Well no… Not Really… I am not actually cured (I still have susceptibility to Diabetes II), but at the moment my blood sugar is being controlled without the need for medication. Medically speaking, there is no cure for diabetes but it can go into “remission.” Diabetes in remission simply means the body does not show any signs of diabetes. However, the disease is technically still there.
I was diagnosed with Diabetes II in several years ago, and since then have been battling to control my blood sugar – initially with diet/exercise, but for the last couple of years I have required medication and Insulin injections.
The long term effects of Diabetes are NASTY…(increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and problems with the kidneys, eyes, feet and nerves)…. and controlling my Diabetes is one of the main reasons I decided to go ahead with Bariatric Surgery – the weight loss was a convenient side effect 🙂
I had actually lost about 10Kg in weight prior to surgery (primarily because I lost my sense of taste) and I had already significantly cut down on medications before I even had the surgery… Bariatric Surgery is also known to reduce the dependency on medication to control Blood Sugar – partly because of the associated weight loss, but also because it seems to change the way the gut behaves (changes typically occur even before weight loss could be considered a contributory factor)
I have not had ANY Diabetes medication since the evening of my surgery and my blood sugar has been a very stable 6ish… although I need to keep monitoring regularly because once I start on food again (even mush) I am anticipating that this may change.