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I also had to have one shot of insulin in the hospital during the night of my surgery date (4th). Sugar came down and has since stayed within the 80's and 90's so I haven't taken any diabetic meds. Pre-surgery I was taking 1000 mg of Janumet 2x daily. They told me to test 4 times a day post-surgery (which I haven't been doing), although I do test..just not as often. I've had two episodes of hypoglycemia but realize now that my ingested carbs might have been too high which later caused the sudden drop. Obviously, something I ingested was a little too high in carbs. So I am now being more diligent. There was a history of reactive hypoglycemia that preceded my diabetes. Guess it will revert back to that if I'm not careful. So are you to take your medicine regardless of your glucose levels? Seems to me like you should only take it if your glucose is staying elevated. I'm sure either way it won't be much too long that you will needing any of the diabetic meds. Glad to know you are doing well. Your recovery seems to be going well, so far! Thoughts are with you!

I consider myself an expert when it comes to autoimmune rheumatic diseases. First- let's talk your prednisone: See an endocrinologist. Pronto. I was taking 60 mg of pred a day for years. There was no weaning off, because any time I got down to 20-25mg, I literally could not function. In any capacity. Enter the endocrinologist. Because the prednisone does just as much (if not more!) damage than good, my adrenal function was gone, I had prednisone induced glaucoma as well as prednisone induced diabetes. I needed off the meds ASAP. She prescribed me ORAL hydrocortisone. It mimics- and tricks- your body into believing it is prednisone, and is MUCH easier to wean off of than the prednisone. It took a total of 2.5 months vs over a year or longer if it were the prednisone. Do this. Again, ASAP. Ask for it. Second- methotrexate, either by pill or injection: pills made me sick, puking, typical chemo side effects. The shots did not, and they actually work much more effectively than the pills, so if given a choice, it is a once a week teeny tiny needle. Side effects- don't bother paying attention to them. The benefits far outweigh any possible adverse effects. You will need regular blood work to monitor your liver enzymes. Again, I have been on a very high dosage, so mine were often screwy. Third: I can't imagine any surgeon doing WLS or ANY elective surgery while you are on either of these meds. I had to "wash out" before I could have my surgery, meaning get all traces of the meds out of my blood system and stored reserves. Both drugs make you more susceptible to infection and the prednisone especially makes healing hard. And keeps weight on. Again- seeing an endocrinologist will get you off the pred by using oral hydrocortisone pills. Usually PMR goes away after a year or so. I wonder if you don't have true rheumatoid arthritis? The tests- a sed rate and C-reactive Protein screen are used for PMR as well as other autoimmune arthritis diagnosis. Just a thought. So- don't worry about side effects of the methotrexate and get off the pred!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Hi am just seeing this now. Thank you for responding. I did get off prednisone about 8 months ago. But it started to come back and about 2 months later I couldn't take it and went back on. My rheumatologist says cut down till I feel pain. Then start methotrexate. Shots. So I can continue to get off prednisone. I did have all the testing done. They did suspect fibromyalgia ms. Lupus RA etc Till all tests were done. I will look into seeing an endocrinologist. I did tell the dr about prednisone. He said it was fine and I may lose slower. I am now 9 weeks out and lost 20 pounds. 10 more the week before surgery. I was "only" 201 day of surgery. I would like to lose faster but. I really want to get off the prednisone. Thank you and why doesn't my rheumatologist k ow about this? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

had a scary night. Wasn't feeling well yesterday, headache, body ache, just over all blahness. Made sure I ate some dinner (albeit not a great one) and went to bed. Woke up at 2:30am with the shakes and cold sweats... stupid reactive hypoglycemia. Hubby got me some apple juice and then after about 20 mins I got up and ate a boiled egg and just slept the remainder of the night in the recliner. Got to remember to eat even when were are sick... :\ Hope i don't get sick much....

