Lap Band versus Diabetes

[larrypdot 20]

I was type 2 when I had my surgery, January. I was taking Actos once a day and metformin/glyburide twice a day and still having trouble keeping my blood sugar under 150. Even before my surgery I switched to a low carb diet and after the surgery I ate even less. Within 3 months I a had stopped taking all of my meds and my blood sugar was running about 100. Today I am med free my blood sugar is in the mid 80's and my A1C is 5.2.

[healthierme72 6]

@scout47, I have been type 2 diabetic for 11 yrs now and I too was in denial and kept on taking meds to work with my diabetes. I was always on again off again with my diet and exercise and kept on having health issues due to my weight and meds. This lapband procedure (even though I have not felt any restriction as of yet, has changed my mind thinking and my habits) I have had my gallbladder removed, hernias and panceritisis (sp?), bursitis, skin issues, foot and knee problems, and high blood pressure due to my weight...plus diabetes and all those medical issues never changed my actions. I too, was in denial and didn't realize it until now. I am very thankful to be able to get this chance to turn it around. To me lapband has been a blessing....

@larry congrats! I am so happy for you! I keep getting monitored and still working towards a goal of a A1C OF below 6. But, in time I know I will get there. I too was on all the same meds as you including high blood pressure pills and one day I realized I can't do this any more all the meds were making feel ill and not allowing me to lose weight and my endrocronolgist told me I had an option for lapband or be on insulin. I chose lapband of course. I am 39 yrs old and I want to see my kids grow up. While I was deciding to get lapband a few ppl I know or heard about died of diabetes complications some very young. One lady died early 60's and I found out she was blind for over 10 yrs before she died. That is when I chose lapband. I want to see my kids get married and I want to SEE my grand children one day. I don't want to be a burden to them. I love to hear succes stories! Thank u for sharing...

[lizzy2150 3]

Something that I've noticed is that I cannot control my blood sugar following the diabetic diets that are generally recommended to me. My uncle, the other diabetic in our family, has the same experience--we have to eat VERY low carb diets to keep our blood sugar under control. So one thing I would suggest is checking your blood sugar obsessively after every meal for a few weeks and record the number & write down what you ate. That way you can figure out what foods cause your blood sugar to spike and what foods don't.

Keep us posted as you figure all this out--one of the things I love most about this site is sharing information with other people in similar situations.

Thanks for the encouragement! I think one of my biggest problems is that I was in denial regarding being diabetic; so I never really had a "diabetic diet". The Nutritionist I saw when I was first diagnosed was terrible, made no sense, and then soon after I saw her she was no longer there. So I am on two types of insulin and also Metformin. So I definitely need to make my own structured eating plan. Thanks again for answering my posts.