DIABETES RETURNING TWO YEARS OUT

I've posted this before, but my situation has worsened and I'm hoping this message will be picked up by someone who missed it before or a new memeber who may have experience or information on this topic.

I am 63-yr-old RNY patient, 2 years post-op. I had the RNY as a last-ditch effort to resolve my dilemma of being a brittle diabetic for over 3-4  years and being almost housebound from a chronic condition of explosive and uncontrolled diarrhea brought about by a side effect of one of my diabetic drugs. No combination of drugs, exercise and moderate weight loss had any effect on my blood sugars constantly over 200 and A1Cs of 10.5 I was on a Lantus trial before it came on the market and this was a disaster and did not help the elevated sugars. During the course of medical treatment prior to WLS, I had tried every diabetic drug on the market, tried supplements of all kinds, homeopathic remedies, but nothing would bring sugar levels down. I had a routine screening colonoscopy during the 3 years, did not eat anything for 30 hours and my sugar level didn't drop below 200. I asked my doctor how this would be, he said he had "absolutely no idea". I was assured by all doctors concerned that this surgery and the expected weight loss would resolve my diabetes permanently.

When I had the surgery, which was actually easy for me, easy recovery, my sugars dropped dramatically to the 100-145 level and stayed there for about a year. I went from 7 drugs to 1 and was able to leave the diarrhea problem behind, thank God!

Then, abruptly, about a year ago, my weight loss stopped and the sugars started to rise. I had lost 75 pounds, but started to find it difficult to maintain the loss, even with careful food management, drugs and exercise. I had the flu for 3 days a few weeks ago, ate nothing except no-cal liquids during that time, and my sugars were consistently above 200 during the sickness. This morning I had a BS reading almost 300!

I would like very much to hear from other WLS patients who may have experienced the same problem with their diabetes. I am determined to keep this weight off and reduce these sugar levels, but am so frustrated. My doctor, with obvious regret, says he has run the gamut of solutions.

Can anyone out there, from your experience of the same problems, offer me any information about something that worked for you?

I am NOT speaking from personal experience, because I've never been diabetic. However, diabetes runs in both sides of my family, and that was a big factor in my choosing the DS form of WLS---it's proven so very effective in the treatment of Type II diabetes that surgeons in Europe have been doing the intestinal portion on NON-obese patients, just to treat the diabetes. The really big difference, so far as diabetes goes, between the DS and the RNY is that the DS has a much greater degree of malabsorption---when done for the treatment of diabetes, most patients have a common channel of less than 65 cm. I honestly don't know how to compare this to 'amount bypassed', as is talked about in the RNY, but you might want to ask your surgeon just how much you were bypassed, and what your original small-bowel length was. Check out this website---it might give you some help deciding if having your amount bypassed increased might help your problem: http://www.bodybybaltsar.com I hope I've put that in correctly---if it doesn't work, come over to the DS board and ask. We have a lot of former diabetics who post there.

Dear Juliejean, I haven't had surgery yet but I have brittle Diabetes Type II.  I had a lot of trouble tolerating the Glucophage.  I wonder if that is the medication that caused your diarrhea.  If it is, maybe they can switch you to Glucophage XL or the generic Metforin XL.  It is the same medicine but is time released.  I tried the time released medication and I no longer had stomach problems.  Maybe it can help you too.  Also, my doctor put me on Byetta which is supposed to help take away your appetite and bring down your sugars.  It worked really well for me. Good luck to you.  I wish you all the best.  Hillary

I am on Byetta 10 mcg, up from 5 mcg, which I was on for two weeks. Not losing any weight at all. Gained over 5 lbs in last week or so. I am having no nausea, which I understand could be the cause of weight loss. Nausea means you cannot eat so you lose weight.  So I continue eating as I was. Blood sugars are coming down though with the increase in Byetta.

hi I had a lapband 8/05 and I lost 60lbs. starting in 12/06 I noticed I had dizziness, weak swaeating etc. I stopped losing weight and acutually put on 5-8  lbs, I had a visit to my endocrinoligist, GI MD and surgepn. My endo feels that I am prediatic about to develop type 2 diabetis. I had this surgery to avoid this.The endo said that these surgeries cause food to move differently throught the GI tract and therefore it is starting to becaome apparent that patients develop diabetes. perhaps since your surgery was even more extreme then mine you are in this positon. Do you drink alcohol? this can agrrivate this situation. I had to rejoin weigh****hcers. can you believe it?