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I feel like shit I barley eat anything , I feel very weak and now I'm having trouble with very low sugars I don't no if I should of had this surgery I'm having dibetic hypos on a daily basis I'm just lost for words really no support out here where I live I feel all alone I'm off to the hospital for a suspected blood clot to can things get any worse ???????? Sent from my SM-N910F using the BariatricPal App

I had my thyroid removed in Aug of last year. I am just now getting my thyroid replacement meds adjusted. I gained a lot because I went from hyper to hypo. I am on 225mg of Synthroid now and hopefully I've finally hit the right mark!

Hi all, I haven’t been around here in a while but I’m working on a reset and wanted to check in. I’ll be 4 years out in a few weeks. I had RNY gastric bypass. I initially lost 125lbs and have slowly gained back around 20lb, it fluctuates a little. Some of that is definitely fat, I’m not always vigilant about my diet but I also weight train a few days a week and have added on some muscle mass. I had a bike wreck last summer which resulted in a broken hand, dislocated knuckles, and pretty severe scrapes and bruises. It could have been much worse, but it did put me on my butt for a few months. I get most of my exercise in the summer by riding. I put put on about 15 pounds and it was winter by the time I finished physical therapy. For the last 4 months I’ve been really committed to my gym routine. I’ve been watching my diet more closely, cutting back on my drinking which, was never a problem or excessive but it is empty calories. I’ve lost most of the 15lbs and put on a little muscle. Sorry for the book, just want to give you the full picture. 3 months ago I woke up in the middle of the night to let my dog out and suddenly had what felt like severe hypoglycemia. I was pouring sweat, shaking, dizzy ect. I got some juice in me, laid back down, and felt ok soon after. I don’t have a meter so I couldn’t test. I had a drink earlier in the evening after dinner, which I normally don’t do, so I thought that might have been the cause and made a mental note to not do that again. But this incident was also many many hours after that, much longer than a normal reactive hypoglycemia episode or dumping. 3 weeks ago, I had a fairly normal dinner, a couple of pieces of thin crust pizza with vegetables, fell asleep so on the couch, and woke up again the same state. I hadn’t had anything to drink that night. This time I was slurring my words and stumbling around. I got some juice and felt ok. 2 weeks ago, same story. Except this time I didn’t have juice, I rubbed some honey on the inside of my cheek and ate a tea spoon of it. I was home alone and the next thing I know I’m waking up on the kitchen floor with no idea what happened. I went to my doctor, she told me to go on a hypoglycemia diet, which is pretty similar to an RNY diet and she ordered a glucose tolerance test. Let me tell you, that was not fun. Considering I avoid sugary drinks and items, trying shove 75grams of it into my pouch was awful, it’s amazing I didn’t throw up. My test results came back yesterday and they were interesting. Fasting glucose was 82, 1 hour was 77, 2 hours was 67, and 3 hours was 78. They actually did a finger stick at hour 3 and said it was 58, i know the meters aren’t as accurate but I was surprised at the difference. Does anyone know if those are expected results from an RNY patient? I was surprised to see my blood sugar never really went up. I’m not sure what my doctor will have to say about it yet. It figures when I’m watching my diet and focusing more on exercise than I have I start having these issues. But I’m determined to keep going. I’ve been keeping a juice box and glucose tabs next to my bed. I’ve also been splitting my dinner up and eating a little later, so far i haven’t had another incident. I really hope that’s the end of it. I have a good friend that’s in the process of having the sleeve so I’ve been talking to her a lot lately and going to support group and it’s been such a great motivator. It’s funny people thing this surgery is an easy way out, at 4 years I’m working even harder on it now than I was at 4 months.

That does sound like it is a bit on the low side. One time my mom was lying down on the couch, my daughter called me and said there was something wrong with mom. She was white as a sheet. She couldn't talk. She tried but no words came out, only a few whispers. She couldn't move. She looked like she was dying. We called an ambulance, they came in and measured her blood sugar and I believe it was in the 30's. So 58 is too low. So I think you are right about reactive hypoglycemia. Here is a link https://www.stjoes.ca/patients-visitors/patient-education/f-j/PD 7972 Reactive Hypoglycemia after Bariatric Surgery.pdf According to their webpage: How can I prevent reactive hypoglycemia? You can help prevent reactive hypoglycemia by following your diet guidelines for bariatric surgery. • eat 3 healthy meals and 2 healthy snacks each day • space meals and snacks 2 to 3 hours apart • eat protein at each meal and snack time • avoid skipping meals and snacks • avoid or limit alcohol depending on what stage of diet your are at • avoid or limit caffeine depending on what stage of diet your are at • avoid sweets like cookies, cakes, candy, pop, juice and sweet drinks Instead of sugars and simple carbohydrates, eat complex carbohydrates because they release less sugar over a longer period of time. Having a complex carbohydrate with protein will slow this release even more.

