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I was connected to sliding scales with insulin pump in hospital. My insulin was monitored by my diabetic consultant. My rates dramatically changed after operation. No complication post op! No problems with infections. No leaks. Had a test 6 weeks after my op. All was good. Left hospital 48 hours after surgery. Weight loss was spectacular in the first 6-8 months. It slowed down later on but with help from yoga and pilates classes plus lots of walking body shape is continuously changing, for better! Took me up to 4-6 month to up my energy levels. Problem mostly with finding a correct balance between carbs an proteins. Not enough carbs means very tired and slowing down with a weight loss. You will soon learn by trial and error! Had a great support from my pump clinic: meeting with my nurse every month to change my pump's settings. Insulin resistance "vanished" after 6 months!!!! Wonderful! Today, over 2 years after my surgery, I'm nice UK size 16. I'm full of energy and my body is still changing shape. I eat absolutely everything in small portions.I eat in public places and attend dinner parties. I don't advertise that I had VSG. It's my business only! When pushed and questioned: "have some more" I very firmly respond- "no, thank you". No explanation added. I love my life and wish I had this done years ago. No bigger problems with hypos now than before sleeve if anything situation is better. Good luck!

Thank you everyone. I've been gone for awhile because I got busy again but I got my blood test back and my hemoglobin was low (10.6) and my fasting blood sugar was 106. ???? I still am having the strange sensations of pressure coming down from my head and being dizzy when I stand up. At first, it was just after eating food but now it's after I take my medicine and after I eat food. My PCP still isn't doing anything and my surgeon hasn't called back yet to schedule any test. I see my APRN tomorrow afternoon and I am going to talk to her about the medication and how it's affecting me. I've been on zoloft, wellbutrin, and risperidone since 2011, its not working and it's time for a change. I also took my medical symptoms into my own hands and did some research on it. It seems I really do have reactive hypoglycemia or POTS. Also, my surgeon isn't doing anything about my bleeding because its bright red blood...its not in his "medical jurisdiction". ???? It was dark red one time but that wasn't enough to worry him? I just can't figure out why no one is helping me down here other than the fact I have medicaid and they treat us badly.

I think I have a blood sugar meter somewhere, and I'll try to dig it up. I guess I've been avoiding directly measuring my blood sugar because FWIK non-insulemic hypoglycemia is usually caused by problems with your pancreas, which I do NOT want to contemplate... For now, since the problem seems to be related to/worsened by my caffeine intake, I'm weaning myself (further) off caffeine, and trying to stick with the "many small, protein-heavy meals," and I'm going to try to have a protein-heavy "snack" before bedtime (probably just a Protein shake). Oh, and cardio exercise, since that seems to help people with hypo-g.

Wikipedia states here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_hypoglycemia that reactive hypoglycemia "is a medical term describing recurrent episodes of symptomatic hypoglycemia occurring within 4 hours[1] after a high carbohydrate meal" It also states "There are different kinds of reactive hypoglycemia:[4] Alimentary Hypoglycemia (consequence of dumping syndrome; it occurs in about 15% of people who have had stomach surgery)" So this it's saying that re-active hypoglycemia is a form of dumping, which I've experienced pre-surgery. You sound like your suffering from low blood sugar as eating relieves your symptoms, although wikipedia terms this as hypoglycemia and it's back to citing dumping again. I'd say you have hypoglycemia in the common usage sense and not the way it's most commonly used in the WLS community. See here for further wiki details: "Hypoglycemia (common usage) is also a term in popular culture and alternative medicine for a common, often self-diagnosed, condition characterized by shakiness and altered mood and thinking, but without measured low glucose or risk of severe harm. It is treated by changing eating patterns." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypoglycemia It's something I used to experience more in my skinny teenage years due to not eating enough. The main things are to try and low carb/high protein it and to eat little and often (you have to be vigilant to not get into grazing though). I hope you can get into a better routine with your new job soon.

@@rose1504 Definitely get your Thyroid checked, and not just TSH and T4, but T3 as well. I have Graves Disease (autoimmune thyroid disease), this kept me slim my whole life, till 2014 when it did 180 degree turn, and I was piling on weight at a frightening speed. I went from 60kg to 101kg between 2014 and March 2016. I also developed astonishing sweet cravings during that time, which made a mess of me. Graves is Hyper-thyroid. I had every symptom of this disease, except of bulging eyes and goitre. There is also Hypo-thyroid (under-active), Hashimotos etc which also can really mess with metabolism and general well being. Good luck @@rose1504 I hope you don't have thyroid disease, as I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy ...... Had my both ear Daiths pierced 3 weeks ago, to see if they would help my thyroid migraines and severe headaches. They (the acupressure point piercings) helped me tremendously! I was living almost daily on very strong pain killers. Now, I don't take them, and so those piercings really helped me. I have a huge stock of heavy duty pain killers at home, and now I forget all about them. So, Good Luck with all your tests. Please let us know how you went.

