Type 2 Diabetes

[Amherst76 1]

Hi, my surgery is 10/31/11. I am having this done mainly to control my diabetes. I have been on an insulin pump for 2 years and still no control on my numbers. I feel this is really big leap of faith to have this surgery. Losing weight will be a great side effect as well. Is anyone else out there having this surgery for diabetes as well as weight loss???

Not telling many people yet as I get push back on such a radical decision. I pray it all is worth it!

[Lilu 65]

Hi, my surgery is 10/31/11. I am having this done mainly to control my diabetes. I have been on an insulin pump for 2 years and still no control on my numbers. I feel this is really big leap of faith to have this surgery. Losing weight will be a great side effect as well. Is anyone else out there having this surgery for diabetes as well as weight loss???

Not telling many people yet as I get push back on such a radical decision. I pray it all is worth it!

I am having the surgery for the same reason. I have been on a insulin pump also but doing some what okay now to control my sugars. I started my journey in august when I read about how the surgery would help my diabetes. And I was talking to my sister who had the by-pass surgery and nows does not have problem with the diabetes. When I began this journey i went thru alot of hoops and disappointments about not having the surgery but I kept my head up and jump thru all the hoops. And now looking forward to have the surgery done. I have to retake a couple of steps again because I took too long for my insurance to have it done. Now all the doctors approved but I need to do it within a year so now I have to do the first visit and the support groups so it puts me having my surgery late Jan. or early Feb. of 2012 and I am so excited I have been stocking up on the things I am going to need for after the surgery and tasting new foods and exercising more lilttle by little.

So I wish you all the luck and if you need someone to talk too. Just send me a private message

[Mr.Mike 3]

well here is my addition to this thread, im 30 years old almost 31 (this month actually) i am about 3 1/2 weeks out and before the operation i was a type 2 diabetic, last a1c before the operation was 6.9. had issues controlling my sugar levels and was back and forth between januvia and metformin. i can tell you that i am completely free of any type II symptoms now. y bood sugar runs between 99-140, depending if i have eaten, but usually my blood sugar in the am when i wake up is between 90-104. i am off all my medication as well, when i left he hospital i was off all of it. i am also on a trial run without any blood pressure meds as i was also taking 80mg of micardis a day to control hypertension.

i will say that if you are insulin dependant at this point you may not fully get rid of your diabetes, but you will greatly reduce the severity and maybe just go to oral medication for awhile, perhaps once the weight is off you will be able to totally get off the medication.

you are saving your life by getting this operation. remember that.

[klus263 9]

I was on metformin twice a day before surgery. My A1c was 6.9 a year before surgery. With my presurgery diet I was able to stop all diabetic medication and only had one shot while in the hospital. At my 6 month check up my A1c was 5.2. I know longer have to check my sugar levels. I do have a friend who has more uncontrolable sugar levels. She is still on insulin but have been able to reduce her medication. It may take longer for others but you will see a major benefit over time. Good Luck!

[longer-life 139]

Is anyone else out there having this surgery for diabetes as well as weight loss???

Yes!!!!! Yes!!!!! My grandfather, dad & aunt all died young due to diabetes. One uncle just lost a toe, my brother was recently diagnosed and I found out this week I am pre-diabetic! Granted, my aunt was thin as a rail, so I might still get it, but I don't want to have obesity complicating matters even further.

One thing is worrying me though. For some reason, there are surgeons, including mine, that believe gastric bypass is better for diabetics. I don't want the bypass regardless, but now that I am pre-diabetic, I can't stop thinking about it. I see people here all the time that there diabetes goes into remission, so I don't know why some/many surgeons think this way.

Best wishes!

[shellnsons 7]

Yes I am having surgery for diabetes as well my mom died at the young age of 42 years old of diaetes...I take insulin 3 times a day I am 235 lbs 5'3....wishing you the best

[kemo46 82]

I too was in your shoes. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes about 1 month before my surgery. I want you to read my blog ( below in signature) , I have listed all of my blood numbers in the blog before I had my surgery and then at my 3 month post-op appointment. My A1C test was at 10.2 when diagnosed, it was 6.3 3months after surgery. I take no medication and feel great. I have a fasting blood glucose number of 100 now and it runs about 112 2 hours after meals This was a major wake up call for me, the surgery saved my life. I think the surgery, change of diet, exercise and the weight loss all contributed to the change in my numbers. Remember, the sleeve is a tool, you have to change your lifestyle after surgery.

[RickM 1,747]

There are a couple of issues that need careful consideration and research as relates to diabetes and WLS. The intestinal rerouting procedures, the RNY and DS, have long showed very good type 2 diabetes resolution, on the order of 95-98% for the DS, somewhat less for the RNY. It is thought that there is something about the metabolic changes that come from the intestinal work is the reason, but the exact mechanism is not fully understood, though at the time of my wife's WLS a few years ago it was thought to be improved inflammatory response stemming from the metabolic changes from the intestinal work. The VSG is also showing very good results as well, though I haven't seen comparative numbers. This is why a lot of surgeons recommend the RNY (and\or the DS if they are qualified on it) for their diabetic patients.

