- Lap Band surgery provides for a reversible surgical weight loss option
- Lap Band surgery limits the quantity of food ingested
- Lap Band surgery may not improve the obesity of emotional eaters.
Surgical intervention, in the practice of weight loss, is growing in popularity and demand. For many obese patients, determining the right advance to weight loss can be bright and, often, frustrating. With unique body responses, each with a unique metabolic response, one weight loss process may work for one individual but does not necessarily work well for another. Understanding surgical weight loss options, such as Lap Band surgery, the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the risk factors, will aid an obese individual in making a more well informed weight loss decision.
During the surgical weight loss procedure, Lap Band, a small pouch is created within the stomach. The concept of Lap Band Surgery lies in the constriction of the stomach, reducing the capacity to absorb more than a specific quantity of food, thereby reducing the number of calories the obese individual consumes, ultimately leading to weight loss. Using a stoma, the stomach is reduced in size through a tightening of the band thereby also creating a prolonged feeling of fullness. As needed, the stoma can be adjusted to allow for a greater or decreased food capacity as warranted by the obese patient’s health needs.
For patients undergoing the Lap Band surgical procedure, the obvious first advantage lies within the significant weight loss. Additionally, because the stoma is adjustable, as time progresses, the amount of food intake can be adjusted to the dietary needs of the patient. The surgery is completely reversible and requires no permanent stapling of the stomach lining. With weight loss realized within the first few days following surgery, many patients are then motivated to seek out exercise routines and bag a new rejuvenation as the consumption of calories decreases, thereby increasing the total weight loss.
As with most weight loss surgeries, the Lap Band procedure does carry disadvantages. Of most significant disadvantage is the inability of the patient to remove the number of calories as was consumed prior to surgery. For emotional eaters, this lack of dependence upon food consumption can lead to additional emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety. Additionally, the decreased abiltiy to take massive quantities of calories leaves many patients struggling to make important food choices. With less food ingested, the obese patient must be determined to prefer the upright types of foods so as to ensure proper health is maintained
As with any weight loss surgical procedures, complications and risks are current and may include infection, abnormal bleeding and ineffective weight loss results. When considering a weight loss surgical procedure, such as Lap Band, consult a nutritionist and fitness counselor regarding other possible health and weight loss options. In addition to nutrition and fitness counseling, a visit with a psychologist or social worker, specializing in eating disorders, may be appropriate to ensure the proper mindset is in place when preparing for a Lap Band procedure.
For more information regarding Lap Band procedures, visit www.obesitylapbadsurgery.com.
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Filed under stomach stapling side effects by on Dec 19th, 2011.
Weight loss has, in the recent years, become a fashion trend. With the controversy over skinny models and celebrities who popularize the view that skinny is beautiful, more and more people are heading towards weight loss solutions as a means to becoming more resplendent and lead a healthier lifestyle.
There three different ways of losing weight, the first being through exercise and diet control, the second diet pills, and the third being weight loss surgery. All of these methods work. The first method is naturally the most difficult, the core of which is mainly willpower and the discipline to sustain to a weight loss regime. The second chemically alters your body to promote weight loss, but also requires a determined amount of self-discipline to retain away from unhealthy foods and to exercise. The third, which is often regarded as the last line of defense against obesity, physically forces you to eat less by reducing the size of your stomach. This can be done by a variety of methods ranging from liposuction to stomach stapling.
There are two main weight loss surgical procedures which we will cover: a gastric bypass surgery, and a lap-band surgery.
A gastric bypass surgery is a permanent reduction in the size of the stomach. The patient will be forced to eat less, due to the decreased volume of food that his stomach can contain. The surgeon will create a smaller compartment from the stomach itself, stapling off the rest of the stomach. The intestine will be altered to match the newly resized stomach. Gastric bypass surgery cannot be done for anybody looking for a weight loss solution, as the procedure would result in a diminished amount of nutrients being able to enter the body through food, due to the smaller volume of the stomach. Which is why only those who are more than eighty pounds over their recommended weight should consider this procedure.
A lap-band surgery is similar to a gastric bypass surgery in that the stomach size is also reduced. Therefore, the same restrictions and risks apply. However, a lap-band surgery is, in contrast, a non-permanent procedure. The lap-band applied will restrict the volume of the stomach, and is adjustable to the changing needs of the person who receives this surgery, or can be removed completely.
Although both surgical procedures physically reduce the size of the stomach, it is not an indicator of how grand you still can eat. You will have to be conscious of how mighty you eat – If you consume a regular size meal after the surgery, chances are you will damage your stomach, putting your weight loss and your health in danger.
Lap-band surgery and gastric bypass surgery, or any weight loss surgical scheme for that matter, should not be considered unless all other ways and means to lose weight have been attempted with reasonable effort and failed. And even then, you should speak with your doctor before making such a decision, because of the possible physical and psychological changes that you would be required to go through due to the surgery. It is important to know what is required of you before you go for the surgery, for your own health’s sake.
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Filed under Stomach Stapling Costs by on Dec 3rd, 2011.
