Surgery May Help Diabetics Reduce or Eliminate Their Need for Medications

Diabetes is a fairly common disease that millions of people in the United States are living with each and every day. While diabetes is manageable, the cost of medications to do so can often become difficult to afford. However, results from researchers at Johns Hopkins University may be very promising to certain people suffering from diabetes.

Researchers observed 2,235 adults living with Type 2 diabetes, which is generally associated with being overweight, who received stomach-reducing surgery. What these researchers discovered was that after only 6 months, almost 75% of those who received surgery were no longer taking their diabetic medications. Furthermore, 2 years following the surgery, 84.5% of those who received surgery were now free of their diabetes medication or in many cases, multiple medications.

Not only were many of these patients able to experience a significant decline in their weight after the surgery, they were also able to experience a significant decline in their healthcare costs. With the price of medications in the United States being as high as they are, reducing or eliminating the dependence of medications can make such a difference in a person’s life.

However, researchers made another interesting discovery while observing these patients. While they found that stomach-reducing surgery allowed patients to stop taking their diabetic medications, they found that this became possible even before patients began to experience weight loss from the surgery. This could support theories that suggest that surgery actually alters the stomach hormones, allowing them to control blood glucose levels more effectively.

While there are certain risks associated with this surgery, for diabetics, the benefits may heavily outweigh the risks. In the end, a person should discuss the options with their doctor, and family, then weigh their options and decide what will be best for themselves.