Question:
Does gastic bipass cure diabetes?

   — karenpennebaker (posted on May 13, 2008)


May 13, 2008
Thats a tough question. My mom-in-law who has had diabetes for many years, had the RNY and she still has it. I had the Lap-Band and am no longer a diabetic. I have only been a diabetic for about 3 years though.
   — MySonsMama

May 13, 2008
It depends if it is a type 2 diabetes. Usually YES If not it improves a lot the quality of life Bruno Zilberstein MD PhD FACS
   — Bruno Zilberstein

May 13, 2008
My diabetes was gone in 3 weeks. My surgeon does not like the word cured, but my PCP says that I am cured. Good luck.Paula
   — Paula K.

May 13, 2008
I had type 2 diabates and I was off all my meds within weeks of my Bypass. I am currently 1 yr post-op and still have no problems and on no meds..
   — Alvernlaw

May 13, 2008
Let me preface this by saying that I am not a medical expert. I am just a weight loss patient. It is not just the Gastric Bypass but ALL weight loss surgeries that help to alleviate the symptoms of diabetes. I was taking 70 to 80 units of insulin daily and 4 pills of glucovance 5/500 prior to having the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy performed on me on the first of March. In only 3 WEEKS I had to DROP all of my diabetes medications! It didn't happen all at once. I kept gradually reducing my dosage as needed until I was down to only ONE pill of glucovance. Finally at the end of 3 weeks my blood sugar had dropped down to 53 points one day! I HAD to stop taking ALL of my diabetes medications! My blood sugars after a meal are now running about 113/140 points which are a little high for NORMAL but are still in NORMAL range. With the advent of MORE weight loss, I should get closer to normal blood sugar levels. I also suffer from FibroMyalgia, Arthritis, Migraines. Chronic Fatigue, Spastic Colon and Chronic Diarrhea. The Spastic Colon and Chronic Diarrhea have been resolved by the surgery. the FibroMyalgia, Arthritis, Migraines and chronic Fatigue have all been improved to one degree or another by the surgery and the resultant weight loss. The Arthritis was relieved almost completely almost immediately. The FibroMyalgia has not been fully resolved but has improved significantly. The same can be said for the Migraines. My Chronic Fatigue has GREATLY improved. I have MUCH more energy now than I did before. I have lost nearly 50 pounds in a month and a half (47-49 depending on which scale I use). My surgeon is looking forward to watching the improvements in health as I lose the weight. The Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy that I had is one of the safest weight loss procedures available with the least amount of complications post op. Basically all they do is take about 80-85% of your stomach away. They take the rest and turn it into a tube. Your tiny stomach allows you to loose the weight you need to lose without dealing with the complications of a foreign object causing an immune system response or slipping and causing damage as the Lap-Band could or causing you to be forced to take special supplements like the folks who have the Gastric Bypass and the Duodenal Switch often have to do. Many of these folks have to get their supplements from their doctors. If they run out or lose them on vacation or they are caught short on cash when they run out, they are STUCK. This is not an issue with the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. The biggest PROBLEM with the VSG is that many insurance companies won't PAY for it because they consider it to be an "Experimental" procedure. They forget that it has been done for YEARS in the US SUCCESSFULLY for OTHER reasons than weight loss. It has been used as a treatment for stomach Cancer and Ulcers and has been used as the first part of the Duodenal Switch here in the US for YEARS. There have also been many doctors in Europe and South and Central America that have been using the procedure successfully for quite some time. The weight loss and maintenance is comparable to that of the Gastric Bypass. It does not have the issues of Malabsorption of certain Vitamins, Minerals and Nutrients that the Gastric Bypass does though. Your intestinal tract remains intact except for the part of the stomach that has been removed. If you want to find out more about your options, I have done some research and posted it on my Profile page. You can find it at http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/hubarlow/ . As you can tell, I am somewhat of a prolific writer. There is a segment of my blog that I have written that deals with the major weight loss surgery options. It should be about halfway down the page. If not, you may need to look for it in the archives. Look in March. It may be the first or second article that you come across. It will give you an idea of what each surgical option is about with links giving more in dept explanations and some videos of the procedures. I will warn you in advance though, the procedures are done on living people. You get to watch them do an actual real live operation. If you do not have a strong stomach, DO NOT WATCH! Instead, minimize and LISTEN! The doctors talk about what they are doing and explain what is good and sometimes what is bad about each procedure. I hope this helps, Hugh
   — hubarlow

May 13, 2008
If you are a type 2 diabetic, losing even 5% of your body weight will have a positive effect on your diabeties. Many type 2 diabetics are able to get off their meds entirely once they have expierenced a significant weight loss. If you are interested in a non-surgical answer to your weight loss issues check out the website www.acadianalifechange.com
   — AcadianaLifeChange

May 13, 2008
Karen, There was a segment on 60 minutes within the last month with physicians stating that the BYPASS (not the lap band) was CURING diabetes. If it was adult onset diabetes (Type 2). That is exactly why I chose the BYPASS surgery over the lap-band. There may be something on their website.
   — nancycarle

May 13, 2008
Karen, There was a segment on 60 minutes within the last month with physicians stating that the BYPASS (not the lap band) was CURING diabetes. If it was adult onset diabetes (Type 2). That is exactly why I chose the BYPASS surgery over the lap-band. There may be something on their website.
   — nancycarle

May 13, 2008
of course - I am no doctor or surgeon, and I don't have diabetes, but did have weight loss surgery (LAP/RNY 2/15/07). my surgeon/PCP's opinion (both) is/was that if you have diabetes you will always have diabetes, but having WLS can help you manage and either rid of or decrease the form of treatment you are on extreme treatment to mild. hope that helps.
   — jammerz

May 13, 2008
Yes...Here is the transcripts from 60 Minutes....http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/17/60minutes/main4023 451.shtml
   — .Anita R.

