Lethargic, Fatigue, Mental Fog

[AnneG 7]

I've been feeling kind of crappy- Lethargic, Weak, Mental Fog.

I just have no energy and I feel off. I'm a bit low on Fluid today-

I've been getting around 650 calories per day- I'm just shy of my Protein and

normally my fluid goals but that's just because I'm 17 days post op and I think I have a bit of swelling-

because honestly I'm eating round the clock- to meet my goals- it's just that 2 babyspoon bites

of anything or 2 sips of anything and I'm full to the max. This week- I'd been really trying to

watch carbs since I was eating a bit more normal foods and I did pretty good staying around

the 45 mark- I'm using myfitnesspal.com to measure food, exercise and etc- love that tool.

I just haven't been able to shake the lethargic mental fog- I mean there is no way I could possibly

even exercise today feeling this way- my heart even seems to be beating a bit odd-

I was searching through posts here about fatigue to see if there was any suggestions for me-

I noticed in one someone mentioned complex carbs and I decided to check that out because-

I'd seriously reduced the carbs. I went in and whipped up some veggies the family had leftover

from dinner last night- mixed veggies of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, kidney Beans, chick peas

and that sort with a dill,parsley herb flavor sprinkled on top and I whipped that up in my

ninja with a bit of chicken broth so that it looks like mashed potatoes almost- and licked what was

left over on the spoon.. maybe it's my imagination but that was half an hour ago and I feel a little

better. I wonder if anyone else has any suggestions?

[swizzly 901]

My program requires carbs (not tons, not simple ones) for the reasons you mention. I think you did the right thing. Listen to your body. Best wishes!

[iegal 460]

Oh hun;

This is not about carbs so much as you were just sleeved. Your body is used to enormous amounts of calories. And now it is not getting the calories, sugar, carbs or Protein it once got. Add in lack of caffine maybe. Yeah, your body is in recovery and healing. Do you best to stick to your prescribed diet by surgeon and keep hydrated. If you are dizzy or see spots, call your surgeon's office.

Um, try a little bit of low sugar ice cream, maybe a bite or two. When I was sleeved last year another Sept sleever suggested this and it made helped me a lot. You will feel better each week and learn what a new normal is all about for you. Congrats on being sleeved.

[KellyL 173]

It could be that you are so newly sleeved and still not getting in enough fluids. But the statement you made about your heart has me concerned. When you say it's beating a bit odd, what do you mean? Faster, irregular, or what? I don't think carbs or even dehydration would cause this, but I am not sure. Do you have any abdominal pain or are you running fever? Please call your Dr if you don't feel right or something is going on with your heartbeat, this can be a symptom of a more serious problem.

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

If you are on blood pressure meds, check your blood pressure - it could be very low. Mine was, and I had to reduce my BP medicine. I was also anemic and had to start taking Iron. Also, it took me a couple of weeks to recover from the anesthesia.

Hope you feel better soon.

[AnneG 7]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone- I felt a lot better after having some mashed veggies.

I don't have high blood pressure or any heart problems.

I just have noticed when I'm going into that lethargic mode that my heart seems like it doing something funny-

almost like tachycardia when the heartbeat speeds up or you can feel it but not exactly.

Maybe I will call my doctor tomorrow just to check in. Thanks all

[LVikingFan 14]

Sounds like your blood sugar might be a little low too. A call to the doctor is not a bad idea.

[AnneG 7]

So, there is definitely something going on with me. This morning I felt fine. I had breakfast-

about 2 teaspoons of thin grits with cheese around 6 am. I felt fine and great and was thinking that today

might be a good day to go do some walking this morning. I left the house to take my daughter to

school on the other side of town and halfway there- at a red light I suddenly - felt shaky, off,

my hands got clammy, and I got the sort of mental fog again- like mental confusion- and I felt like I was going to pass out.

I got tunnel vision and I had to keep blinking my eyes and shaking my head to sort of stay with it.

