A 22-year-old woman who shed nearly 100 pounds has been able to reverse her type 2 diabetes following gastric band surgery.
Haley Duffy, from Victoria, Australia was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes as a teenager in 2010 having struggled all her life to keep her weight under control.
As a child, diet and exercise failed to keep her at a normal weight and she was regularly in hospital, with her weight gain largely attributed to genetics. Even the help of a personal trainer didn’t help Ms Duffy lose any weight, and instead she kept putting weight on.
Ms Duffy also had polycystic ovaries in addition to her weight gain, and prior to her type 2 diabetes diagnosis she had to undergo emergency surgery to have one of her ovaries removed.
When she was 16, she underwent gastric band surgery, and five years later she has lost a staggering 95 kilos.
“When I was big I wouldn’t even try to ru, it was just a struggle to get in the shower basically,” Ms Duffy told Daily Mail Australia. “I’m pretty confident now. I can actually run. I have so much more energy.”
Because of the band’s restrictive nature, Ms Duffy can only eat small portions in each sitting, and she regularly goes to the gym and takes daily walks to remain in shape.
Her diabetes has gone, and she has found some confidence. While she understands the scale of her progress, she still wants to undergo further surgery have her excess skin removed.
“I’m so proud of my hard work and my accomplishments but sometimes it still feels like the weight is still there,” she said.
This really is a remarkable achievement, though, and a testament not only to the treatments available for type 2 diabetes, but also to Ms Duffy, who has managed to keep the weight off by living a healthy lifestyle.
If you have type 2 diabetes, be sure to check out the Low Carb Program, an online education program that can help to reduce blood glucose levels, enable weight loss and even reduce dependency on medication.

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