in here too... )

In my case, if I don't keep my protein levels up around 75g-100g per day, I'm gonna start crashing. Doesn't matter if I eat carbs, sugar or not... my body simply doesn't know what to do, so it just does nothing, and I start crashing. I've tried eliminating carbs, but, I crashed anyway 2 hours after having eaten a can of cooked salmon. Nothing else. Totally frustrating.

Now, I make sure to keep carbs to a minimum, and I balance any carbs with some protein, eat my protein first, make sure I have my shakes which guarantee 55g protein per day, and pay attention to my mood and my body in case I've missed anything else. My first symptom of a crash on the way is a sudden surge of crankiness that puts anyone's PMS mood to shame. A bit of banana and a buncha cheese usually cures it before I get to the shakes.

I guess too you have to remember when the crash begins that your body is telling you something, and you need to respond with something it needs. If you have hypoglycemia, you have the shakes because you have low blood sugar... if you only eat protein, then you're not correcting the low blood sugar, you're adding a different type of fuel - one that takes a lot longer to break down. Sure, it'll last longer too, but, that doesn't help you if you're in the middle of a crash, now does it? The banana provides the glucose your body is looking for, in an easily digested form. The protein will back up that glucose by the time your body is done with it, and meanwhile you can look to provide yourself with a more substantial meal.

The point, and the idea, is to correct the lowered blood sugar quickly, but, not with an overabundance of sugar because then you're just setting yourself up for another crash! If you don't feel better within 30 minutes, you may need to discuss it further with your doctor because there may be something else going on.

The way it was explained to me is that it's like being on a roller coaster ride... with the peaks and valleys directly linked to the amount of sugar you eat. The higher the peaks, the lower the valleys. If you understand that the peaks and valleys are your blood sugar levels, and you further understand that the higher your blood sugar goes, the lower it's going to fall... when it falls, if it gets below a certain level, that's when you start to feel the symptoms we're talking about... I've actually had people think I'd been drinking because of my slurred speech and lack of coordination during a crash. (This is similar to what diabetics deal with, except that they deal with it from a different angle... We have too much insulin, therefore we eliminate too much sugar too quickly... They have too little insulin, and can't (on their own) get rid of enough sugar.) The important thing is to stabilize your blood sugar - and that means no more roller coaster rides... no highs = no lows. Make sense?

Do you have any idea what may have triggered it? Did you go for a long time without eating? Did you eat anything you normally don't? Did you eat some sugary something?

I've had this problem too when I've gone too long without eating, or pushed myself too hard exercising. I was out walking with my son a few days ago, and got so weak and shaky I had to stop. I've been on hikes before where I just asked everyone to let me lie down and sleep for a little while right there on the trail. I try to always carry an Atkins bar with me now in my purse. I eat about 200 calories every 2-3 hours over my day, and it helps a lot.

I am with you all. Darrie, thank you so much for your detailed
explanation! Sandi, I can so relate to lying down on the trail...
When these hit me, I have NO OTHER OPTION. My speech is slurred.
My vision, muddled, my hearing impaired... I can barely walk..
sweating profusely...shaking and hopeless. Pretty big stuff and you bet I
carry Luna bars with me everywhere I go to counter a possible crash.

Last night I experienced the worst 'event" I've ever had. Put me in bed by 6:30-ish
and I didn't even get up to use the bathroom all night. I feel shell shocked today.
Very weak.. and a bit blurred.

I had just consumed a protein shake with 1/4 c apple juice, 1/2 banana crushed ice
and 2 scoops of Isopure vanilla protein supplement/ all buzzed up in my blender.
I was shocked to have this response to a protein shake! Never had any probs before
as long as there was no lactose involved. Then I remembered I'd sat with my daughter
and granddaughter a couple of hours before, breaking off chunks of homemade curry
raisin bread, I'd bought for them at the farmers market earlier in the day. I'm thinking THAT
was what finally broke through to cause this breakdown. It can't be described as anything
less! So you bet I'll be walking on eggshells today nutritionally. I'm so grateful to be
among you folks who share such a wealth of information! Can't thank you enough!

