I am scared

[Allison Mupas]

I just had a DS revision on Oct 21st. now my hubby is having his virgin DS done on Nov 16th. I know he is in good hands with Dr. K. But here is my fear. He is an insulin dependent diabetic and he is 56. Is that going to predispose him to a longer more difficult recovery? Any diabetics out there that can ease my fears or tell me what to expect I would be grateful! TIA Allison

 

[southernlady]

I just had a DS revision on Oct 21st. now my hubby is having his virgin DS done on Nov 16th. I know he is in good hands with Dr. K. But here is my fear. He is an insulin dependent diabetic and he is 56. Is that going to predispose him to a longer more difficult recovery? Any diabetics out there that can ease my fears or tell me what to expect I would be grateful! TIA Allison

While I am back to being classed as diabetic almost 6 years post DS, (just in the last 6 months) I was an insulin pump and metformin pre-op.

I stayed on my insulin pump at half units from the day of surgery (Jan 24th 2011) until Feb 1, 2011. At that point I was starting to chase lows in the middle of the night so I came off the pump. I took my last insulin shot on 11 Feb 2011 and came off metformin in April.

I was 56 at the time of my surgery.

For 97-98% of diabetics, insulin and diabetes becomes a thing of the past. But there IS a 2-3% chance of not resolving it, esp long term. Much depends on how LONG a person was diabetic. I KNOW I was diabetic from 1994 until my surgery in 2011. And I suspect I was diabetic since I was 30 years old as I noticed neuropathy symptoms as far back as then. So while it's personally frustrating for me to see my diabetes come back, I KNEW going in, it was a possibility as the DS not a 100% cure.

But to answer your question...as long as he is reasonably controlled on insulin pre-DS, he should have no issues post DS with recovery. My recovery was EASY PEASY (once I learned my new guts).

 

[KathrynK]

Former diabetic here who was 54 years old at the time of surgery. No complications, almost immediately off my meds and other than still controlling for hypoglycemia, no issues. Surgery in general is much safer than it was even a few years ago, and surgery with a top surgeon in a great hospital is even safer. As southernlady has said, you have to learn your gut again, so that will be something you can guide him through. After 11 years, no diabetes return, but the carb limits are something I still follow (most of the time). I have heard that protein status before surgery is favorable for recovery, and a nurse said to me at discharge, protein, protein, protein. I would add, hydration, hydration, hydration. Share your feelings with the nurses on the floor. They will have good advice. Good luck to him!

 

[conceit]

Former diabetic here who was 54 years old at the time of surgery. No complications, almost immediately off my meds and other than still controlling for hypoglycemia, no issues. Surgery in general is much safer than it was even a few years ago, and surgery with a top surgeon in a great hospital is even safer. As southernlady has said, you have to learn your gut again, so that will be something you can guide him through. After 11 years, no diabetes return, but the carb limits are something I still follow (most of the time). I have heard that protein status before surgery is favorable for recovery, and a nurse said to me at discharge, protein, protein, protein. I would add, hydration, hydration, hydration. Share your feelings with the nurses on the floor. They will have good advice. Good luck to him!

Hi Kathryn, could I ask how long you had been diabetic before surgery? How soon after surgery did your diabetes resolve?
Thanks

 

[Munchkin]

Don't worry about it at all. A huge number of DS patients are diabetic and they deal with it all the time. He will heal great because there is a good chance his diabetes will be gone unless he is a type 1.

http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/ds-for-diabetes-dans-story.355/