The other consideration is that there is often a connection between how severe the diabetes is (how long since initial diagnosis and/or amount of intervention required to control it) and how long it takes after surgery to resolve itself. My wife was type 2 diabetic who had been treated for about 20 years when she had her DS a few years ago, and she was just short of needing insulin injections - medication cocktails were near the end of their effectiveness in controlling it in her and it took 6-8 months to resolve in her case; we know of others who were on insulin and meds where it took around a year to fully resolve and be off of all meds with the DS.

The impression that I am getting from these forums is that the more recent or less severe cases are being successfully resolved with the VSG, but I haven't seen how successfully the more severe cases such as yours are being resolved. I would certainly want to see good concrete evidence that these more severe cases are being successfully treated with this procedure before committing to it - maybe you have found some that points in that direction (that was not a focus of my research leading to my VSG as it is not an issue with me,) and that should provide reinforcement for your decision. Hopefully we will get some more people chiming in here that have experiences close to yours that can help. The good news here (or at least semi-good news) is that should the VSG not work for you, it is fairly straightforward to revise it to a DS (as the DS starts with a VSG in the first place) which has shown a very good success rate in this area. None of us here are keen on the intestinal changes involved (or we wouldn't be here on a VSG board) but that may be what is necessary to solve your problem. Hopefully your case can be resolved with the simpler step of the VSG, but it would be well to giving some thought to where you want to go if it is not.

Good luck in your journey,

[clk 3,519]

I developed gestational diabetes in 2007 and after delivery of my twins it never went away. I was on Metformin twice daily for three years prior to surgery.

I can't tell you A1C numbers without pulling out my medical records but I can tell you that I had surgery 15 July 2010 and the night before that was the last time I ever took a Metformin pill. I had insulin in the hospital twice but have not had any issues with blood sugars since then.

Prior to surgery my sugars ranged from 140-220 while on Metformin twice daily. Immediately post op (once I was back home) I was in the 100-140 range, a vast improvement. Now that I'm more than a year out, my sugars typically stay between 80-90 all day long, with no big jumps. I don't even bother testing my blood anymore, and like I said, I haven't even taken a pill since the night before surgery. I was never able to get my fasting blood sugars below 140 before surgery! My postprandial numbers were always in the 200 range - I was happy if I tested 190 an hour after a meal, because that was a good day.

I was warned by my doc that the odds of developing full blown diabetes again once again with old age are higher for me, but for all intents and purposes I am no longer a diabetic.

So yes, this surgery really can help. It was one of my big motivators for losing weight and I was so happy to have that be my first immediate improvement - before I even saw a big drop on the scale I had better blood sugar readings.

That said, you're already on insulin, so your results might not be as exceptional. However, even decreasing down to a pill to control your blood sugars would be a vast improvement. I hope you will update specifically about how your diabetes is affected by your surgery, because it will be helpful to others considering VSG as an option.

~Cheri

[longer-life 139]

Great responses! Hopefully this answers the original posters questions. It sure answered mine. Thanks so much!

[RickM 1,747]

Yes!!!!! Yes!!!!! My grandfather, dad & aunt all died young due to diabetes. One uncle just lost a toe, my brother was recently diagnosed and I found out this week I am pre-diabetic! Granted, my aunt was thin as a rail, so I might still get it, but I don't want to have obesity complicating matters even further.

One thing is worrying me though. For some reason, there are surgeons, including mine, that believe gastric bypass is better for diabetics. I don't want the bypass regardless, but now that I am pre-diabetic, I can't stop thinking about it. I see people here all the time that there diabetes goes into remission, so I don't know why some/many surgeons think this way.

Best wishes!

There's lots of hope in your case - the ultra low carb diet that many surgeons use in their VSG programs is the same thing that is often prescribed as the first line of defense against pre-diabetes/metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance. My brother in law was diagnosed with pre-diabetes a few years ago and that was his doc's prescription (he has been somewhat overweight, but not obese.) He was restricted to 30g carb per day for several months (had to give up his favorite wines for that time) until his numbers corrected, and was then allowed to increase his intake into the 100ish g range to maintain things. He was able to add back his beloved wine, but otherwise he sticks to mostly meats and veg with lesser amounts of fruits and whole grains and that is working well. For much of this year he had to give that up to adopt a "Wonder Bread" diet where he had to avoid the whole grains and fiberous veg and fruits for another health issue and he felt like total crap. He's glad to be back to his normal healthy carb diet now, and looking forward to losing the 20lb he gained on the white food diet.

With your family history, there certainly is cause for concern, but also good hope if you can maintain a healthy diet appropriate to the problem along with the VSG weight loss. The good news is that if you can maintain that good anti-diabetes diet, that should also help to maintain your weight in the long term, and that is probably the biggest challenge to most restrictive WLS patients in the long term.

[longer-life 139]

Thank you RickM. This is yet another incentive to do well.

[Amherst76 1]

Thanks for all the comments. I figure worst case scenerio is I remain on an insulin shot a day.. Far better than dealing w/the pump. I realize the surgery is a tool and I have to change my habits. I am ready. Am hoping I will feel much better and will be able to exercise on a regular basis.