And a final crazy question here...what is the worst that can happen from one of these episodes??
Can we die? It feels that serious at the time.

Mickeefynn, that's not a crazy question at all!! It was one of my first questions when this started happening to me over 15 years ago... I've never been told that I could die from one of these, although it's really dependent on how far down your sugar level goes, I think...

If you consider that by the time your blood sugar reaches 60, most people feel like they're gonna die... and for a diabetic, it IS considered to be life threatening, I'd say that this is nothing to fool with... For me, if my blood level gets down near 75, I start with the crankiness... at 70 I start with the shakes... by 65 I'm slurring... Again, I'd hope that someone (like Bamagal) with some of those initials at the end of their name would chime in here because I'm just speaking from my own experience, not any real medical knowledge...

I'd also have to wonder about why you crashed so severely after having the protein shake, but, then again, there was an awful lot of sugar in that protein shake too... :) The apple juice alone would send me off the deep end, even if I had protein with it! But, that could just be me... I've been told that I'm a VERY sensitive hypoglycemic, so, it's quite possible that you'd be fine with your concoction there...!

What have you had to eat today? Anything that made you feel better even for a short period of time?

Mickee, I've gotta be really careful with fruit. Bananas and apples can send me into one of these. In fact, my family now calls banana "rocket fuel" around here because they say I actually go through personality changes from the rapid sugar. I can tolerate about a 1 inch thick disc at a time. But that's if I have peanut butter with it. I can't imagine having apple with it too.

As to dying, that is a very logical fear. I can't think of any other sensation I've been through, including childbirth by emergency ceasarian after 16 hours of hard labor, that frightened me more than the episodes you've described. I try to hide the intensity from whoever is with me, because I know that if they were in my body when it's happening, they'd call an ambulance.

I wonder what is really going on with our vitals during this? I wonder if this could go to a shock thing or something.

Mickee, when I feel this at home or where I can get to water, I start forcing water immediately and it has helped. Not right away, but it seems to help the length and severity of the episode.

P.S: I just read Darrie's post and see that she says the same thing about the fruit. Honestly, I just use it for special occasions. It's my dessert of choice. Experiment, CAREFULLY with different fruits and juices in small batches and see if you notice what the two of us are saying.

I know that a lot of people on here have no problems at all with fruit. So I don't want to assume that this is your problem, but if you're hypoglycemic, you may be more sensitive to the way sugar is released in your small intestine than others....

Something to think about. As if you don't have enough already!

You perfectly described this situation, and the aftermath: shell shocked, dazed and very skittish.

I hope that today is peaceful for you.

One of the things that I was told to avoid is dried fruit. The bread that you were eating had raisins, no? That could have pushed things over the edge...

You are all better now?

I'm trying really hard to not get too dramatic about all of this, but, it's becoming increasingly difficult... I'd like to reiterate that I'm not a medical professional and that anyone with any of these symptoms should absolutely positively seek medical advice for their own condition. Having said that, I will happily add what I know about this monster that I've personally dealt with for over 15 years...


It certainly could, if your blood sugar goes low enough...! Hypoglycemia can lead to seizure, coma and even death in a diabetic... any reason why it can't lead to the same problems in a non-diabetic? Only that we're less likely to have our blood levels get as low as a diabetic's might... maybe...! Anything below 70 is considered an emergency in a diabetic, because they can drop sugar levels so fast... So can a hypoglycemic... as far as I understand, it's just that we (hypoglycemics) have a better chance at regulating this on our own through diet than a diabetic would. It's really just a different side of the same coin, and it needs to be managed or it'll just end up causing a great deal of damage that is entirely preventable.

