Reactive Hypoglcemia

[Kat 18]

Has any one else been diagnosed with reactive hypoglycemia after bypass. Just got the diagnosis today. My blood sugar was dropping so low my symptoms made me appear drunk. It finally got to the point it went to low and I passed out. Just wondering if anyone else has gone through this and how they are doing. Thanks

[catwoman7 11,233]

it's not uncommon. Once I was over a year out I'd sometimes get dizzy. Had a complete workup and they found nothing. Next time it happened, it was about an hour after I ate a piece of cake at a retirement party at work. Told my doctor - she said it might be RH, and that my blood sugar might have been fine on the day I went for the workup, so it wasn't detected. She told me to eat something about every three fours, Protein preferable, and if I ate a carb, to be sure to pair it with a protein. It seems to have solved the problem for me.

[ms.sss 15,779]

i've self-diagnosed myself with reactive hypoglycemia (i think alot of us have on here probably)...aka late dumping syndrome.

i noticed it the first time i had (like 2 sips!) of a very sugary drink about 1 month post op. i've had it ever since, though i will say it is not as horrible as it used to be. A bad episode before was like wanting-to-die-on-the-bathroom-floor bad, bad episodes now are me passing out on couch for a couple hours.

management of it basically consists of not having too much sugar at one time, or on an empty stomach (note that what "too much" means to me will be different for someone else...so people need to figure out what thier own limits are). as well as having small regular meals throughout the day.

unfortunately i don't always do that so, yeah.

p.s. i'm 5+ years out.

Edited May 11, 2024 by ms.sss

[Kat 18]

Thank you so much at least I am not alone it’s been awful

[Arabesque 7,521]

I have random bouts of hypoglycemia - after eating or not eating, after more strenuous activity, after doing very little - like shopping. I had it before surgery though I do experience it more often since my sleeve. Haven’t fainted yet but have been close. It’s not a pleasant experience. I used to tell friends I didn’t do strenuous activities because I knew it would bring on an episode. They thought I was joking until they saw it happen during a bush walk. They freaked out big time.

As @ms.sss said, you just need to work out your limits (what things can bring on an episode) & then what works best for you to manage it.

I try to prepare before hand if possible. For example going on a hike take an electrolyte drink with me. Popping out before Breakfast, eat 3 or 4 blueberries. I was keeping a Protein Bar in my bag but it went off quickly - heat affected I think. I eat regularly & after lunch I don’t leave long periods of time between - usually 1-2 hours. I eat very little added sugar - around 5g a day (not including that Portuguese custard tart I had last weekend 😉 - a very, very rare occurrence.). Only have a bare two serves of carbs (multi/whole grains only, not counting vegetables or fruit).

Edited May 12, 2024 by Arabesque