Hello everyone, my name is Terrie and I am one month away from having the Lap-Band Procedure performed. I am scheduled with Dr. Jason Brodsky here in the District of Columbia. I decided to have the procedure performed after my last appointment with my endocrine specialist. My doctor suggested that I consider surgical procedures to aid in my weight loss in an effort to get my thyroid gland functioning normally. I have a condition known to many as hypothyroidism, it is complicated by the fact that despite continued symtoms my blood work routinely fluctuates from hyper to normal to hypo. My thyroid gland is currently twice the normal size. Over a four year period up to 4/2003 I gained an average of 15 to 25 pounds per year despite dieting and exercise. Since I started going to my current thyroid doctor in 4/03 I have gained only 15 additional pounds topping in at a whopping 263 lbs at only 5' 5 1/2''. Well, I have decided that now is when and I started making arrangements for the surgery. I considered (although briefly) having the gastric bypass procedure done with Dr. Fullum (who does not perform the Lap Band) and after one meeting and a ton of research I decided against it and decided the lap band was the best thing for me. Well, this is my story and I look forward to sharing my progess with everyone.

Hi Everyone , I am new to the forum , but I have been reading the post for a while now. I am a 34yr old woman that has battle with weight issues my entire life .My eating disorder progressed when my mom passed and I adopted my siblings(total of 11 children total) I have yo-yo dieted , took every diet pill out there and have even went thru starvation periods to loss weight. Ive even been on various weight loss programs to seeing weightloss counslers. I realized that i needed to do something that was permenant , because if i didnt , i would probably end up killing my self trying to get skinny. I was sleeved on Feb18th,2012 in Mexico with Dr Garcia. Everything was going well up until 2 wks ago when I hit a stall. I lost 18lbs the first 3wks , but have not lost a pound or any inches since . What I think I did wrong was: before my surgery in Mexico , I started the process of going thru my Insurance , but I felt that that process was going to take to long to get approved. While I was working on going thru my insurance( after just to yo dieting again and losing 24lbs ) , I had to actually gain 20lbs (my BMI was to low when i lost the 24lbs) for my insurance company even consider me for the surgery , even with all my illnesses( hypo thyroidism, High Cholestrol, High Blood Pressure, Water retention, etc....) so in the meantime , I started to eat what I wanted to and gained the 20lbs so my insurance would accept me, but while researching a lot about WLS I found out about the the surgery being offered in Mexico and how much it costs . So I felt that it was time to make a change now , so I did. ???? But now , here comes the problem , After my surgery , I felt no hunger, I lost 18lbs post op in the first 3wks and I was happy with the way things were going . ???? However, now at 5 wks and 2 days I am hungry all the time ,I can eat a lot more now . ???? I am at a stall ( for the last 2 wks) . And I am doing everything from eating Protein first, 500-800 calories per day 70-80 g of protein per day ( I even take protein pills 500mg to supplement me not eating meats) to eating 6-8 small meals thru out the day and I almost forgot , I'm taking meds for acid as well ,and I'm drinking 64oz of water per day . The only exercise that I do daily (5 days) is 20mins of walking and around 30 bicep curls and 30 squats per day. ???????????? Nothing major because I'm currently being tested for heart problems , so my doctor advised me to take it easy until I get my results. So can anyone answer this question for me : Did I only loss the 18lbs that I originally gained to have the surgery? Did I mess my self up with purposely gaining the weight for surgery? Can this be fixed? If so , how ? What else can help my hunger ( not head hunger, but stomach hunger)? What can I do to get pass this stall ? SW: 220lbs CW: 202lbs GW: 145lbs HELP..... I messed up Disappointed and Discouraged ????????????