Low blood sugar symptoms include:

• shaking
• sweating
• rapid heart beat
• irritability
• headache
• confusion
• seizure
• severe hunger

And any combination of the above. You need to learn what your triggers are, and what your symptoms are when they START, not just when you're shaking and sweating and unable to think straight...! If you've reached that stage, then your blood sugar has already dipped below 70 and you've been having some symptoms for at least 30 minutes already. It could be a vague feeling of malaise when you'd been just fine a few minutes ago... of fatigue, yawning, outright sleepiness, all the way up to the worst PMS crankiness you've ever shown! You're the only one who will know, and only if you pay close attention to what you're feeling after you eat something that has the potential to affect your blood sugar. That means anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) that can be broken down as sugar. Dried fruits, raisins (sugar by another name) , Fruits in general, juices, cakes, cookies, breads, all the things you know you probably shouldn't be eating anyway, those are the things that are most likely to trigger a hypoglycemic attack. What's another name for all of these things?? Say it with me class... : CARBS. If you must eat them, you then also MUST balance them with protein. If that means you can't have the full portion of that goody you wanted, then so be it. Your health is at stake here! Getting off that soapbox now!



Sandi, I have to take a little objection to this advice, because it's not really dealing with the problem! Hypoglycemia is a REAL medical condition, and it is definitely a potentially dangerous one. It requires an intervention, and a plan of action, quickly, concisely and definitively. Adding water may help you feel better later, but, you need something to correct the problem right NOW when you're dealing with a crash. You don't know how far down you're going to go, you don't know if what you're dealing with now is going to get better in 10 minutes or WORSE in 10 minutes... Waiting it out should NEVER be the acceptable route for a blood sugar situation. Fixing it is. (I guess I'm still on that soapbox, huh?)

How do you fix it? You find something that doesn't send you crashing after you eat it... for some people it's peanut butter, like Skippy or Jif - they both contain sugar in addition to their naturally high protein levels. That should help you feel better in 10 minutes or so. Others, like me, need some higher levels of sugar combined with some protein in order to level me out - like my 1/2 banana followed by the cheese. For others, it's yogurt. The objective is to find something that works within 10 minutes to make you stop shaking, and start feeling better. Something that will let you feel like yourself again in a few minutes so you can get something BETTER into your system to stabilize yourself. That's why I combine the banana with the cheese. Since the surgery, I'm now full after the cheese, and find I don't need anything else. That's a blessing, as long as I don't find myself needing anything else in 30 minutes! I used to drink orange juice... that's what they give diabetics isn't it? Right? Right. Sent me crashing down again in an hour... Why? it's too much sugar, and nothing to back me up... It made me feel better for a while, but, all I'd done was set myself up for yet another crash!

At the point of managing a crash, it becomes less important to me to stick with any diet plan, because I've got more important things to worry about than my waistline! And apparently, the diet plan I'd had isn't working so great, now is it?? Stabilize, stabilize, stabilize. Stabilized? Good. NOW I can get back to dieting...!

Questions? Fire away!

Thanks for the responses gals. I'm feeling better of course today but I did go
back to bed for another couple hours around 9:30. I've been pretty ok with
fruit over the past 5 years. Always have Clementines around... apples to have
with some p-butter. Bananas? Not so much, because of their density in general
and I hear they're a constipation issue. I've mostly had these episodes around
highly processed carbs that are sliders, like fake mashed potatoes...
whooooosh-----------> *CRASSSSSSSSSSSH!* or a PB&J on white bread from school
I can eat melon and berries just fine, too. I don't do juice. I had that much left
from a cup my granddaughter had here at the house. So it could have been all
that tricky stuff thrown together. Whatever it was... I'm not throwing that stuff
together again!
Today, I've eaten two choco protein balls
a protein shake w/ CytoSport Muscle Milk (chocolate w/ a T of p-butter)
a chunk of cream cheese wrapped in two thin sliced deli ham circles
and an individual container of sugar-free gelatin
a Clementine with my iron early this morning
I do tend to eat often
Thanks for the advice... Bananas are Rocket Fuel from here on out!

I haven't had much problem with citrus, melons or berries, but I go slowly with all fruit.

