1 week RNY post op with a question
I've been a type 2 diabetic for 10 years and was having a hard time keeping my BS below 150 taking glipizide, januvia, and metformin pre-op. I stopped all meds the day of surgery and my BS started dropping immediately after surgery and is still dropping slowly 1 week post op. This morning it was 105.
Then somebody burst my bubble when I commented how RNY may mean I'll be off meds from now on. I told this person how my BS is now 105 with no meds since surgery. And....she commented " Well that's because you're not getting any sugar or carbs during your liquid only diet while in week 1 of post op. Now I'm wondering if she is right. Is this true? Can I expect my BS to start rising again as soon as I start eating?
Then somebody burst my bubble when I commented how RNY may mean I'll be off meds from now on. I told this person how my BS is now 105 with no meds since surgery. And....she commented " Well that's because you're not getting any sugar or carbs during your liquid only diet while in week 1 of post op. Now I'm wondering if she is right. Is this true? Can I expect my BS to start rising again as soon as I start eating?
(deactivated member)
on 10/19/10 9:43 pm - Woodbridge, VA
on 10/19/10 9:43 pm - Woodbridge, VA
Unfortunately, the answer is: it depends on the person. Eating very low in carbs will help most type 2s even without surgery, so they do have a point. What they fail to recognize is that malabsorptive procedures (RNY and DS) have been found to inflict a bit of a metabolic change in many patients that leads to reduced insulin resistance/increased insulin sensitivity. While the reasons aren't 100% clear quite yet, there is evidence that certain hormones and checmicals of the intestines are a factor in type 2, and the intestinal part of the malabsorptive surgeries helps to correct the imbalance that was causing type 2 symptoms.
Now, it's not a "cure" for everyone - some patients will still need meds or even insulin, some will be free of them for a few years and then will need to go back on them, some will never need them again - it all depends on your body, your diet, your pancreas, your weight loss (since weight loss can even help type 2s without surgery, though not usually as quickly nor as profoundly)...
The only way to know is to keep tracking your own numbers. Do be aware that in the first month or two post-op, you may see glucose level fluctuations simply because your body has been through a physical trauma and is healing. Heck, the highest glucose levels I ever had that required the only insulin injections I've ever had were in the hospital in the couple days right after my surgery, and lor dknows I wasn't eating any carbs or sugar since I couldn't even keep down the sugar-free Jell-o they gave me!
Now, it's not a "cure" for everyone - some patients will still need meds or even insulin, some will be free of them for a few years and then will need to go back on them, some will never need them again - it all depends on your body, your diet, your pancreas, your weight loss (since weight loss can even help type 2s without surgery, though not usually as quickly nor as profoundly)...
The only way to know is to keep tracking your own numbers. Do be aware that in the first month or two post-op, you may see glucose level fluctuations simply because your body has been through a physical trauma and is healing. Heck, the highest glucose levels I ever had that required the only insulin injections I've ever had were in the hospital in the couple days right after my surgery, and lor dknows I wasn't eating any carbs or sugar since I couldn't even keep down the sugar-free Jell-o they gave me!
I had my RNY 7/2009. I've been a type 2 diabetic 17 years, graduating to insulin - humalog and lantus. I was taking industrial strength doses of both. The more insulin, the more weight gain, the higher bs, the more insulin, etc. Prior to surgery, during the pre-surgery diet, the surgeon cut my insulin almost in half. I was shocked, but survived with no problems. After surgery they cut it some more. I'm now 18 months out and I'm only on 20 units of lantus a day with a 5.1 A1C. When my sugars start to go low again, I try cutting back about 5 units, letting my PCP know. So far so good. I've got 27# to reach goal. I'm hoping I'll be off insulin by then. This is not a cure-all for diabetes but a much better way to manage it. One little poke each morning and then I'm free for the rest of the day to enjoy life. I can't complain.
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