Diabetes & insulin

[girl4god77 39]

Surgery date is May 5. Been insulin dependent for over 5 years. So glad to be dropping my dosage slowly but surely as I drop my calories & a bit of weight. Just curious for those diabetics who were insulin dependent before bypass, did you completely stop right after surgery? My surgeon doesn't know much about this, but he believes that the dose the day before surgery (all liquids) is 1/3 of what I normally take. Just curious how it worked for you after surgery. Thanks.

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[daizymom 62]

I'm not any where near qualified to answer this but I have read that some were able to stop immediately after surgery.... I guess they will have to keep a close eye on your glucose readings... Good luck!

[girl4god77 39]

Thanks. Yeah I'm sure I'm off it at least the first two weeks as its liquid but I don't think the dept that monitors my insulin/diabetes knows much about this. They weren't letting me drop my dose when I started having lows but I argued with them saying my surgeon wants me down to 1200 cals so I can't get there on so much insulin. Sometimes we just need to listen to our bodies over the medical field.

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[DangerMouse007 105]

Who prescribes your insulin? Endocrinologist or PCP? I would think they would be the ones that help you regulate your dose if you don't self-regulate. I control my own dose with Levemir and Novolog so I didn't really rely on my surgeon's office pre-op and after about 3 weeks post-op.

My dosage did decrease by a significant amount right after the surgery, but unfortunately seven months post-op I'm still taking insulin and have not seen much improvement in my A1C from my three month post-op appointment to my 6-month post-op appointment.

Edited March 24, 2016 by DangerMouse007

[girl4god77 39]

Who prescribes your insulin? Endocrinologist or PCP? I would think they would be the ones that help you regulate your dose if you don't self-regulate. I control my own dose with Levemir and Novolog so I didn't really rely on my surgeon's office pre-op and after about 3 weeks post-op.

My dosage did decrease by a significant amount right after the surgery, but unfortunately seven months post-op I'm still taking insulin and have not seen much improvement in my A1C from my three month post-op appointment to my 6-month post-op appointment.

Which surgery did you have? Rny is supposed to kick diabetes' butt!

My pcp does my dosing. But like I said, she doesn't seem familiar with it. When I dropped 45 lbs I cut my dose in 1/2 (gained a few of those lbs back). So I figure 100 lbs will help even more.

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[DangerMouse007 105]

I had the RNY Gastric Bypass, but I had been diabetic since at least 2003 or earlier. Unfortunately I never recognized it for what it was at the time (enjoying the weight loss that came with being a hardcore diabetic) so I didn't see a doctor about it until mid-2006 when I finally started taking insulin. Even though my blood sugar was better controlled, I never really got a good handle on it, and my dosage just kept getting bigger and bigger. It's been a while since I thought of it (probably some of my older posts have the exact numbers), but I was taking something like 200 units of Levemir per day and nearly 150-200 units of Novolog per meal. My A1C was still pretty high.

As much as I had hoped that the surgery was going to be a cure all, I think the many years of being diabetic (including the time between 2003-2006 when I never knew I was diabetic) and the amounts of insulin I was taken will keep me from being fully "cured". Only time will tell. My next endo appointment is next month so will see what he has to say. When I talked with him last September he had hopes that I might be off the insulin by now, but I can definitely tell that's not going to be the case.

Edited March 25, 2016 by DangerMouse007

[girl4god77 39]

I had the RNY Gastric Bypass, but I had been diabetic since at least 2003 or earlier. Unfortunately I never recognized it for what it was at the time (enjoying the weight loss that came with being a hardcore diabetic) so I didn't see a doctor about it until mid-2006 when I finally started taking insulin. Even though my blood sugar was better controlled, I never really got a good handle on it, and my dosage just kept getting bigger and bigger. It's been a while since I thought of it (probably some of my older posts have the exact numbers), but I was taking something like 200 units of Levemir per day and nearly 150-200 units of Novolog per meal. My A1C was still pretty high.

As much as I had hoped that the surgery was going to be a cure all, I think the many years of being diabetic (including the time between 2003-2006 when I never knew I was diabetic) and the amounts of insulin I was taken will keep me from being fully "cured". Only time will tell. My next endo appointment is next month so will see what he has to say. When I talked with him last September he had hopes that I might be off the insulin by now, but I can definitely tell that's not going to be the case.

Wow! That's a lot of insulin. I take a lot but it's less than that & different types (I'm down to 85 of the N & 40 R in the morning, 40 R at dinner & 100 N at bed {Humulin}). I do notice that as I eat smaller portions & control my sugar intake & drop weight, my insulin goes down so I'm hoping it will follow suit after surgery. It sounds like your body became very insulin resistant.

The nurse (or whatever Kaiser calls her) who used to monitor my diabetes once told me I will never be off insulin. I'm going to prove her wrong!

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[miiasan 370]

I, too, have been a diabetic for a number of years. Before I started this process I was taking the full dose of Avandia, 75 Lantus and around 175 Novalog per day. I lost 30 lbs before surgery and was taken off Avandia and down a significant amount for both Lantus and Novalog as I lost weight.

I am a little over 5 months out from surgery. My endocrinologist is sure I will be off insulin completely soon, although I worry that I have been a diabetic too long for this. I currently take 20 Lantus per day and about 10 Novalog. I had the RnY because of the cure rate for diabetes. I have not yet reached my goal weight - so hope that as time goes by I will eventually be able to go off.

As a side note, I am not yet off my high blood pressure and cholesterol meds either. I am 60 and although losing weight steadily - it is a lot slower that many. This is okay, though, as my body has had time to adjust and I don't have a lot of loose skin to deal with.

Anyway, I have seen many posts here where people were able to go on a sliding scale after surgery and soon off insulin all together. I guess a lot of factors play into it.

I wish you well for your surgery. The surgery goes a long way to help us get healthy; it is a great tool. Even though I am not off insulin completely, the amount of insulin has dropped drastically and I am much healthier for it.

[girl4god77 39]

That's awesome miiasan!

I know that you can't cure diabetes, but the bariatric program says that the rny can totally help put it in remission. I'm hopeful. I would love to get off of all meds eventually. I have high BP as well. I recently saw people on another forum talk about how after their surgery they're actually having issues with low BP. Pretty drastic the changes your body goes through. But I guess it's different for everyone. Best of luck on continued success.

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