Surgery With Reactive Hypoglycemia

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I had knee surgery last week. I guess, in the big scope of things, arthroscopic knee surgery on an outpatient basis (even with general anesthesia) is not normally considered a big deal. However, for a reactive hypoglycemic like me, there are several things you should take into consideration on top of any advice you get from your surgeon.

1. Make sure you insist on the pre-op nurse testing your blood sugar before you go into the operating room. Reactive hypoglycemia is not a common occurrence for a surgical team. There’s no eating or drinking after midnight before; although my fasting blood sugar is generally okay, I didn’t want to risk it dropping in the middle of surgery. I made sure everyone on the operating team (including the anesthesiologist) knew that I was reactive hypoglycemic.

2. Bring your own food and juice. I think in my panic to make sure I had brought everything (insurance card, money, ID, paperwork, meds etc.). I forgot that outpatient departments aren’t set up for food. They had crackers and juice for after the surgery–exactly what I can’t eat. After an hour and a half, my husband did manage to locate a boiled egg in a nearby YMCA

3. A healing body uses up glucose much, much faster than a regular body–so eat more often in the days and weeks post-procedure. I have had to adjust my eating schedule from 2 hours to 1.5 hours to avoid crashes. And even then, I’ve had three or four really horrible hypoglycemic crashes in this post-surgical week, one right in the middle of physical therapy (they said I had them really worried for a while!). The combination of sleepless nights, physical therapy, and healing has just put too much stress on my system. I’m beginning to think that blood sugar swings are an inevitable part of surgery, but there isn’t exactly a wealth of information on that topic (i.e. there’s none).

I am looking forward to getting back to normal. In the meantime–must eat!

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6 Comments on “Surgery With Reactive Hypoglycemia”

1 Sharon Krantz said at 8:19 am on April 2nd, 2010:
I just found your site and am so grateful. I was diagnosed by a neurologist 13 years ago, referred to an endocrinologist who explained the condition, but told me that there just needed to be more research and she had very little info to help me.

I read and struggled along and managed the condition very well until post-menopause. I was recently diagnosed with Hypothyroidism, as well. That is now under control with Armour Thyroid and I also use bioidentical hormones.

I have two problems that I can’t get under control, though. The first is that I crash 3 hours after falling asleep at night. My doctor has recently suggested a Whey Protein Drink (lactose and gluten free with 1 gram of sugar and grams of protein per my recommended serving) before bed. I still wake up after 3 hours. I have always eaten a banana during the crashes which has aloed me to immediately resume sleep. Are there any suggestions that you or others may have RE: pre-bedtime solutions?

The second problem is that I am unclear when the best times of the day are to exercise for a reactive hypoglycemic.

Any help would be appreiated. I have just ordered your books from Amazon. It is possible that my concerns are addressed in them.

Anyway, thank you so much for your site!!!
2 Steph Kenrose said at 8:45 am on April 2nd, 2010:
Sharon,

I used to have the “crashing” problem in the middle of the night, before I completely switched my diet. With the near-vegan diet I outline in my book, plus a high protein snack before bed (usually a big handful of peanuts will do the trick, but sometimes peanut butter on whole wheat toast), I haven’t had a night crash in a long, long time.

I exercise about 30 minutes after eating a big meal, and I eat every 20 minutes during exercise (a raw food bar). That seems to be the only way I can stop my blood sugar from crashing.

I hope that helps!

Stephanie
3 Sharon Krantz said at 10:46 am on April 2nd, 2010:
Thank you so much for your quick reply, Stephanie.

I will try those guidelines. Do you still use Luna bars? I look forward to reading your books and trying your eating plan. BTW, I also enjoyed reading online about the lunches for your son. I care for my four year old and 2 year old granddaughters daily and I plan to use those ideas, as well.

One question that I forgot to ask was about medical procedures. I read with interest this post about having surgery. I have only had oral surgery which took me forever to recover from. The question is about medical procedures that require not just fasting, but cleaning the body out, as well. I have been so nervous about crashing as severely as I used to 13 years ago that I have not had a routine colonoscopy which is recommended for someone my age (60). When I spoke with the facility that does them for my HMO, I was told just to drink a little orange juice and I’d be fine. I don’t know about you, but when I’m really crashing, that orange juice would make me violently ill.

Thank you again.
4 Steph Kenrose said at 11:01 am on April 2nd, 2010:
Dear Sharon,
Sounds to my like you need to shop around for someone who is a little more sympathetic! Orange juice? Heavens..that would crash my blood sugar in an hour. The facility that I had my knee surgery in was VERY understanding. They tested my blood sugar every 30 minutes and had me on a glucose drip before and during the surgery. Call around and find someone who will do that for you during a colonoscopy. Good luck!
Stephanie
5 Steph Kenrose said at 11:07 am on April 2nd, 2010:
Almost forgot…I stopped using Luna bars a while back because I am currently on a 75% raw diet. My son still eats them now and then.
6 Sharon Krantz said at 11:34 am on April 2nd, 2010:
Great info, Stephanie. Thank you. BTW, what is a raw food bar?