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If hypo is the one where you have an unnaturally slow metabolism that's what I have, and I take medication for it. It didn't interfere at all with my getting banded or my weight loss!

Honey congrats on the amt. of weight that u did loose.. U have to realize that most people get more than 3-fills in a year after time goes on the fill evaporates over that much time... Make an appointment and go get another fill... U can do this u already have the tool inside u just have to reactivate it... :incazzato:

I totally agree about the reactive hypoglycemia -- sounds like the classic symptoms. If your sugar is very low, also carry glucose tabs with you as that will raise your blood sugar straight away, then the nuts/protein bar can sustain it from there. I'm afraid the latter two don't have enough immediately available glucose to keep you from going so low you pass out. If there's not enough information on here about it -- you can also read a lot about it on Thinner Times. It's a relatively frequent side effect of RnY and DS, less so for VSG, but not unheard of. Good luck and feel better!!

I didn't think sleeve patients got it either, but who knows. Maybe some do but it's just not that common? Or it may not even have anything to do with your sleeve - I think even non-WLS people can get reactive hypoglycemia.

late dumping syndrome is reactive hypoglycemia (also known as postprandial hypoglycemia). It's not that uncommon in RNY patients - I don't know about sleeve patients. It seems to start when you're a couple years out.

I've been hypo for a long time, and my TSH level NEVER reflected how I felt. Mine is very very low, and I still have many hypo symptoms. Depression and lethargy are at their worst right now. My PCP finally upped mine a bit just this week, even though I had to beg her...so I hope it helps. When she checked my reflexes I had NONE, so that convinced her. Sometimes you have to shop around for a doctor who will treat you instead of the numbers.

Michelle - I'm not sure what causes a port infection once the intial healing has completed when erosion is NOT involved. One would have to think it must have something to do with fills, since the materials are inert and supposed to be non-reactive. Although if someone is having problems with the port suturing, like when I tore mine, I wouldn't have been surprised if it had gotten infected, since obviously I had done some internal damage. I don't know much about bacteria living inside of the body, waiting for damage - would that have to be introduced from outside, like with the fill needle? Penni? Any insight into this phenomonen? I do not have any stats as to how often port infections occur, but I do know they are considered to be one of the more common problems (next to vomiting and reflux). As long as your doc is following proper sanitary protocol, there should be a very low risk of infection from fills. But I think the caveat is there is always a risk - it's just not very high. As far as symptoms, I am assuming the area become red, hot, and tender to the touch. Maybe there is an eruption through the skin as well in severe cases? If you have one, you will know. I would not worry too much about this possibility. There does seem to be a rash of them lately, though. :sick

Does this happen to you? I had my RNY in March of 2014 and some days the struggle to keep my blood sugar steady is a challenge. Sometimes it is because I eat too many carbs in a meal, but sometimes I can have a balanced Breakfast and I still get shaky after an hour or two. I'm getting much better about managing it. Here is the thing I can not figure out. I have a diagnosis of ADD. I take Adderall (which is a stimulant) but the side effects in combination with my dietary needs can be hard to manage so I do take days off. But the strangest side effect of all is that when I'm on it my blood sugar stays very steady. Initially I thought it was because I'm eating a lot less but I can eat the same thing for breakfast and my blood sugar will drop a few hours later if I haven't taken the Adderall. My other other hypothesis is that I'm much more active on weekend mornings than I am on work day mornings so maybe that's causing my blood sugar to drop faster. I really have no idea but I'm thankful for the unexpected side effect. So anyone else struggling with this? It's a pain, like when I blacked it at the gym or almost passed out getting tattooed, but I am slowly learning to manage it.

