Off insulin? some patients will come off it within hours if not days of surgery. studies in the new england journal of medicine suggest the weight loss surgery which works by reducing the size of the stomach and intestines is even more effective than medication. obese diabetics who had the surgery had normal blood sugar. even two years later. the group who didn t have surgery all still diabetic. amazingly, the change happens before the pounds come off. doctors are still studying why. they think it may have to do with hormonal changes in the intestines. diabetes controlled my life. i was so worried that i was going to die. reporter: katie had the surgery three years ago. she considers her diabetes cured. give me three words to describe katie now. healthy. healthy, healthy, healthy. healthy, and it was the operating room that made her that way. these two studies were small and short-term. and this is big surgery with side effects. before recommending this more broadly,
welcome back. new research offering hope to the many folks, millions of those suffering with diabetes. huge medical story here. two new studies show surgery can reverse and even possibly cure the disease. abc s dr. richard besser reports on this big advance. reporter: just 72 hours after weight loss surgery, randy cardy hasn t lost a pound. but his diabetes is gone. your days of medication for diabetes are over for the rest of your life. outstanding. reporter: he and his wife will no longer worry about the possible consequences of long-term type 2 diabetes, blindness, amputation, kidney failure. that s why the two studies are so exciting. this surgery may reverse this condition almost instantly. how quickly might they come
we are shopping for clothes because everything i have is way too big. reporter: the successful denver stockbroker once had to order these size 38 pants online. i can fit in one leg of the pants. reporter: three years ago this is what she looked like. she weighed, well. she has a confession to make. i used to say i weighed over 525 pounds. it was difficult to say i weighed close to 600 pounds. reporter: when she deep sided decided to take back her life shannon never turned back. she s a big warrior reporter: signing up for breast cancer walks in honor of her mother a breast cancer survivor. nice and smooth. reporter: for the last year. i got this. reporter: religiously working out every day, three days a week with personal trainer matt ellison. she got inspired to get into the gym and now become inspiring. reporter: you didn t use drugs. didn t have surgery. didn t do a weight loss plan or diet? no.