If you have been diagnosed with type II diabetes, you probably have been told by your doctor that in order to keep your diabetes in control you must make major lifestyle changes. Those changes include regular aerobic exercise, modifications to your diet, proper sleep, regular medication and most importantly losing weight. However, many people have difficulty following these lifestyle changes and up until recently these were they were the only options to get your type II diabetes under control.

But recently, a new body of research has shown that bariatric surgery, because it promotes dramatic weight loss, has been effective at controlling type II diabetes and even eliminating it in some people. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine in August 2007 showed that people who had undergone bariatric surgery had an increased survival benefit as opposed to those who did not opt for surgery. Unfortunately, many insurance companies still do not cover the complete cost of bariatric surgery for obesity.

Here is a brief summary of the study that was published in JAMA in 2007:

1. The study was the first randomized controlled trial in medical literature that demonstrated that bariatric surgery was a viable treatment for early diagnosed type II diabetes.

2. People who had surgery rate of 73% compared to 13% for medical management. These results suggest that bariatric surgery should be considered a treatment option for patients with type II diabetes.

3. For people with a BMI of less than 35 surgery is also appropriate if you have diabetes.

4. Given the positive results of this study it is now appropriate for the government to spend additional money on well-designed clinical trials in order to address other areas related to bariatric surgery and type II diabetes. These other areas include durability of remission, effect of surgery on more advanced diabetes, impact of the surgery on secondary complications of type II diabetes such as blindness, rental failure and heart disease.

5. The positive results of this study raise many ethical and legal arguments against insurance companies who refuse to provide coverage for the surgical treatment of type II diabetes.

6. Although bariatric surgery has been shown by this study to be an effective treatment for type II diabetes, he single best treatment still is prevention.

So, if you are overweight and have had trouble controlling your diabetes in the past you might want to talk to your doctor about having bariatric surgery. If you have health insurance, find out what your benefits are. As of late, more insurance companies who offer large business plans have seen this research and are now starting to cover bariatric surgery for the treatment of type II diabetes and obesity.

If your insurance company denies you coverage for bariatric surgery get a copy of your benefits manual. Inside the manual, under exclusions, there must be specific language such as “any surgery to treat morbid obesity” in order for the insurance company to deny you. Otherwise, you may have your doctor prepare medical information about you that challenges the insurance companies decision.

Even if you are denied by your insurance company and don’t have the money to pay for surgery all at once other options exist. If you simply Google with the keyword term “bariatric financing” you will find some other payment alternatives so that you can have this promising surgery for the treatment of your type II diabetes.

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