And I totally agree with Darrie that these symptoms should be monitored by a health care professional. I'm not trying to imply that just drinking water will solve the problem. I just know that it has helped me get over the worst part of the situation more quickly if I feel that it's been brought on by dumping more than by lack of food. Opposite problems, similar symptoms...

This topic is really interesting to me as well. Since Christmas, I have been eating chocolate again and have been able to tolerate it a little too well. I am trying to wean myself from this indulgence but I slipped again last night. I have really been eating only good, dark chocolate up til then...last night, I had a small piece of not so great fudge. Way too sweet. It brought on the crash that I have not experienced since prior to my surgery. That awful feeling - so out of control and so crazed - was back in full force. I found myself eating a half cheese sandwich - and then reaching for some more chocolate...Completely at the mercy of the shakiness of my body. The immediacy of reacting to the crash is what gets me. I feel a desperate need to "feed" the problem - to get rid of it NOW.

I took this as a huge wake up call...The sugar must be eliminated in the form of candy...I can tolerate fruit - unless it is high in sugar (like watermelon) which needs protein to keep me balanced.

Finding the triggers and then having the strength to stay away from them - because I knew I shouldn't have had the fudge - are some of the challenges we face still. It is nice to have a place to share this - the journey is complicated and rough at times. Good to have fellow travelers. Thanks.

Question.....what is a normal fasting (overnight) blood sugar level? My NP asked me what my blood sugars were last week and I had no idea. Pulled out the meter I hadn't used in years and checked. Fasting (overnight) was 75 on day and 79 another. I've never been "officially" diagnosed as diabetic, but am on Metformin.

NP dropped my BP meds back because I was starting to have dizzy moments (not spells, just moments). I can tell that has helped.

Wondering if the Metformin is bringing my blood sugar too low?

I see my PCP tomorrow so will talk with her. I'm just really curious about the normal range.
Would appreciate the info.

Thanks!
ITM

Let us know what you find out ITM!

I'm diabetic. Fasting BS should be 80-100 (Mayo Clinic website says "below 100"). Too low & you will show symptoms of low blood sugar.
Why are you on Metformin if you're not diabetic, if you don't mind me asking?

Jeanie,
I'm not sure I know exactly why. I believe it is because I have Metabolic Syndrome and the probable development of diabetes eventually if I kept going the way I was.

However.......my NP at the WLS clinic said that being "pre-diabetic" is like being "pre-pregnant" and that I was diabetic.

So you see why I'm confused. My plan is to see if I can get rid of the stuff now that I've lost weight. I hate those horse pills!!

I'll let you know what happens.

ITM

I am gradually coming off my meds. I'm Type II. I am down to one medication & only have to take it if my morning BS is >120. I've had to take it less then 1/2 of the time over the past few weeks! I will be glad to get off of it completely, which I'm pretty sure I will.

I have had problems with hypoglycemia since about 4 months after my surgery back in 1991. It has resulted in loosing consciousness twice and most of the other symptoms more times than I can count. For me the severity of the crash has to do with how fast the blood sugar swing happens. I haven't monitored it for the last few years since i gained all my weight back but when I was my normal weight of 155 lb, my fasting blood sugar would usually be in the high 50's low 60's. I could eat something sweet for breakfast and it would spike to 90 or 100 then start crashing back down. When I discovered a diabetis website advocating a hight protein and moderate fat intake diet because it would stabilize blood sugar, I tested it out. My fingers were so sore from testing frequently during the day. In my case I found that it was true. I was able to get my sugar level to between 65 and 75 even overnight. It was heaven. Protein alone doesn't work for me because apparently we turn some protein into sugar. Fat on the other hand we can not turn into sugar only burn it. There are only two ways I get my sugar under control. 1) Graze constantly on sugary junk which is how I gained my weight back. But I felt great. 2) Maintain a low carb high protein/fat diet.

