HARTFORD - Curing disease, and helping people lose weight...all at the same time? Gastric Bypass surgery does more than help you shed pounds. It can transform your health. Take Annmarie Heim. She just turned 40, but looks like one of the kids when she plays with her two young children. "I'm very involved doing things and not sitting on the sidelines anymore. It's awesome," Annmarie says. Her size left her on the sidelines in the past. Annmarie used to weigh more than 400 pounds! "I've always told people, I was the most invisible morbidly obese person in the world," she explains. Even worse...she had severe diabetes. "I'd wake up in the morning, couldn't feel my feet, my legs. I thought my toes were gonna pop off, because there was so much pressure from the diabetes," Annmarie recalls. Annmarie says the final blow came when her doctor gave her a warning: "He said, 'Annmarie, you're spinning out of control. If you don't do anything, with what you're doing, you're gonna die at age 40,'" Annmarie said. That's when Annmarie decided to take control. Four years ago, she had gastric bypass surgery at the Bariatric Institute of Wisconsin in Waukesha. Not only has she lost 160 pounds... She says, "The day I had my surgery I was off all my diabetic medicine, and I've never taken it since." Annmarie admits she was shocked by this extra bonus. "I did it to lose weight, and I would deal with the diabetes when it came," Annmarie says. Dr. Manfred Chiang was Annmarie's surgeon. "Annmarie is a wonderful lady. She came to us very motivated," Dr. Chiang said. He wasn't surprised by the disappearance of her diabetes. "By reducing the weight, interestingly enough, a lot of those things reverse themselves," Dr. Chiang explains. But he warns it's not a cure-all: "I don't know that you can say anything is a cure for diabetes. However, I think you can say that you resolve the clinical manifestations of the diabetes," Dr. Chiang said. Now that Annmarie's better...she has a new lease on life. "I hope to be here a long time for my kids. I love my children like you wouldn't believe," Annmarie exclaims. Annmarie also had very high blood pressure, which is now gone. She maintains her health by exercising, and eating small, healthy meals throughout the day. Studies show that Bariatric surgery reduces the symptoms of diabetes in almost 80% of patients. It also helps bring down high blood pressure, and can help with Sleep Apnea. You can find out more about Diabetes and Bariatric Surgery at Bariatric Institute of Wisconsin and Bariatric Edge.