You know, I had my daughter in the truck with me- the last thing in the world I'd want- is to pass out while I'm driving.

It scared me half to death- I managed to tell my daughter what was happening and informed her that I might have to pull over

to the side of the road but that I was going to try to make it to a 7-11 about 2 blocks away. It was not a good area of town to

break down.. for sure.

I got to the 7-11 and by then I was sort of having panicky feelings about what if I passed out and I was trying to think of

what to get to try to help my blood sugar- with the mental fog going on - it was very difficult to think- coherantly-

I grabbed a bottle of orange juice after glancing around to see what was available- I opened it before I even got to the counter

to pay for it- my hands were shaking as I opened the bottle and I was worried that I might not remember my pin number when I paid

for it with my debit card because I had no cash. I managed to get two sips down me in the car and tried to call a family member to

let them know where I was just in case- just in case I needed to call for an ambulance or just in case.. I needed someone to come get me.

My Daughter's school is very close to the hospital and also my surgeons office. After 20 minutes and fretting about the fact that my

daughter was already late for school and we were just under a mile away- I decided I should at least try to get her to school-

I ran back in to the 7-11 to see if I could find something other than the orange juice because I'd been having problems with acid-

and the orange juice reminded me of that and the idea of orange juice coming back up my already burning esophagus unnerved me.

I grabbed an apple juice and looked around for some protein- still fuzzy headed- I saw the lunchables and grabbed one thinking

either I could try to chew a bite of the turkey or if not then I could try the cheese.< /p>

Then I slowly pulled out onto the street and attempted to make it to my daughters school- and we got there- course by then I was

just barely holding it together for my daughters sake- but feeling absolutely positive that I really could have passed out while driving and killed

us both.

I let my daughter out of the truck to go to school - she was clearly worried about me and I tried to ease her concerns by telling her

that I was just fine and the juice helped..but.. that wasn't entirely true.

I parked on the side of the road there and tried to call my surgeons office since I was so close- much closer to there than home.

The nurse came on to speak to me and - she seemed to indicate that I could come in- if I felt like I might pass out but-

she didn't seem promising as to if they might could check to see what was going on with me.

I felt like if I went in and she could SEE what was going on then at least they might send me over for some lab work- maybe iv fluids-

something to try to figure out whats going on- or to help me to feel better.

I got to the office-somehow- grabbed my juice which I'd taken 2 tiny sips of and nibbled on the piece of turkey there but it tasted

terrible so didn't get more than a bite in- tho nibbled on a cracker more easily- just twice- around the edge -

When the person came out..and i'm not even sure if it was a nurse- she told me they'd tried to slide me in around 10- it was then 8:45 or so.

She said they had 2 big cases coming in and something going on at the hospital and she scolded me for having the apple juice in my hand-

and asked me WHY WAS i DRINKING THAT- AS THO IT WAS A MORNING RITUAL OR SOMETHING.

I tried to explain to her that clearly I'd had less than 2 sips of that juice- the bottle was still full and that 7-11 doesn't cater to

bariatric patients in a situation of low sugar- she also scolded me for having the lunchable- I mean..really?

I Haven't ANY JUICE- since before my pre op diet. I haven't had anything remotely similar to a lunchable since before my pre op diet.

If I could ordered salmon or tuna- at 7-11 ..surely I would have but..as it stood.. I had few options.. lunchable..or .....donut..

I figured....I made a rational and good choice..by choosing the lunchable to try.. it's not like I ate a whole cracker..it's not like

I ate a whole piece of the turkey..because I didn't come anywhere close to that.

She suggested I ditch the lunchable- and maybe the juice or dilute it and go down to the first floor to the cafeteria and find some protein-

and relax until 10 ish..when the might could slide me in but was sure to let me know that they couldn't do anything there- that they'd have

to put in an order for me to have whatever they wanted done..somewhere else.

