Is Surgery A Smart Option For Diabetics?

Posted by Laurence in Blog

Many diabetics are grossly obese and take high doses of insulin and oral tablets to control their blood sugars but nothing seems to help. In these cases, surgery is thought to be a possible solution but is surgery a smart option for diabetics?

Firstly, it’s essential to realize all surgical procedures have risks. You can’t have bariatric weight loss surgery just because you “believe it’s the answer to your problems.” There are many steps to go through to see if you even qualify and to ascertain whether it’s going to be safe.

There are a few types of weight loss surgery but I’m not going to cover the differences until my next article. The premise is basically the same with the different versions and that’s to reduce the amount of food you can eat by restricting the size of your stomach on a permanent basis.

Most surgeons insist on you attending a free seminar (**this may not happen in all countries) where he explains the ins and outs of the different procedures. Then you’ll better understand what will happen if you go ahead with the procedure. The main point is that it’s not like any other form of surgery. You have to make radical permanent, irreversible changes to your life to accommodate the new, smaller size of your stomach.

You must have a minimum Body Mass Index (BMI) which is basically your height to weight ratio and that helps the surgeon decide if you’re a surgical candidate. At the seminar, you can ask whatever questions you need to and there will be lots of information covered because there will be other diabetics there also considering surgery.

The heavier you are, the more insulin your body needs to combat the high sugar levels. The surgery is designed to help you quickly drop some weight and that can either reduce or get you completely off all diabetes tablets and insulins. It does work for many people. I know this for a fact because it worked for me but I will go into more detail in a future article.

After surgery, your appetite will be almost non-existent. You’ll barely be able to sip water and you’ll feel full. It can take you a month or more to get back onto solid foods again and you’ll only be able to eat very small meals for the rest of your life. For example, eat a 95 gram tin of tuna. You’ll feel the same effect as if you had eaten a three course meal prior to surgery. That’s how drastic the changes are.

If you’re going to decide if surgery is a smart option, it’s absolutely crucial that you do your research, speak to a specialist and ask questions before making that final decision. It can definitely help some people but the risks may be too high for others. Don’t make a hasty decision because it’s going to impact your life forever.