Your list of symptoms included: * Extreme fatigue * Feeling dizzy upon standing * Feeling fainting when standing up too long * Feeling weak after eating. Several individuals that undergo RNY gastric bypass surgery experience a condition called Reactive Hypoglycemia. It is a form of low blood sugar. This occurs in individuals that had diabetes prior to surgery but also in those that don't. You experience a large drop in blood sugar around from 1-3 hours after a meal. It catches some people by surprise because they faint, dropping onto the floor. But it can also be corrected by recognizing the signs of low blood sugar and reacting or by modifying the way you eat. https://www.ridgeviewmedical.org/services/bariatric-weight-loss/enewsletter-articles/reactive-hypoglycemia-postgastric-bypass This link describes some of the symptoms of the condition. http://www.weightlosssurgery.ca/before-after-surgery/reactive-hypoglycaemia-post-gastric-bypass/ If this matches some of your symptoms, you might read up on the condition using the internet. I am not sure about some of the other symptoms but you are taking quite a bit of medication (vistaril, remerom, zoloft, wellburtrin) and you may have some bad interactions happening. The most important elements after RNY gastric bypass surgery is to meet your Protein, Fluid and Vitamin daily requirements. food is secondary because your body is converting stored fat into the energy that drives your body. Thus you lose weight. Weight loss is achieved by meal volume control. At 10 months post-op, this should be around 3/4 cup per meal. So back to basics, reverify that you are meeting the prescribed requirements for protein, fluids and Vitamins. This article describes my experience after RNY gastric bypass surgery. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf Life is full of trade offs. In my case I had high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea and severe acid reflux (GERD) prior to surgery. I traded my love of food for good health. At 3 years post-op, I am content with that decision. I have been able to find some pleasure in eating again. I found mixing food groups together provided some flavor. I also found that softer foods such as chili and Soups went down much easier than harder foods such as steak. I hate Protein shakes and no longer take these. But I did this by fortifying the protein that I consume in meals. "Protein First". Anyways at the end of the article, I have included some recipes if you care to try them.

I've had hairloss related to hypothyroidism in the past. It is a common symptom of a thyroid imbalance whether it be Hypo or Hyper. If you were put on a medication when this problem was found last summer (which you should have been)then losing weight since could have caused your dosage to need to be adjusted (mine had to be lowered due to weight loss). If you were not put on medication then the hair loss could be due to ignoring the imbalance. Either way, proper treatment will resolve it. I am surprised that this was not checked during your pre-op tests for surgery. It was for me. Most check this becaue if you have a thyroid imbalance, specifically if you are hypothyroid, and it is not being treated properly it could hinder your weight loss with the lap band. You should see a good Endocrinologist to treat your thyroid problems.

It is common to feel cold after WLS. Fat is a good insulator. As you lose fat, that insulation layer is gone and you will feel cold. Whenever I shovel snow, I now know how good hand warmers are. They are almost essential. When a person is overweight, many times they have existing hernias that they are unable to detect because they are overweight. So hernia operations are common for those undergoing WLS. Before I had WLS, I had two hernia operations. They were spread around 10 years apart. I do not remember pain being associated with these hernias. When I coughed, I could detect them. I suspect that if you are feeling pain, these are more severe and need to be corrected through surgery. If you are getting sleepy after meals, it may be due to low blood sugar, a condition called reactive hypoglycemia. Several individuals that underwent RNY surgery experienced this condition. I do not know if it is common for sleeve patients.