Last week on Monday I started working on regaining control of my eating and all week long I had blood sugar problems. I didn't have protein shakes on hand yet so I drank slim fast about 5am then had 1/2 to 1 South Beach Bar. There was not enough fat or protein then to keep my sugar level stable. The sugar in the slim fast was just the ticket to cause a crash. I bought some atkins shakes over the weekend and my protein shake supplies and bars are starting to arrive in the mail. Over the weekend I had 1 scrambled egg and 1 piece of bacon for breakfast and was fine. I don't know if for most of us our blood sugar can physically crash as low as a diabetic's can but it is still dangerous. Passing out in the shower is not a good thing. One can drown. The same goes for passing out while driving, so yes it can be fatal.

The big difference between an insulin dependant diabetic hypoglycemic eppisode and ours is that a diabetic takes a prescribed amount of insulin. This amount is the same no matter what they eat. If they don't eat enough for that insulin to act on it will attack thier blood sugar. The mechanism is the same for us but the difference is that the insulin while being more than we need for the meal we had, is still regulated by our body. The diabetic may inject .25 or .5 cc fast acting insulin then get busy and forget to eat causing an immediate crisis. In our case, we have a small amount of insulin in us all the time but produce a surge when we eat that nice donut for breakfast. The surge overshoots to some degree and we crash. Our body calculates how much insulin it needs to release to utilize the sugar and it will most likely be far less than the amount the diabetic injected before breakfast that is supposted to last most or all day. I don't think I'm explaining it right. The short story is that for most of us we will never see a blood sugar in the 30s or 40s because our body won't overshoot by that far. An insulin dependant diabetic can.

My doc decreased my blood pressure meds even more (YAY!!!) and decreased my Metformin by 2/3 (YAY!!!). I'd love to get rid of something, but for now I'll try to be happy with decreasing the amounts. I did show her the fasting blood sugars and she doesn't think it is the cause of my feeling lousy lately, but said maybe my body would be happier at a little higher level. Also said there have been so many changes that my system may be having a hard time figuring out where things are and getting regulated (something like that).

I'm hoping my 2 week long headache, grumpyness, fatigue, etc. will go away with some of these changes. I was doing so well and then.....I don't know what happened. I'm just ready to feel better. If not better in a couple of weeks I'll go back.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. : )
ITM

I, too, have found that water can be a vital part of my feeling better. I've wondered myself if I'm more likely to crash when I'm not properly hydrated...? I've read through the posts here (which have been a godsend since I struggle w/this very issue several times a week), and I just wonder if anyone has ever looked at the variable of hydration in relation to crashing? I may be off the deep end about this, even asking, but I do find that I seem to crash more readily if I haven't been drinking my proper amount of water.

I appreciate all the suggestions here that the neighbors have given for what has worked for them. My worst fear is that I'll overcompensate when the crash happens thereby causing a reactive crash -- it's really scary. I have found that my daily regimen of high protein shakes coupled w/a higher protein snack like bacon or full fat cheese has helped. It's just time consuming to make the shakes and sometimes I get lazy. I keep hoping that the adverse affects of skipping the shakes/cheese will train me to do what's right for my body 100% of the time. I guess it's all just part of learning to live the successful WLS life, right?

I asked my nutritionist today about the low blood sugar episode, and she told me to stop eating 6x a day. She said ONLY 3 meals, and if I felt shaky, drink a cup of milk. Or, low carb yogurt. She said I was bringing it on myself because I eat 6x a day... I asked what is the difference in drinking a cup of milk, and drinking one of my protein lattes'? Her milk has more sugar in it... if I eat my way, and don't miss meals, I am just fine. But, this weekend I missed meals and that's when I got sick. So I just don't get it. She also told me to eat wheat bread, rice, start drinking juice. I dont normally eat these kinds of foods... IF I do, its as a "treat" like when I want a peanut butter sandwich.... a piece of low carb bread, but I don't eat the entire piece. I have had rice a couple of times since surgery... but not much.

