hopeful again
Hello Everyone,
My name is Angel. i am a 25yr old type 1, on a mini-med pump and overweight..I'm also a mother of 2 both under the age of 4 .i have been looking more and more into the gastric bypass more and more and i now have an appt on the 14Th of this month..i am so nervous. Almost everyone i talked to says "oh ur a type 1 u cant have it done" until 20 mins ago when i saw this site i thought it would be true. now i am hopeful once again that i can get this done.
My bmi is 35 which i guess is enough for my insurance. I have a bunch of questions that i was wondering if anyone can answer....
how long from the first appt is the surgery?
how hard is it to do the liquid diet before the surgery?
how do you treat lows during that time and after the surgery?? (that's a big one for me)
would you say the surgery has improved ur control of diabetes?
what is recovery like?
any encouraging words would be soo great.
Thank you all in advance!
My name is Angel. i am a 25yr old type 1, on a mini-med pump and overweight..I'm also a mother of 2 both under the age of 4 .i have been looking more and more into the gastric bypass more and more and i now have an appt on the 14Th of this month..i am so nervous. Almost everyone i talked to says "oh ur a type 1 u cant have it done" until 20 mins ago when i saw this site i thought it would be true. now i am hopeful once again that i can get this done.
My bmi is 35 which i guess is enough for my insurance. I have a bunch of questions that i was wondering if anyone can answer....
how long from the first appt is the surgery?
how hard is it to do the liquid diet before the surgery?
how do you treat lows during that time and after the surgery?? (that's a big one for me)
would you say the surgery has improved ur control of diabetes?
what is recovery like?
any encouraging words would be soo great.
Thank you all in advance!
You can definitely have WLS as a Type 1. Cause the truth is, you've got insulin resistance on top of Type 1, most likely, and that is probably a culprit in your weight gain.
As far as lows, I had a duodenal switch, a surgery that does not have dumping as a potential side effect. I was worried about treating lows, too. So far, with the DS treating lows hasn't been a big issue. I treat them the same as before--juice, glucose tabs, or something else with sugar. The lows can wreak havoc on carb counts for the day, but that's the breaks, yanno?
The surgery has definitely improved my control. I am taking about a third of the insulin I took before surgery. My last A1c was an amazing 5.9. I don't think it's going to be quite so good this next time, but I think it will be under 6.5, so not too shabby.
Recovery for me was a little difficult, because we discovered I had undiagnosed gastroparesis (my only complication after 25 yrs of diabetes). But except for that, it was recovery. Kind of takes a while, but nothing too awful. Since you're on a pump, you won't have to worry too much about eating to prop up blood sugar. Most of what you eat immediately post-op will be low carb, so you won't need to do much bolusing.
The pre-op liquid diet is the suck, but you'll get through it. I actually drank more than a couple mochas to get me through--not recommended, but it's what I did, and I still lost 17 lbs. before surgery.
The length of time between appointment and surgery is hard to predict. Depends on what your insurance requires, and how booked your surgeon is. Probably at least 6 months, unless you are self-pay.
I would urge you to check into the DS, as well as research the RNY. You can hop on the DS Forum here, and also go to www.dsfacts.com. The DS has the best excess weight loss stats at 10 years post-op; between that and no risk of dumping, that's why I chose it. I can't recall where you are, but dsfacts.com has a good list of DS surgeons on it. (The DS requires more surgical skill, so not as many surgeons perform it.)
I am so glad I got surgery. It's just amazing how much better I feel and how much more I can do. You won't regret it!
PM me if you want to talk more.
As far as lows, I had a duodenal switch, a surgery that does not have dumping as a potential side effect. I was worried about treating lows, too. So far, with the DS treating lows hasn't been a big issue. I treat them the same as before--juice, glucose tabs, or something else with sugar. The lows can wreak havoc on carb counts for the day, but that's the breaks, yanno?
The surgery has definitely improved my control. I am taking about a third of the insulin I took before surgery. My last A1c was an amazing 5.9. I don't think it's going to be quite so good this next time, but I think it will be under 6.5, so not too shabby.
