Type 2 Diabetes: Your New Normal?

Here at Dr. Feiz & Associates, we have been keeping a close watch on the frequent waves of research showing a positive correlation between successful weight loss surgeries and the improvement, and in some cases complete remission, of type 2 diabetes. This is important because, as obesity rates continue to increase nationally, more and more people are dealing with this illness.

Now, doctors typically treat diabetes as a chronic condition which can be managed with reasonable success, and patients often take the news in stride. However, the costs of not managing diabetes properly can be extremely severe, and not all patients are able to handle it with equal success; as weight increases, so do diabetes-related problems. Indeed, even many patients are not fully aware of all the ramifications of this illness.

Particularly in combination with hypertension, another extremely common comorbidity, diabetes can be highly destructive to the health of a great many key organs, including the kidneys and the heart. This can result not only in a reduced lifespan, but a vastly lower quality of life in ways that patients don't often contemplate. For example, while many of us might worry about dying prematurely because of a heart attack, few of us take into account just how difficult it can be to have to go on dialysis due to kidneys that have failed because of diabetes and high blood pressure, or that diabetes can lead to the loss of limbs in a number of cases.

Of course, the good news is that bariatric surgery can make weight loss a great deal easier and, as has been proven through an ever-increasing number of studies, it really can make all the difference when it comes to either reducing blood sugar-related problems, or even eliminating diabetes entirely. For severely obese people, reaching a healthy weight can seem like an almost possible dream and, while bariatric procedures are far from magical, they make significant weight loss seem a lot more possible.

To find out whether a procedure such as a gastric sleeve or a Lap Band might be a key part of your the solution to your health issues, please feel free to give us a call.