Hypoglycemia

So it turns out my blood sugar is pretty wonky after all.  I've gotten into the routine of checking it more often, usually when I feel crappy, and it's even more clear to me that I have a problem.  I'm bottoming out after meals WAY too low.  Not that this means anything to non-diabetics, but my numbers are usually around 50 or less.  (I'm not diabetic, by the way; diabetes is the opposite problem- high blood sugar).

Technically, I was saving this for the gastric bypass surgery series, for the entry I still plan to write about alcohol and post-op plumbing, but I had an interesting episode two weeks ago that is initially what set this whole thing off.  I'd gone out with my friend Callie for a mom's night out  and over the course of three hours, I had three appletini's (which was really only two and a half since I spilled most of one of them) and about two-thirds of an order of onion rings. 

I drove home completely sober (thanks to my plumbing I get buzzed super fast and it wears off almost equally as fast), but within a few minutes of getting home, I had that feeling.  It's hard to describe, but if your blood sugar has ever dropped dangerously low, you'll relate.  Basically, I was dizzy, sweaty, frantic and my hands were shaking, in fact it felt like my whole body was shaking, and I was STARVING.  There is nothing quite like low-blood sugar hunger.  It's like your whole body becomes a giant quivering empty stomach.  It's HUNGRY.  You honestly feel like if you don't eat RIGHT THIS SECOND, you're absolutely going to die.

I remembered what I'd had to eat (basically nothing) and decided to take my blood sugar.  It was 35, which is catastrophically low. 

I started pounding sugar cookies and felt better within a few minutes, but that episode SCARED ME.  What if I'd hung out with Callie a little longer at the restaurant and driven home a little later?  If my blood sugar had dropped much lower, I probably would've passed out.  This is SO not good.

Taking my blood sugar has also been hugely eye-opening when it comes to my diet.  I've always been a sugar fiend -  my whole life.  I can't go more than a few hours without something sweet.  Even when I dieted before my surgery, I had to save room in my calorie count for candy or dessert of some kind every single day.  Cutting out sugar was a recipe for failure for me.  No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't do it.  The harder I tried to cut it from my diet, the worse I would binge.

So anyway, I've started taking my blood sugar reading every time I feel like I want something sweet.  And you know what?  My sugar cravings are not all in my head!  It's not the insane lack of self control I always assumed it was.  More than half the time I feel like I need a piece of candy, it's because I ACTUALLY NEED a piece of candy because my blood sugar is too low.  I realized I've been blaming myself MY WHOLE LIFE for bad eating habits (eating too much sugar) that are at least partly BIOLOGICAL. 

I'm sure that some part of this has to do with my surgery, but I'm quite positive I've always had a tendency toward low blood sugar.  When I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, I started monitoring my blood sugar to see if that was part of the problem.  One of the most common treatments for that kind of infertility is Metformin, a diabetes drug that regulates insulin, but because my blood sugar was already so low, they never considered that treatment as an option for me, not even when I was over 300 pounds. 

I'm sure my new plumbing is probably exacerbating the issue, but I'm not sure exactly how yet.  Beth, a fellow longer-term post-op has been suffering an even worse form of hypoglycemia (seizures!), so I'm not alone here.  I'm looking forward to getting to the bottom of it all and learning how I need to eat differently to prevent the lows.  I'm going to meet with my doctor next week to see what he says.  It's a start at least.  I'll keep you posted.

Comments

[margalit]

Wow, you really need to get to a nutritionist as soon as you can. 35 is dangerously low, as you know. You're right, you ARE going to have to change the way you eat. It's hard, too. I also have PCOS and am insulin resistant and borderline diabetic. I take metformin, but that alone didn't help my blood sugar, which fluctuates wildly between low and very high. Cutting out the white stuff has helped. A lot. No white sugar, flour, rice, pasta. I know... all the good stuff out of my diet.

But you know what? I feel better without it. I can definately feel the difference. It's been about a month now without any of the refined crud, and even my kids are feeling the difference!

Oh, and sugarless candy has VASTLY improved recently. I'm a sugarholic, too, and between splenda in baking (I used the half and half because straight splenda has a horrid aftertaste) and sugarless candy, I'm doing just fine. It's more expensive, but it does nothing for the blood sugar, which is good.

