8 weeks post-surgery w/fatigue, hypoglycemia symptoms? help! - Hypoglycemia Message Board

mjjenner · 07-31-2008, 10:59 AM

I had PTTT and calc osteotomy eight weeks ago. My foot is doing well. I've been in PT 2-1/2 weeks, am using one crutch but can go without any (in the boot). I'm feeling good about gaining strength back and seem to be healing well.

I lost maybe 10 pounds in the last 3-4 months. I was thin to begin with but am now underweight (5'5" 120 pounds). I can't seem to eat enough - don't really feel hungry. In the last two weeks, I have had 4 episodes of what may be hypoglycemia. Very quickly, I start to feel a bit of confusion, clumsiness, headache, clammy, fatigue. So much that I don't feel able to even walk from one place to another alone. The first time, I tried to go across the room using my crutches and fell. The next two times, I realized what was happening and drank some juice or ate some food and felt better. After this, I am extremely tired and just want to sleep. I end up taking a nap but am exhausted. These episodes are combined with trying to go to work 3-4 hours a day, having 2-1/2 hours of PT three times a week, and probably doing too much around the house. I am utterly exhausted. Am I being unrealistic in thinking I can accomplish so much so soon?

As for the hypoglycemia, I did see a doctor two days ago and ordered some blood tests and suggested a brain MRI. The MRI, I think, is overkill. The symptoms improve with food. I had the glucose tolerance test yesterday a.m. I drank the sugary liquid, felt good, but by the end of the third hour, I was crashing. I had my blood drawn and barely made it back to the office (one building away) and devoured my steak sandwich. That seemed to help with the episode but I had a bad headache and fatigue and went home. I rested and ate a snack before going to PT. I got home from PT and took a nap. It took all I had to get up when my husband got home so we could eat (I was starving). I went to bed at 8 p.m. I felt hungry at 3 a.m. so I got up and had some peanut butter and an english muffin with some juice. I took today off because I am just so dang tired. Does anyone know anything about these symptoms? Are they related to sugar? I am awaiting the results today or tomorrow.

I don't know if I am expecting too much of myself and these symptoms are scaring me.

cosmic1 · 07-31-2008, 11:40 AM

I am in my fifties and have had hypoglycemia forever !
I had two foot surgeries and lost weight. I am 5'5' too and went from 110 to 95 lbs post surgical.
I ate fine my appetite was good but the stress of the surgeries caused me to lose weight.
I thought that after lying and sitting FOREVER I would have gained weight.
I was really surprised to see how much weight i lost.
I went to visit my son in Florida 8 weeks post op for the first foot. My summer clothing just hung on me and that was the first time I realized how much weight I had lost.
It sounds like your doctor is checking exactly what needs to be checked.
Your symptoms sound very much like hypoglycemia.

When I went for the first surgery, I always tell the anesthesiologist that I am hypoglycemic. This is because I don't want to be crashing during the surgery. I am always given a Ringer's Lactate IV because it will provide enough nourishment so tht one w hypoglycemia will not crash.

My advice because I have always had this problem....And you have lost weight so this may be causing you to have fluctuating sugar.
Protein is the key to keeping you balanced
NO SUGAR STUFF. Sugar is fine to give you a quick fix so that you do not pass out.
I think meat, eggs, milk etc.
Blah, blah, blah however I do understand your problem because I have had it forever....................

mjjenner · 07-31-2008, 11:50 AM

My clothes are falling off me, too. Everyone at work keeps commenting on this. I think I was down to about 116 -- I was weighing myself but since the boot was on, and I didn't know it weighed 6 pounds, I was overestimating my weight. So, do they say you are diabetic or you just have hypoglycemia that is controlled with diet? What can I eat to gain weight? Today, I had egg, bagel, juice, and three hours later feel weird. I ate half a hamburger patty with a little more OJ and will see how that does. I can't wait for the doctor to call and give me some news. Do I eat protein along with something else, i.e. carbs? And, man, I do love me some desserts! But, I've not been having any lately.

akirka · 08-03-2008, 08:36 PM

I had surgery this winter for a bone graft to the foot. I literally laid on the couch for 3 months NWB and lost weight - too weird. I felt really hot all the time for about 6 weeks after my surgery and the only explanation I have for it is just healing energy. Crutches also burn a ton of energy and calories. Now that I'm fairly recovered, of course the pounds have come back on, but some is muscle weight for sure! My leg shrank down to nothing!

I also have suffered with low blood sugar attacks for years and I think drinking OJ or any juice just makes it worse. Protein for sure like cosmic1 said, milk, cheese, nuts, peanut butter, meat. But I'd stay away from juice when you feel bad. I have to say, I was very athletic and thin (120) for most of my life and would almost daily have blood sugar drops. After my foot injury, I couldn't run or jump and gained 25 lbs over the last 3 years. It's a bummer being flabby but I notice I rarely if ever get hypoglycemia. It's like my body was just on the edge of a healthy weight at 120 and could be tipped pretty easily to crash. Maybe 25lbs extra is a little too much for me, but a few extra pounds can make a big difference in feeling better!