All hail its power! Three months after having my band unfilled, this morning was the day! It could not get here fast enough. All my old behaviors around food were circling the wagon, just waiting for my willpower to break. Three months, while not long in the scheme of things, felt so very long for me. But what a reminder of how powerful the band is--three months without any restriction and my mindset was right back to that of a non-surgical weight loss patient: always thinking about food, counting hours between meals, ability to eat anything in any amount and trying desperately not too...and sometimes failing and feeling horrible at being so weak-willed. The radiologist told me before he filled me that there was no way I'd go back to my sweet spot---6 cc in a 10cc band--in one fill, as three months with an unfilled band means my stomach organ had a chance to relax and expand and I'd be too tight if he filled me back to my prior level. But when he got in there, and filled to 5 cc, I didn't have enough restriction when I drank the barium so he did top me up to 6 cc. This means that I didn't do too badly during my hiatus; had I eaten whatever I had wanted to eat, I surely would have stretched out my stomach to pre-band size. So hooray for the little self-restraint I did show! (I gained 5 pounds over the three months, but that easily could've been much, much more.) I cannot overempathize how WONDERFUL it feels to have restriction again. My appetite was instantly turned off! As I walked back home from the radiologist's office, all the gorgeous displays in the bakeries didn't call to me. (Unfilled, I had to avert my eyes...this stuff is so very triggering to me.) In a very perverse way, I have to say that this three-month period was a gift. It really drove home how powerful my band is. I will never be someone who will say "I did this all myself, with my good choices and discipline." Being unfilled turned me right back into a [failing] dieter. I am SO grateful that I made the decision to get a lapband, and not keep trying to find weight loss success on my own. It's crazy evident that making those good choices in foods/portions is only possible because the band turns way way down the part of my brain that drives me to eat compulsively. I truly am a different eater when banded, through the power of this little piece of plastic, So happy to be back in the game. It is so very freeing to go through the day without fighting my cravings. Sipping a coffee---very slowly and carefully, because I'm so tight that it backs up into my throat--and looking forward to the next drop in weight. Here we go!

Am having open rny on Jan 20 I have hypo thyroid. This makes losing weight really hard. Does anyone else have thyroid and can I still expect to lose regularly with only an occasional plateau?

Hi meggiep! Glad you mention it's coumadin...whole different animal. When it comes to razor cuts, there is no way to assess how superficial the cut is until we see the patient in the ER. If I were you I would tell your friend to go to his PCP and have his PT/PTT times checked (coagulation times). There is a possibility that he may have to have his dose adjusted. Just a thought. Remember...preventive medicine always beats reactive medicine!!! Best,

3.5 years post op.. My blood pressure came down, hypo thyroid meds decreased.... Blood sugar lowered... Cholesterol lowered... I have a herniated disc in my neck that I had to have an epideral injection into ever 3 months but with the weight lose I only get one a year. Joint pain has greatly improved. I didn't have a lot of diagnosis medical problems but if I did nothin for another two years it would have been bad.. I'm 35 now.. And wish I would have done this sooner, just for the health benefits

They can be caused by reactive hypoglycemia, which I have found is common in WLS patients that are 18+ months out. Mine are not menopause (hysterectomy 5 yrs ago) and the docs did a bunch of tests to rule out cancer. I final started tweaking my diet and have figured out how to get rid if them.

Another factor in daily fluctuation are inflammation reactions we have to certain foods. Google The Plan by Lyn Genet and you will get more information. When you are cleared for all foods, or if you already are, her 20 day plan is a good way to find out which foods are reactive for you. I did it and found that I am highly reactive to cabbage and tomatoes. Many of the foods that 90% of people are reactive to are on the healthy foods lists for most diets (oatmeal, turkey, black beans, tomatoes). It's very enlightening to read her book and go through the Plan. I was stuck not losing for 5 days when I should have been losing a half pound per day when I finally realized my salad mix had red cabbage in it. Well I checked the book and sure enough, cabbage was on the 85% reactive list. The next day I picked those little pieces of cabbage out and I was down 3 lbs the next day! I became a believer that day :-)

13. One skill or hobby you want to take up. I have three and I can't choose between them. When I get down a bit more, Imma reactivate my scuba license; take up horseriding with my daughter and start doing zumba/aerobics Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app

