Bariatric Surgery is a way to Diabetes Free Life for a Guy from Texas

Bariatric Surgery And Diabetes

Paul Garcia, 54, came from a family that loved to eat. "We always had lots of food at home, and whenever we ate, it was like a fete," said Garcia.

And he said his family's food choices were not always the healthiest either. "My eating habits were awful," he said. "We had have lots of flour tortillas, beans and rice.

" Over the years, Garcia's weight ballooned---to 430 pounds at his heaviest. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and put on insulin to bring down his blood sugar levels.

But he had such a hard time controlling his blood sugar, he said, that he went into a coma more than once.

He lost sight in one eye and also had several heart attacks. His triglycerides, a poor kind of fat in the blood, were over 2,000. Doctors urge those amounts be below 150, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Garcia also came close to losing a foot.

The surgeons were able to save his foot, though doctors told him that they might very well need to amputate his foot but they did have to amputate two toes. That proved to be a tipping point. "I had been diabetic for 15 years," Garcia said. "I did not need to lose my feet. I knew I had to change or I would die."

Change would not come readily, nevertheless. Garcia said that his physician, who had heard that gastric bypass surgery could successfully treat diabetes, initially proposed it. But first, to ensure that he was a good candidate for the radical lifestyle changes required after the operation, Garcia's physicians enrolled him in a six-month nutrition program to help individuals learn to control their eating.

He had already lost some weight on his own and was down to when he started the nutrition plan 370 pounds. After six months, he was down to 320 pounds---a clear hint that he was making the required changes. Besides the nutrition plan, his health was said, by Garcia - care team also recommended a 12 - step program for food addiction.

"It is like being an alcoholic," Garcia said. "Our thinking gets us into this scenario, and that is why they have the 12-step program with the operation, so you learn to deal with your ideas." He said that changes began occurring immediately, once he had the operation, in May 2011. "My sugar levels came down dramatically," Garcia said. "I was on insulin, but now I do not have to take any drugs at all."

On an elliptical exercise machine every day he now weighs 232 pounds and does 6 miles. He is also been lifting weights and building muscles. His waist circumference, at when he had the operation 48 inches, is now 36 inches.

"Exercise has really inspired me and changed my melancholy," Garcia said. "It was difficult having so many issues with my health." When first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, Garcia's hemoglobin A1C levels (a measure of blood sugar levels for the preceding two to three months) were 16 percent. Someone without diabetes typically has degrees below 6 percent. His last A1C was 5.6 percent.

And, his triglycerides were down to ordinary, at 133. Garcia said he is still very cautious about what he eats. He attempts to stay away from processed foods and meat. A typical day's diet begins with a protein drink and a banana, followed by a salad for lunch and a Portobello mushroom quesadilla for dinner. "It is a huge adjustment and a lot of hard work," he said. "You have to be committed. You can not merely believe that the operation is going to be a wonder."

But he said the hard work has been worth it. "I feel like someone just turned the lights on," he said. "I had a glaze in my eyes, but in the last four months I can see everything clearly again. I feel like a completely new individual."