Gastric Bypass - Taboo?

I honestly don't believe in it. I've also never been in the position where I would need it.

My two cents: it's elective surgery and a lot can go wrong. I think it's the lazy way out of putting in the hard work and effort. The surgery is not going to teach you portion control, healthy eating or how to exercise. Wouldn't you rather do it your way (even if it takes much longer) and know that you put in all the blood, sweat and tears into losing all the weight? It sure sounds better to me than having 1/2 your weight loss handed to you. Frankly, I'd be embarrassed to say I had weight loss surgery, but maybe that's just me.

Again, my 2 cents...they may be harsh, but a bit of food for thought.

I don't know anyone personally who has done this, but I have run across this website:

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

It's pretty interesting in that it discusses daily life after the surgery, and it was interesting to see
how much your day-to-day routines are affected. She also includes lots of recipes and discussions
of how to eat properly post-op.

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2007/01/junkfood-science-weekend-special.html


You'll have no problem finding people to tell you that the procedure is great and successful. This is a series of articles that present the negative side and, in my opinion, if even a portion of it is true, it is alarming enough that I would avoid bariatric bypass unless I was in imminent danger of dying. Here's just one paragraph......

The Mayo Clinic reported in 2000 that 20% to 25% of gastric bypass patients develop life-threatening complications, but the recent Lap-Band U.S. clinical trials done to earn FDA approval reported 89% of patients had at least one adverse event, one-third of them severe. Complications from lap bands are more likely to require surgery to correct and the bands result in so much more vomiting, they are known as “surgical-induced” bulimia among medical professionals. While many consumers believe the newer, less invasive laparoscopic bypasses and lap-band procedures (which tighten a constrictive band around the stomach to make it smaller) are safer, they merely have their own “unique set of complications,” according to surgeons Shanu N. Kothari, M.D., and Harvey J. Sugerman, M.D. writing in Healthy Weight Journal. Ulcerations and the bands eroding into the stomach can happen and usually are why the bands are not reversible or removable. A September 2003 and an August 2005 Blue Cross-Blue Shield TEC Assessment scientific review of the evidence on the newer procedures concluded they had also “not demonstrated improved net health outcomes

A recent study by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University found that 56% of bariatric patients had 62 different gastrointestinal complications and abnormalities by CT scans. The complications and failures of bariatric surgeries are so significant, according to bariatric surgeons with Tampa General Hospital in Florida, that revisional (second) surgeries are required in up to 23% of gastric bypasses and 5 - 36% of vertical banded gastrophy cases. Their paper in the January 2007 issue of Bariatric Times said revisional surgeries now account for nearly 15% of the bariatric procedures being done in experienced bariatric centers. They noted: “This is of vital importance, since reoperations after bariatric procedures are technically difficult and may result in relatively higher morbidity and mortality compared to primary operations.”

Actually, the risk of dying from these secondary operations is 3 to 6 times higher than for the initial surgery, according to the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons and Erik Wilson, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston.

Of greatest concern are the effects of long-term nutritional deficiencies, which are rarely discussed realistically. The neurological decline and aging seen after bariatric surgeries is especially rapid and results from multiple vitamin and mineral deficiencies, said Dr. Ernsberger. Both the stomach and small intestines are critical for absorbing many nutrients, including B-vitamins, calcium, iron, vitamin D and protein. Even taking supplements in multiple times the recommended amounts doesn’t help because the surgeries eliminate the proper function of the stomach and gastrointestinal system, he said. Hence, malnutrition problems are not uncommon, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and include anemias, osteoporosis, loss of teeth, blindness and, in a reported 16% of cases, even neurological and brain damage. We are seeing the return of nutritional deficiency diseases of starvation in formerly healthy fat people that had become rare in Western societies and are typically only seen in underdeveloped regions of the world.

Most bariatric patients are subjected to a lifetime of severely calorie-restricted diets and are unable to eat a full variety of foods, with average calorie intakes under 1,000 calories the first year and after three years the average is still 1,386 calories. The unhealthfulness of long-term starvation-level diets (even uncomplicated by malabsorption) and protein shortages have been well proven to significantly shorten people’s lives. Vomiting after gastric bypass procedures occurs in up to 68.8% of cases and can become chronic, resulting in severe malnutrition, according to Brazilian surgeons in a 2005 study published in Obesity Surgery. Their study found weight loss was 10% higher among patients who become chronic vomiters.

Precise figures on weight loss are difficult to pin down as claims vary wildly, each measuring “success” differently. Many studies claim success when patients maintain any weight loss, according to the Weight Loss Surgery Information Center. No matter, unlike those glowing before-and-after pictures, even 3-15 years after their surgery most patients are still clinically “obese.”

In fact, the complication rates are so high and the complications so severe that even Dr.Edward Eaton Mason M.D., Professor Emeritus of General Surgery at University of Iowa Hospital and inventor of gastric bypass, cautioned: “For the vast majority of patients today, there is no operation...without introducing risks and side effects that over a lifetime may raise questions about its use for surgical treatment of obesity.”

I love my RNY. I am 15 months post op and have reached my goal. I am healthier. I have more energy. I have not had a single complication. There are RULES to follow. But it is a small price to pay for feeling so much better and living a better life. BTW, I am 59 yrs young. Anyone who wants support, I would be happy to assist.

I LOVE MY gastric bypass! I gotta say the work with this turned out to be harder than if I had done it myself! Thankfully I had an awesome bariatric team of nutritionists and exercise therapists and counselors to walk me thru it. I was taught portion control, how and when to exercise and well.....I"m healthier now than ever! 320 lbs to 150 lbs in 18 months and maintaining nicely!

I have no experience with weight loss surgery but one thing you said in your original post was that you thought you were "food aware" but after a short time on MFP you realized you are not. For you this is a very interesting and hopeful observation I think. I know personally I have learned A TON from MFP and the many knowledgeable people who frequent it. MFP (and my digital kitchen scale) are game changers for me! And, maybe they will be for you too? Why don't you first try to see what you can learn here before you take that surgery leap? Just an idea.

Work colleague had it done earlier this year - she has lost lots of weight.

Has to have b12 injections 3 monthly for life and food choices are very limited.

But she has lost lots of weight and seems to be happy with it.

I think if you go in with right mind set and are sure it is for you - it can be the right thing for you. (general you)

some of the comments upthread seems very judgemental to me ( not addressing them individually as over a decade old)

PS I realise this is an ongoing issue for other people - but most of the thread is over a decade old, specific advice for OP is probably redundant now -

back in 2010 she either decided to have the surgery or she didnt - I doubt she is still deciding what to do.

I just wanted to add, you might check how much sodium you are getting a day with those soups.

I've only known two people who had the surgery. Both had issues with the weight coming off so fast that there were excess skin. Another surgery. One had real trouble eating real food after and had to take special vitamins and frequently vomited. The other seemed to rely heavily on meal replacement drinks. Neither seemed to be making healthy choices. I feel they were no better off for the surgery as they were unable to eat the quantity of food required to gain all the nutrients needed for basic function and had to rely for life on these pills and drinks. They traded one issue for another.