The Who and Why of Gastric Bypass Surgery
Many people report that losing weight is all about motivation. This sounds very reasonable and appropriate. Motivation is a great place to start. Motivated to eat better and increase your exercise must be at the core of weight loss. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with this statement and it is true for most people. Making a goal and following through is the way to go.
But what happens when you have the motivation, are eating better, and exercising and still not losing the weight?
Depression, frustration and anger can all develop because of a lack of weight loss. Not to mention, these feelings were probably already lingering in the back of your mind. In some cases, gastric bypass surgery may be your only solution.
Gastric Bypass Surgery is a group of procedures that essentially reduces the size of your stomach. But, the surgery must also realign the intestines to match the newly formed stomach. It is a relatively safe procedure and there has been a good success rate. But as with any surgery there are complications.
This type of surgery isn’t typical for the slightly overweight. It isn’t something that will be approved by your Physician or by the Surgeon, except for the right patient and the right medical conditions. Often, people look at Gastric bypass surgery as treating one condition and one condition alone…OBESITY. That is just not the case. Obesity is the main issue but being overweight can cause many other potentially life threatening diseases.
Therefore Gastric Bypass Surgery also helps with other concerning medical conditions such as: Type 2 Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, Elevated Blood Pressure [Hypertension], and many other conditions closely related to obesity.
A BMI, or body mass index, is a measurement of weight and fat according to weight vs. height. It is not measuring a percentage of fat, which can be done in other studies. The BMI gives a range of not only overweight; but it also identifies Obese, Normal and Underweight.
A normal BMI is a number from 18.5 to 25. Overweight is 25 to 30. And Obese is above 30.
BMI plays a role in determining of someone is a candidate for Gastric Bypass Surgery. Typically people that are approved are found in one of two categories.
1.) They have a BMI above 40.
2.) They have a BMI above 35 and concerning medical conditions such as elevated blood pressure or diabetes and others.
This recommendation was given by the National Institute of Health (NIH). It also identified a need for a multidisciplinary approach. This entails bringing together Physicians, Nutritionists, Physical Therapists, and others to help transition a patient through the process of surgery and afterwards.
There are several different types of surgeries, each affecting a different area of the stomach and especially the intestines. Some are done as open procedures where a large incision is done in the abdomen. But a larger number of procedures are considered Laparoscopic. This means that smaller incisions are done, and the use of a camera is helpful in the procedure.
The decision of having a Gastric Bypass Procedure should be one done only in special cases. It can be difficult yet fulfilling procedure. The decision should be made after several consults with your Physician or a specialist. The reward of having this procedure is amazing and in many cases, life-altering. This procedure isn’t for everyone.
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