Reactive Hypoglycemia

So I've seen this condition just mentioned in passing in here and after a discussion with my surgeon I now realize that I've been dealing with it. I always believed it was dumping, or as I was calling it "dumping-lite" because many of the classic symptoms were absent, but it was only occurring after eating something with sugar. Also associating a "low blood sugar" issue with consuming sugar is a bit counter-intuitive but my surgeon broke it down for me and now of course I'm an expert on the subject. (wink-wink)

So the obvious solution is too just avoid eating too much sugar at once and honestly I'm pretty vigilant about keeping it 10 grams or lower per serving but there's also info out there that says the quick and easy solution to combating low-blood sugar is ..... go eat some sugar.

Anybody else deal with this? Any advice for a guy just looking to enjoy his plain yogurt with a bit of real maple syrup?

It's really common. And it's not just sugar that causes it,but any simple carb that spikes blood sugar. Bread and pasta are worse than sugar.

Eating more simple carbs to fix reactive hypoglycemia is NOT the answer. Reactive hypoglycemia should NOT be treated the same as hypoglycemia.

RH happens when you eat simple carbs. Blood sugar spikes really high, briefly. Your body expects more, and releases too much insulin. Blood sugar crashes as a result. Hard.

Eat sugar to raise your crashed blood sugar? Great. Blood sugar spikes in reaction, more insulin is released, and you have just started round 2 of reactive hypoglycemia. You'll be on the roller coaster continually.

Raising and crashing blood sugars is really, really unhealthy. It will do horrible things to your body. The only way to avoid it is to eat protein with fats. There is no magic answer for eating simple carbs.

Most of us encounter RH at 18 months on. That's when we start slipping and introducing that crap back into our diets. At 4 months, you really, really need to reign those things, now. You can lose weight eating this way now. But if you are eating enough to be getting RH already, you will find yourself in a lot of trouble.

Thanks for replying. Pretty sure it was from you that I first heard of RH.

I always thought it was dumping but overall I guess it has served me well as it's definitely been a behavior modifier. Kind of like sugar is Mike Tyson and I'm a crappy boxer there's only so many times I'm willing to step in the ring and get my face smashed. And it does feel like a knockout punch to me. Not in the pain but it puts me down and keeps me there for a while. Reminds me of "bed-spins" Definitely does not feel healthy. Now that I understand what's going on and that the pancreas is involved it's even scarier.

I second what Grim said.

I deal with RH for sure and it did in fact seem to really start being an issue at about 1 1/2 years out.

Carbs like pasta and bread are way more likely to get my blood sugar wonky than even a few bites of cookie or something you would 'expect' to cause issues.

When I crash, if I eat just sugar I do what I refer to as "chasing the dragon" for the rest of the day or evening. Up down up down...feeling rotten the whole time.

For me, my blood sugar often drops dangerously low (35 or 40...one time a 20 eekkk!) and so I do take sugar just to get it up right away but I eat protein with that. Usually a glucose tablet with 4g of quick dissolve sugar and about 3 ozs of meat or cheese is ideal. I have used peanut butter in a pinch as well.

Basically I am pretty sure I need to carry an emergency ration of bacon! LOL I haven't figured out a way to make that pragmatic but we all have life goals right? I find that jerky doesn't digest well for me so lunch meat, bacon, or cheese sticks are my go to.

For glucose tablets I use these per my MD recommendation and I keep them with me at all times. For me, even without eating something I expect might trigger it it can catch me by surprise sometimes and that can be very dangerous. Swings in blood sugar are nothing to mess around with. Best of luck to you!

~Elizabeth

Yikes. Anytime I hear the phrase chasing the dragon that usually means you're in dangerous territory. I do like the sound of "emergency bacon" though. Thanks.

This makes me LOL so hard about carrying bacon with you. I met my sister yesterday and she goes by this old veggie/butcher place and I asked her to get me a pound of bacon and bring t to me. She puts the package in her purse because she doesn't want to leave in the car.

so yesterday, I'm carrying around bacon in my purse.

I also have this an in fact decided to eat some brownie last night. too much it seems and I had to go lay down for 1 hour because I felt so so icky. Not the same sick when I eat sugar alcohols, but icky the same.

Yes, I have had both reactive Hypocycemia episodes as well as regular hypoglycemia episodes since surgery. I was more aware of them after the one year mark....

Regular Hypoglycemia from just waiting too long to eat.

H.A.L.A. on here has been through it all, so if she chimes in listen. Basically you want to get your sugar up and then stabilize it with some protein so it doesn't crash again.

What happens to me is I get foggy headed and then forget what to do. For me a lot has to do with what else I am having with it. If you are aware of the glycemic index- a scale of how foods effect your blood sugar, there is also something called the glycemic load- which is the blood sugar effect of the whole meal. That is where I have to pay attention.

When I am with my son and family- Thursdays is pancake day. Homemade with flaxseed pancakes. I always say I'll have one, but make me an egg too please.

So my recent foray with RH will always now be know as the "July 4th debacle". Son and family were leaving and needed to get 2 young kids and themselves out the door. The night before I decided to make banana bread- figuring quick for them to eat in the morning and then they can take on plane.

Now this is banana bread I've made and eaten before when they were visiting. This time, I am rushing around early, trying to help watch the kids, drank coffee and ate 2 pieces of the bread. The thought crossed my mind as I was doing it- this probably isn't a good idea, but we will know in a couple of hours. Like clockwork 2 hours later it hit, and hit bad. The difference? I hadn't eaten all night and then ate just banana bread,2 pieces. and nothing to buffer....

I couldn't think straight, have glucose tabs didn't know where they were... ate Peanut Butter, and then some turkey...should have had something with more sugar to bring it back up quicker.

This weekend I had a chocolate chip cookie at a BBQ. I was fine. Difference? I had eaten protein first. Glycemic load.

So yes, it is real....

Thanks. There definitely seems to be a difference in the sequence of eating as I have had similar grams of sugar without the RH but now that I think about it it was usually after eating something meaty. And while my Greek yogurt is most definitely protein rich, it's pretty much a slider food.

The loss of cognitive function is scary. I have individual packs of peanut butter and protein bars in my glove box.

I've chased that dragon and it can take a while to figure out what works.