- Long term complications of WLS
Upon sharing some of my articles with a few friends, one in particular approached me after noticing the piece I did on Gastric Bypass Surgery. Revealing to me what I had never known, she opened up about her experiences with Weight Loss Surgery. The short term success, the long term complications, and her own see relieve on the past and how important it was that she should have listened to her doctor’s advice, maybe paid more attention to the classes she took post-op. In general, being able to go back and change her way of thinking… that she was an exception to the rule. She requested that I write this article for her, so she can share it with her friends and fellow surgery patients with the hopes that maybe someone will inspect the light at the end of the tunnel before it’s too late to change their post-surgery habits.
After jumping at the chance to do an interview with Rebecca, a 40-year old mother of 2 from North Carolina, we made plans to accept the ball rolling. My first step was to read a few posts of hers in a Yahoo Group that she is subscribed to that allows people who have undergone Weight Loss Surgeries to meet and share their stories with each other. Gaining some basic knowledge of the road she traveled that brought her to the point she is at now, I realized that I knew almost nothing of the surgery in particular that she underwent. So, I spelunked around the internet trying to gain information about Distal RnY Weight Loss Surgery. After almost an hour of searching, I came away nearly empty handed. Only one page offered any insight to the surgery at all, and it still didn’t give me more than a small handful for this interview. So I went through and read the article again. And I was able to glean one small piece of information from it, the actual name of the type of surgery that Rebecca went through. Roux-en-Y (RnY). This opened up the gateway quite a bit, and I was able to pick up the following information about the surgery itself.
It turns out that the Roux-en-Y surgery is one of the most popular types of Weight Loss Surgery performed (hard to fathom when I had such a hard time obtaining information about it). A person who hasn’t undergone this surgery uses a normal function for digestion. Ingested food enters the stomach, then travels to the small, then large, intestines. Someone who hasn’t had Weight Loss Surgery is able to eat larger portions of food because the little intestine is able to absorb more fat and calories than a person who has had the surgery. This form of Gastric Bypass Surgery creates a small pouch in the stomach that restricts the patient from being able to consume as much food as they had before. Sometimes the surgery is commenced with a rather large incision across the abdomen, or in the case of Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y surgery, five smaller incisions are made in the patient’s belly.
The minute pouch that is created in the stomach can be done with either a plastic band, or by methods of stapling. Once the pouch is created, it is connected to the middle portion of the tiny intestine, bypassing the duodenum, or the beginning share of the diminutive intestine that connects to the stomach. The duodenum area of the small intestine is the portion that absorbs fats and calories that you ingest. With this area bypassed, and the connecting area from the stomach pouch to the newly bypassed region of the small intestine being so small, you will be able to reduce the amount of fats and calories that you can absorb, aiding in the loss of unwanted weight. And, with the connecting residence being its new size, it will also take longer for the food that you eat to fully near the itsy-bitsy intestine, making you feel fuller longer. Most pouches created are around 6 oz. in general, compared to normal stomachs that range from 24 oz. to 64 oz. The Distal part of the surgery comes into play when the amount of petite intestine that has to be bypassed is determined. Proximal RnY is performed when there is less than 150 cm. of intestine to be bypassed, although I have found a few links claiming it to be less than 100 cm. Distal RnY is the procedure used when more than the 150 cm. (or 100 cm., depending on what situation you are looking at) of the small intestine has to be bypassed in order for the stomach to connect to an area that has bypassed the complete duodenum.
Before commencing the interview with Rebecca, let me suggest that you take a look at her anecdote by clicking here (I put this on my blog for myspace to protect her privacy; messenger ID’s and e-mail addresses that were previously shown before I moved it). This will give you an overview of what her journey has been like, and might answer some questions that I don’t ask her during this interview.
CP: What was the final event in your life that convinced you to choose Weight Loss Surgery as an option?
Being 26 years old and wanting to be able to participate in my children’s lives instead of participating from the sidelines. Besides, when you can no longer fit into the booths at a lickety-split food restaurant, that is a pretty good impress that you need some help.
CP: What other avenues had you explored before settling on Weight Loss Surgery?
Diet pills, Weight Watchers, pretty much every type of weight loss program that was available. None of these processes were successful for me, I would lose 10 pounds with one and then gain 15 back on binge eating.
CP: Was the surgery covered by your insurance company?
Absolutely. I had to meet my out of pocket, and the rest was covered entirely. If I had met my deductions prior to the surgery, it would have been 100% covered.
CP: How much did the surgery cost, total?
I never really saw the bills, but if I’m not mistaken my surgery was $21,000 to $22,000 back in the 90′s.
CP: What kind of pre-op information did you receive before you went under?
That’s the catch. I went into this absolutely blind without any information or education about what to expect. No one I knew had the surgery, and in fact I was the first person in my location to have it done, and a lot of it was trial and error.
CP: Were you linked to any support groups before you had the surgery performed?
Again, absolutely nothing.
