My Gastric Band Diary

[helen louise]

I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in Feb 2012
Fasting level 18.4 AC1 12.1 weight 100kg 5ft 6in

Meds given were 3 x 500mg SR Metformin & 1 x 40mg Gliclazide per day
I also started following a low card diet

June 2012 my AC1 was 12.1 weight 103kg

Sadly since June everything appears to be going wrong, the low carb diet appears not to be having much effect & my BG's are getting higher again, my weight is gone up to 108kg

My GP sent me off for various other blood tests to check that I wasn't a LADA or type 1.5 rather than the type 2 I was diagnosed with & these came back clear,

It was decided that my best option was to lose a reasonable amount of weight which may bring the BG's Back under control but as I am putting on weight even though I am eating healthily this was a problem

My GP & I discussed various options inc weightloss meds but as I have tried these before with horrible side effects I decided against these, another option was weightloss surgery, sadly my local PCT would not fund any sugery unless I had a BMI of over 40 & serious complications due to the diabetes, my GP who is also diabetic believes this way of thinking is wrong as in the long run it ends up costing the PCT more money due to the complications, I asked him he felt that a Gastric band would be of benefit to me & he said he believed it would, so armed with this I started researching the gastric band op, I do know that the Bypass op does have a better chance if you have diabetes but both myself & my husband felt uncomfortable with the risks involved with this so decided on the Gastric band instead.

More to follow.................

 

[helen louise]

Loan Approved & Consultation booked for Monday 24th September

Please feel free to ask any questions

 

[dazzer1975]

Hi,

good luck with the weight loss, I just want to ask though if you have explored other things with your doctor such as lipotrim, or even investigated other vlcd's such as the newcastle study diet?

I don't have anything against surgery or those who wan't it, but just felt I should ask about alternative and equally quick weight dropping methods which don't involve general anesthetics etc.

On the plus side, diabetes has been known to be reversed after bariatric surgery (unsure if there is a difference in outcome between band and bypass), but the Newcastle diet (and by extrapolation all the other vlcd shake based meal replacement programmes, which essentially emulate the post bariatric op diet have shown some promising results... would be cheaper and safer too, especially if following with full doctors knowledge and approval etc

Anyway, whichever way you go, all the best and i hope it works out well for you.

 

[Defren]

Hi Helen, my GP wanted to send me for gastric bypass, but like you my BMI was too low. I didn't really want to go down that route anyway.

That said, I will be really interested to see how things go for you. I am way, way to 'light' now to ever get surgery, but I have read some superb stories of gastric bypass and diabetes, so your story will be something new.

I wish you all the luck in the world, you are a much braver person than I.

Joanna.

 

[catza]

Hi Helen. I shall be really interested to hear how you get on and I shall be keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Jo catza.

 

[helen louise]

Hi all, thank you for the good wishes & suggestions

RE the Lipotrim I did try this through my GP about 5yrs ago but it didn't agree with me, I suffer with irritable bowel syndrome & the replacement meal drinks left me doubled over in pain, also I have tried various other meal replacement drinks with the same side effects, at first I thought it was a dairy product allergy but after sourcing some soya/rice based drinks they also had the same effect, small amounts of milk in tea/coffee is fine but anymore is a no go, even the mixes you add water to make up are just as bad!

I did find out that after sugery most people use the replacement meal drinks but apparently I can have thin soup instead! if not I shall be living on immodium & slimfast for a couple of weeks! still at least it will on be for a very short time!

sadly its the gliclazide that increases my appetite = weightgain & then we go around in circles!

 

[helen louise]

If I get the go ahead for the op I will need to have a pre op medical which involves a blood screen, ECG & a MRSA swab,

I will need to go on a low fat diet for two weeks to try & shrink the liver as much as possible, this is so that it is easier for the surgeon to get to the top of the stomach, the procedure will be keyhole,

Total cost of the op is £6950, you can get it cheaper but this means travelling into london, not only for the consult but the op, & all follow up visits inc band fills, as I don't drive & hubby doesn't get paid for time off you do have to weigh up the pro's & con's, we have chosen a local hospital approx 20mins drive away,

With this plan I get two years aftercare & that inc unlimited band refills

 

[Jude]

Hi Helen

I asked my Diabetes Consultant if he would refer me for a gastric band surgery and he did. So in June I had an appointment with another Diabetes Consultant who specialises in weight surgery. My BMI is 37 so I qualify under NICE guidlines but not under Coventry Hospitals rules my BMI has to be over 45!! So if I put on 3 stone I might qualify and the way I am going I might very well do that. I am 60 and ill-health retired medical secretary so am unable to afford it privately. I also have been living with IBS for over 40 years and trying to juggle the two conditions foodwise is very difficult - as you say most diet preparations have sweeteners and they are absolutely lethal for me.
Three years ago I went on to Byetta and lost 14 kilos but my bg did not come down enough so I was then put on to insulin which did bring down the bgs but also brought back the 14 kilos almost overnight. So Consultant put me back on Byetta alongside the insulin to try and reduce my weight - no luck so dropped that back in August and bgs have been going up and weight not good either even though I am reducing my carbs (not vlc) so DSN has started me on Sitagliptin 12 days ago but so far no improvement in bgs
I have been diagnosed 7 years now and was also put on Gliclazide in the early days but that also added lots of weight so came off it. Are you sure you cannot get it done on NHS?? I am similar weight to you 102/104 and 5'5".
I am very interested in your diary - look forward to following your journey Judith

 

[helen louise]

Hi Jude

Yes was turned down by local PCT even though I qualify under nice/nhs funding, I would need to have further complications like high blood pressure/metabolic syndrome or a host of other things, they don't class weight gain or unstable BG levels as serious complications, also the last person my local pct funded didn't have the op for 2yrs!