As a bandster, I have to disagree with this statement. I'm not saying we need to rigidly schedule our meals and never deviate from that routine, but I've found that if I let myself get too hungry I almost always eat too fast and make myself sick. As a diabetic, here's what I have done (and I'm now off ALL diabetes meds since about three weeks post-op). I follow Supreme Band Rule #1 (I made that up, like it?) and eat my Protein first, then my green veggies, then any low GI carb source last (only if there's room). I am eating very low-carb by default. I also eat a little something every few hours, for a couple of reasons. First, until I am off meds for at least a year I still consider myself diabetic and try to avoid hypo episodes at all cost. Second, that helps to boost your metabolism and keeps the weight loss going. As for your original topic of head hunger, I think we all have to deal with that to a point. I haven't found any magic bullet for it yet. :phanvan

Holiday celebrations are all about food, right? Save up every year, to overeat and not keep yourself in check. It’s a losing mindset from the get-go. The end of the year is really about memories, gratitude and those who we care for in life, not just the Thanksgiving feast or the Christmas Day buffet. What makes a holiday special also makes it filled with emotions and triggers that enable our unhealthy excessive eating behaviors to be acceptable at this time of year. A few things that may sound familiar and affect many of us during the holiday season are: Family traditions and ethnic backgrounds with food memories that have followed us through life. Trauma, hardships or losses that make holiday cheer tough to enjoy or even tolerate on some levels. Falling back on a diet mindset and thinking it’s ok to eat recreate old habits from October 31-January 2. Awareness of mental and emotional struggles feeling more acute during the holiday season. For bariatric patients, an immediate fear presents itself: “How can I survive all the parties and family celebrations while embracing my post-surgery food choices so I don’t lose control with holiday eating and drinking this year?” The practical answer: Prepare for it, just as if the surgery was ahead of you. Think and plan for success with the least amount of guilt and destruction possible. Holiday foods are not “rewards” or “treats” or a reason to fall off the mindful thinking that you use every day. We all have family and cultural traditions of holiday foods, and the meanings behind them; that often follow us into adulthood. The connection is to people, not food itself. Holiday time often intensifies many people’s mental and emotional struggle with life issues. Food can often be an immediate distraction and way to receive immediate gratification in tough times. The trouble is, the stresses and issues remain after the food is consumed. Often, alcohol consumption increases at holiday time as well, so mindset is altered by allowing more uninhibited behavior to prevail. Using good judgment often decreases as well. So, if we can use the model of being prepared and accountable for ourselves, what would it look like? Think of the season on your terms. Where can you plan and take the lead on making good choices for yourself while still feeling the holiday spirit? Find control where you can make food to bring to others parties or meals. Host at your home to take pressure off of yourself. Be honest and ask to be considered when food is being prepared and served so that you can also taste but be flooded by the excessive choices and behaviors all around us. Find ways to relax and refresh so you are not overwhelmed or drained by the holiday madness. Keep a journal of your thoughts, fears, successes and challenges to remind you of the proud journey you are on now. Use meditative activities to bring a more even and peaceful attitude to the business of the season and the potential for burnout and self-destruction. Give of yourself to others that need to be uplifted. Find a community, group hobby or counselor if the season is troubling of extremely unmanageable. Many times the holiday triggers are too hard to handle alone. Ask for help and know that you are being proactive (helping yourself) instead of reactive (always behind and at the mercy of others decisions and actions). The key is to stay connected to the resources, the people, places and things that bring successful experiences to us, and avoid harmful or undermining circumstances that reinforce low self-esteem and bad, and often destructive, behaviors. As a bariatric patient, being accountable is helping yourself stay focused on a positive and productive mindset with help provide a fulfilling and peaceful holiday season each and every year. Yes, this is you, enjoying your life during the holidays.

Wow! ((hugs)) You've been through the wringer backwards haven't you?!!! I don't know the answer to your question, but I do know you must do something. It can't hurt to start the process and schedule in a teaching hospital if possible. That way you may have more access to the surgeon to ask your questions. I do know you need to have your med issues sorted out prior to surgery...especially when they deal with thyroid and psych meds. But I don't think it's impossible. But I'm just a schmoe on the internet that makes crap up all damn day! I'm hypo. Take endocrine therapy to keep me in cancer remission. Have so many comorbidities and am on 3 bp drugs and still fight with blood pressure every day. My metabolism is crap. But I'm pursuing this surgery with the hopes that I will have a metabolic reset that might make it easier to lose the weight. Hang in there and congrats on fighting your way through the massive grief you've experienced. You're a fighter and survivor!!!

thank you guys very much. i am very nervous. but i cant take another minute. i was always thick. but when i had my last daughter i gained alot of wait and began to have thyroid problems. i am hypo active and no matter what i do i cant lose anymore weight. @ sweetheart what is bandster hell. i havent heard of that one. lol

