reactive hypoglycemia book

its the holidays and while you're out running around like a chicken with its head cut off think into the future, when life goes back to its normal state (or as normal as it gets).   When the kids go back to school, the house is back to normal, you're taking your break at work without cramming in 20 errands.  Take a few minutes for some "me" time.  Go out and buy yourself a great book to help learn about RHG. If you're someone that is dealing with or trying to figure out if you have reactive hypoglycemia, here's a good book to read.   I went on an amazon recommendation, read the reviews, searched the ISBN at my local library and picked it up there for the best cost... free The name of the book is  "Hypoglycemia; the other sugar disease" (2nd edition)    Its very informative, easy read with "workbook" pages included to help you diagnose your symptoms, when its happening and what is triggering it. Here is the amazon link if you're intersted in getting more information http://www.amazon.com/Hypoglycemia-Other-Disease-Anita-Flegg /dp/0973520760/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1198381073&sr=11-1  The ISBN is 0973520760 (if you want to search your local library catalog) I posted a while back that I was at the beginning of learning about RHG and can honestly say I've taken a serious crash course on it.  I've read a lot of research onlne, found books (there are even RHG books available), watched dvds on hypoglycemia, researched videos through nutritionists and endocronoligists about the effects of reactive hypoglycemia and ways to treat it so it doesn't happen anymore. RHG (or any form of hypoglycemia) is dangerous and if you feel you have symptoms, you should look into it.  Leaving it untreated can cause problems in your liver, pancreas, brain functions and can even lead to diabetes.  I've had my RHG under control for a few weeks without a crash by eating every 3 hours, eating protein and sticking to only complex carbohydrates.  Of course there are days I want to bindge on junk food like popcorn or potato chips but I know how its going to make me feel so I dont.. I've also started taking chromium picolinate (recommended by my nutritionsit) which helps regulate blood sugar another tip,  if you're a cinnamon fan, adding it to what you eat or drink helps regulate your blood sugar as well. check out the book if you're intersted, its packed with information to help get your RHG under control :) ps- if you're looking for a RHG book this one was recently written, its a paperback and very short book http://www.amazon.com/Reactive-Hypoglycemia-Personal-Managin g-Condition/dp/0595470211/ref=pd_sim_b_title_6  no ratings on amazon and I haven't read it so I'm not sure what it entails, but its good to know theres information out there for us!

Thanks for the info .. I had my sugery Sept of '03 then Feb of '05 I had a seizure and ended up in the hospital .. I was told after being there a week and then released that it was reactive hypoglycemia .. then I had another seizure March 19 and another one March 23 of '05 as well as Dec 22 of '05 .. all due to hypoglycemia .. but still not sure what to do to control it .. and yes I was seeing Dr's at the time .. I thought all was fine til on June 1 and July 03 of this year (2007) I had two more seizures .. after trying to figure out how to prevent it I decided in Nov to go ahead and have my Dr do a low blood sugar test .. he did the one where ya couldn't eat the night before the test .. then when I got to the lab they drew blood and had me drink this nasty stuff .. I forget what it was called .. then every hour for four hours they drew blood .. I was told as far as the results went that my blood sugar dropped really low .. it went down to 27 but that my insulin dropped with it which is suppose to be good or so they said .. but I now am going to be seen my an endocrinologist .. however as referrals go I can't get in til the first part of February .. so thank you for the book info .. I will be looking into them so I can at least see what I can do between now and then .. smile ..

