Type I Diabetics- What results after DS?

I have a friend who is Type I diabetic (childhood onset).  She is on a ridiculous amount of medication and is still having a horrible time controling her blood sugar levels.  She is under a great deal of stress (newborn and a toddler, possible pending divorce).  She is only 28 yrs old.

I am really worried about her.  She is close to a 35 BMI, not even sure if she would qualify by NIH standards or not for DS.

But before I even broach the subject of DS with her, I'm trying to find out how much help DS would be for her being a long term type I.  So if you happen to have links to studies or anectdotal info regarding how much resolution DS provided for your Type I Diabetes, I would really appreciate it.

DS does NOT resolve type I diabetes, which is a whole different disease, basically, from type II. Weight loss and better health are, of course, good for it, but there's no such thing as resolution.

There are a couple of type I's around here though. Jenn Type I comes to mind (not sure exactly how she does her username, you might have to try it without spacing) as someone you could look up.

Resolution was poor word choice...Management would have probably been better.  I realize that nothing currently can make the pancreas start producing insulin... I guess I'm looking to see if there was better management with less medication.  Less insulin resistance independant of the weight loss. 

Would a VSG be as effective for a Type I as a DS provided that stayed high protein/low carb? 

I'll definitely look up Jenn.  Thanks.

Well, the metabolic changes that influence insulin resistance are in large part due to something about the intestinal switch. I don't recall any details at the moment. So no, the VSG would NOT be as effective in that regard.

I suspect, to consider Kayla's point, that better glucose management would be even more of a concern for a surgeon considering a type I than a type II who can be expected to have almost-immediate and profound improvements in their diabetes after surgery.  Is she on an insulin pump?

She'll need to have BMI 35 + a comorbid condition to qualify, though I have read some things recently about a proposal to lower the requirements to 30+cormorbs or 35 without, who knows how slow-going that will be before it's put into practice.

I think losing weight (whether with the DS or another surgery) could help out her insulin resistance, if that's her major concern, but she'll need a good relationship with a doctor to help monitor her.

I am not sure how surgeons would feel operating on someone with such poorly controlled diabetes thought.  If someone could tell me how this is approached with type 2 diabetics, I'd be interested to know.

I'm  Type 1 diabetic, onset at age 15.  I'm 51 now, had the DS when I was 47.  Losing the weight, almost 100 pounds, has changed my insulin requirements a lot.  My pre-meal bolus of Novolog insulin used to be 20 units and now it is 5-7 units depending on sliding scale.  My long acting insulin Lantus dose used to be 30 units per day and now is 10 units.  I no longer have high blood pressure, migraines, the pain in my feet and legs from diabetic neuropathy no longer exits either, and my vision has improved due to having better controlled blood glucose levels.  The DS has impoved my health in so many ways.

Good Luck to your friend!

Karey

While no wls will cure type 1 diabetes, the closer she gets to a normal weight, the easier her diabetes will be to control. Since the DS brings about the highest percentage excess weight loss of any wls, and has the best maintainence of that weight loss, it seems to me that the DS would be more helpful for her diabetes management than any other wls.

Larra