Christin,

Hi!  My name is Mary Beth and I am a Type 1 diabetic and I am on a insulin pump.  Last year I began to consider weight loss surgery.  I was about 100 lbs overweight, had high blood pressure, high chlosterol and sleep apnea.  My husband and I went to an informational meeting last July.  When I had my first consultation, I had the same response from my surgeon.  I wanted a lap band, but I had some problems with my stomach emptying due to the diabetes.  I then did extensive research on the gastric sleeve and I thought that that was my best route.  Unfortunately, my insurance company does not pay for the gastric sleeve surgery because it is still considered experimental.  So, I decided on the gastric bypass.

I had my surgery on Tuesday, January 27, 2009.  My surgeon kept me in the hospital one extra day due to crazy high blood sugars.  I went home on Thursday, was released from my doctor to go back to work the following Wednesday. 

At the present time, I have lost 54 lbs.  I am not taking any high blood presure medication or high chlosterol medication.  I am no longer using my breathing machine to sleep.  I am exercising several times a week and my insulin intake has been cut in half.  I no longer take any boluses with any meals and I am on a basal rate of 2.00.  I was using over 100 units of insulin a day and now I am down to 48 units a day.  I never expected the surgery to be so easy to bounce back from.  I believe it is all about attitude and how willing are you to change your habits in order for the surgery to work.  The liquid diet was alright.  I survived the pureed food and now I am eating solid food.  I am eating mostly protein and some vegetables.  No carbs!  I take liquid multivitamins and calcium.  My doctor told me last week that I can start taking chewable multivitamins.  Your body will tell you when you are full and when to stop eating.  I have not had any problems with dumping.  I have had problems with eating too fast, which makes me sick or eating foods that don't agree with me. 

I would strongly encourage you to research the gastric bypass surgery.  My goal is to lose 100 lbs and I have 46 more lbs to go just after 4 months.  Take care.

Mary Beth

You really need to test AFTER you eat, not just before. Who cares what your glucose is before a meal if it spikes to 200 an hour or two after you eat?

This is the 4th surgeon I've seen and I really don't want to go thru it all again.  Also I live 3 hours from any Center of Excellence and so it's hard to run back and forth.  I'm testing before breakfast, before lunch, before supper, and bedtime.  Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and test. My youngest child just moved out of the house May 15 so I don't have to worry about feeding anyone but myself.  I haven't had any bread product since that time.  I also cut out milk.  Milk spikes my blood sugar like nothing else!  After upping my Lantus by 4 units last week my sugars are running 110-135.  This is good for me because it's usually 175-195.  But is this good enough? 

To get your A1C down, I would recommend going as low carb as possible with your diet. And test FREQUENTLY - when you get up in the morning (fasting), and then 60, 90, and 120 minutes after everything you eat to see if anything spikes you and, if so, to ensure your levels are coming back down by 2 hours out.

Otherwise, I would switch surgeons! My surgeon (also at a Center of Excellence, so that's not the issue here) never required my A1C to go down before surgery. My last known A1C pre-op was 7.9 (down to 7.2 at 1 month post-op!).

Hi.  New to this forum.  I've just been thrown for a loop.  My final appointment before my surgery is next week and I get a letter in the mail from my surgeon stating that I cannot have surgery until my A1C is 7.0 or below.  What????  If my numbers were below 7.0 I wouldn't be opting for this surgery.  I'm currently 8.3 and I've been as high as 11.4 when newly diagnosed 11 years ago.  I am very angry that this wasn't spelled out a year ago.  I wanted lap band, but 3 surgeons refused and the 4th first said yes and then changed his mind.  I know they want all their ducks in a row in order to get paid because my insurance does not preapprove.  They're going to have to do it and bill it and hope they get paid. But I come here and I see people having lap band that weigh 100 lbs more than I do (my weight one of the main reasons they don't want to do lap band)  and I see people having RNY who have A1C's way higher than 7.0.  Maybe it's because my insurance requires a Center of Excellance that I have so many obstacles to overcome?  I don't know.  I guess my question is how long is it going to take for my A1C to drop from 8.3 to 7.0? and does anyone have any suggestions on how I'm going to do this?  I have this tiny window of opportunity to have surgery between summer semester and fall semester of college.  If I don't have it by July 21 I can't have it until Christmas break.  So can I get to 7.0 in a little less than two months? Joanna