In 2012, the National Institutes of Health stated that about 29.1 million Americans—nearly 10 percent of the population—are living with diabetes. And the news probably hasn’t gotten better in the years since that report. Among the long list of problems frequently linked to obesity is type II diabetes. In fact, obesity is thought to account for 80 to 85 percent of the risk of developing type II diabetes. That’s the bad news. The good news is that gastric sleeve surgery can be a game-changer.

Fact #1: You Can’t Do This on Your Own

I’m guessing you’ve heard it before: To lose weight, you need to eat less and move more. Easier said than done, right? By the time they come to Endobariatric, our patients have tried almost every avenue for weight loss, with no lasting success. I’m here to tell you that it isn’t your fault. The traditional recipe for shedding pounds simply doesn’t work for the vast majority of obese individuals. It’s not laziness; it’s metabolic truth. Often, the only way overweight diabetics can make progress in their condition is with help from bariatric surgery.

Fact #2: Diabetes May be Worse than You Think

I don’t want to scare you or harp on troubling statistics. But I do want you to know what gastric sleeve surgery can help you alleviate or prevent. According to Obesity Society, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, end-stage kidney diseases, and lower extremity amputations (that aren’t the result of trauma) in working-age adults. People with diabetes are also two to four times more likely to experience strokes. Unfortunately, diabetes and its complications are a leading cause of death in the U.S.

Because almost 90 percent of people living with type II diabetes are overweight or obese, surgery like gastric sleeve is a successful, well-established way to create long-term weight loss in diabetic patients. It can improve or resolve type II diabetes, as well as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and many more conditions. The result is a longer life and a better quality of life.

Fact #3: Gastric Sleeve Can Lower Heart Attack Risk

Did you know that diabetics are more likely than non-diabetics to experience a cardiac event? And people who use insulin are especially vulnerable. In fact, a study in Obesity Research and Clinical Practice reported that overweight or obese adults with type II diabetes who use insulin are at “increased risk for a major adverse cardiovascular event and all-cause mortality compared with their normal-weight peers.” Essentially, heart problems and death are very real dangers for obese type II diabetics. So when you lose weight with gastric sleeve, you’re lowering your risk for heart issues, too.

Fact #4: Gastric Sleeve WILL Improve Your Diabetes

How do we know this? Because bariatric surgery like gastric sleeve has been proven to help pretty much every type II diabetic. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery declares that nearly all individuals who undergo bariatric surgery show improvement in their diabetic state. That means you. And probably everyone else you know who’s overweight and has type II diabetes. Studies show that bariatric surgery helps nearly 90 percent of patients by
lowering blood sugar, reducing the dosage and type of medication required, and improving diabetes-related health problems.

Of course, the main way sleeve gastrectomy achieves this miracle-like effect is by prompting weight loss in patients. But it also works in other ways—like causing changes in hormones that often lead to improvement in diabetes. The reality is that diabetes remission rates after sleeve gastrectomy top 60 percent, which means there’s a better-than-average chance that your blood sugar levels will be normal and you won’t need diabetes medications.

By reducing your body weight, you can improve or even resolve your type II diabetes. Gastric sleeve surgery can help by giving you the edge you need to finally get to a healthy weight. Our team at Endobariatric would love to talk with you about how gastric sleeve can make a significant difference in your health.

I invite you to follow us on all our social networks, we are on Facebook (Endobariatric), Instagram (@endobariatric), we also have our YouTube channel where where I (Dr. Alvarez) answer frequently asked questions that are sent to me, subscribe to it! we talk about very interesting subjects, find us searching for Endobariatric.

If you want a more personalized experience and you have Instagram and Tik Tok, follow me (Dr. Alvarez) to see my day both in my daily routine and in the operating room, add me! We will have a great time! My username in both is: gmoalvarez.

“Changing lives…one sleeve at a time”.