Gastric bypass is the most frequently undertaken operation for weight loss in the United States with about 140,000 surgeries being carried out every year. With a history dating back over 50 years, hundreds of surgeons have grown up with gastric bypass surgery and have developed a very good understanding of its benefits and risks.
Gastric bypass surgery is the final option when other types of dieting and weight loss have been unsuccessful and where you are considerably overweight. This normally means that you have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40, or greater than 35 with an accompanying condition which increases the risk of disability or premature death. Such conditions would include heart disease, obstructive sleep apnea, hypertension and liver disease amongst others. In its simplest form, this equates to being some 100 pounds more than your ideal weight.
The principle behind the gastric bypass procedure is quite simply to lower the size of the stomach and to bypass the larger part of the stomach, as well as part of the intestine, constraining your ability to eat excessively and also reducing the body’s absorption of the food that you do eat.
Despite the fact that open gastric bypass procedures are still commonly undertaken a growing number of surgeons are moving to the laparoscopic approach and, though this takes considerable training and expertise on the part of the surgeon, there are a variety of advantages to this approach. Here are just some:
1. Because patients are up and about very quickly following surgery there is a lower risk of pneumonia, blood clots, bed sores and other complications generally associated with immobility.
2. This type of surgery allows for greater precision because the procedure is done under magnification and surgeons can observe details not visible during traditional open surgery.
3. As the laprascopic procedure is quicker than open surgery the patient spends less time in the operating theatre and needs less anesthesia, bringing about fewer anesthesia-related complications.
4. This type of surgery permits you to go back to work in a relatively short timescale, normally as little as one week although it is recommended that patients do not go back to work for around two weeks to be on the safe side.
5. Patients experience very much less post-operative pain and what little pain there is requires only mild painkillers like codeine and paracetamol.
6. As commonly only 5 short incisions are made during this form of procedure the time that it takes to heal following surgery is considerably reduced, as is the possibility of infection and of the complications of a subsequent hernia.
Gastric bypass produces a significant improvement in the quality of life for patients and also has the further benefit of improving, or in many cases of curing, headache, venous status disease, arthritis, heartburn, diabetes and other disorders.
The fact that the procedure itself can now be done so much more easily and leave patients quite pain free and have them on their feet rapidly means that a growing number of people are likely to opt for gastric bypass surgery and enjoy a happier and healthier lifestyle.
For more information on gastric bypass surgery and the laparoscopic gastric bypass technique visit GastricBypassFacts.info today.
Tags: gastric bypass, laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, obesity, weight loss surgerygastric bypass, laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, obesity, weight loss surgeryShare This
Every weight loss surgery patient I’ve met said they at sometime during the weight loss experience felt like a fraud. A fraud is someone who pretends to be what they are not, an imposter. Given this definition, of course we feel like a fraud! Almost overnight we become the exact opposite of what we have been for many years. We are in fact a fat person masquerading in a thin body. Of course we feel like a fraud!
Weight loss following gastric bypass is so fast and consistent; there is no time to pause and become familiar with ourselves as our size diminishes and our health improves. So, while the body adjusts to its new healthy weight, our mind is slow to catch up. It still sees a fat person and this smaller body is alien and unknown. It is an imposter. A disguise. A fraud.
Be assured, this phase of fraud is normal and consistent among people experiencing rapid massive weight loss, it is part of the transformation. Be comforted knowing feelings of fraud will pass. As we become familiar with our down-sized dimensions the haunts from our morbidly obese days will pass. If a bariatric patient after several years of successful weight maintenance rapidly regained the weight they would feel as much a fraud in their new super-sized body as they did in their newly trimmed body. Feelings of fraud are certain to result when a change is as rapid and effective as gastric bypass weight loss.
For many patients, a different feeling of fraud is manifest when others start to notice and comment about the weight loss. In addition to managing our own feelings of change, we must manage feedback from others, much of which is unsolicited. Patients who have kept their surgery private feel fraudulent when they answer “I’m losing weight by eating less, controlling my sugar and fat intake and exercising” all of which is true. Patients who speak openly about their weight loss surgery may be told surgery was easy way out of obesity. They may hear about surgeries gone bad, get the warnings about regaining the weight, and be treated to a host of other myths. This feedback can cause us to feel fraudulent.
