“Can type 2 diabetes be reversed?”
I am a 37 year old male who has gained a lot of weight and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes earlier this year. Can type 2 diabetes be reversed?
3 Answers
It depends on the case. A patient should be evaluated to determine if it's possible to be off meds.
Yes, if the patient is obese,BMI >30 and treated with bariatric surgery (weight reduction )like sleeve gasterectomy, or Rou-en Y which is gastrectomy with anastomosis of the duodenum to the rest of the bowel.
New drugs like GLP1 agonists (Trulicity,osempic,victoza etc) can help improve the function of Beta cells that secrete insulin, but will not cure diabetes.
Also if the patient has diabetes type 2 due to use of steroids, or Cushing`s syndrome will be reversed if the steroids are stopped otr if adrenal tumor secreting cortisone or Pituitary tumor secreting ACTH that stimulates cortisol secretion is successfully removed.
New drugs like GLP1 agonists (Trulicity,osempic,victoza etc) can help improve the function of Beta cells that secrete insulin, but will not cure diabetes.
Also if the patient has diabetes type 2 due to use of steroids, or Cushing`s syndrome will be reversed if the steroids are stopped otr if adrenal tumor secreting cortisone or Pituitary tumor secreting ACTH that stimulates cortisol secretion is successfully removed.
The answer is Yes & NO. Diabetes is 1st of all an inherited disease. We can't change our genetics so in that sense it never can be cured. But there is also an environmental component such as obesity. Losing weight will make the diabetes easier to control & in many instances blood sugar will return to normal. This looks like diabetes has been reversed. But the genetic component is still there and if you gain the wt. back "here comes the diabetes back" often worse than it was the first time. You can't change the genetics but you can control the environmental factors so get to it.