There are still some unanswered questions regarding the causes of dumping but it is generally thought to be the result of food being “dumped” too quickly (because the pylorus valve is no longer present) from the pouch into the small intestine. Early dumping usually occurs roughly 30 minutes after eating food high in sugar or simple carbohydrates (aka “simple sugars”). They can create a rapid increase in blood sugars (hyperglycemia). The rule of thumb is that white foods (e.g. potatoes, rice, Pasta, white bread, etc.) are usually simple carbohydrates. The sugars rapidly pull Water out of the bloodstream and into the small intestine. A number of the symptoms of dumping including severe diarrhea can result. With “late” dumping, the body responds to the rapid rise in blood sugars with an increase in insulin to process the sugars. The increased insulin can cause the blood sugars to “crash” producing low blood sugar (reactive hypoglycemia) and dumping symptoms follow. Symptoms may or may not include vomiting. It is called late dumping because it usually occurs two to three hours after eating but can occur as much as twelve hours later. The delay is partially explained by the time needed for the brain to signal the pancreas to produce more insulin in response to the blood sugar spike. It then takes time for the pancreas to produce the insulin and for the insulin to make its way to the small intestine via the bloodstream. Because the intestine is shorter as a result of the surgery, the partially digested food passes more quickly through the intestine and blood sugar levels may have returned to normal before the insulin reaches the intestine - which is why the blood sugar crashes. Somewhere between 25% to 50% of patients never experience dumping. It is difficult to determine an accurate number because some folks experience dumping without realizing what it is and others think they are experiencing dumping when the cause of their symptoms may be something else. Of those that do experience dumping, about two-thirds experience early dumping with the remaining one-third experiencing late dumping. Although decidedly unpleasant, dumping is rarely serious. As you can see from the responses above, dumping may occur for years following surgery and possibly even for life. Or it may subside and even disappear over time as the body makes adjustments to its new physiology.

Wikipedia states here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia that reactive hypoglycemia "is a medical term describing recurrent episodes of symptomatic hypoglycemia occurring within 4 hours[1] after a high carbohydrate meal" It also states "There are different kinds of reactive hypoglycemia:[4] Alimentary Hypoglycemia (consequence of dumping syndrome; it occurs in about 15% of people who have had stomach surgery)" So this it's saying that re-active hypoglycemia is a form of dumping, which I've experienced pre-surgery. You sound like your suffering from low blood sugar as eating relieves your symptoms, although wikipedia terms this as hypoglycemia and it's back to citing dumping again. I'd say you have hypoglycemia in the common usage sense and not the way it's most commonly used in the WLS community. See here for further wiki details: "Hypoglycemia (common usage) is also a term in popular culture and alternative medicine for a common, often self-diagnosed, condition characterized by shakiness and altered mood and thinking, but without measured low glucose or risk of severe harm. It is treated by changing eating patterns." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoglycemia It's something I used to experience more in my skinny teenage years due to not eating enough. The main things are to try and low carb/high protein it and to eat little and often (you have to be vigilant to not get into grazing though). I hope you can get into a better routine with your new job soon.

I think I have a blood sugar meter somewhere, and I'll try to dig it up. I guess I've been avoiding directly measuring my blood sugar because FWIK non-insulemic hypoglycemia is usually caused by problems with your pancreas, which I do NOT want to contemplate... For now, since the problem seems to be related to/worsened by my caffeine intake, I'm weaning myself (further) off caffeine, and trying to stick with the "many small, protein-heavy meals," and I'm going to try to have a protein-heavy "snack" before bedtime (probably just a Protein shake). Oh, and cardio exercise, since that seems to help people with hypo-g.

I am hypo and have pcos. I am going in tomorrow. I have been struggling for 15 years with all of this. Looking forward to the future!!!

Here's another topic with really great information and others who have the same symptoms; http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/22734-reactive-hypoglycemia/

Thanks for all the support everyone! And my surgeon is Dr. Chu. The process for me was a little different than others. I started this journey last year February I attended 2 seminars and then met with the nutritionist and surgeon. But after that I wasn't too sure if I wanted to get the surgery so I decided to try one more time on my own but failed! So by November I decided this is the best thing for me and I called Bariatrics but had to get my referral reactivated witch took about a day or 2. Then they called me once they got the referral to set up an appointment over the phone with my surgeon. I had the over the phone appointment and next had to lose 5 pounds to be within 5 pounds of my surgery weight to see the psychiatrist and do blood work. I saw the psychiatrist and she said she was going to give all my paper work over to my surgeon and in a week I got a surprising phone call that I was all good to go and my surgery date is February 6th and pre-op is January 25th.