Yes mere. I have high thyroid .. Whatever that is. I just haven't been scheduled for surgery yet. This is my last month for the journey and I meet w the surgeon June 4.. Super excited If you have high thyroid then you have HYPERthyroid. Do you think I'll be approved ? Yes, I don't see why not... SOme docs say that after your surgery maybe your thyroid can resolve itself. It's not a guarantee and I am no doctor but I do read like a mad woman and research everything. If you have hyperthyroid that means you have a super fast metabolism and maybe you will lose weight. Do research it, it's called graves disease, my husband was diagnosed with it (hyperthyroid) and I have the hypothyroid (slow thyroid) maybe opposites do attract. Ask your doc all the questions and then go home and look it up. Take good care of yourself as hyper or hypo affects all of your cells, your entire body and brain. Good luck. I am here for you if you need.

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

Good on you for walking out. She's a f**king idiot -- uninformed and passing along wrong information to people who need good info. Jeez! Yes. I also forgot to mention that she made me climb on a machine supposed to calculate my muscle mass, fat, water and bones weight. It seems that I have around 90 pounds of muscle. Then I was trying to explain that it is physically not possible for me to have the same Protein intake (the famous 60-70 grams a day) as for a woman of 160 pounds that would have 60 pounds of lean muscle. Any fitness instructor, website or magazine would also customized to protein intake in function of the activity and goals. Giving the same recommendation for everybody is just dumb. Anyway, I am looking for a different NUT, but not easy to find one that is experienced with VSG patients. I've seen another one that wanted to put me on a regular hypo caloric diet...of 1200 Cals a day when I am barely reaching 900 a day. I guess I need to contact other clinics / surgeons that are used to VSG to get names of the NUT they work with. I'd it does not work, I will stick to the program I found on the web (Ottawa hospital) which is very detailed. For anybody can recommend me a website or program, it would be great.

Had my RNY surgery March 9th and have lost 49 lbs but only lost two all last month. I was in hospital 3 days start of July with liver enzyme issues and my TSH (thyroid) numbers had went from hypo to hyperthyroid. Dr took me off synthroid for 3 days and then went back on 1/2 dose (50 mcg). Did that for a week and a half and the mental fog and sluggishness came back. Dr took me off synthroid completely. I go back Aug 20th to have TSH checked again. Could my going on and off and on and off synthroid be causing this drastic slow down in weight loss? I am still 30 lbs from my goal of 160 and was losing 2 lbs a week before this all happened. I have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts and getting some great advice on here!

Yes, that's correct. Same as what I read and Doc told me. It's another young lady last night that didn't know what exactly she was when she wrote I think (I think I'm hyper something) as a patient you must know and be specific with what you have or what you were told. So we all jumped and gave her advice from what we know. I for sure am hypo and my hubby is hyper, trust that I know how it feels but 25 wow, that's super high. Some people can't function not even past a 5... also, I was told different labs have different thresholds for what they think is high. What I love about my new doctor is that he also asked me about all my symptoms. Some doctors don't really sit and listen. That's why I hate doctors at the VA, it's like pulling teeth with them. Glad to know you are doing great!

I was 199 when I decided to be sleeved. I'm 5'2". I've been fighting my weight battle for more than 10 years. I was extremely depressed and unhappy. My knees hurt, my back hurt, and I was pre-diabetic. I've lost 20-30 and gain 40+ more times than I can count. Both my parents are extremely morbidly obese. I could see my future in them and it wasn't pretty. I could guarantee that my weight would only continue to escalate so I decided to be proactive rather than reactive. Why wait and waste more of my life? I needed a weapon for my weight battle, and the sleeve was it. Today I am 138 and feel like I am living for the first time in more than 10 years. I feel healthy, mentally and physically.

I think some people might be confused on the thyroid stuff -- If your TSH level is HIGH, it means you are hypo-thyroid (not enough thyroid hormone). The doctor explained to me that your brain is sending out the message to pump out TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) because your body needs more but your thyroid is not producing enough. If your TSH level is LOW, it means you are hyper-thyroid (getting too much thyroid hormone). Normal levels are down between something like .5 to 5.5 -- when I was first diagnosed hypo-thyroid my level was over 25 (instrument didn't read higher than that) --- so it meant my brain was pumping out tons of TSH to try to get my thyroid to pump out what my body needed but the thyroid was just laying around doing nothing.

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.

