More on Bariatric Surgery

From this online article:

Weight-Loss Surgery: Is It Right for You?
Posted by Cheryl Koch, R.D.
on Tue, Sep 13, 2005, 1:41 pm PDT Post a Comment
Do you feel like you have tried every diet and gimmick to lose weight and nothing has worked? Have friends, co-workers, and relatives reported success after weight-loss surgery? There may be some merit to their reports. The scientific literature shows that surgery can help severely obese people meet their long-term weight goals and improve their overall health.

You may have heard the term bariatric surgery, which refers to all types of weight-loss surgeries. Gastric bypass surgery, a procedure in which the stomach is made smaller to limit food intake and limit the absorption of some nutrients, is the most common type of weight loss surgery performed today. Studies have shown the following improved health outcomes after gastric bypass surgery:

Diabetes has completely resolved in 77 percent of patients and resolved or improved in 86 percent of patients who had the surgery.
High blood pressure was resolved in 62 percent of patients and resolved or improved in 79 percent of patients.
Abnormalities in lipids were improved in 70 percent or more of patients.
Obstructive sleep apnea was resolved in 86 percent of patients.

The improved health was one of the things that attracted me to checking into bariatric surgery. That and the first question asked--my answer was a resounding yes! As for the second, the answer was a worrisome 'no'. One good friend died after the surgery. I have heard a great many initial success stories but in the long run, it sounded like people were gaining a lot of the weight back!

I know I meet the requirements for having the surgery and I could call and make an appointment to start the process. I also know that just because I call and make an appointment doesn't mean I'd actually have the surgery. My doctor told me a good surgeon will make sure I go through a program and counseling to make sure I would be psychologically able to handle making the lifestyle changes.

The surgery changes the way your body absorbs vitamins and minerals, so you will need to take daily vitamin supplements. Also, the quantity of food you consume will be drastically less because the size of your stomach -- originally the size of a football -- will be reduced to the size of an egg.

I could deal with taking vitamins on a daily basis. I do that now. As for the quantity I eat, that's one of my issues. I have to relearn portion control.

You most likely will not be able to tolerate high-fat foods and carbonated drinks after surgery; if so, these foods may need to be eliminated from your diet.

No more diet soda? And as for the fat, I'm still learning to get the amount of fat I take in under control.

Many patients report diet-related problems such as lactose intolerance, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, and other symptoms, called "dumping," when food travels too fast down the small intestine.

I don't like the sound of any of that.

All patients considering bariatric surgery want to know how much weight they will lose. Weight loss varies from patient to patient, but the average loss is between 60 percent to 70 percent of excess weight.

Ah so it doesn't all come off? Still, losing 60-70% would get me out of that awful sounding "morbidly" obese range. I used the 60% figure and found that it's definitely a number I could live with until I can get the rest of it off.

Just like more traditional methods of weight control, many patients report regaining some of the weight lost. But unlike some diets in which patients regain all the weight they'd lost -- and sometimes more -- patients who have had bariatric surgery usually regain 5 percent to 10 percent of total weight lost and, overall, maintain a greater weight loss than those who lose weight through traditional dieting.

Yes...I think that's because it's really hard to give up on favorite foods forever. It can be done. I quit a 2-pack-a-day smoking habit and haven't had a single cigarette in almost 20 years. But it was too difficult for my first husband to give up cigarettes forever--and he had a heart condition! He would sneak a cigarette or two a day and I don't know how much that contributed to his premature death. I'm sure it didn't help.

My TB has diabetes and it's really hard for him to stay 100% on his healthy eating plan. He stays away from almost all of the bad stuff but every once in a while he'll have an ice cream or pretzels.

As for whether bariatric surgery is for me: not at this time. I think I have a long way to go in changing my eating behaviors before I can consider messing with my body to such a great extent that I'd have to deal with nausea, diarrhea, and "dumping".