I have Graves disease. I had my thyroid destroyed via Radioactive tx, been Hypo thyroid since Dec 2015. On Thyroxine since January 2016. My surgery had to be postponed when I was hyper thyroid. Since March 2016 (WLS) I lost total of 9 kg ( approx. 20 pounds), Seems slow loss, however I did hit the stall couple of weeks ago. It is normal though,to have stalls, even though they can be frustrating ..... I am interested in thyroid disease weight loss, also. I had couple of mini binges recently, emotional/head cravings, chocolate made me ill, so had some ice-cream and extra Proteins late at night. I only started gentle exercises 2 weeks ago.

@@sbdooly73 When I was Hyper thyroid last year, my surgeon told me that it was too dangerous for me to be operated on, due to the thyroid storm possibility. I worked with his team Endo ever since then (July 2015) He told me to come back once my thyroid stabilised. When I saw him in January 2016, I was severe Hypo then, and he wanted to wait longer, as hypo thyroid that is not stabilised can make the recovery from WLS lot harder. After 2 months of Thyroxine meds (Levo thyroxine), My labs were finally good, stable, Hallelujah !!! So, was finally operated on March 8th 2016 I can't see a reason why you may be denied surgery, unless your blood tests show big differences in your levels. Are you on thyroid medication? OK, just saw your reply re thyroid med. I wonder if your med needs to be adjusted. I still have my now 6 weekly blood tests to monitor my levels Good luck!

Hi Jen: Are you seeing a Rheumatologist? If not you might want to consult one to help with a diagnosis. I went to doctors or 14 years, most of them told me that my symptoms were all in my head. It wasn't till I sat down one day and wrote down everything I though was a symptom and when I was done I had 2 sides of a piece of paper. I went and saw a new Rhematologist and gave him the paper with the symptoms, he spent an hour and a half with me going over everything and then sent me for a million x-rays and tons of blood work and some other tests. He had told me he thought I had reactive arthritis. I went home and looked it up and thought hum, that doesn't sound too bad. When he got my results he told me I have Ankylosing Spondylitis! I said what the HELL is that I can't even pronounce that. It is also a form of arthritis and is an autoimmune disease with no known cure. I also have a secondary diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis , along with Fibromyalgia. He is constantly testing me though for Lupus, that's what they thought I might have in the beginning, but it is hard to diagnos. Don't give up on a diagnosis, only you know your body and you need to keep pressing the doctors for a diagnosis, not just arthritis of unknown origin. I am pre-op right now, but will be getting sleeved in July. My doctors say it should help with some of the issues I have. Also when you have one autoimmune disease, it is possible to have more than one of them. I hope you get a clear diagnosis in the near future it will help put your mind at ease when you have a name to what is causing you so much troiuble. Sorry for the long post....Jill

Good for you! I am tattoo free, but appreciate them on others. I am just so happy in my skin anymore. Today when I got home from the gym I felt strong. It's amazing and a gift. I am officially off of all of my medications except my gout medicine and I feel like a teenager. My 1 year appointments with my nut and surgeon on june 25th and am really hoping to be in the 120s by then (hovering between 133 and 135 right now). My labs were done last week and I already looked at them and the are perfect. My b12 was in the normal range but at the lower end so I wonder if he'll bump up that supplement? Everything else was perfect which thrilled me including C reactive protein which hasn't been normal for me in 10 years. Can you tell I'm happy??

Like Sue, I was covered in a rash that I think was a reaction to the orange stuff they painted me up with for surgery, the adhesives, and/or contrast from a ct scan they did looking for clots. I was using Benadryl gel topically, and the doc gave me the ok to take Benadryl liquid. I take it at bedtime. yesterday morning, I peeled off 3/4 of my steristrips, including the one with the giant welt around it that seemed to start the inflammatory reaction, and covered with non reactive band aids. This morning, after the second dose of bedtime Benadryl, things are looking much better.