Hey y'all! So I'm scheduled for vsg March 14th and went in for blood work on Monday to make sure all my levels were ok. The results came back saying my cholesterol was a little bit high and my thyroid levels were low. The nurse then called me back to say the Dr told her to tell me that I may have hyperthyroidism... which is od because I thought low levels meant your thyroid was under active and hyper meant it was over active, yes? I'm assuming she just got it backwards and meant to say I may have hypothyroidism. ANYWAY! The Doctor wants me to come back in 6 weeks for more blood work... why he wants to wait 6 weeks is beyond me, I guess to see if the levels change and maybe it was just a one time thing? I don't know. Either way, for those who have either hypo or hyperthyroidism... how has it affected [effected? lol] your journey? Did you find you lost slower than others? Thanks in advance! TLDR: How has hyper or hypothyroidism impacted your vsg journey?

Following up with a GP is good for general health, but following up with your bariatric surgeon is crucial if you are still having complications from bypass. There are a number of things that can be causing your symptoms, some that can be easily corrected by procedures during an endoscopy. As far as the blood spike, do you mean your blood sugar? Some people that have bypass can develop reactive hypoglycemia which can definitely make your blood sugar levels bounce around and cause fatigue and such. I'm sorry you are feeling bad!

The VSG is somewhat predisposed to reflux, meaning that a greater proportion of those with that surgery will have that problem than the general population. The sleeve reduces the volume of the stomach much more than its' acid producing potential, and sometimes the body doesn't fully adjust to that. The bypass in comparison is predisposed to dumping syndrome, reactive hypoglycemia, marginal ulcers and mineral deficiency disease, so there are trade offs with whatever route one chooses (and with doing nothing, given all of the obesity related diseases that we are trying to avoid!) This is not unusual when we change things in our body - surgery of any kind changes things and sometimes there are negative aspects, or risks of, along with the positives. Medications change our body chemistry to solve a problem, but sometimes there are side effects that are negatives. It is routine for patients to be given a PPI for a while after any WLS, or even on GI procedures - I was put on pantoprozole for a month after a minor cardiac procedure I had a few months ago simply because when the body is under stress (like form surgery) it tends to over produce acid. So, being on a PPI at this point is normal, and nothing to worry about.

CAN ANYONE TELL ME IF THEY ARE HAVING THIS PROBLEM? MY HAIR IS THINNING AND FALLING OUT. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT? I AM GETTING MY RECOMMENDED AMT. OF PROTEIN SO I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THIS IS HAPPENING. I AM HYPO THYROID THOUGH. ANY SIGNIFICANCE? I TAKE MEDS FOR IT. I DO NOT LIKE THIS AT ALL!!!!!!!!

wouldn't be dumping. "Normal" dumping happens pretty soon after you eat. What they call "late dumping" (also called reactive hypoglycemia) happens 1-2 hours after you eat, and can last a couple of hours. Sounds like you ate something that didn't agree with you - or else you've got a bug.

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Goodness yes. I am incredibly emotionally reactive right now -- and prior to all this, as an adult I've always been very non-reactive, to the extent that I used to wonder if I was a sociopath. The past two-ish-weeks I've been on a rage bender, and now I'm starting to see that ease but now instead I get teary when I tell my dog I love her, etc. XD

5 of my 6 sisters as well as myself have thyroid disease/conditions and we all have children,,my mother also had hypo and had 8 kids. I'm sure if you let your thyroid condition go and not treat it, it would cause all sorts of problems.