Its a lot of money to pay out but I would rather do this than wait for my weight to pile on even more, then for more complications to develope, with a bit of luck the op may very well kick both my weight & BG's into touch! I am very lucky to be in a position to pay for the op allbeit via a loan but as corny as it sounds the money is actually being invested in my future, perhaps by delaying any poss complications & the quicker the op is done the better, its bizarre to think I have a penciled in date of 12th october for the op!

 

[Fraddycat]

Hi Helen,

I was put on Glicazide and found that it made me eat more so I know how you feel. I begged the doctor to stop Glic because it made me feel awful and asked if I could go on a low carb high fat (LCHF) diet instead. The Doc was a bit sceptical but gave me the go ahead. I have been following this new eating method since July and have lost a stone (it did start off slowly but has really picked up pace in the last few weeks) I don't feel deprived at all.

I know that you have made your mind up about the surgery and I wish you lots of luck, I am sure it will be life changing for you, but I just wanted to say that I would highly recommend LCHF, its been very empowering for me.

Best of luck Helen, I look forward to hearing your updates. Jane

 

[helen louise]

On friday I had a phone appointment regarding "Social History" it basicly went through why I had a weight problem & what I had done in the past to try to resolve it, basicly I have done every diet under the sun & took various diet pills, one played my IBS up so much I was scared to leave the house (orlistat) the second made me feel queasy all the time but strangley if I ate something it went away which meant I ended up eating more!

Tomorrow (monday) I have a medical advisor calling me to go through my medical history & what meds I am on,

will update after that!

 

[dawnmc]

Good luck with it Helen, one of the 'side' affects of the surgery is that diabetes is no more, I hope it is the case for you.

 

[helen louise]

Well that side effect would be most welcome! apparently the band surgery is very good at curbing IBS also

 

[helen louise]

Medical history phone appointment over with, nothing to worry about, the lady just asked questions on previous ops, what meds I am taking any allergies etc etc

Next stop will be consultation with surgeon next monday

 

[Jude]

Hi Helen

Where did you learn that gastric banding can be positive for IBS? Two birds with one stone then....why oh why are the NHS Trusts so short-sighted - if they gave diabetics help with weight loss then we would not need so many medications because presumably with the loss of weight blood pressure medication would not be needed so much etc.

You mentioned slimfast and similar shakes being a problem for you (and me!) but you could wizz up your own. I have bought some plain whey powder protein which can be mixed up with water, milk and add fruit - I chose the plain whey as it has no sweeteners or colourings in it.

What part of the country are you in? My DSN visited me today and when I told her about you she was horrified at the cost! :roll:

 

[helen louise]

I've got a feeling that its the whey thats the problem as poss dairy allergy, did try dairy free types but they didn't agree with me either!

re the IBS, I used to belong to a IBS forum that sadly is no longer online but there was a section within it for people who had weightloss surgery that was most enlightening! Basicly the majority of people who had the lap band found their IBS improved greatly after the surgery, the general feeling was that because you ate so little at a time when the food did pass through to the main part of the stomach it got digested a lot easier than a large meal, whilst on the downside the people who had the bypass had mixed results, some were fine, again probably due to the decrease in portion size but several people found it made their IBS worse & this was probably down to the shortening of the digestive process, I still think they had to avoid the really big trigger foods, for me thats fat in any shape or form!

 

[dawnmc]

Have you tried soy protein isolate, I use it for as a shake for brekkie, if I'm allowed to say where I get it, myprotein.com. Its easily mixed with coconut milk and you can whizz up berries in in too. Might b worth a try.

 

[helen louise]

Hi

They sell that in H&B so might pick up s small tub as I would need to try & use some sort of meal replacement for a short time after the op

 

[helen louise]

Hi Helen

Where did you learn that gastric banding can be positive for IBS? Two birds with one stone then....why oh why are the NHS Trusts so short-sighted - if they gave diabetics help with weight loss then we would not need so many medications because presumably with the loss of weight blood pressure medication would not be needed so much etc.

You mentioned slimfast and similar shakes being a problem for you (and me!) but you could wizz up your own. I have bought some plain whey powder protein which can be mixed up with water, milk and add fruit - I chose the plain whey as it has no sweeteners or colourings in it.

What part of the country are you in? My DSN visited me today and when I told her about you she was horrified at the cost! :roll:

 

[helen louise]

Not sure what happened there!

We are in essex, its cheaper if you go into london but the aftercare package was not as good, also my husband doesn't get paid for time off & as the traveling into london was longer it really would not make much difference at the end of the day, brentwood is only 20mins drive from here