Dr Oz: Randy Jackson Diabetes Diagnosis & Gastric Bypass Surgery

Dr Oz: Randy Jackson Diabetes

While many of us were watching the hit reality show American Idol, one of the show’s judges was fighting a battle with his health. Randy Jackson, the show’s most veteran judge, has struggled with his weight for much of his life, but nothing could prepare him for the shocking diagnosis of diabetes. He is on The Dr Oz Show today to talk openly about the diagnosis and what he has been doing since to take control of his health and, ultimately, his life.

Dr Oz: Randy Jackson “Addicted to Food”

Randy Jackson says that growing up in the south, there was always butter, salt, and sugar added to just about everything that he was fed. It was a way of making foods taste good, especially vegetables. Randy says that when he made to the move from living in the south to Los Angeles, he was living a very sedentary lifestyle and it did not take long before he weighed 355 pounds. Randy Jackson admits that his relationship with food was very unhealthy as he was addicted to it, but he was not sure how to change it.

Dr Oz: Randy Jackson Blood Sugar Over 500

Randy Jackson says that getting a diagnosis of Diabetes hit him like a ton of bricks. He admits that while it ran in his family, both of his parents even had Diabetes, but he never thought it would happen to him. Randy says that his doctor had been warning him this could happen, but he always just brushed it aside. He calls the diagnosis a double-edged sword because while you can manage the disease, it will always be with you. At the time of his diagnosis, his blood sugar was over 500, a level that Dr. Oz says is so toxic it could have killed him all by itself.

Dr Oz: Randy Jackson Gastric Bypass Surgery

While he was initially shocked and numb after this diagnosis, Randy Jackson says it was a huge wake-up call and he decided he was going to take control of his life and fight the diabetes. He immediately went to a nutritionist and he says within the first month to six weeks he lost around 15 pounds, but then he made a drastic decision to have gastric bypass surgery.

He says his doctor expressed to him that this surgery was not going to cure him of diabetes or obesity and that there would be a lot of maintenance involved as well as potential complications.

Dr Oz: Gastric Bypass Easy Way Out?

Dr. Oz wonders how Randy Jackson would react to those who say he took the easy way out with gastric bypass surgery. Randy responds by saying that the surgery is not even close to a cure for Type 2 Diabetes, but it is a jump start for your weight loss. He says that even after having the surgery there is still a lot of work and maintenance involved.

Since getting the surgery, Randy Jackson has lost 120 pounds, making him so light that two “women” can even lift him with little effort as proven when a couple of “ladies” stormed the stage for a surprise visit. Jimmy Fallon and Michael Strahan, who film their show across the hall from Dr. Oz, ran onto the stage to congratulate Randy and give him a little “lift” to show their excitement for his success.