gastric bypass surgery-related stories
Gastric Bypass - Not So Fast
Jonny's Take, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
Not so fast.
Gastric bypass is the most popular weight loss surgery in America, but it is a double-edged sword with very sharp edges. While it can reduce some of the risks associated with obesity, it also presents a whole new set of health challenges and is hardly without side effects or complications, including blood clots, leaking, hernia and a fairly high rate of death (1 per 200-300 surgeries). It's not a decision that should be made lightly.
If at first you don't succeed ... get more surgery?
Gastric bypass surgery is generally regarded as a quick and effective (albeit somewhat dangerous) way for clinically obese people to slim down. But now that it's been available for a while, we're starting to see a new phenomenon: Patients gaining the weight back. So what do you do if gastric bypass doesn't work in the long run? Do you get to the root of the problem and address the real reason behind obesity? Nah -- just get more surgery.According to this article from the Washington Post, that's just what's happening -- after gastric bypass surgery fails, patients are getting a second surgery, called gastric lap-band surgery. Gastric band surgery is thought to be more progressive and effective than bypass surgery, but I can't help but wonder -- what next? What happens after the weight creeps up after two times under the knife? A third surgery? A fourth?
Myself, I can't imagine going under the knife once, let alone twice, to lose weight. Your thoughts?
Did Courtney Love have gastric bypass?
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During the past decade or so, rock widow and star in her own right Courtney Love went from heroine chic to healthy size and back down to borderline emaciated. She says it's all due to healthy eating and inspiration from Oprah. But new reports are claiming that the first lady of 90s grunge isn't being quite honest -- because gastric bypass surgery is the real reason behind her dramatic weight loss. Says a source: "Courtney keeps laughing to her friends and saying, 'Everyone thinks I've had hypnosis but why bother with all that effort? All I did was check myself in and have a fat band fitted' ... Lots of doctors refused to do it as she was nowhere near obese, just a little overweight, but eventually she found one."
Click here to check out photos of her new bod. What do you think? Does she look better ... or worse?
The Good, the Fat and the Hungry - Abdominoplasty Recovery Week 2
The Good, The Fat and The Hungry, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements
Welcome to the Good, the Fat and the Hungry. I'm Karla and I have been -- or am -- all those things. Here, I will share with you my lifelong struggle with my weight and I hope you'll follow along on with my determined attempt to lose nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.
I feel fat. I look in the mirror and I certainly don't look fat but I feel fat. If I close my eyes and visualize myself based solely on how I feel, I'd be that pig with the apple in its mouth. Since the abdominoplasty, I am able to eat even less and feel overstuffed quickly. I'd read about this ahead of time so thanks to the blogosphere, I was not completely caught off guard. I read several posts of people who felt this way the first few weeks -- thank goodness.
Of course, this emotional stuff is all in my mind. What I feel does not overcome what I see when I look in the mirror. Who I see looking back is the most beautiful me I have ever been. The reflection is the most fit me I've ever seen. My response to what I see is nothing less than ecstatic. These are new words to me -- beautiful, fit, ecstatic. Eating right and exercising have replaced the former words of disgust, obese, and painful.
The Good, the Fat and the Hungry - The joys of gastric bypass dumping syndrome
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements
Welcome to the Good, the Fat and the Hungry. I'm Karla and I have been -- or am -- all those things. Here, I will share with you my lifelong struggle with my weight and I hope you'll follow along on with my determined attempt to lose nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.
There aren't any. Just plain misery is associated with those words that can make any gastric bypass patient shudder. Nearly three years out and I thought dumping was a thing of the past. Until Tuesday night.
Most gastric bypass patients are aware of or have heard the horror stories of dumping. It occurs in patients who suffer malabsorption of sugar. Lap band patients typically do not have this problem since the entire stomach remains in tact and works fully. For those of us who underwent some type of stomach separation, the new smaller stomach does not produce enough acid to break down most sugars. When sugar is ingested it causes a violent reaction consisting of cold chills, profuse sweating, diarrhea and vomiting. In addition to these symptoms that typically occur simultaneously, there are violent stomach cramps.
Probiotics are a pro for weight loss surgery patients
Diet & Weight Loss, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements
A friend of my family underwent gastric bypass surgery. The surgery itself went without a hitch and -- other than the expected soreness -- she felt quite good immediately after the surgery. Within the month following, however, problems started to arise. She knew that eating certain foods -- such as sweets -- would be hard if not impossible after her surgery, but she didn't expect that eating anything would give her trouble. Every time she ate she felt nauseated, weak, and often had diarrhea. She also developed gallstones and had to have gallbladder surgery due to her rapid weight loss. Now, a few years after her surgery, she is thin. But she is pallid and looks sick. Food has become her enemy because every time she eats, she feels ill. She's achieved her weight goals, but it came at a hefty price -- her better health, her energy, and her emotional health have all been damaged.
While the complications my friend has experienced are risk factors for anyone undergoing gastric bypass, not everyone experiences these problems. Or, at least, not to the severity that my friend has experienced them. But, knowing the digestive issues that can result post-surgery, researchers tested the efficacy of probiotics (the beneficial bacteria found in yogurt) on the digestion of post-gastric bypass surgery patients.
Carnie Wilson hits 'rock bottom'
Carnie Wilson is known as one-third of the pop group Wilson Phillips. But she is even more well-known for a number -- her weight. At 300 lbs, she famously underwent gastric bypass surgery in 1999--one of the first celebrities to opt for the risky medical procedure--and wowed fans with her new body, only to gain most of it back when she gave birth to daughter Lola. Then she took some off as a participant in Celebrity Fit Club, but that too was short-lived. Now, according to a recent article in OK Magazine, she's weighing in at 208 lbs, is a size 16 and feels she's hit 'rock bottom.'In her own words: "It hurts. I don't want to feel this way anymore. It doesn't feel good when you have to struggle to get your pants on ... I'd like to lose 45 to 50 pounds and then try to get pregnant again."
While I don't endorse gastric bypass surgery as a way to lose weight, I feel for her. Luckily, she seems to have a good attitude--as she says, "I know I will [lose the weight]! I don't consider myself a failure. I just got off track."
