Potential Issues

There is a certain amount of irony in this post. Before I had the surgery every doctor I went to wanted to check me for diabetes. It is a reasonable assumption that if you are overweight you could be diabetic, but I was not. I have never had issues with my blood sugar until now. The last week has been a very harsh reminder that I must follow my post surgical eating rules to a T.

Last week on Tuesday I didn't eat much because food did not seem to be agreeing with me. I drank some vitamin water with calories just so I didn't go without anything. For breakfast I had about five bites of quiche, for lunch half of a protein bar and for dinner I managed to get in 2 Oh Yeah protein wafers. About twenty minutes after I ate the Oh Yeah bars I started to get really shaky, I felt nauseous, lightheaded and dizzy. I was in Target when it started so I hurried up and started driving home. I live about four minutes from Target. I remember driving into my garage, turning off the car and closing the garage door, and putting my head back against the head rest for a minute. I woke up thirty minutes later.

I talked to my surgeon and he wanted me to follow up with my primary care doctor. I spoke to my primary care doctor and she wanted me to get a glucometer and monitor my sugar levels anytime I felt that way. I ate lunch today at noon and got distracted and for got to eat. Then I go headache and was feeling very shaky so I tested my blood sugar. I had not eaten in six hours when I tested. My level was at 44 which is very low. I drank some orange juice and tested again forty minutes later, my numbers were back up in the normal range at 109 and I felt much better.

So I need to stay on track, no more forgetting to eat because the results can be disastrous.

On one hand I am relieved that what is going on seems to be as simple as making sure I eat regularly and keep some peanut butter crackers on hand for anytime when I feel shaky On the other hand it is ironic that I am now worried about hypoglycemia when I have been warned about the dangers of high blood sugar my entire life.

While there is a chance this will go away in time, it is likely that I will need to adapt my lifestyle to deal with this issue for the long haul.

Its not all sunshine and roses, but I'm still happy that I had the surgery.

(P.S. Mom if you're reading this I am fine and I'm going to follow up with the doctor :-))