Have you spoke with your insurance company yourself to find out exactly what they require? It could be that your Dr.'s offices records alone are enough to meet the requirements. If you know for a fact that they require more than can be submitted by the Dr.'s office, contact them and ask where the additional documentation can be sent. If there is any question it will speed things up to be proactive and do it yourself than being reactive and allowing the office staff to do it after a denial. If you send it yourself, don't forget to copy, document who you speak with, who and where you mail it to, and mail it with delivery confirmation, after faxing it to them---double up! Good Luck---sounds like the ball is rolling...just as the big ball is ready to drop--here's to a great year for you!!! Cheers! Kat

I have been hypo for the past 10 years. Before I got my band i was on 2.25 sythroid, now I am down to 1.75 sythroid now. So I think the weight loss has helped with my thyroid problem.

I played heavily when my hubby and I first were dating and quit right after cataclysm to plan the wedding. My husband reactivated my account and got me the lvl 90 boost 2 weeks before my surgery so I would have something to do while at home recovering. It was AWESOME spending all day horsing around in MoP for the first time, flying high on pain meds. I'm now 2 weeks out and he's all like "you sure do spend a lot of time playing wow, why don't you come to bed at a normal time?" You know how that convo goes... Good news is I'll make up for of with an awesome bod here shortly.

So I didn't know I wasn't able to blog on here on my phone. Totally frustrating. I don't have a computer at home so taking two weeks off work for the surgery; I was unable to get on here. Pooey. I tried to recap the last two weeks quickly as possible. So it's now been two weeks since my gastric sleeve surgery on 07/17/2017. I arrived at the hospital at 9am and didn't get taken back to surgery till about 2pm. Boy that was a long wait. ugh ***My surgery was performed by Dr.Dyer at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville TN. Surgery went well. Minimal pain. I was on the pain pump and used it for a bit. I'm allergic (severe itching) to morphine so I only used the pain med for the first two days since they gave me a drug related to morphine and of course I was miserably itchy. I had a drain on my right side. (I attached pics of the incisions.) I had a total of 10 marks – a couple you can’t see. One was in my belly button and another on my left side. It wasn’t real visible in the photo. Some were small incisions, some punctures (needles where the gas was inserted), and the largest where they took the stomach out was near the drain. It still hurts a bit today, but not much. I was up walking pretty quickly. No problem. Drinking was bit hard. It felt like swallowing a rock. And it hurt went it hit the stomach. But I just sipped sipped and it got better each day. The second day I was given a bowel suppository of some sort to help reactivate my bowels since they freeze up due to surgery and anesthesia. I had a small movement the next day. Same stuff each day, walk , drink, sleep, walk , drink sleep. I was released early Thursday about 10am. I still had the drain and had it taken out that following Tuesday. I felt pretty good. I was probably ready to go back to work Wednesday but already had put the time in so just took the rest of the week off. So the worst part of everything was the clear diet. Ugh ugh. I couldn’t stand Nectar, Isopure and started to have trouble with the Unjury. I don’t throw up, but just hated the tastes of the water based proteins. I was only getting 40 grams in a day. So I started the stage 2 a few days early. I was suppose to be on the clear diet for two weeks then start stage 2 liquid diet. This just adds the Premier protein drinks. I drink two a day right now. I did have my first “too full” feeling yesterday when I drank my shake. I think I just had too much at once. It was like a large burp that couldn’t come out stuck just below my sternum and I was nausea's. Because of course my gag is broke (wink) I don’t throw up. So I just didn’t move for a bit till things moved on through. I only drink a bit at a time now. Much better So I’ll be on this Stage 2 liquid for three weeks. It’s only suppose to be two, but my doctor doesn’t want me changing stages till I see him and the nutritionists and he is on vacation the week I’m suppose to transition, so I get an extra week of liquids. Oh Joy. We’ll see how this goes. LOL Other than that I’m back to work today. I have my schedule with my vitamins and drinks and will see how it all goes. I listed my schedule below case you were interested. I’m suppose to add a third shake if able when I can. But doc said doesn’t have to be everyday. Hope everyone is doing well in Bariatric Land. GrInS ***this is just a layout to try and help me get everything I am suppose to in. Awake – 4am – take thyroid pills (crushed) Start first 24oz cup water At Work – 6am – take multivitamin Start second 24oz cup water 8am – drink ½ protein shake 9am – drink ½ protein shake – take first calcium 10am if not completed – finish second 24oz water Start third 24oz cup water 12pm – walk 30 min (lunch break) – take second calcium 2:15 off work 3pm – drink ½ protein shake 4pm – drink ½ protein shake – take third calcium – biotin and D3 ( I take B12 once a week on Sunday) Make dinner for family Have another 24oz water available as I want ( I don’t feel pressure to finish it since I’ve hit my goal of 64 ounces already) but drink as I want so I’m not thirsty. 6pm – yummy sugar free Popsicle. 7pm – Bed time Oh my states right now are highest weight 315 - DOS 286 (I think- they weighed me in Kilograms ) - today 273.8 (42 total lost)

