I love telling people about this. I have talked to groups and done In-service presentations for medical professionals too. I know this is OT here but you asked! We try to pay it forward by telling others this alternative exists. I have thick skin and I know people don't believe us because after all, if this was true, wouldn't their DOCTOR be giving out this information? So, I understand and encourage skepticism.
I used to be research scientist. One of the things I worked on was intestinal hormones. There are scads of them that haven't even been studied yet. It is an intestinal hormone or combination of intestinal hormones that causes DM2. Stimulation and overproduction of these hormones is caused by food passing through the small intestine. There is a strong link to hypercholesterolemia too. A classic DM2 patient has lots of insulin but he/she can't use it because their cells lack the ability to pick up the insulin that's available. So they end up with high blood sugar and high insulin levels.
When my H was diagnosed, we knew he would not be a good diabetic. His family history was dismal. He asked me to do some research and look for better alternatives. So, I did. I read papers and talked to docs all over the world. That's how we found Dr. Aniceto Baltasar in Alcoy, Spain. He is one of the pioneers of the DS for Diabetes. He has probably done more procedures than anyone else specifically for resolution of Diabetes.
The first modern DS surgery was done in 1988 by Hess. The patient is now in his 70's and still doing well. The DS was performed as a treatment for morbid obesity. As time went on, it was remarkable that exactly 98.6% of the patients who had DM2 lost their Diabetes. Most of the time, it was immediately post-op. There was no weight loss to explain it. When the DS is done on a MO patient, it includes Gastric Restriction. Most of the stomach is removed. In the DS for Diabetes for a normal weight individual, GR is not part of the surgery. Most of the small bowel is bypassed leaving about 50cm or so fully functioning. No small bowel is actually removed so the surgery is completely reversible. The typical patient usually loses 10 to 15kg post-op and then will regain most of that over the next several years. The DS results in significant malabsorbtion and the patient has to eat a high protein diet and take supplements(vitamins and minerals) for life. It's also necessary to have blood work done once a year. DS, BTW, stands for Duodenal Switch.
It can be correctly argued that the DS for Diabetes is like removing a splinter with a jackhammer! It is overkill. If we knew specifically where in the small bowel these hormones are produced, it would be easy to excise a few inches or better yet, develop a medication to block hormone production. But we don't know exactly where the hormones are produced, hence the bypass. Those would be better alternatives but the DS is available today.
When I told my H about this, he didn't even hesitate. Even though he'd never had surgery before. I think he was seeing his future as blind and in a wheelchair. A couple months later, we were on our way to Spain. His surgery was done laparascopically and he recovered very quickly.
Here are some names you can look up: DS Institute, Hess, Scopinaro, Baltasar, Buchwald(JAMA paper10/2005?), Noyes, Gagner, and Rabkin. That's enough to get you started.
Are you bored yet? I wasn't. I felt like I had tripped over a gold mine!
