what is an acceptable a1c level for wls

Thanks for your feedback! My surgery has been cancelled because my A1C reading was 9.  Has anyone had this experience?  If so, how quickly did you bring the A1C reading down?

I'm not aware of this kind of cancellation.  My A1C was running between 10.5 and 11 when I had my surgery.  My diabetes and inability by any means to bring the levels down was the reason I had the surgery (my results have been mixed).  I have talked on this site before with patients with similar levels as mine on the A1C and don't know of any whose doctors seemed concerned about this.  What detail of the reason did your doctor give you?

Apparently, they have some sort of protocol that states the A1C level has to be below 7.5 Because of this, the surgery has been postponed twice and they will not schedule me again until I meet that requirement.

That's awful.. .especially as WLS will help your Hb A1C come down!  I do know that with higher levels, it means more risk of complications during surgery... so that's probably why.  In general, Hb A1C looks at your blood glucose control over the past three months or so... so you'll need at least that long to bring it down.  Time to get really strict with your meals and testing.  Good luck!

Hi  My DR. said my A1C had to be under 8 for surgery I started out with 10.6 in Feb and by June it was 7.8 and I had my surgery it was very frustrating because that is the reason I wanted the surgery because my diabetes was out of control it was hard but I did it Good Luck Susan

Are you on an insulin pump? If you aren't I suggest you speak with your Dr. about going on one. My A1C was 9.9 back in December 2006 when I finally decided (after too many years) this was crazy and brought up the pump with my Endro. Within 2 weeks I had the pump in my hands and went to a training session with the Diabetic Nutritionist. Counting carbs turned out to be easy. Even when I estimated wrong I was still pretty good and within a month or so I was really good at it. There is a book called The Calorie King Guide to Carbs (something like that) that is a great help. It's small and lists everything, including fast food restaurant items (lets be honest, no one expects people to go cold turkey. It takes time). 3 months after starting the pump my A1C was 7.4. 6 months it was 6.2. 9 months it was 5.8. 1 year it was 5.4.