Can weight loss surgery really cure type 2 diabetes?
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Michael A. Snyder, M.D., is a board-certified general surgeon, director of the Denver Center for Bariatric Surgery and an active member of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.
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Among obese people with type 2 diabetes, 70 to 84 percent who undergo bariatric surgery—either laparoscopic gastric band or gastric bypass—experience a remission of their disease, according to studies cited in the Journal of the American Medical Association. And it's not just because of the weight loss caused by the surgery.
One of the things I say to doctors at medical conferences is that type 2 diabetes is very difficult to treat, but it may be easier to cure. I say that as kind of a wake-up call, for people to pay attention to the importance of this treatment. Weight loss surgery does seem to work.
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Do I have to change my entire way of eating now that I have diabetes?
Theresa Garnero is a diabetes educator, a registered nurse and the author of Your First Year With Diabetes.
Having diabetes doesn’t mean eating like a saint. It’s about striking a balance. You need to start by making small steps toward healthier eating. As a diabetes educator, I ask patients to start by focusing on one area that will likely make the most impact in reducing their glucose levels.
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What are the benefits and risks of tight glucose control?
Judith Fradkin, M.D., is a National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) spokesperson and an executive committee member.
We want to help people with type 2 diabetes understand the benefits and potential risks of aiming for tight glucose control. Recent studies offer new insights into both. Let’s start with the benefits. Basically it breaks down like this: If you are newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and still relatively healthy, you can reap lifelong benefits from tight control of your glucose levels… Here's how.
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