I'm glad I can help despite some long term medical problems I have had that were a result from the surgery....... Such as ulcers, and reactive hypoglycemia (which is the opposite of diabetes...... My blood sugar can get dangerously low if I eat the wrong things )...... I'm on a super strict diet........ I wouldn't change a thing! When I was once 365lbs, I was 23yrs old and I couldn't walk, I was always stared at, I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stress fractures, horrible depression. I couldn't even properly bond with my daughter when she was an infant..... I couldn't hold her. My husband took care of her. I missed out on so much. I studied this surgery inside and out, from top to bottom, right to left..... Weighed it..... And for me it was the answer. I thank my lucky stars. If you ever have questions.... I can probably answer them. Researching this surgery became my life for over a year. I still research it and try to help others because I believe everyone deserves a life of happiness....... It isn't about the number on the scale..l. It's about your health.

Hello Everyone! I just created my bariatricpal account. I am 5'2 and 1/2. I'm curious if they will base my BMI off of 5'2 or 5'3. I'm also right around the 200lb mark, give or take a few pounds. I am hoping to get approved for the surgery because I am 35 and already on medicine for high blood pressure and I'm hypo thyroid which makes it a b*itch to get the weight off. I'm getting mixed reactions from my family about deciding to meet with a weight loss surgeon. I just really want to be healthy for years to come. I don't want to follow my father's path and end up having heart issues in my later years. I just wanted to say hello and I look forward to being involved with this group. I want to thank each and everyone one of you for being on here to get support and provide support! You are my friend!

Jen, let me say thanks for doing that study! I think there are a lot of things that are still unknown about the band and why it works for some people and yet not for others. Part of the reason is that I think obesity is not just a physical issue it is a mental and emotional one as well. I am fairly new to the band, but I can tell there are days when it is not just the physical feeling of having the band. There are aspects to the way it affects the nervous system both the central nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system or the reactive emotional nervous system. Finding that delicate balance for each of us is not an easy task. Everyone's "green zone" is as different and diverse as each one of us and seems to change as we do. So what worked for you before the study may have shifted a bit, and needs a little tailoring till you find that balance again. You're doing amazing and thanks again for taking the time and the challenge of that study to help all the rest of us learn more about the band and how it works.

It's funny... I've always wished I was hyper rather than hypo.. That way, the weight would just fall off... make it a great day Hope you get stable soon, krakow! make it a great day

I'm concerned about my hypothyroid too, although my doctor thinks my hypo may go away when I lose some weight. Fingers crossed!

Did they check you for over active thyroid? My family is notorious for going from hypo(slow) too hyper(superfast) thyroid. My sister had been almost 400 lbs her whole life and now she is about 150 and dropping. Good luck hope it gets worked out

I dont have a thyroid at all anymore, so im hypo. Its wht made me go for the gs. I couldn't budge it. My bmi was 35. 10/24/18 sw 219 Current weight 180 Goal is 150. I only had about 70 to lose at the start, maybe thts y its going slower. But its coming off n no skin sagging...just want to keep on Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

I have hypo thyroid as well. I'm 5 1/2 mos post op and have lost 92 pounds so far. 74 since being sleeved. Still have 50 to go. I was surprised at my 2 month blood work that my T4 was actually high and my Doc had to decrease my meds.

Yes. It is called reactive hypoglycemia and it is common post RNY. It happens when you introduce too many simples or if you dont eat often enough. I have had to switch to 5 or 6 small meals a day vs 3 or it happens more frequently. A few times my sugar got so low I did not know what was happening to me and if you eat sugar to get your glucose up, it will simply happen again an hour later. It is really important to catch it early and ensure you eat Protein.....it happens more frequently if I choose to have cream of wheat for Breakfast and dont follow it an hour later with a Protein shake.

Hi I hope results will come back to normal soon…I am hypo as well.. I think the issue is not the lap band surgery itself the issue is that with unbalanced thyroid level you will not be able to lose that much weight if any so for me it is waste of money and time if you do it with a high level of thyroid you will struggle to lose a pound…Actually I never been over weight in my whole life.. I was always 132 pounds till my thyroid and pregnancy take place and I am now 240 pounds… So Thyroid really affects your metabolism if it is unbalanced. You can go ahead with the surgery and your doc maybe will not stop the surgery but I were you I would wait till my thyroid level is balanced as most of the weight lose will be in your first year so don’t waste this year because your thyroid is not balanced.. For the medication it has to be daily first thing in the morning same time daily and no vitamins with them especially Iron and calcium and never eat anything that has calcium 2 hrs after the medication (milk, cheese ,…) and not to eat for an hr in general.. some people taking the medication at night before bed if they can’t wait for multivitamins, breakfast and coffee for that long ask your doc about this option… not a good idea to forget your bills because this is you have stressing your body one day you give your body the hormone another day not… At the end don’t worry I am sure everything will be all right.. every time I got pregnant my level goes dramatically up and it goes back to normal when I change my dose…