A year ago today I got a voicemail that changed my life. In the months before, I was having issues with my thyroid. I had scans and biopsies done and I was referred to an endocrinologist. She had me do all sorts of blood work. Her voicemail a year ago said that I had thyroiditis. It when your levels go up and down and you go from having hypo- thyroid to hyper thyroid. She was more concerned with my sugar levels and told me that my Ac1 was at 6.4 which is onset diabetes. I made up my mind after that voicemail that I was having the lap band done. I had my surgery 6/6/11. I have a little less than 3 mos to go for my banniversary. So far I'm down 67 lbs. I'm not weighing myself during lent and I'm ok with that. I was never a morning person and now I wake up at 4:45 am very weekday to go to he gym before I go to work. I'm so grateful for the band. My thyroid issues are gone and my sugar levels are fine now. I still listen to hat voicemail every now and then to remind me of how unhealthy i was. I can't wait to post my 1year stats.

I'm not a medical professional, but what you're describing sounds like reactive hypoglycemia. I know there are others on this forum who have dealt with it--try doing a search. Are you hitting your Protein and Fluid goals? Are you limiting starchy foods? If not, that's a place to start.

I had that too. I figured it was either from the steristrip adhesive or contrast used in a CAT scan. Benadryl gel applied topically didn't help. I pulled the strips off, replaced with non reactive band aids, and got approval from my doc to take liquid Benadryl. Two doses later, it faded considerably. Good luck!

I changed my thyroid medicine and wanted it rechecked b4 heading down there next month. I also included some typical chemistry panels and liver enzymes, also c reactive protein. I'm a member of Life Extensions and you can order the lab from them and go to certain facilities and have it emailed to you in a few days. It cost me about 150, but worth not having to try to get copy of my lab from pcp. I'm anal about keeping my records in chronological order (ha- first born of course).

Lady in article sounds like extreme case. Reactive hypoglycemia is one of the forms of "dumping". More likely to happen with RNY but can happen in sleeve but not usually (I get it with sleeve if I eat too much sugary stuff but would never be so bad as to pass out. )

It sounds like (non expert, non doctor here) that it may be reactive hypoglycemia, which is fairly common in the bypass world, as it is a result of rapid stomach emptying due to the lack of pyloric valve in that procedure, causes an insulin spike followed by low blood sugar triggering hunger. With the sleeve, we can also experience somewhat rapid emptying due to our small stomach size. DIfferent foods affect this, too - the so-called "slider" foods that slide on through because they don't trigger the pyloric valve to close, typically highly processed carbohydrates. If this is what is going on, try sticking to meats and high fiber vegetables that tend to stay in the stomach longer and see if that helps. If it is not RH, then an endrocinologist may be in order to see what is going on with this imbalance. Whether or not your sleeve was botched, you should check with a bariatric surgeon to evaluate this - if you go to your original surgeon, a second opinion from another may be in order to verify whether or not it was "botched" (would the original doc really admit that he goofed?) good luck in working this out,

I'm due to go for my initial consultation in Derby next Monday (18th August) & I am hoping my concerns will be addressed there, but I thought I'd ask here too beforehand. I've had type II diabetes for the last 4 years (at least), managed by insulin (novomix 30 twice a day) & metformin (1000mg twice a day) since my heart attack 2 years ago. I've got on with the insulin very well so they kept me on it beyond the initially planned 6 months. Naturally I am hoping that eventually my weight will end up low enough for me come come off all diabetes medications, however my concern at the moment is eating so little post-op & knowing how much insulin to take. I've never had a hypo (luckily) so I have no experience of what it actually feels like & I live alone too so the thought of it happening is scaring me quite a lot. I'd love to hear the experiences of anyone else in the same position.

