Research Request

I am looking at getting just the switch portion of DS for my husband who is seriously diabetic but not obese (BMI around 28).  I know there are surgeons doing the procedure outside the US, and we are looking into it.  I've also seen that there are studies being done in the US on diabetes resolution through surgery on overweight but not obese pations, but I"m not sure if they're doing bypass without the stoma or DS. 

I was wondering if anyone here is familiar with the domestic studies being done or has a good enough relationship with one of the DS surgeons to find out about ongoing/upcoming studies that might be done re: DS on non-obese?   My husbands meds/sugars make him so sick, it's really affecting his quality of life.  He's not a big fan of  permanent anatomical changes (although he came around quite a bit after my surgery), but  having been diabetic now for a decade with little hope for resolution has opened his mind to the prospect.

Call me cheap, but since I self-paid for my surgery, I'd like to see if we can get surgery for my husband via a less costly method. Thanks in advance for any help!

 I am in California now awaiting my DS on Thursday. Yesterday was my consult with Dr. K and he mentioned that he does the switch for diabetes patients who are not overweight. I have no idea what the cost is although the self pay for a DS is the lowest I've seen. Maybe a call to his office will give you the info you need.

Did you ask Dr. Kim about it?  He used to be pretty up on things going on about the DS world.  Of course, that may not be the case anymore since he stopped doing them.

He worked with Dr. K in California so he may still be in touch with him and hopefully would be able to get you some information.  It's worth a try.

Wenda

I was told that he does surgery for diabetics outside the US, but I haven't talked to him directly.  It's a good thought. Thanks!

One consideration that you should make is that your husband may be changing from type two to a type one. This is what probably happened to me. I am ready to get tested soon to find out what happened. Initially the  DS seemed to correct my severe diabetes type 2 but not totally resolve it. When weight loss stopped after I reached goal and I added a bit more carbs to my diet, my diabetes returned. It is not nearly so severe and much easier to control. My labs come back well within normal boundaries, except my fasting blood sugar which was 145 last month. Years of type two diabetes apparently can cause damage leading to the onset of type one. The DS has still been a miracle in making the diabetes much less aggressive and more manageable.

Honestly, that's the big concern. Is he really a true Type 2? A latent Type 1 (i.e., a 1 1/2), or a Type 2 who's islet cells are failing and becoming a Type 1?  If he just had the switch portion, would it be worthwhile if his insulin production is also failing?

Dave was diagnosed when he was 30. His sugars were in the 300's. Compliance has always been an issue -- it's been very difficult for him to be a young diabetic particularly since he's not morbidly obese or even obese.  It's a struggle to keep his sugars under 200, A1C under 9, and I can almost visualize the damage it's all doing to his organs, etc.  It breaks my heart.

I think it's being done on an experimental basis at one of the NYC area DS surgeon locations, but darned if I can recall which one was mentioned. I don't know if it's really any less costly, though.

At least I've bumped this up so maybe someone with the answer will see it :-).

Thanks!  I appreciate the assist.  Research studies are sometimes fully paid, but we'll pay if we need to.  My VSG was $18K, and frankly it was well worth it.

I'm not sure if you're willing to travel. But here is a link to the National Institute of Health and nationwide health studies.

http://www.cc.nih.gov/participate/studies.shtml

I did not see any clinical trials on www.clinicaltrials.gov that were open or recruiting for a DS without gastrectomy (searching diabetes and duodenal (jejunal or ileal) bypass), except

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01323114?term=diabetes +duodenal+jejunal+bypass&rank=9 - the hospital is in Sandusky MI.

I'd check with Dr. Keshishian and see if he's doing it on a self-pay basis.

Dr. Ungson in MX is also doing them.

(Bah, I wrote this hours ago, but never hit send ... got distracted with paying work!)