I am a type II diabetic and 12 days post op gastric sleeve. For the last 7 days I was able to take just a few units (10 to 15 units) of rapid acting insulin to bring my sugar levels to acceptable (9-13). But now that I am able to eat more substantive foods my sugar levels are of course going up but I feel very scared to take the long acting insulin.

Are there any other diabetic sleevers who can share some of your experience on controlling blood sugar after surgery and did you use long acting insulin or only short acting?

I am scared of long acting and going to sleep...…...I live alone so there is no one to check on me. Of course I need to keep BS down to help my incisions heal as well as the internal staples. Incisions are healing very well, Thank God!

How long did it take before you stopped needing to use insulin?

I will not have the surgery till July 3rd, but so far in just going from 296 to 273 lbs,, I have had to change my diabetic type 2 medications three times. Which included reducing Toujeo injections to zero, and no longer taking Januvia. A few years ago, I lost weight using a protein shake diet, and within a matter of a few months, I was completely free of not only the diabetic meds., but also all medications, and was able to maintain for the next five years. My reason for the surgery is more about eliminating the meds than anything else.

I think you're really going to be surprised how overall your health will improve. Best of luck!

I had Type II diabetes prior to surgery 5 years ago. I was on two types of prescription medicine to control my blood sugar and they were not doing the job and my GP recommended I transition to insulin injections. I refused.

Two days after surgery when I left the hospital, I was off all my diabetes medicine and I haven't taken any since. I periodically once per month check my blood sugar levels and they are fine.

Some people are able to get off all their meds after surgery and some are not. From what I can gather it somewhat depends on how long they lived with the diabetes. If they were on their meds for just a few years, many times the condition goes into remission. But if they were on meds for decades, many only see a reduction of the meds they take.

It is very important after surgery to control you sugar intake for the rest of your life in order to control this condition. In my case I had a major sweet tooth which is probably one of the root causes of my being overweight. The following is the approach that I try to follow:

I limit myself to artificial sweeteners (such as Splenda and sugar alcohols), to natural low calorie sweeteners (such as Stevia) and to the natural sugars found in fruits and milk. I look at the grams of sugar per serving. If it is above 5 grams, I look at the ingredients. The ingredients are listed in order by highest percentage, and if the first 5 ingredients contain processed sugar (in any of its many forms), then I avoid this food, like a plague.

I also restrict myself to about one meal per day containing complex carbohydrates (such as pasta and bread). I also avoid all carbonated beverages. I lost 20 pounds pre-op solely on eliminating carbonated beverages from my diet and I will not go back.

Another approach that I recently began is to limit grazing. Grazing is eating snacks throughout the day in place of full meals. A recent study showed that the majority of people eat over a 15-hour period each day. When people restricted their eating to 10 hours per day they achieved a 3.5% weight reduction. I am a late riser and sleep until around 7 or 8 a.m. I decided to restrict my “eating window” to a 12-hour window and not consume any meals or snacks after 7:30 p.m.

I'm not having surgery until July 3rd. I'm on two different injections myself. My PCP advised me to not take my Lantus (slow acting) , check my BS often especially if i feel different (high or low coming on) and take Humalog (fast acting) as needed. I would contact your PCP and see what he/she thinks. Wishing you the best and hopefully you can leave diabetes behind you

Disclosure- I’m a long term paramedic who has treated thousands of diabetic emergencies. But I’m certainly not a GP or an Endo. Please consult yours.

That being said, having your blood sugar slightly elevated (less than 200) for a little while while you titrate your meds isn’t a huge deal. Over time it does a lot of damage. Hypoglycemia however is immediately life threatening.

So my best advice would be to consult your GP or in the mean time your surgeon and ask about stopping your your long acting and increasing your monitoring. Especially if you also are on orals.

Wishing you all the best.

7 hours ago, MedicVSG said:

Disclosure- I’m a long term paramedic who has treated thousands of diabetic emergencies. But I’m certainly not a GP or an Endo. Please consult yours.

That being said, having your blood sugar slightly elevated (less than 200) for a little while while you titrate your meds isn’t a huge deal. Over time it does a lot of damage. Hypoglycemia however is immediately life threatening.

So my best advice would be to consult your GP or in the mean time your surgeon and ask about stopping your your long acting and increasing your monitoring. Especially if you also are on orals.

Wishing you all the best.

Thanks Medic. I am not on any oral diabetic meds. I used to take huge amounts of long acting and rapid acting together, am and pm, but that was when I was uncontrolled.

To me this is a guessing game now...…...I am still obese so even with a whole lot less calories I can still get high. I was at 23 last night! I took 30 units of rapid acting and I woke up at 12.3 today so that is not bad. I just have to keep guessing the dosages based on numbers...…..its nerve wracking. I did use long acting yesterday in the morning but just 15 units