Is There a Surgical Cure for Diabetes?

A controversial doctor says yes; his critics say 'bull----.'

By Mary Carmichael | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Aug 25, 2008 | Updated: 2:43  p.m. ET Aug 25, 2008

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  • Posted By: weathered @ 12/20/2008 3:00:13 PM

    Gastric bypass may cure your diabetes, but you're signing yourself up for a laundry list of other health problems. Find another alternative.

  • Posted By: CluelessAmericans @ 11/27/2008 12:57:49 AM

    This article actually CLEARLY refers to Type 2 diabetes (the preventable kind related to obesity and poor diet). Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease (an immune system disease). There is no information here that will help Type 1 diabetes. You'd have to completely reset a person's immune system and regrow a new pancreas. That is not what this article describes. Type 1 diabetes has nothing to do with the "diabetes" you read about in the media or the form your grandma has. As for the 20% of thin "Type 2 diabetics", there is good reason to think that 15% of those people really have late/slow onset misdiagnosed TYPE 1 diabetes, and/or MODY a rare form of genetic diabetes.

  • Posted By: eire154 @ 08/26/2008 8:55:06 AM

    This title is misleading. As a type I diabetic I was hoping to see news that would help me, but at last it is only news that can help some type II diabetics. I really wish that reporters and editors would be more discrimating when using the word diabetes. Diabetes is such a broad word for a disease that has several different types and different causes.

    • Posted By: lwb5005 @ 08/26/2008 12:42:18 PM

      The title is not misleading. The doctor believes that there is a surgical cure for both types of diabetes, not just Type II. He believes the problem lies in enzymes located in the intestine. If the intestine is removed, the diabetes is cured. It has nothing to do with fat.

      • Posted By: dloglisci @ 09/10/2008 9:58:29 AM

        I believe the title IS misleading because there's a huge difference between Type I andType II and, unfortunately, I don't think this potential cure applies to Type I diabetes. In any event, Puppyluv should explain to his/her relatives that, regardless of whether this doctor is correct about the cause of Type II diabetes, it is firmly established that Type I diabetes has nothing to do with being overweight and is not caused by anything a person does or fails to do. It's an autoimmune disease that attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas so that no insulin is produced. In fact, my daughter was diagnosed with Type I when she was 7 years old and she has never been even remotely overweight (not an ounce of fat anywhere, including in the belly). Puppyluv should either set her inorant relatives straight or stop caring about what they think or say. It's hard enough to deal with diabetes without having to deal with rude, insensitive and ignorant people.

  • Posted By: pulguita @ 09/06/2008 7:36:08 PM

    THIIS'S A FANTASTIC I HAVE STAYWELL INSURANCE I KNOW MIS PROBLEM'S GONE DO YOU THINK THIS KIND INSURANCE CAN AFFORD?


  • Posted By: pulguita @ 09/06/2008 7:32:02 PM

    I ACCEPT THAT DOCTOR SAID ITS FANTASTIC,MY NAME ITS JULIA MUHLIG,IHAVE STAYWELL INSURANCE ,IW LIKE TO HAVE THIS OPERACION BUT DO YOU THINK THIS INSURANCE APROVED?

  • Posted By: yourmomgoestocollege @ 09/06/2008 12:40:13 PM

    Notice the discrepancy here. We're talking SPECIFICALLY about fat in your belly, which is internal (what I imagine they refer to as visceral fat) but then the explanation for the "other" 20% is their WEIGHT - NOT what that weight CONSISTS of, and even if it IS a low body fat % WHERE IS IT? MAYBE it's in the belly?? Are they testing for visceral fat, specifically in the other 20%? Or are they just writing it off because they "look like" they're not overweight, "they're active, they eat properly"? Maybe there's a genetic predisposition to store fat in the belly? SLOPPY. If anyone actually THOUGHT about what they're reporting on they might also ask the question, "Where's the fat?" IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.

    quote:
    ---------
    '"The fat in your belly is very insulin-resistant," says George Fielding ... That explanation, however, doesn't work for everyone, because it fails to account for the 20 percent of type 2 diabetes patients who aren't overweight. "They're very active, and they eat properly ...'

  • Posted By: Puppyluv @ 08/26/2008 9:42:40 AM

    As a type 1 diabetic I was very disgusted to read this article. I was thin when I was diagnosed, so my diabetes had nothing to do with fat. Now all my illeterate relatives will be calling me and telling me all kinds of crazy stuff if they read this article.

    • Posted By: lwb5005 @ 08/26/2008 12:37:16 PM

      "My diabetes had nothing to do with fat." Puppyluv, that is exactly the point of the article. It says that this doctor believes that diabetes is not caused by fat. If your illiterate (correct spelling) relatives read the article correctly, they won't hassle you.

  • Posted By: eire154 @ 08/26/2008 8:54:53 AM

    This title is misleading. As a type I diabetic I was hoping to see news that would help me, but at last it is only news that can help some type II diabetics. I really wish that reporters and editors would be more discrimating when using the word diabetes. Diabetes is such a broad word for a disease that has several different types and different causes.

  • Posted By: seti2008 @ 08/25/2008 7:32:10 PM

    However, fat does not account for diabetes who are not overweight. Perhaps diabetes has more than one cause. Some medications, such as Zyprexa, can cause it.

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