The books I am assuming, too, also help with the right foods and such that should be ate, right?  When you eat every 3 hours I know you said you try to eat proteins and try to stick to complex carbs .. I am having a hard time coming up with any variety in things .. could you please give me some suggestions or samples of what things you eat or what a "typical" day might entail for you .. Thanks again .. Rhonda

wow Rhonda ((hugs))  27 blood sugar sounds scary,  please be careful!   when you feel an onset of low blood sugar (whatever your reaction is, my first sign I'm going to crash is my stomach itches) start looking for protein (cheese stick, peanut butter, meats, seafood, yogurt, nuts, protein bar, etc) if I feel like I'm really going to crash (maybe my last meal I ate pasta with a small amount of meat sauce instead of a meatball first, small amount of pasta and sauce) I'll have some light and healthy tropicana orange juice, its sweetened with splenda so it wont make me dump.  Once I have some OJ in me, I'll have some type of protein.  The orange juice will combat the blood sugar drop, but if you don't follow it with protein, your blood sugar will drop again. I eat a lot of peanut butter (about 3/4 jar per week)  it helps keep my blood sugar stable.  My nutritionist says its ok as long as the saturated fat is 2grams/serving (Teddie PB is one of them that has 2gr/serving).  I eat it solo, on whole wheat crackers, on fruit, I even add a T to my morning oatmeal.   Try journaling what time you eat, what you eat, how you feel after eating, what time you crash, how you feel when you crash and what your blood sugar is when it happens.  It will be helpful during your appointments for them to see what is going on with you.   White foods are the biggest problem for hypoglycemics (white pasta, white bread, white rice, white wine, white potatoes) try watching your intake of those for a few days and see if it helps stabolize your blood sugar. Theres a diet out there called "The Krimmel Diet" I havent read into it yet, but plan to.  Theres a small paragraph about it in this book, here it is: "The Krimmel Diet plan is the only diet (that I know of) specifically developed for hypoglycemmics.  It follows the standard, high carbohydrate, low fat paradigm with the significant difference that sugar is removed.  Like all other hypoglycemic diets, the krimmels recommend replacing all refined grains with whole grains" I have a book that goes into the krimmel diet and plan to read it this week, once I do, I'll give more insight on it.  Since reactive hypoglycemia would cause a crash using high carbohydrate foods first (protein should be first), this might not be the diet for us.   as far as my eating schedule, I eat every 3 hours and still do a protein shake (more because its easy to drink it while driving to work).  heres my schedule 6:30 protein shake 9am - weight control cinnamon oatmeal, 1 T peanut butter, simply smart milk or a whole grain bagel with 2T peanut butter 12pm - lunch usually changes from week to week, some weeks its chili, others its shrimp with 1/2 cup whole wheat linguini, beef burger with veggies, grilled chicken and a salad, etc 3 - something easy to eat while driving (piece of fruit, cheese stick, protein shake) 6pm - another toss up, usually the same guidelines as lunch, protein and veggies, sometimes I'll add a complex carb in here like sweet potatoes. 9 - snack usually something small, maybe 2T pb by itself, handful of nuts, peanut butter with a banana I keep a container of peanut butter in my room incase I wake up at night and feel a little shakey (or didnt eat on schedule or enough at my last snack) and know I could "crash", i'll have a T during the night for reassurance. another thing I've started taking which I feel really has helped me not crash as much is chromium picolinate.  its something you can pick up at gnc, vitamin shoppe, etc.  There was a diet craze a while ago about this, it helps burn fat, but it also helps regulate blood sugar.  I've been taking it daily for 2 months and I honestly think its slowed the amount of times I crash. Today I read Melting Mama's blog, she talked about a bar called Extendbar that was recommended for hypoglycemics.  Its suppose to stabilize your blood sugar for up to 9 hours.  Heres the link for them if you want to read about it http://www.extendbar.com/default.asp   if you click intro offer, you can order 15 bars for $15.99, free shipping.  I don't know how they taste or if they work, but I did google the name and read a person who tried them and found no luck in it regulating her blood sugar.. maybe they work on some people? maybe they don't work at all?  not sure, but I wanted to put the information out there incase anyone is interested. Hopefully this information helps you enough to get you through til you see the doctor again.  Hypoglycemia is very dangerous, you can do serious damage to your organs so please try to regulate it and get help for it as soon as you can :) I have 2 other books to read about hypoglycemia this week (the do's and don'ts of hypoglycemia and the low blood sugar handbook).  When I finish I'll post again if theres anything of value for us RHG people (can you tell I have a lot of time on my hands, I had foot surgery and am on crutches for 6-8 weeks, perfect time to catch up on reading lol)! 

incase youre intersted,  heres a link to my original post about rhg, its lengthy, but informative from other post-ops and myself :) http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/wls_grads/board_id,5491/ca t_id,5091/topic_id,3453812/a,messageboard/action,replies/#26 944149 

Hi Rhonda... I hope this message reaches you - I have recently had a seizure, and I am also a reactive hypo.... I'd like to ask you a few things!