I just cannot eat 3 meals a day and get in all the protein. I dont think she's right. I am going to eat just like I am because it does work, and from what I read everywhere, by people who have the same problem, its eating 5 or 6 x a day that helps it.

Hi Everyone!

First let me say that I am VERY happy to see someone post about hypoglycemia!! I haven't met anyone else who has it and is actually willing to talk about it.

I have severe hypoglycemia and have had it since I was in my early 20s. I was on top of the world the first two years after my surgery because I had no attacks as I call them. I was VERY interested to know why all of sudden I had no more attacks. So I asked my nutrionist this question. And what she told me was that with my six small meals a day I was balancing out my sugars, complex carbs and proteins which was keeping my blood sugars in check. She also told me that stress also factors into it.

Fastforward three years, I find myself getting out of an abusive relationship after a messing divorce and my stress level was through the roof. As well as the fact that I was barely eating. My system was completely out of whack! I kept ignoring it over and over until one night while I was driving home I had the worst attack that I've ever had. My vision was completely blurred, I was shaking terribly and it was all I could do to get my truck off the road. I had to sit along side the road for about 45 mins before I could physically drive again. I could not function at all the next day. I decided that it was time to go back to the doctor.

I went through the cycle of blood sugar tests a few times and on every test my blood sugar never got above 50. I've had the same doctor since I was three years old and I could tell by the look on his face that he was very concerned. He told me that I needed to get my six meals a day back to being balanced, try to reduce my stress level or find a way to relieve it, and to not only have glucose tablets with me at all times but to also have some time of complex carbs such as a couple peanut butter crackers available to me.

Well, I listened to what he said and agreed BUT to myself I REFUSED to eat the crackers. In my mind that was just HORRIBLE idea. All I could think was did he forget I had WLS?? About 2 weeks later, I was stressed to the max as I with personal problems and getting ready for a conference at work that I had to set up for and run. I was alone in my building moving furniture and I started getting a headache. I kept telling myself I'll go sit down in a minute. Well about 20 minutes later it was all I could to crawl to my desk and try to get a glucose tablet. Needless to say I never made it. My boss came in about 45 mins later to help me finish setting up and found me sitting againt the front my desk. My clothes were completely drenched and I was still shaking.

So now, I have a 4 pack of pb crackers and a tube of glucose tablets in my purse, car, my home, and in my desk at work. I used to be very embarrassed about this but now I rather be safe than sorry. So my family, friends, all the girls in my office and my boss know where to find these items. And luckily since December I've only had two bad and a few minor attacks veruses multiple attacks per week.

So Mel, I COMPLETELY follow the six meals a day now no matter what. I did have one minor attack last week while on the 5dpt when I tried to cut down to four meals.

Have a good day all!

MsBrat,
I can't even imagine walking around all the time with a 50 BS. I'm diabetic & I get in bad shape at 60. I'm glad you are taking the proper precautions to keep you blood sugars under control. Good for you!

Mel & Ms. Brat;

I have got to say that I have not found a nutritionist that seems to totally grasp what it's like to live with bypass surgery. I think a whole new book needs to be written about it. They look at what we eat and the way we eat it and it flies in the face of what is "normal" and they keep trying to get us to eat like the rest of the world, only in smaller amounts.

I have a soap box I get up on about every 6 months where I talk about the reality of our situation. We are truly pioneers. We are leaving footprints for others to follow. 22 years from now, people will look at this old site and marvel that we were able to figure out what to really do in the face of such opposition from the nutritional experts of our time. We have to do what works. If we don't, we'll suffer, we'll get sick and we could die. We are not guinea pigs to be used to gather data. We are real humans that are doing this thing.

Let us therefore be proactive and state what works for us so that we leave footprints for others who will walk this path. Let us leave REAL, HONEST record of what we ate, what we eat and how it's working for us.

This is the only way that it's going to get "better" out there. Don't get frustrated, get determined to help make the future better for others by leaving a clear, accurate picture of your past. If you don't want to post all of that here, start a blog. Do something to make a difference!