Recovery for me was a little difficult, because we discovered I had undiagnosed gastroparesis (my only complication after 25 yrs of diabetes). But except for that, it was recovery. Kind of takes a while, but nothing too awful. Since you're on a pump, you won't have to worry too much about eating to prop up blood sugar. Most of what you eat immediately post-op will be low carb, so you won't need to do much bolusing.
The pre-op liquid diet is the suck, but you'll get through it. I actually drank more than a couple mochas to get me through--not recommended, but it's what I did, and I still lost 17 lbs. before surgery.
The length of time between appointment and surgery is hard to predict. Depends on what your insurance requires, and how booked your surgeon is. Probably at least 6 months, unless you are self-pay.
I would urge you to check into the DS, as well as research the RNY. You can hop on the DS Forum here, and also go to www.dsfacts.com. The DS has the best excess weight loss stats at 10 years post-op; between that and no risk of dumping, that's why I chose it. I can't recall where you are, but dsfacts.com has a good list of DS surgeons on it. (The DS requires more surgical skill, so not as many surgeons perform it.)
I am so glad I got surgery. It's just amazing how much better I feel and how much more I can do. You won't regret it!
PM me if you want to talk more.
Jenn
Type 1 diabetic, 26 years
With great power (the DS!) comes great responsibility.
thank you! i had no idea about the DS. it seems a lot more work than the RNY one..is the surgery the one with the holes? i looked at some of it but it didnt really go into that. ill look more but yah just curious. i am so excited to get this started. now my only concern is 2 kids and me having surgery. i know my husband will do great but how long is usual hospital stay? i heard you cant lift much for 3wk post op too.. just lots to think about im so thankful this site is here to help.. 
(deactivated member)
on 1/6/10 9:12 pm - Woodbridge, VA
on 1/6/10 9:12 pm - Woodbridge, VA
What do you mean that the DS "seems a lot more work than the RNY?" I'm also not sure what you mean about "the one with the holes." I can't answer your questions about type 1, but I can answer questions about the DS! Check out www.dsfacts.com for more info.
It's definitely a more complicated surgery than RNY. I don't know that the recovery is any harder, though. The DS can be a 2-part procedure, but usually that is done in patients with a very high BMI, like over 60 or more. It can be done laproscopically or open, depending on surgeon preference. Some really like to do open so they can see everything, since they're working on two sections of the small intestine. Others prefer doing it lap. Mine was open, so I have one scar from bottom of breastbone to belly button. I think with lap. you have around 5 small incisions, maybe an inch to 3 inches in length? but I'm guessing and trying to recall other people's experiences there.
There's a great diagram of the DS at http://www.dsfacts.com/duodenal-switch-procedure.html, if you want to see more details about the DS anatomy.
With any abdominal surgery, you're going to have lifting restrictions for a while, to prevent hernias. I think for a few weeks it's 10 lbs, and then gradually increases.
There's a great diagram of the DS at http://www.dsfacts.com/duodenal-switch-procedure.html, if you want to see more details about the DS anatomy.
With any abdominal surgery, you're going to have lifting restrictions for a while, to prevent hernias. I think for a few weeks it's 10 lbs, and then gradually increases.
Jenn
Type 1 diabetic, 26 years
With great power (the DS!) comes great responsibility.
Type I for 12 years. 36 years old, mother of 3. I gained 100 + lbs after diagnosis. I had Lap-RNY on 11/4/09. Started @ 270# down 67# all ready.
Here are my answers----
how long from the first appt is the surgery?For me it was 10 months (I had to finish nursing my baby)
how hard is it to do the liquid diet before the surgery? No problem
how do you treat lows during that time and after the surgery?? (that's a big one for me) I started with glucose tablets, now the thought of them makes me want to gag. So I use orange juice. (I haven't dumped yet on anything)
would you say the surgery has improved ur control of diabetes? I used to use between 65-80 units of Novolog a day. Since surgery I use around or under 20 per day. So I'd say yes. My A1C before surgery was 6.9. Will be having it done again around 1/28/10.
what is recovery like? A lot easier than any of my 3 C-Sections. Back at work 10 days later.
Let me know if you have any other questions. Feel free to e-mail me.
Good Luck :)
"For I know the plansI have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer.29:11
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