Help Your Type 2 Diabetes Through Weight Loss Surgery

As the obesity rate rises in America, so does the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes. And the No. 1 risk factor for developing Type 2 diabetes is obesity. Doctors even estimate that the primary cause of 9 out of 10 Type 2 diabetes cases is extra weight.

Left untreated, diabetes can cause significant disabling side effects, ranging from blindness to limb amputation to early cognitive decline. The good news is that if obesity has caused your diabetes, bariatric surgery can help you lose the weight and dramatically reduce your symptoms — or even eliminate them altogether.

The team of doctors at West Houston Surgical Associates regularly reduces or reverses patients’ Type 2 diabetes with weight loss surgery. Several types of bariatric surgery can help you with your diabetes.

Bariatric surgery dramatically affects Type 2 diabetes

If you’re diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, you can manage the condition through conservative measures, such as improving your diet, exercising more, and taking medication. If you need more help to lose the weight, bariatric surgery is a very effective option.

Research shows that more than 60% of diabetics no longer had any symptoms of the condition several years following bariatric surgery. In patients who only took medication to control their Type 2 diabetes, fewer than 10% had no symptoms over the same period. Weight loss surgery offers you the best chance of eliminating your diabetes.

Bariatric surgery supports substantial weight loss

Losing weight is one of the best ways to reduce diabetes symptoms. If you’re obese, bariatric surgery is a safe, medically supervised way to lose a significant amount of weight.

Depending on the procedure you choose, the surgery either reduces the size of your stomach or causes food to bypass your stomach during digestion. Combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, bariatric surgery promotes successful weight loss, even if you’ve previously struggled to lose weight.

Bariatric surgery causes positive hormonal changes

Along with promoting weight loss, bariatric surgery helps your body with hormonal changes that positively affect your diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is caused by your body’s inability to maintain proper levels of glucose. When you undergo weight loss surgery, the way your body digests and metabolizes food changes, so your stomach hormones change.

These hormonal changes often reduce or your blood sugar levels quickly after surgery, even resetting how your body processes glucose. This helps your body recover from diabetes more quickly than it would from medication and lifestyle changes alone.

Bariatric surgery promotes overall health

Diabetics who’ve had weight loss surgery also see more more long-term general health benefits than those who haven’t undergone surgery. These include lower cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and triglycerides. Reducing all three of these levels puts you on the path to reducing or eliminating Type 2 diabetes symptoms.

If you have Type 2 Diabetes and your body mass index (BMI) is 30 or higher, you might be a good candidate for bariatric surgery. Our doctors perform several different weight loss surgeries — including gastric bypass, gastric sleeve surgery, Lap-Band® surgery, and Orbera® Intragastric Balloon surgery — depending on your needs.

Avoid the debilitating side effects of Type 2 diabetes by exploring your options for weight loss surgery performed by our skilled team of doctors. To get started, schedule an appointment at West Houston Surgical Associates by calling our office or using the online request form.