One weight loss patient said it best: “what I find both interesting and sad about bariatric patients: we are ashamed when we are fat, and we are ashamed when we do something about it.” It is not fraudulent to be medically treated for a disease that is killing you. The weight loss surgery patient who accepts this as fact successfully overcomes feeling like a fraud. That patient celebrates the miracle of modern medicine and a second chance at living.
I used to tell my husband, “I’m nothing but a fat lady masquerading in small clothes.” He didn’t like me to talk that way about myself and asked, “if your best friend succeeded at losing weight - by whatever means medically available to her - would you talk to her the way you are talking to yourself? If your best friend were treated for a life-threatening disease with the best medical science has to offer would you say she was a fraud for undergoing that treatment to save her life?” He made an excellent point.
I no longer feel like a fraud, but I miss the wonder and awe that was associated with the newness of rapid and massive weight loss. During that time I was shocked to see my own reflection and awed by the little clothes that fit me. I studied in wonder every body part, the way it moved and felt and looked. I counted my ribs and rolled my fingers over my hipbones - I’d never felt that before discovering the miracle of the human skeleton. Nowadays it’s all commonplace: this is who I am. It is no longer a surprising shock. I no longer feel like a fraud.
Kaye Bailey is a weight loss surgery success story having maintained her health and goal weight for 5+ years. An award winning journalist, she is the author and webmaster of http://www.LivingAfterWLS.com and http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com - Fresh & insightful content is added daily, check in often.
Tags: bariatric, diet, emotions, gastric bypass, imposter, morbid obesity, weight loss, weight loss surgerybariatric, diet, emotions, gastric bypass, imposter, morbid obesity, weight loss, weight loss surgeryShare This
So we’ve had weight loss surgery and are happily losing weight with a restricted diet and the improved ability to exercise. But you know, we didn’t have taste bud surgery! We still have taste buds that crave delicious foods - we just want the foods we eat to be satiating and good for us.
Let me tell you a culinary secret - it’s in the wine! I’m not talking about wine in the glass, I’m talking about wine in a recipe. Wine reductions are wonderfully simply to make, rich in flavor and can be low in fat. Most recipes for wine reductions call for added fat (butter) but should be adjusted to use about 1/3 the fat called for.
We know that most gravies are fat laden, heavy with starch and lacking nutritional value. Simply put gravy is empty fat calories we do not need in our LivingAfterWLS diet. Anyone watching their weight is wise to avoid gravies (particularly mass-produced gravies served in restaurants).
For a better flavor and health select or make a wine reduction. A reduction contains the wine’s antioxidants, called flavonoids which are proven to reduce the production of LDL (bad) cholesterol and boost the HDL (good) cholesterol. Scientists now believe these flavonoids may also inhibit tumor development in some cancers and may also be helpful in the treatment of neurological diseases.
Not an alcohol drinker? Not to worry, the alcohol cooks out of the reduction leaving nothing but the good stuff behind. If you are not familiar with wine ask your wine merchant to recommend a good bottle of reasonably priced cooking wine (don’t buy the kind on the supermarket shelf - it has too much sodium). Your wine steward can also offer suggestions for re-corking the wine as seldom will you use a full bottle for any single recipe.
For five delicious wine reduction recipes visit LivingAfterWLS Recipe Blog.
Chicken with White Wine and Mushrooms
Seared Halibut with Green Beans, Scallions and White Wine Sauce
Salmon with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce
Beef Medallions in Red Wine Sauce
Cornish Game Hen with Raspberry Red Wine Sauce
I’ve personally tried and adapted these recipes to have lower fat while preserving the delicious flavor and texture of a reduction. I hope you will incorporate a wine reduction recipe in your lifestyle. Also - these are all very quick to fix - you’ll be surprised how much flavor you get for so little effort! Cheers!
Kaye Bailey © 2005 - All Rights Reserved
For more terrific WLS Friendly Recipes Link to LivingAfterWLS Recipes
LivingAfterWLS
Tags: diet, gastric bypass, health, lapband surgery, nutrition, weight loss, weight loss surgery, wine reductiondiet, gastric bypass, health, lapband surgery, nutrition, weight loss, weight loss surgery, wine reductionShare This