Diabetic and life after AVR

[ultimategirl63]

As most of you know my mom is having surgery on Jan 24th she is a type 2 Diabetic and controls it with glucatrol and diet and she takes all of that very seriously (sometimes to much!).. her blood sugar levels are mostly in the range of 90 to 140 and if it just goes over that she freaks out lol.

O.k here is my question, when I spoke to the surgeons office his nurse said that of course surgery would have a big effect on her blood sugar levels and that she would be getting insulin in the hospital to control it and she would need it after surgery for a time which means that I will have to learn how to inject it but then someone told me that once a person gets insulin it is very difficult to for the body to get back to ranges before surgery and will most likely have to stay on insulin. Has anyone out there had this experience?? I would hate to see her have to take insulin for the rest of her life..

 

[Superbob]

I can only speak from my own experience -- I don't know if this is typical or not: I also am a Type 2 diabetic and my self-tested blood glucose ranges are not much different than your mom's. (My most recent A1C was 6.6 -- a big improvement from the 7.5 six months earlier.) During the five days I was in the hospital last February following my OHS, the nurses checked my blood sugar at various times of the day (including, ugh, at 4 a.m. every day) but they did not, repeat did NOT, put me on insulin. I would seek another opinion about that. Maybe the surgeon's nurse is misinformed about that.

I'm sure others will tell of their experiences. I have been making good progress containing type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise with a little help from glucophage and I hope never to be put on insulin.

Hope this helps, and best wishes to you and you mom as you go through this.

 

[Mary]

I am not a diabetic, but I did receive a shot of insulin one time after my surgery. Like Bob, mine was checked regularly.

 

[perkicar]

Not a big deal

Not a big deal

I too am a type II and take glucophage PO. I was on an insulin IV immediately after surgery--1 unit per hour (which is NOTHING really). There is statistical evidence that tightly controlling blood sugars (keeping them between 80-110) immediately after surgery (when stress, etc and cause them to go a little wacko) improves speed of healing. It is well documented that diabetics do not always heal as quickly as non-diabetics. I was taken off the IV insulin and put on a "sliding scale" once I went to the floor. In the 8 days I was hospitalized I got in insulin shot one time because my blood sugar was 151 at bedtime (most scales don't give insulin until you get over 150, and your dose increases by a set number of units with each 50 pt increase in your blood glucose. I have had no problem with my sugars since I got out of the hospital, and no need to use any insulin since then. The night I got the insulin might have been the night I conned my sister in law into getting me a chocolate sundae from McDonald's because I really wanted something sweet!!! And 151 isn't bad (considering what I see in the hospital with some of my patients! )
I really wouldn't worry too much about it--once they put her back on her oral medications she should fall right back into her normal ranges. The insulin just is a little extra help (if needed) to make sure they stay down below 150. Plus her diet will be tightly controlled in the hospital (unless like me she can convince someone to get her some contraband LOL).

 

[Superbob]

I remember through the post-op haze nurses saying, in apparent surprise, that my blood sugar readings looked good. Guess that's why I didn't get a shot of insulin. Then, too, I didn't sneak a McDonalds chocolate sundae.

Anyway, from what Carolyn and Mary say, it appears a shot of insulin is pretty routine and not a big deal.