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Think Twice Before Surgery for Weight Loss
Think Twice Before Surgery for Weight Loss
Mar 20, 2012
It seems that every week we receive requests for information and products that will aid in weight loss. According to the latest US statistics the largest percentage of the population is overweight. Of course, medical technology has come to our rescue with surgery to that will accomplish the weight loss that we need and yearn for. However, the information in this newsletter is information you most likely will not find on the literature that pushes the surgery route. I must warn you this is an unusually long newsletter. But the information is worth it.
One Out of 50 People Die After Gastric Bypass!
People undergoing weight loss surgery typically do so because they believe it will save their life … but according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, you have a one in 50 chance of dying within 30 days of gastric bypass surgery.ii And if your surgeon isn't experienced, your risk is even higher. Within the surgeon's first 19 procedures, the odds of death within 30 days were 4.7 times higher!
Please understand that you could end up making the ultimate sacrifice, losing your life, if you opt for weight loss surgery, which is especially tragic because there are safe ways to lose weight that can help virtually everyone.
This is true not only of gastric bypass, but also of gastric banding. Since 2009, five people have died after Lap-Band surgery from one group of weight loss clinics in California alone. Serious complications are also more the norm than the exception. According to LapBand.com:
"Placement of the LAP-BAND® System is major surgery and, as with any surgery, death can occur. Possible complications include the risks associated with the medications and methods used during surgery, the risks associated with any surgical procedure, and the patient's ability to tolerate a foreign object implanted in the body."
You Still Have to Make Lifestyle Changes if You Receive Weight Loss Surgery
This is a point many fail to realize! The surgery alone will not magically cure obesity,
"The results may seem magical. But the work necessary for you to achieve success is real. While the LAP-BAND® System is a powerful tool for success, you must also be ready to make lifestyle changes that support long-term weight loss. These include:
•Sticking to dietary requirements.
•Adding exercise to your routine …"
In the case of gastric bypass, the dietary requirements are extreme. Gastric bypass involves stapling your stomach into a pouch that's only a half-ounce in size, so it literally cannot hold much. The idea is that you'll feel full faster, since your stomach will be unnaturally tiny, but it also means you'll often be eating meals that are sorely lacking in nutritional requirements.
A small opening is also created to allow food to empty slowly from the pouch. Because the opening is so small (made this way deliberately to keep the small amount of food you've eaten in your stomach longer, making you feel "full"), food must be chewed very thoroughly or it won't be able to fit through the opening, leading to vomiting.
You'll also be instructed to eat the protein portion of your meal first, because you very well may get too full to fit in a vegetable or anything else. Even liquids must be restricted for up to 45 minutes before and after a meal, lest they take up what little space you have to consume actual food. As you might suspect, because bariatric surgery patients can consume very little roughage, constipation is often a problem. It is even described as "normal" to have a bowel movement only once every two or three days!
Hair loss and muscle loss are also common after the surgery -- both signs that your body is not receiving proper nutrition.
If this, plus constipation and vomiting are not enough to make you think twice, you should also know that certain foods, including tomato sauces, mayonnaise, fruit juice, dressings and others, will lead to "dumping syndrome," aka cramps, nausea and diarrhea. Snacking is also expressly forbidden after gastric bypass, as you're only allowed three small meals a day, and you may have to write off certain foods (like red meats, spicy foods, and fibrous vegetables) entirely because your body just can't digest them anymore.
This is simply NOT a healthy way of eating, and the long-term implications from malnutrition are just as severe as the short-term risks. For instance, people who receive bariatric surgery more than double their risk of fractures, and are about three times more likely to break a hand or foot than normal.v
Lifestyle Changes -- Not Surgery -- are the Key to Healthy Weight Loss
I hope you find these Newsletters helpful and informative and if you are considering surgery I hope that you now realize the risk that you are facing. Additionally, you must still change your life style. My wife and I are middle age now and we are fighting the middle age spread.ourselves. this has required some rather drastic changes to our meals and our daily routine as far as exercise goes. The one underlying law that determines weights loss is "you must use (burn) more calories than you take in". Any pill or procedure surgery that does not adhere to that rule is bound to fail in the long term. I wish you the best in health and happiness.
James
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