Bariatric surgery gave diabetic 'a total fresh start'

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By Dennis Thompson

(HealthDay News) -- Hot Springs, Ark., resident Kenneth Humbert, 49, was first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a decade ago.

At the time, he had no idea he might have diabetes, but his doctor discovered shockingly high blood sugar levels during routine blood work.

"I thought they were possibly wrong," said Humbert, who works as church administrator for Hot Springs Baptist Church. "When the doctor showed me the lab printout, he said, 'This isn't even marginal. This is full-blown diabetes.' He got his pen and he was just circling the numbers. I said, 'I don't know of any family members that even have it.' He said, 'Well, you have it.'"

In the years before his diagnosis, Humbert's health had, in fact, suffered. A couple of back surgeries and a kidney stone removal had left him laid up for extended periods. And the inactivity had led to weight gain.

Doctors tried a variety of medications to get his newly discovered diabetes under control, but none worked. Humbert ended up going on insulin in late 2004.

"Even insulin wasn't very successful," he said. "They kept increasing the dose and trying different types, too. I had it so high that the blood sugar meter would only read the letters HI rather than give me a number. I had it a few times when it was in the 500s. Nothing was working."

In March 2008, one of the people who attends Humbert's church mentioned that he had seen a segment on "60 Minutes" about people using bariatric surgery to help control their type 2 diabetes.

Humbert studied up on the surgery and its uses in dealing with diabetes, then scheduled an appointment to bring all the information to his doctor.

"He stood there and read it all," Humbert said. "He said, 'I'll tell you this, I'm hearing good things but I don't have a patient who is a diabetic who has had this surgery. It's up to you.'"

"At the time, I was starting to get diabetic neuropathy in my feet," Humbert said. "I told him, 'I don't think I have anything to lose.'"

It took several months for Humbert to arrange for the surgery and work through the insurance issues. But on Sept. 22, 2008, surgeons rerouted his small intestine through the lower part of his stomach and stapled the upper part of his stomach.

The results were nearly instantaneous, Humbert recalled. "I was off about 90 percent of my medicines by the time they discharged me on the fourth day," he said. The week after his discharge, he told his doctors that he'd been feeling dizzy. They told him to stop taking his blood pressure medication, and when he did, all was well.

They cut back his insulin drastically but kept him on a low dose. Two months after the surgery, Humbert noticed he'd begun feeling poorly during his workouts. "About halfway into my exercise routine, I'd feel very weak and shaky," he said.

After a checkup, his doctor told him that his diabetes had gone into remission. He no longer needs to take insulin.

Humbert said he's lost close to 115 pounds since his bariatric surgery. "To me, it's like hitting a reset button on your whole appetite," he said. "It was just a total fresh start. I'm usually not hungry anymore, so I watch the clock to know when I should eat something. And when I do eat, I make sure it's something that's good for me."

His health has never been better. He's gone from a size 48 waistline to a size 32 waist. His energy has improved.

"I feel fantastic. I feel like a new person. I feel like I'm in my 20s again, early 30s. I feel like I picked up my life where I left it off years ago," Humbert said.

"I think I really had years added onto my life because of this," Humbert added.