CP: Briefly give an overview of the pain you felt after the surgery, how long it lasted, how it was eased.
Basically, the actual incision site for a while, but the psychological pain lasted a whole lot longer than any of the short term inconvenience from the surgery. I didn’t know what I could and couldn’t eat so a lot of it was anger at not being able to keep anything down. For the first 2 years, the only food that I could keep down was stewed tomatoes and beets.
CP: How noteworthy weight did you initially lose after the surgery, and what was the lowest it dropped to?
I started at 326 lbs. and dropped to 204 lbs, which was my lowest point.
CP: At what point did you start to gain the weight back? Are you unexcited under your pre-surgery weight from years ago?
I’m still under within at least 25 pounds from my pre-surgery weight. Probably in my 6th or 7th year, I would come by 10 lbs and detached be able to lose it. But once I packed on 30 lbs, it was downhill from there.
CP: What was the most difficult thing for you to endure after the surgery (change in diet, energy level, etc.)?
The hardest thing to deal with was psychologically wanting to eat like everyone else, but only being able to eat 2 or 3 spoonfuls.
CP: What is the worst long term complication that you have had since the surgery?
Anemia, definately. Pernicious anemia, along with iron deficiency anemia. With these types of deficiencies, I have to go to the hospital for 8 hours every 3 to 4 months for iron infusions.
CP: If you had the chance to do the surgery again, would you go for it?
I honestly don’t think I would, not with the health problems I am enduring now. I’m obese again, but on top of that I have a lot of health problems that I didn’t have before.
CP: What would be the most important thing you could tell someone who is looking to go for the surgery?
Do your homework. Talk to others who have had the procedures done. Go into this with an open mind, thinking that this is going to be no picnic. If you have no clue what you are going into before the surgery, you will wake up one day and think “Oh my Lord, what have I done to myself? “
For those who are indeed looking into Weight Loss Surgeries, please beget sure that you are well informed of what you are getting into before you travel. Not all scenarios end in this contrivance, but it has been proven that not everyone can successfully lose the weight after the surgery and manage to keep it off. Sticking to a strict diet as prescribed by your doctor, making sure that you are eating at regular intervals and not “grazing” (eating randomly with no set meal in mind, such as snacking), and exercising can set you on the good path to Weight Loss Surgery success.
If you have found this article helpful, feel free to pass it on to friends who are looking for Weight Loss Surgery options.
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Filed under stomach stapling side effects by on Oct 9th, 2011.
- Lap Band surgery provides for a reversible surgical weight loss option
- Lap Band surgery limits the quantity of food ingested
- Lap Band surgery may not improve the obesity of emotional eaters.
Surgical intervention, in the practice of weight loss, is growing in popularity and question. For many obese patients, determining the moral approach to weight loss can be racy and, often, frustrating. With unique body responses, each with a unique metabolic response, one weight loss process may work for one individual but does not necessarily work well for another. View surgical weight loss options, such as Lap Band surgery, the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the risk factors, will aid an obese individual in making a more well informed weight loss decision.
During the surgical weight loss procedure, Lap Band, a small pouch is created within the stomach. The plan of Lap Band Surgery lies in the constriction of the stomach, reducing the capacity to hold more than a specific quantity of food, thereby reducing the number of calories the obese individual consumes, ultimately leading to weight loss. Using a stoma, the stomach is reduced in size through a tightening of the band thereby also creating a prolonged feeling of fullness. As needed, the stoma can be adjusted to allow for a greater or decreased food capacity as warranted by the obese patient’s health needs.
For patients undergoing the Lap Band surgical procedure, the obvious first advantage lies within the significant weight loss. Additionally, because the stoma is adjustable, as time progresses, the amount of food intake can be adjusted to the dietary needs of the patient. The surgery is completely reversible and requires no permanent stapling of the stomach lining. With weight loss realized within the first few days following surgery, many patients are then motivated to seek out exercise routines and find a unique rejuvenation as the consumption of calories decreases, thereby increasing the total weight loss.
As with most weight loss surgeries, the Lap Band procedure does carry disadvantages. Of most significant disadvantage is the inability of the patient to consume the number of calories as was consumed prior to surgery. For emotional eaters, this lack of dependence upon food consumption can lead to additional emotional disorders such as depression and fear. Additionally, the decreased abiltiy to seize massive quantities of calories leaves many patients struggling to design important food choices. With less food ingested, the obese patient must be sure to consume the right types of foods so as to ensure proper health is maintained
As with any weight loss surgical procedures, complications and risks are common and may include infection, abnormal bleeding and ineffective weight loss results. When considering a weight loss surgical procedure, such as Lap Band, consult a nutritionist and fitness counselor regarding other possible health and weight loss options. In addition to nutrition and fitness counseling, a visit with a psychologist or social worker, specializing in eating disorders, may be appropriate to ensure the proper mindset is in place when preparing for a Lap Band procedure.
For more information regarding Lap Band procedures, visit www.obesitylapbadsurgery.com.
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Filed under stomach stapling side effects by on Sep 11th, 2011.