Ok, off of soap box now. Back to smiley Sandi, doing her happy monkey dance.

Thanks for adding to this thread. It's an important one!

I have my own soapbox too! I know exactly what you mean... gets you all fired up on the inside!!?? Mine though is about sugar free products... it makes me mad when wls patients resort to sf products and believe that they will still lose weight, and continue eating them whilst trying to MAKE it to goal... still have a lot to lose, and keep going back time and again to those sugar free products packed with carbs, fats, calories... but they don't graso that it can stall their weight loss... the main purpose we turn to sugar free is to avoid dumping... but they believe its weight loss? ! ? What? Anyway, ok let me climb down now off the box and let someone else get up there. Maybe we need a thread called "What's your soapbox?"

I had surgery 10 years and 3 children ago. I have had to date 4 glucose tolerance tests. My surgeon told me that no matter what the glocose tollerance tests no longer is relliable for gastric bypass patients. I always pass them but I do suffer from hypoglycemia.
I began having sugar lows several years ago.
I am triggered just like with dumping syndrome when I eat something I am not suppossed to eat. Such as carbs, sugar or even meals that are high in carbs (baked potato or anything fried). It takes me 2 days to get my sugar regulated again. A day of bouncing blood sugar can make you very very sick.
I can only do slim fast sparingly and very slowly. I can't gulp it down it will send me into overload with the sugar and milk. I prefer to make my own because I know what is in them.
My advice is stay away from carbs and sugars and milk.

I have a love, hate relationship with them.

Hi Everybody!

Instead of eating for lunch I am posting!! Haha how funny!

Jeannie- The low sugar makes me tired A LOT of the time but I've learned to adjust. I am going back soon for more tests to see if the numbers go up.

Sandi- I was very lucky when I chose my surgeon. He actually has a "Bariatric Team" that specializes in WLS patients. So my nutrionist ONLY works with WLS patients. And she's very intune.

Mel- the SF products usually make me dump more than a little bit of sugar! Because all the extra carbs and the sugar alcohol that comes from the sugar subsititue.

Mysia- the only Slim Fast Product I can tolerate is the Low Carb ones. They have 190 calories, 20g of protein, 1g of sugar and 6 Carbs.

You can have perfectly normal fasting blood sugars or even slightly high (up to 120) and still be hypoglycemic. I have been diagnosed with "dawn syndrome". The easiest way to describe it is to tell you that although your blood sugars are fine all day, the morning reading can be elevated because the body is preparing during the night to deal with the day. At "dawn" you produce slightly less insulin, so your sugar is slightly higher.

This is odd because my blood sugar drops during the day no matter what I eat. I know once I get back into better eating control, it should get better. Having said all this, my last A1C was 5.4 - with no diabetes medication for the last three years. My (former) diabetes is controlled with diet and exercise.

Hi I'm a newbie - Just joined. I had my Gastric Bypass surgery Oct '06 I started at 233 lbs and I am now 118 lbs. I too have had the lovely shakes from time to time. I seem to usually get them when I don't drink enough water. A friend of mine is a visiting nurse and it so happened I got an episode one night while she was visiting. She happened to have her blood sugar kit with her in her car. As she went to test my blood (by pricking my finger) she noticed that I was dehydrated. I ate peanut butter and crackers and had skim milk. (she said the milk if you can tolerate it can also help). It took awhile but it was under control. What a weird feeling and comes on all of a sudden. I always keep peanut butter crackers in my car or pocket book (the packaged ones).

Thank you all for sharing.

Niecie

Niecie,
Welcome to the neighborhood.
Glad your friend helped you to figure out what you needed to do. Those shakes are no fun!

HI ALL.I TOO AM HYPOCLYCIMIC.SINCE GBS BACK IN 2002.DR TOLD ME WHEN I GET THE SHAKES,DO NOT EAT SWEETS.EAT FOOD.JUST TO LET YOU ALL KNOW.HAVE A GREAT DAY.DEBBIE