Blood sugar issue post VSG - sorry it is long.

 Hey all...

Okay so it has been just over 3 months since I had my surgery and I have lost over 71 lbs! Super excited about that! I have been a little over-strict with my diet maybe. I have been exercising a lot at fairly high intensity level...practicing running too. 

The other day I had to grab onto the counter to keep from falling over. Everything turned black and I was woozy. This was obviously very unsettling. It has happened a couple times. That night I told my husband I think I need to tweek my eating. 

You see, even though my book warns not to try to eat one meal a day b/c you can, I have kind of inadvertently almost started doing that. I still eat at other times...but very tiny amounts, and then eating a full (VSG size) meal at night. This is making my mornings so hard. I am a SAHM with two small kids and between all the energy that requires and working out, I am physically struggling. 

So the other night I realize this pattern I have gotten into. I really didn't realize it until then. 

The next morning I wake up and have my protein drink. Then I have two last minute dr. appointements to take the kids and I to and be somewhere by 10...a busy morning indeed. One of my appointments was to get my mini-physical done for insurance. It was due that day so I headed over to CVS. 

She took my glucose level and it was 59. She was really concerned about this and made me eat a glucose tablet...10 minutes later I was back up to 82. I realize this is probably about not eating at the right time and stuff...I later looked up low blood sugar symptoms, and I have been having a lot of them on a somewhat regular basis. The crazy part is that I NEVER had issues with my blood sugar before. I was not diabetic or even pre-diabetic before surgery. 

Have any of you run into blood sugar issues post surgery? Do you have any advice or practical tips on how to help me regulate this? I know the obvious one is to eat more regularly...maybe even what to eat after exercising or early in the morning or something would be helpful? 

 You answered your own question.  You have to eat more regularly.  I'd keep some of those glucose tablets the pharmacy gave you with you if your out and about and something handy for home too like some orange juice to get your sugar up when it drops like that.  Most hypoglycemic patients I see, I tell them to eat some carbs to keep their sugar from dropping too low but that isn't very helpful in most cases with our VSG surgery.  I've heard the argument on here though that everyone journey is different and there is more then one way to loose this weight so maybe you will have to introduce more carbs into your diet to help keep your blood sugar from dropping too low during the day.

 Yes...I know I've heard the carb thing...I was being very strict with my carbs, but I increased them a while back with very positive results. (still only at like 80 g/day at the max...usually more like 50)...I don't think I am as "carb sensitive" as others...plus I am still a very big girl weighing in at 256...so maybe it just isn't working as well for me to be so restrictive. I had seen where frisco and a couple others had mentioned how the very strict carb thing might not work for all of the extremely obese folks...that seems to be me. 

I am just really hoping this hypoglycemic issue is not really a precurser to diabetes. I have never had blood sugar issues...and I have regularly checked mine forever like when my mom comes to visit with her machine and stuff. But to get like pre-diabetic or something after losing so much weight just seems so disheartening. I was hoping to avoid the whole issue anyway. 

Hi:

I am having the same problem with my blood sugar but I take insulin.   I have to really monitor and also eat.   I would suggest that you look into making sure you have something to eat with you like maybe even protien powder because you can always buy a bottle of water somewhere.  
This is serious because this can happen when you are driving with your children in the car.   Always make sure that if your children are old enough that they know how to dial 911.   Since I am a single parent I have taught my daughter that if she can't wake Mommy up that she has to dial 911.  

Also when I am running errands even without her I send a simple text or email to her father just in case something happens.  

 Good advice. I think about that. My husband used to travel four days a week...while I was pregnant with #2 and when she was tiny...I was always a little nervous about that kind of thing. I had the same feeling this week when I was feeling so out of sorts too. 

Please be careful about this. I'm almost 3 months out now, and I can't eat enough in one meal to NOT be hungry 3 hours later. I can't imagine going the whole day on small snacks?

Definitely try making those meals more even weighted. Mine are usually 150ish calories and 15-20 grams of protein each, and I usually eat five times a day. Those just seem to be my magic numbers for staying in my calorie range and getting all of my protein in.

Good luck figuring out what works for you

 Thanks...you're right. Three hours would be a good interval. I've been just going far to far between meals. I have a protein drink at about 7:00 in the morning (0carbs) and then I have been (not intentionally...just without thinking) waiting to eat again until 1 or 2pm...big mistake! Generally this is also following a morning where I went to the gym or played hard with the kids too.

I bought a small cooler today to pack and keep with me as I plan...so I can avoid this problem in the future. 

 I agree ith he other posters - you have o eat 3 meals of dense protein at least 3 times a day.  This is as important to your health as anything else you do.  The protein shakes are a good supplement or back- up but you should e getting mt of our protein from meals.

If tie isan issue pan ahead.  After you put the kids to bed, planour meals for e next day and prepare a breakfast that you an grab quickly in the morning.  Try an egg salad or something li that.

 You are right...and bedtime would be good. Egg salad is something I forget about...but I love it and I could do that easily. Thanks!

I'm about 5 weeks sleeved and have been having the same problems you have and I'm not diatbetic. I got to work one morning and within 30 min of sitting there I started sweating, extremly dizzy I had to lay my head down, and felt like I was going to be sick. I put some wet towels on my face and nec****il it went away. For about a week straight, every morning when I wake up to turn the alarms off I get really dizzy and everything goes black even though my eyes are wide open. Seems that happens when I change positions, from bending down, layin to sitting, sitting to standing. I told my nut about this and after looking at my diet she suggest 15 carbs a day at least. I was trying to avoid them before. I've learned to get up sowly, when awake to sit up in bed a bit prior to jumping on my feet and I keep some dried cereal next to my bed and in my purse for moments like this.