So, I went down to the first floor- and began to look for the cafeteria- right away I noticed a generic starbucks called the espresso cafe but

it was closed. So, I kept walking- you know- it's not easy to walk around when you feel shaky and off- There was a small sense of relief that

if I passed out in the hallway that someone would find me tho.. that was better than sitting at a red light- and passing out. Small comforts-

So I kept walking around..looking for this cafeteria or some sign showing the way to no avail and I saw a tech coming down the hall way

and stopped him to ask where the cafeteria was and he said there was no cafeteria there- only the espresso cafe which I'd seen a half a mile

back down the other hall way.. and of course it was still closed.

Somewhere in all of THAT- I began to get ANGRY.

Angry that I'd be waiting for another hour and a half..to MAYBE BE SLID into the schedule.. and that MAYBE.. some tests would be ordered but

probably not done today- since fasting might be required. And angry that I'd been sent away to find a nonexistent cafeteria while on the verge

of passing out- and scolded no less.. regarding the juice and stuff....

And Angry because I'd thrown out the apple juice and lunchable and now there was no place open for me to get ANYTHING.

Angry enough that I went out to the valet parking attendant and asked for my truck- thinking I could at least get the orange juice I'd

left in there and evidently angry enough to get into my truck..and decide to drive my self HOME...

I called my mother on the cell phone and put her on speaker so that she could talk to me - as I drove home to make sure I had not passed

out in route.

Got home- managed to find some Protein mushie babyfood- ate a bit of that and sat down- called the dr's office to tell them that

I LEFT..AND I'M HOME NOW..AND IF THEY WANT TO CALL ME.. THAT WOULD BE GOOD.

The program coordinator called and said I needed to eat PROTEIN- SHE SAID IT LOUD AND SLOW AS THO I MIGHT BE HARD OF HEARING OR LEARNING CHALLENGED. I wanted to say something sarcastic in my defense- but I didn't-

I honestly don't remember what else she said- I don't know if she said she'd make me an appointment or anything.. the conversation is

a blur.. I have no idea what the woman said to me- I do remember her name tho.

So- that's what's going on with me.

[RickM 1,747]

Your instincts for the orange juice was probably a good one - that is often used by the diabetics to counter a dive in blood sugar as is one of the quickest absorbed forms of sugar; it's also good in potassium if that is part of the problem, though that level of symptomatic potassium deficiiency usually needs more intensive treatment. Saltine crackers are good for absorbing stomach acid - my doc recommends them for helping to counter stomach upsets, and says that if we dont have Breakfast prompty in the morning, to have a couple saltines to soak up the acid from overnight.

Are you on blood pressure meds? Too much of them can cause some of these symptoms that you're having - my PCP was fairly aggressive in dropping my doses as he preferred that I be a little high for a while than risk being too low.

You probably should have stuck around the doc's office, even if the staff wasn't being too helpful - if something more serious had happened they could have moved you up the priority list, or at least had you in a place where emergency treatment was close by. I don't think that my doc's staff would have let me leave if I was showing those type of symptoms - if the docs weren't available that day because they were in surgery, they would have gotten me in to see someone else, to the ER next door if they thought it was serious enough, or at least rest/hydrate and eat something until I was stable.

It does seem that you have something going on here, since this isn't the first time now. I would certainly get some medical attention from your PCP if not the surgeons office, or maybe one of the walk in urgent care clinics that can do some labwork. Something is wrong, some sort of deficiency or imbalance most likely, that you need answers to.

[KellyL 173]

If they didn't get you in right away with these kind of symptoms, I would go to the ER. Please do not try to drive yourself either. I am not sure what this could be, either blood sugar, potassium deficiency, dehydration, but you need to be checked and some blood work done at minimum. I get very frustrated by the staff at most drs offices too, but don't let them discourage you from getting medical assistance if you feel something is wrong. I hope you feel better and find out what's going on soon!