Type 2 diabetes and liquid diet pre and post op

[Janetslp 3]

Hello, I am new to this forum and to this process. I have decided on the VSG and am on the 2nd month of the 6 month requirement for insurance. I hVe type 2 Diabetes which was diagnosed about 1.5 years ago. I am currently taking metformin 500mg 2x a day and a Saxenda injection once a day. I am not new to any of these medications, however , my blood sugars drops, and it literally comes out of no where and will knock me down til I can raise it back up to feel regulated. Happened today in span of 7 minutes and I was literally shaking and could barely check my sugars. It was low for me.

I am terrified of the pre op liquid diet phase because I feel like I hAve to eat something when my sugar is low or drink like half a cup of juice or something and it scares me to think i can only have shakes and liquids during this phase. My surgeon said that my diabetes could be reversed after surgery. But if it doesn't right away, I won't be able to drink juice fast or what ever to raise my sugars once I have the sleeve. This really concerns me.

Anyone with diabetes go through this pre and/or post op? And how did you deal? Thanks in advance!

[Creekimp13 5,840]

These are good questions for your doctor. With more frequent blood sugar testing, you might be able to better dial in you meds to avoid situations like you're describing....particularly if your diet is very stable like it would be on the liquid diet. As you lose weight and change your diet, your needs for meds might change significantly.

Discuss this process with your doctor.

Question....why won't you be able to drink a little juice in case of emergency after your sleeve?

[RickM 1,747]

Do you need to do a liquid pre-op diet in your doctor's program - this isn't a standard part of bariatric programs, only some of them (though with the number of complaints about them that we see in these forums, one would think that they were normal practice.) My wife was a long term T2 diabetic when she went through this years ago, but neither of us had to go through any pre-op surgical diet (just the 6 month insurance thing) so there was no real issue there. Post op, medication adjustments kept things stable for her until she was off of the med completely (many leave the hospital off of meds, particularly those more recently diagnosed, but others take their time about it.)

You may need some medication adjustments currently with the dietary changes that you have made. Discuss your concerns with the surgeon and/or dietician about keeping things stable through whatever pre-op dieting they impose - it is supposed to make you healthier leading into your surgery, not the other way around.

[Janetslp 3]

Thanks for the great advice! I have my next dietician appointment this weekend.

The liquid phase ( clear and full liquids) pre-op is for the week before surgery.

Inwas able to drink half a glass of juice right away to raise of the sugar quick. I always thought that after the sleeve, especially right after the procedure, u can only sip, to avoid pain and what not.

My surgeon/surgery will be out of town ( 2 hrs away) and I met her on initial consult. I will call office to see how these questions can be answered because I see how a lot of y'all are able to talk to surgeon prior and I feel like I will only see her the day of surgery😬.

[Albus 129]

You will probably need to reduce your meds as your weight comes down so best see your GP and discuss! Might be you can step down to just the metformin initially which should not cause hypos.

Edited April 12, 2018 by Albus

[Mattymatt 491]

8 hours ago, Janetslp said:

Hello, I am new to this forum and to this process. I have decided on the VSG and am on the 2nd month of the 6 month requirement for insurance. I hVe type 2 Diabetes which was diagnosed about 1.5 years ago. I am currently taking metformin 500mg 2x a day and a Saxenda injection once a day. I am not new to any of these medications, however , my blood sugars drops, and it literally comes out of no where and will knock me down til I can raise it back up to feel regulated. Happened today in span of 7 minutes and I was literally shaking and could barely check my sugars. It was low for me.

I am terrified of the pre op liquid diet phase because I feel like I hAve to eat something when my sugar is low or drink like half a cup of juice or something and it scares me to think i can only have shakes and liquids during this phase. My surgeon said that my diabetes could be reversed after surgery. But if it doesn't right away, I won't be able to drink juice fast or what ever to raise my sugars once I have the sleeve. This really concerns me.

Anyone with diabetes go through this pre and/or post op? And how did you deal? Thanks in advance!

I dealt with this situation that you described while I was on the pre-op liquid diet. It means being in contact with your endocrinologist. I recommend contacting him or her about a week prior to beginning the pre-op diet. My endo told me to stop taking Victoza and insulin the day before the diet was to begin. She explained to me that both medicines will drop me too low. Instead I remained on Metformin for the duration of the pre-op liquid diet. So I would recommend you contact the prescribing doctor to let him or her know what's going on so they can make adjustments. Have you let the doctor know about your recent lows?

Post-op, my endo also pulled me off of Metformin because she said it is no longer necessary and will only cause diarrhea and painful cramping in areas effected by the surgery. My endo was right and my diabetes has been effectively cured. It feels so good to be without 3 medicines for blood sugar control and 3 medicines for blood pressure/cholesterol. My friend, you've got nowhere to go but up.

[Janetslp 3]

Thank y'all so much for the information!!! I will definately be speaking with the doc and dietician!