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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