Blood sugars too high for surgery??

Hello All! THis is my first time posting, although I've gotten tons of great information from the site and its forums! Im 28 years old with a BMI of40.9 and type 2 diabetes ( since 1991) I've already been approved by my insurance for Open RNY At Barix clinics. My surgeon required me to have a cardiologist consult and an a1c. The cardio consult went great and my results were pretty much flawless. But my surgeon mentioned he wanted my aic to be 8 or less. I just got the results back and it's 10. I went through a period after a miscarriage late last year where I was 'fed-up' with being diabetic so I stopped wearing my pump and monitoring my sugars like I should have been. Of course once I found out I was a candidate for surgery I got back on the wagon and havent strayed since. But its only been 1 month since my consult appointment and the a1c result encompasses the last 3 months . I guess my question is has anyone had a high a1c and still gotten a surgery date? Other than the risk of infection is there anything else I should weigh should the doctor decide to go ahead and proceed with surgery ( like Im hoping he will)?

We have the same predicament, my HBa1c is 9.2 and i was told to bring it down to at least 7 or else no surgery...or until such time it goes down to 7. I recent got on Insulin(Humalog and Lantus) on 8/19/04. I attend this pre-bariatric class in preparation for this surgery and part of the requirement is i had to stop smoking as a result i gained 16 lbs. which brought everything up. I'm sorry but i have no answer for you and i'm pretty sure your surgeon will NOT perform the surgery with an elevated Hba1c.

Hi Tara, I've been diabetic (type II) since 2001 but I've never had to inject insulin. I take 2 oral meds, Actos and Amaryl and they have kept my glucose under control along with diet restrictions of course. Limiting carbs and staying away from sugar. I don't have a informed answer for you but I would imagine that Dr. K would hold off on your surgery until your A1C is favorable. I figure the higher numbers would complicate the procedure and put you at risk. For instance your heart health and your ability to heal, and your risk of infection. I'm no physician but I would imagine these are some of your doctor's concerns. I'm also having my procedure done at Barix in Langhorne. I may be a month or so away from a date but I do know that with all that they do, eliminating complications is high on their list and that's really in your favor. You may have to delay your surgery, but perhaps between you and your PCP you can work to get those numbers down. Perhaps a month or so of favorable glucose #'s would get you a date but it would also make you more fit for surgery. Please don't despair but do hang in there and work so you can get this done. All the best to you, Dennis

Hi, I am also going through barix for the surgery and I was turned down (twice now) b/c of my A1C. I was an 8.6 and then an 8.9!! They told me I need to get it at least to an 8.1.... I am not on insulin though. I take Glucophage, Avandia and Glipizide. since adding the glipizide, my sugars have routinely been under 100 except for my fasting #'s, so I am hopeful to see some improvement of my A1C. I hope that you get under a bit better control and get back on-board for the surgery!

Hi Evryone. Thanks so much for the replies! Nice to know Im not alone in the struggle for a good a1c! As it stands now Ive just gotten a new lab slip to have another done. I cant belive how quickly the time went by! Ive been wearing a glucowatch and have seen significant improvement in my glucometer readings. Denise , Im going to ask my husband about the glipizide. I currently take glucophage XR along with Novolog ( by pump). If its indicated for me, maybe itll help. Will keep you posted. Good luck and thanks for the informed responses!

My aic was 9.5 and i had surgery just fine. But my sugars for weeks before teh surgery i tried to keep very tight for healing purposes. But my a1c was still off. It will work out for you... every surgeon is different but keep doing what you are suppose to and you will eventually get your surgery.