I haven't had any flare ups with the PKD, so I haven't had to take steroids. I've been pretty lucky so far, but as I age, things can change. It's a weird disease; no cure, but many people don't even know they have it and end up dying from something else. Even still, the last CT scan showed that my kidneys are enlarged with all the cysts, but there isn't really anything to do, unless the labs start to show impairment of function or they see protein in my urine. For now, it's just a bit of flank pain.....which comes and goes. I just have to be careful and clear all prescription drugs through my nephrologist. I take Meloxicam for joint pain, which he says is a huge no no. I'll have to figure that one out. Though I don't take it every day, it's been a wonder drug for me; the difference between painful/miserable walks, to being able to walk my dog for close to an hour without wanting to lay down in the middle of the street and cry. I've never heard of the IF diet, but I just looked it up online. It's very interesting. My husband stopped eating dinner a couple of months ago, and dropped a good amount of weight. He wasn't following that plan, but just decided to stop eating at around 4pm. It's worked well for him. I do have thyroid issues and have been taking meds for many years. I'm hypo-thyroid and have Hashimotos disease. My numbers are good on the dose of Synthroid I'm on, so I've got that part covered. I'm going to work with the nutritionist at my surgeon's office. I love her and she can help me get on an eating plan that works at this stage. This might be TMI, but I had a total hysterectomy a year before my band surgery, and it's 5 times harder to lose the same pound than it was before menopause and losing my ovaries. I remember "older" people always telling me to lose the weight while I'm young; it's much harder when you're older. I was young and cocky and didn't believe them. HA! And here I am.......struggling along Thanks for your input, FluffyChix - I appreciate it When did you have your surgery? I see you live in Texas. I'm in California, and we've been talking about possibly relocating to someplace around Austin (Hill Country), when we retire in a couple of years.

Ok, so yes, I've had 1 episode of RH. Sorry you are dealing with this. But it's common. I would personally NOT add carbs. By keeping enough protein and fats in your diet to be truly keto, you will level and flatten out your blood sugar/insulin response. When you add carbs, you increase the amplitude of the blood sugar rollercoaster and the severity of the RH. The big thing to know is if you are truly hypo or if for some odd reason, you're turning into a T1 diabetic (not producing insulin) and that sometimes happens suddenly to adults. It's called LADA. But, if it were me (and it is), I'd buy a test meter and carry it with you at the first sign of symptoms. I'd buy packages of peanut butter you can squeeze into your mouth. And also carry glucose tablets in your purse. 5g of glucose tablets will raise blood glucose usually about 10points. So in an emergency you eat 2 of them and bam, emergency gone. Then you follow with a packet of peanut butter. Or nuts. Then you have to be on the lookout for the rollercoaster that "might" happen for the next day or two. I followed about two hours later wtih a very low carb, higher protein/fat mini meal. And had no other issues.

Disclaimer - I don't give medical advice. I'm just sharing my experience with this. I have reactive hyperglycemia. It started a year out. I am four years out. I'm still managing lows. Reactive hypoglycemia is your pancreas over functioning. Your pancreas will periodically dump a larger amount of insulin into your system. This is what causes low blood sugar. Treating/managing low blood sugars is not much different than managing diabetes. For me, RH is life long. My pancreas function is not going to change. You said " cannot/will not eat carbs and sugar" Try to get out of the mind set of "bariatric rules" You are treating a health issue. This is doable and you still can work your healthy plan. Keeping blood sugars level : I had a consult with a dietician outside of the bariatric program. I have a blood glucose meter. I test often. I eat five to six small meals (all within my calorie and macro range). I add Low glycemic carbs in small amounts and not every day or every meal. Example - One day no carbs the next day I will have small amounts with lunch and diner. Low glycemic carbs don't spike your sugars. (sweet potato, lentil, beans, brown rice, whole wheat and plant based (fruits veggies) I am carb sensitive. Carbs make me gain weight. My preference is to alternate days and meals and eat sweet potato and plant based carbs. Managing the low sugars: You will not be eating sugar daily. Just like a diabetic, Serious lows will involve real sugar to bring low's back up. Glucose tablets work. I can tolerate watered down orange juice. (full strength upsets my stomach) It may be trial and error to figure out what sugar choice works for you.

We had Chinese about a month ago, or so. I had Hunan Chicken with steamed rice and Chicken Lo Mein. I did not eat the fortune cookies. I didn't dump. But, I took very small amounts and, like you, I definitely stopped before I was full. I don't dump, but I do get reactive hypoglycemia. So, if I'm going to eat something high in carbs, I know that I'm going to have to eat something low carb and high protein within 2 hours, or my blood sugar will crash.