I have always been in pretty good health, so I was surprised one day when my doctor told me my blood pressure was a bit high. She told me to begin watching my salt intake, start exercising, and to try to relax. Well, I intended to follow her advice when I left her office, but the next day I was back to my same habits. I kept using the salt shaker and didn't begin an exercise routine like I had planned. When I went for my next check-up, she told me that my blood pressure was even higher and approaching a dangerous level. I had to begin a blood pressure medication to manage it. I wanted to create a blog to share my story and remind people to listen to their doctors' advice. If a few lifestyle changes can improve your health, then you should make them.
Getting a facelift through a place like My Plastic Surgery Group, offers a lasting boost to your self-esteem when age-related facial changes leave you feeling uncomfortable about your appearance. However, undergoing this kind of surgery is a little more complicated when you've been diagnosed with either type of diabetes. Give yourself the best chance for a safe surgery and fast recovery with these five tips.
Order a Hemoglobin A1c Test
In order for the surgery to go well with minimal complications, you need months of tightly controlled blood sugar levels. Even a series of random test measurements can't demonstrate your long term control over your blood sugar, so ask your doctor to give you a hemoglobin A1c test to get a glimpse of your health over the recent past. You should only move forward with the facelift when the test comes back with a 7% or below result and you're getting insulin monitor readings of 120 or lower right before surgery.
Verify Your Other Health Requirements
Diabetes often leads to other problems with your vascular system and heart. Since you need to go under with general anesthesia during the procedure, all these secondary risk factors need to be ruled out first. Expect to face further investigation like:
Tighten Up Your Insulin Control
All the extra blood sugar in your system due to diabetes greatly slows down wound healing even when you're not getting surgery done. Since infections and unattractive scarring are both far more likely in diabetic patients with these healing complications, it's crucial to keep your insulin levels controlled both before and after surgery. Your plastic surgeon will likely want you to reach a healthy weight and stay there for a month or two before scheduling the surgery. Stick to a strict diet, engage in as much cardiovascular exercise as you can, and get just the right amount of sleep to control insulin swings that interrupt healing.
Of course, even the best insulin control isn't always enough for clean and quick wound healing. Talk to your doctor about antibiotics and other medications that keep infection away and practices that encourage good blood flow, such as sleeping upright on your back to keep pressure off the wounds around your face.
Plan for Surgical and Post-Surgical Medication
The stress of going under anesthesia and the cuts necessary for a facelift causes your blood sugar levels to rise and fall rapidly. This can be a life-threatening condition, so get a diabetic specialist to stay on call during the surgery and for the first few hours after you get out.
Since you can't eat during the 24 hours leading up to the facelift, taking insulin is out of the question too. This may mean you need intravenous insulin delivery during the surgery and extra monitoring after you wake up. Even if your insulin levels stay fairly level, your electrolytes can go so far out of balance that you end up experiencing dangerous seizures or go into a coma.
Schedule a Hospital Stay
The risks of diabetes facelift complications are mainly concentrated all in the first 24 hours after the surgeon finishes the work. It's best to book a stay in the hospital for at least the first day of recovery so your doctors can make immediate adjustments to your insulin levels and monitor you around the clock until your body settles down again. You can also receive extra treatments to prevent infection like wound suction.
Share30 April 2015