"This stall is why I always failed at diets in the past - when they inevitably occur, it's just so demoralizing!" The great thing about being sleeved is that a stall will not make you fail at this. Like you, in the past it was really easy to fall off the wagon when it seemed like good behavior wasn't doing any good anyway. But now I eat a certain amount and that's it, no more space. So it makes it a lot easier to ignore a stall, at least w/r/t engaging in negative reactive behavior. It seems like the stall question is the one that is most often asked, by far, by us newbies. I can't wait to get to the point where I look back (several stalls later) and realize how much energy I wasted worrying about them. Rick, that was a super well considered, well written post, thanks for sharing it with us.

Well not really. I drank muscle milk which had either 9 carbs or the 100 calorie version that had 4 carbs. So definitely no spikes from that. I did lower my basel on my insulin pump. It definitely helped taking less insulin, but still had a few hypos. Drank orange juice for that. It was definitely tough, but well worth it.

I think you need to have a blood test to check your protein levels, vitamins, minerals, sugar, etc. Then you’ll know what your missing in your diet & your surgeon & dietician will be able to best advise you. And as @The Greater Fool said camp out at your surgeon & doctor’s & demand attention until you get answers & a way forward. I agree completely with @catwoman7’s advice around your caloric needs. We’re not all the same & there are too many factors that influence what you need as an individual. The blood test will help inform what your macros goals need to be - whether you need more, less or are consuming enough. I really appreciated the 3 monthly blood tests (& appointments) my surgeon & his colleague requested the last three years (just moved to 6months now). We picked up things like how removing my gall reduced my protein absorption, my vitamin D levels drop a little in winter, I didn’t need to continue to take multivitamins after I reached maintenance (except D in winter). I also agree with the advice to cut out any high fat or high sugar foods out of your diet & see if the dumping improves. Hypoglycaemic episodes gives me similar symptoms to what you’re experiencing though. (I usually eat a couple of berries as the little burst of sugar ease it very quickly.) Maybe your reactive hypoglycaemia needs to be explored further with your doctor too. All the best.

So my sleeve surgery is Monday but my very limited pre op diet of seven days gas been awful. I knew aspartame gave me mugraines so avoided that ingredient but got primere with sucralose and popsicles with the same as well as crystal light pure made with truvia which is stevia and a sugar alcohol My tummy has been hurting every day. I finally ate a bite of my mom's veggie omelette and was told if my blood sugar went hypo I could eat yogurt so my blood sugar wasn't quite hypo and I had nonfat Greek honey yogurt. Sure felt better but felt so guilty for cheating and like hope I'm not messing up my stomach prep for surgery Last night after crystal light pure, I threw up once with six episodes all this foamy stuff. Sorry tmi. Number two s been all the runs as well so called weight clinic nurse and they are having me quit all artificial sweeteners as they and I feel they are the culprit and allowing me Protein powder...found one with 25grams of protein and sweet with stevia which is a nature made plant and I can have it in skim milk!!!! Yay So stomach is already way happier and tge Protein Powder taste good not chalky Anyone else with similar problems... cheating, malabsorption??etc??

I too am having trouble controlling my depression. I went to my family doc who changed my Celexa to Cymbalta. I also have Reactive arthritis which causes pain daily, so the Cymbalta helps with that too. I have been working (full time) with pain and dealing with the relatively new Lap Band. So I don't know if it's the combo of it all or the Lap Band. Although, the books do mention depression after bariatric surgery. Sue