Here is an web site on bariatrics and reactive hypoglycemia (reoccurring low blood sugar) http://pamtremble.blogspot.com/2010/10/reactive-hypoglycemia-after-bariatric.html. Since I have lost the majority of my weight. My blood sugars have been hitting mind numbing lows in the 50's. I found some resources that have information on diet to manage blood sugar levels. Examples of meals and snacks that work well for stabilizing blood sugar include: lowfat cheese and whole grain crackers slice of whole grain toast with peanut butter sandwich made with whole grain bread fat free plain Greek yogurt with a small piece of fruit or 1/2 cup berries large salad with abundant veggies and a source of protein (chicken, tuna, beans, egg) Keeping a food and lifestyle diary may help you determine which foods and other factors lead up to a blood sugar crash. First and foremost, you want to follow a diet designed to regulate your blood sugar level. This generally includes eating small, frequent meals spaced evenly throughout the day, such as every 2-3 hours. Meals should consist of moderate portions of high-fiber whole grains (such as 100% whole grain cereal or bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, quinoa, sweet potato), some lean protein (such as turkey, ham, fish, egg, beans, lowfat yogurt or cheese), and healthy fat (such as nuts, nut butters, olive oil, avocado). Sugars, especially in the form of beverages (juice, soda, etc.) and sweets (candy, jelly, table sugar, syrup, honey, cookies, cakes), should be avoided as much as possible, as they stimulate the pancreas the most because the sugar rushes into your bloodstream rapidly. Starchy carbohydrates digest down into sugar as well, so it is important to eat these in moderate amounts Starchy carbohydrates digest down into sugar as well, so it is important to eat these in moderate amounts (such as 1/2-1 cup), and choose whole grains over refined flours. White pasta, rices, breads, and cereals are more or less guaranteed to make you feel lousy after eating them as they are digested quickly and raise insulin levels. Fruits also need to be consumed in small amounts, as they contain the natural sugar, fructose, and are best consumed with a source of protein, such as cottage cheese or nuts. Even though fruits are an excellent source of fiber, the sugar content is enough to cause your pancreas to over-react if eaten on an empty stomach. The goal is essentially to not eat carbohydrate foods without including a source of protein or fat at the same time. Proteins and fat help stabilize blood sugars by making the carbohydrate digest more slowly, as proteins and fats take longer to digest and do not convert into significant amounts of sugar. Strenuous exercise burns sugar out of your muscles and bloodstream quickly, so you may be more prone to low blood sugar during extended periods of activity as well. Eating a snack contain a small amount of carbohydrate and protein (such as yogurt or trail mix) within 1 hour of strenuous activity may be enough to keep you going strong. Developing a habit of eating small, frequent meals and taking healthy foods with you for work, school, and when on-the-go, is your best weapon against suffering the symptoms of low blood sugar. If you find incorporating the above suggestions is still not improving your symptoms, you may need to sit down with a dietitian to develop a personalized meal plan to meet your schedule, food preferences, and overall lifestyle needs. Contact your dietician for more information. There is no point in living day-in and day-out with symptoms of hypoglycemia when there is a common sense way to tackle the issue and regain your quality of life!

You aren't being a baby and I think it is general consensus that a colonoscopy is one of the more unpleasant procedures out there (as is anything that has to do with our bowels), but it really isn't that bad. Get the colonoscopy. You are so much better off to be proactive rather than reactive. I know you are worried because some pretty scary terms have been thrown at you, but it is always better to know what you are (or aren't) dealing with. Knowledge is power. Try to think about it this way - you are just ahead of some of your peers in getting the procedure, but then you will be an expert!!! Your specialist makes his bread and butter off doing this procedure, and he knows the benefit of early detection, so try to think of this a being a good, lucky thing that is happening. I kid you not - the preparation for the test is far worse than the test itself. When you get the test, they will give you a drug that will relax you and chances are you will sleep through the whole thing, or will remember very little of it. The drug (they use different ones) is administered by IV and also kind of works as a bit of an amnesiac. I remember the last time I had an endoscopy (camera down your throat rather than up your butt - hopefully a different camera - ha ha), I thought I was awake for the whole thing, but as time went on I became less and less sure of what actually happened. I will warn you that the preparation is really, really, really yucky. You have to drink this really awful stuff (recommendation: drink it with something really strongly flavored like cranberry juice - have the juice as cold as it can be), and then be prepared to stay really close to the bathroom for the next 8 hours. If I remember correctly they make you drink it again in the morning (I tried to block it out). Make sure you have some baby powder and really soft tissue available!! I can't remember for sure, but you also won't be able to eat solids for a day or two before the test. They need your bowel to be as clear as possible. During the procedure, they will have you lay on your side and they slip in a tube with the camera the length of your large intestine (colon), about 6 feet, they then draw it slowly out and can see everything on the way out. They can detect polyps, growths and other disease and can often treat at the same time. Once you are done, you have to stay for as long as it takes you to wake up. You will need a ride as you will be impaired by the drugs, but there really isn't significant pain afterwards. I know that this scary (terrifying really), but again, I firmly believe when you have the correct information, you can deal with the reality, whatever it is. Try not to get too stressed out over the rare possibilitites - easier said than done, I know. Right now you are in a position of worrying and wondering - in short the place where nightmares begin. Be good to yourself and make sure you have someone you can talk to to help you get through this. If you want to pm me - I would be more than happy to help in any way you think I can. Here is something to think about while waiting: In this strange world, who on earth grows up dreaming of looking up people's butts for a living? Can you imagine talking to people about their bowel movements all day every day? I mean did he like playing with poop as a child? When did intestines become fascinating and exotic? I always wanted to ask my colorectal sugeon what drew him to this specialty - I am not sure enough of myself (or his sense of humor) to do it though Maybe one day I will be brave enough...........(or maybe not) Jacquie