In this episode Corinna Cornejo and Emily Coles discuss gastric bypass surgery, also known as bariatric surgery. What does this treatment for morbid obesity entail? And how did one person make the decision to undertake bariatric surgery?

Type 2 diabetes accounts for approximately 95% of all cases of diabetes, with obesity being the primary cause. Current approaches to managing type 2 diabetes include lifestyle intervention (weight loss, food choices, exercise) and medications. Registered Nurse Heidi C. Hartmann-Rothe will highlight how bariatric surgery can be a powerful tool for weight loss for appropriate candidates. Gastric bypass surgery may improve type 2 diabetes, and may enable some people with type 2 diabetes to go off certain medications. Heidi will share her own journey with type 2 diabetes and life after bariatric surgery.

Heidi C. Hartmann-Rothe has been a Registered Nurse for more than 15 years, is a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach, and is currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Diabetes Education and Management at Teachers College Columbia University. She volunteers for Health and Hospitals Corporation in the Diabetes TeleHealth Program and is working toward becoming a Certified Diabetes Educator. Heidi also volunteers at Columbia-Harlem Homeless Medical Partnership, a free medical clinic run by medical students for the uninsured/underinsured/homeless in Harlem, where she is providing diabetes education and building a Diabetes Education Program. Heidi lives in midtown Manhattan, New York, with her husband and two very spoiled cats.

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