Wow that is alot of info!  I really appreciate it .. I wasn't sure why it was happening as no one else seemed to have talked about it but seems there are more people now posting about hypoglycemia now .. and then I was told it was a side effect of the surgery .. but that's ok cuz before hand things were just not good that way either .. smile .. I will look into the Krimmel diet thing too and I plan to get that first book you mentioned .. I try to keep those glucose tabs with me at all times as well as peanut butter .. I have them in my purse and in my car and at the office at my desk as well as on my nightstand beside my be cuz as ya mentioned it can happen in the middle of the night too ..  Have tried to journal my meals or what I eat and have never been good about that so I am going to start that again and try to do better .. hopefully that too will give the Dr some insight when I finally get to see him in Feb.  but have not yet been told I needed to monitor my blood sugar .. or that might be the wrong way to word that .. haven't been told I needed to get a monitor and check what my blood sugar levels are is what I meant to say .. so am wondering if he will have me start doing that .. I know that 27 was low .. I asked him to repeat it for him .. the nbr that is and it was 27 .. and I know in the past when it's been checked it has been way low like that too but have never known what was normal either .. so much to learn! smile .. but thanks so much for all that you have researched and shared .. I for one am very appreciative!   Hope that ya get back on your feet soon! .. be careful and take care!  Thanks again, Rhonda

Melting Mama a.k.a Beth, I received your message and sent one back but just in case ya didn't get it I wanted to send one back this way too .. I would like to talk to ya more about this as well .. I was referred to an endocrinologist and will be seeing him in a couple to three weeks .. Feb 6 so hopefully will have more info .. but feel free to email me .. my email address is [email protected] .. look forward to hearing from ya!  Take care, Rhonda

I am 2.5 years post surgery.  Last April I got married and about that time I started grazing without paying attention to what I was doing.  I blinked and was suddenly up 20 lbs from my lowest weight.  I decided I needed to go see the nutritionist associated to my WLS and she put me back on the straight and narrow with eating the way I supposed to eat and eating every 3 hours etc.  Suddenly I started having crashes, feeling anxious, shaky, lightheaded etc.  I saw my primary physician who blew off my symptoms.  I then saw the nutritionist who told me to get a glucose meter if I really was concerned about it but she didn't think it was anything either.  I started testing my blood sugar as often as I felt "yucky".  My glucose levels never went over 100 and dipped as low as the 40s.  I told the nutritionist who was floored and she had me see the WLS.  I told him what was happening and showed him my tracking of what I had been eating, when, and what my glucose levels were doing.  There was a pattern where my glucose levels were crashing consistently 2 hours after I ate so he put me on eating every 2 hours small amounts of food.  He did not encourage me to see an Endocrinologist at that time and in fact told me he didn't think it would be necessary.  He also told me not to exercise at all until my glucose levels stablize because exercise can cause glucose to crash as well.  I have been doing this now for a month and again I am starting to feel bad at about 1 hour after eating.  As of now I'm not losing, not exercising and while my glucose is usually staying usually between 90 and 100 I am not sleeping well, not feeling well again, overall I am tired, grouchy, and it doesn't seem to matter what I am eating nothing improves.  My small meals are things like 1 piece of string cheese, or a 6 oz yogurt, or 1/4 cup of chicken and 2 slices of cucumbers, or 2 PB crackers.  I am going to go see the Endocrinologist after reading through this forum because I am now concerned.  I'll let you know what I find out.