May 13, 2008
Karen, for many people it actually does, especially if they go by the rules and change their eating habits. What it does not cure is the damage already done by diabetes. Everyone is different, and there are many who still need medicaiton or injections, but there are also a lot who were able to walk away from meds and injections for life with the life change and the surgery. Take care, Patricia P.
   — Patricia P

May 13, 2008
There is NO CURE for diabetes. It can be placed into remission with weight loss.
   — Donna O.

May 13, 2008
There is no cure for diabetes. When I had wls I came off all my type 2 diabetes meds cause my blood sugars became normal range when the weight started coming off. I still have blood suagrs checked when i go to my drs and they are within normal range. but now I have very low blood sugars sometimes and it is scarier than the very high ones I used to have pre wls. But my surgeon and drs say diabetes is controled throguh diet and losing the excess weight but not cured.
   — mspisces

May 14, 2008
There was a feature on "60 Minutes" a few weeks back that I made a DVD of that clearly stated that properly done, RNY clears type two diabities. Now I have had type 2 for 25 years, and I had a RNY in December of 2007. I went home and the hospital told me I did not need any medication, but I stayed on one of the 8 that I had been taken and continued to check my blood sugars. They continued to drop until I was adveraging 90, so I dropped my last drug after 4 weeks, and I have not taken one since. My A1C this week was 5.6, and I am hapy as can be. By the way I dropped all blood pressure medication and Colestrol medications. The issues you need to know is there is a change in your lifestyle. I use to live to eat and now I eat to live. You have to be committed to the diet, no sugars, fats, or carb for the first 6 months and then only complex carbs, like wheat bread, brown rice and wheat pasta. Excersize is required, and I do it every day. The reason is that the first third of your small intestine is left conected to the stomach where it makes stomack acid but the first 1/3 THis changes what you can eat and how often. The new stomack is a small pouch about the size of a man's thumb. It worked for me, and I beleive that it will work if you if you study the requirements and follow them. Get to a sergeons lecture and learn more as you make your decision as to which way you need to go for a new you. Best of sucess to you.
   — William (Bill) wmil

May 14, 2008
In answer to your question.....I was completely off insulin within one week after my gastric bypass, it has been 8 weeks and I am still doing well with no medication.......Good luck to you........Dianepic
   — dianepic

May 14, 2008
I myself was type two and took two shots a day I had RNY in October of 07 and lost 80 lbs. which was my goal weight and am shot free it took only a month for me to get off the shots, my levels have been great. Everybody is different so check with your Dr. and have your lab work done as directed.
   — campnwego

May 15, 2008
On that 60 min. peice a researcher took lab rats w/type 2 diabetes and performed gastric bypass on them. They were cured. Period. Then he took some and reversed the process and they're diabetes came back. They're not sure how it works, but it does. These proceedures are being performed on normal size people with type-2 in other countries, but it has not been approved in the U.S. yet. Paula B
   — paulajaneb

May 16, 2008
I am 17 days post op I went in taking a daily med for my diabetes and since surgery I have not taken any meds and my levels are always normal when I check. Of course you can not eat sugar or carbs so that controls quite a bit for some of us the diabetes is from our weight. So now that I have lost more weight I haven't had problems.
   — Melanie C.

May 20, 2008
Karen -- Whether or not WLS "cures" diabetes (Type II, aka adult onset, not Type I, aka "juvenile" diabetes that first shows up in childhood and in general causes more serious complications than Type II) depends almost entirely on WHY an individual developed Type II in the first place. If a person develops Type II diabetes purely as a result of morbid obesity, I would think that losing weight would improve, diminish, or "cure" diabetes in that individual. However, as I've said before on this site, you can fight the weight, but you can't fight the genetics. I'm one of the latter. I developed Type II diabetes somewhere along the line prior to my VBG in April of 2000. When I lost weight it "went away". I was re-diagnosed in April of 2007 and have kept it under control with diet and a very low dose of Metformin ever since. I didn't gain any of the weight back and, in fact, am now about 160 pounds smaller than I was when I was diagnosed pre-surgery; HOWEVER -- both my maternal grandmother and my father had diabetes; I had very severe gestational diabetes during my first pregnancy in 1986; I had not one, but two, babies that weighed 10 pounds. I can't fight the genetics, and, as my PCP said to me at the time he handed me the happy news, "Listen, it would have been more of a shock if you DIDN'T develop it." If you don't have a family history of diabetes, if you had kids and never developed gestational diabetes, if you had kids and they weighed less than 10 lbs at birth, I would venture that your Type II is the result of obesity, your chances are pretty good that it will disappear altogether. Best of luck!
   — Cheryl Denomy




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