November is National Diabetes Month

Being overweight or obese greatly increases an individual’s chances for developing Type II diabetes. But treating the patient’s weight issue very often resolves the problem. Because of the quick results it produces, bariatric surgery has now become a first line defense in the fight against Type II diabetes, helping patients gain control of their insulin levels within just a few months.

Obesity and Diabetes

So how can weight-loss surgery help? The key is in how obesity causes insulin resistance in the body, which begins with cellular membranes called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).

This network of cellular membranes processes fats and proteins. Whenever you overeat, this system can be overwhelmed as you introduce a surplus of nutrients into your body. Rather than process it all, the ER sends out a signal to the body to reduce their reception of insulin (the hormone which converts blood sugar into energy). If this happens long enough, it can lead to chronic insulin resistance, meaning your body is no longer able to regulate blood sugar on its own, causing type II diabetes.

Treatment

Type II diabetes is treated with diet, medication, exercise, and insulin. When medically supervised diet and exercise don’t work, some turn to bariatric surgery to lose a large amount of weight in a relatively short period of time. As body weight is reduced, the body produces less insulin. Over time, this can help reduce insulin resistance, allowing the body to regulate blood sugar on its own once again.

Weight Loss Surgery

Most bariatric procedures rearrange and reconstruct the gastrointestinal tract. This helps reduce the amount of food you need to eat before you feel full while also controlling how your body digests what you do consume. Gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy surgeries have been shown to be the most effective operations when it comes to controlling diabetes, with many test subjects no longer requiring medications within a few years of the operation.

If you are struggling with type II diabetes, visit our website, drmalladi.com, to determine if you are a candidate for bariatric surgery. For more information, contact us today to schedule an appointment with Dr. Malladi.