I choose to look at it a different way. I look at it like I have accountability partners to help me keep from rationalizing poor behaviors and dubious choices. It helps me stay firm and convicted. If I know all eyes (pretend--cuz most people aren't watching) are on me, then I'm not gonna allow the laxness of the moment to take control and allow me to slide. Or to slide "too much." And as for banana, sure your doc says you can eat it. And in limited amounts it's not too high in sugars for a lot of people. But we are each individual, and I'm extremely carb sensitive. So if it doesn't give me reactive hypoglycemia, or high blood sugars, it will absolutely make me hungry within an hour or two. So bananas are on my "no fly" list. I do use banana flavored protein powder though.

What kind of problems? People generally don't get long-term complications from sleeves. It's not like RnY where people get reactive hypoglycemia and have to have part of their pancreas removed to fix it or get ulcers from the surgery that have to be treated. It's even very unlikely that the sleeve would stretch enough to require a fix. If you mean, what if I don't lose all the weight, it would depend on how little I had lost. If I was 10-20 lb more than I wanted to be, I'd lump it. If it was a significant amount, I would get some kind of intestinal bypass, either RnY or DS. I don't know which one because I haven't looked into the nitty gritty details of either. I'd probably go for a DS but I'm not sure I could eat enough fat to make it work. (I don't like greasy food.) I doubt I would put a band over it because the odds are just too high that I'd have to have yet another surgery to remove it some day and be right back where I started. Plus, the only thing a band would fix is if the sleeve had somehow stretched and was too big and you can fix that by having it tightened instead. Not to mention it rarely happens -- you really have to abuse the thing to get it to stretch. I don't know where you heard that people are putting bands over VSG. I don't know anyone who has done that -- it really hasn't been around long enough to know a lot of people who had revisions. Most VSGers will get a DS if they have inadequate weight loss because they figure they need the malabsorption after all. __________________ Originally posted at www.lapbandtalk.com

Elektralite Buddy, don't give up hope. Your GP (Aussie-talk for doctor) has already told you that he doesn't know much about the band, but then says he wouldn't recommend it anyway!?!?!? You know from your research that for YOU, the band is the safest way to go, with the option of being reversed should complications (God forbid) arise. As for the bypass being a 'fast' way to lose weight (as your GP advised), did he also mention that studies have shown that after a 5-year period. weight loss for both banding & bypass patients is relatively the same anyway? If you already have your referral, as hard as it may be, you may have to agree to disagree with your GP, and go ahead & make your appointment with the surgeon. He (surgeon) may know of a GP who can see you regarding any banding appointments/issues. (?) I don't have a regular GP so just went to my closest bulk-billing medical centre. The poor old GP I saw there had to ask me 3 times what I wanted the referral for, and even then I'm not sure if he was 100% sure on what it was. He didn't seem that interested in hearing what research I'd done, so I ended up not saying much to him at all about it (had the 'spiel' prepared & everything too, darn it) I used to have a regular GP, who I'd been going to for years. I last saw him 15 years ago about suffering hypos (low blood sugar). He actually said to me "What are you worried about. Diabetes skips every second generation - your mother and sister already have it, so I doubt that you will 'get' it. Stop worrying". :faint: I suppose what I'm trying to say is even those he's your GP & you respect him for all the training/experience he has, GP's are not infallible and don't always have the best/most extensive knowledge on a certain illness/procedure - that's what specialists are for. If you've done the research, and you (& your family) feel that this is the best step for you to take, and are happy with your decision, go for it Buddy. We're all there for you too - that's what these forums are all about, hey?

@It's all new Did you eat very low-carb during your weight-loss phase (first year)? A pattern I think I'm seeing is that those who a year or two after losing weight begin to suffer from post-bariatric reactive hypoglycemia are those who ate very low-carb for a long time. This doesn't happen to a lot of VSG patents (less than 10% -- maybe closer to 3% say some studies). But for those to whom it happens I understand it can really cramp your lifestyle. What do you know about this kind of hypoglycemia and its cause(s)?