[Bethany]

I know nothing about hypoglycemia, but I do know PCOS. I wonder if part of the problem does lie in your diet. If you have PCOS, you may have insulin resistance. While eating sugar will bring your blood sugar up quickly, it also causes it to drop quickly. Would you be better off bringing it up with a glass of orange juice, maybe? And eating foods that stabilize your sugar over the course of the day -- such as whole grains, veggies, nuts, etc.

Just a few thoughts, like I said, I'm no nutritionist!

[Melting Mama]

You probably already know this, but... to treat a low, use straight glucose first and then a complex carb/protein/fat, like peanut butter crackers. :)

I just wrote another post about this, because I dropped because I chose to walk on the damn treadmill. Argh.

-Beth

[Melanie]

I had gestational diabetes in my second pregnancy, and the major dietary recommendation at my hospital was to eat lower-GI (glycaemic index) foods instead of refined sugars etc. What happens is you get a slower increase in energy following a meal/snack, but the energy is sustained for longer, instead of that quick high/low you get with high-GI foods. I know diabetes and hypoglycaemia are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but they're both require maintaining even levels, so this could be helpful for you as well.

[E]

I have the same problem - i was diagnosed as hypoglycemic when I was in my 20's. At that time, I cut out all non-natural sugars, and ate a steady diet of healthy proteins, fats, and carbs. But when I got pregnant, I found that sugar didn't affect me as badly, and I started eating them all again. Now I can't give them up. I've tried, and it's an addiction, complete with headache withdrawl symptoms, etc. But I know my sugar is getting dangerously low at times, and I need to get it under control.

So keep up your posting -- I'll be following along.

[cindy w]

You know, I've had the shaky low blood sugar feeling happen to me a few times, particularly if I've had more than 1 sweet alcoholic beverage. And you're right, it does feel like you will absolutely die if you don't eat right that very second. I thought it was just some weird post-op mysterious thing that my body did. Now I'm thinking that maybe I should buy a blood sugar monitor so I can keep an eye on it if it starts happening more often.

[jenB]

Happens to me too. I am diabetic, but after the WLS if I don't eat frequently I can drop low and fast. It is scary and it often causes me to eat too much, sometimes hurl, or just feel horrible after b/c it was too much food. I was on Metformin since '99, also for PCOS, but off since the surgery. They apparently take WLS patients of the Met during the pre-op phase.

Glad to hear you are getting answers and being careful!

[Robbi]

I am hypoglycemic also. I was diagnosed a few years ago when I went in to see my doctor, after having a very scary hypo experience while driving. Like you, I get very dizzy and shaky, and the one episode I had that made me call my doctor was that my vision went completely black for a few seconds, and it felt like puffs of cool air burst out of my ears. Strange, I know. I am bad about keeping up on my diet though - ie today, I have only had a bowl of cereal and its almost 3pm. I guess some days are worse than others.

[jenB]

OH! and alchohol is the worst for lowering blood sugar.

[akr]

I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia almost 17 years ago. When your blood sugars drop it can be very dangerous. You could black or worst, have seizures like your friend.

As one of the other people said, no more sugar, anything white (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes).

Definitely no more alcohol as the alcohol itself reduces blood sugar and any mixers usually contain sugar which makes it worse.

It is a fallacy that you need sugar when your blood sugar is low. Yes, use a very "tiny" amount of sugar, I find sipping slowly on orange juice (no more than about 1/2 inch in a glass, count to 10 between each sip) then follow it with protein and complex carbs.

I always carry dried apricots. I eat 1/4 to 1/2 an apricot depending upon how bad the blood sugar drop is. There is a lot of concentrated good sugar (fructose) in these and fibre which buffers the sugar. Chew it slowly, swish it around in your mouth (absorption of carbohydrates begins in the mouth so keeping it in the mouth longer helps to absorb the sugar/carb faster). Wait a few minutes then eat protein.

Good luck.

[Amy]

You received some great advice! Definately get rid of white flours/sugars and stick with complex carbs. I tend to get really shaky when my blood sugar dips (and really dizzy) and I used to reach for chocolate chips. Now I have some juice and some cheese and I feel better.

Oh and I'm also low carbing and really don't have the episodes much anymore. I make sure to keep a steady supply of protein and complex carbs in me.

[The Bug]

I am hypoglycemic, too. I used to pass out all the time when I was younger, and I still occasionally get that shaky feeling and pass out.

I have been following a low carb/sugar diet for awhile now and it really helps keep my sugar LEVEL which is so important. It's super scary to pass out and even though you can feel it coming before it happens, I don't know what I would do if I felt it coming and I was driving a car. I'm glad you made it home safely!