Is Type 2 Diabetes Cured By Weight Loss Surgery?

Mar 15, 2023

If you live with type 2 diabetes, weight loss surgery can be quite effective in improving the symptoms. Also known as bariatric surgery, you can notice a significant reduction in weight as well as symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Since the procedure will bypass or reduce the size of the stomach, you will feel full sooner. In this post, we will discuss everything you should know about type 2 diabetes and bariatric sleeve surgery.

How Weight Loss Surgery Helps Type 2 Diabetes

Many people assume that weight loss surgery is just a surgical technique for weight loss. In truth, though, bariatric surgery can help with medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

If you have diabetes, it means that an insufficient amount of insulin is being produced in your body or not at all. As a result, the glucose stays in your blood which leads to high blood sugar levels. This can lead to multiple health complications. Obesity is among the risk factors for diabetes and can lead to further complications. With bariatric surgery, the way your digestive system works changes. Moreover, it significantly drops the glucose levels in the blood. Hence, most people have their diabetes medications stopped soon after the procedure.

Some ways weight loss surgery shows benefits for people with type 2 diabetes include:

  • Reduces the food cravings, and you feel full soon due to the reduced stomach size.
  • Causes alterations in the function of the hormones in your gut, affecting how your body makes insulin.
  • Leads to an increase in the bile acids your body produces, which increases insulin sensitivity in your body.
  • Improves how your body uses insulin and results in low blood sugar levels.

Gastric Bypass vs. Sleeve Gastrectomy: Which Bariatric Surgery Is Best For Type 2 Diabetes?

You can come across more than one type of weight loss surgery. Here is how each bariatric surgery works for diabetes type 2:

  • Gastric Bypass: This procedure involves dividing the top of the stomach from the rest of the area. Hence, when you eat, the food passes into the small pouch and bypasses the top area of the small intestine. Gastric bypass will make you feel full faster, helping you absorb fewer calories.

    After gastric bypass, around 80% of people show no signs of diabetes. Furthermore, people lose 60% to 80% of their additional surgery. However, the surgery is not reversible and often leads to dumping syndrome.

  • Gastric Sleeve: Also known as sleeve gastrectomy, gastric sleeve surgery involves removing a considerable part of your stomach. This leaves less room for food, and you feel full faster. That’s not all — the operation also lowers ghrelin, the hormone that makes you feel hungry.

    After gastric sleeve, about 60% of people do not show any signs of diabetes and lose 50% of their extra weight. Since you cannot absorb as many vitamins and minerals, it can lead to some health issues, but the procedure is reversible.

Conclusion

In short, weight loss surgery can be effective in preventing and improving the symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Nova Bariatrics can help you determine which surgery is the best for you. Visit us now at 1081 Kinwest Pkwy #110, Irving, TX, 75063. You can also call us at (469) 639-0953.

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