Archive for March, 2009
Thursday, March 26th, 2009
Patients frequently ask me “Why do I have to eat so slow?” I think it helps to understand why patients who have had the band, bypass or the sleeve need to eat much slower than they did before surgery. The major component of weight loss with all three procedures is restriction, or limiting the capacity of the new pouch or stomach to hold food. Eating slow small bites allows the new surgical pouch to fill up with pieces of food in an orderly fashion. This also gives time for the brain to recognize the stretch on the stomach pouch so that the patient can recognize when they should stop eating which would be BEFORE discomfort sets in. Those who eat too fast fill the pouch in a random fashion and the pieces of food are then more likely to obstruct the outlet and cause vomiting. Also, those that eat too fast may miss the signal from the brain telling them the pouch is full and to stop eating. Eating meals should take 20-30 minutes. This is especially important for band patients because how tight we can make the band is dependent on how well the patient can eat properly and not get food stuck. If you are frequently getting food stuck, that’s as tight as we can make the band or we may even have to take some fluid out. If patients learn to eat slower and never get food stuck, then we are able to make the band a little tighter.
– Dr. Darren Soong
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Tags: Allergan lap band, Bariatric Surgeons, Ethicon Realize band, Gastric Band, Gastric bypass, Las Vegas Weight Loss Doctors, Weight Loss Surgeons, Weight Loss Surgery
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Thursday, March 19th, 2009
A period of depression after surgery, similar to Post-Partum Depression after giving birth is not uncommon. This can occur with all types of surgeries but weight loss surgery has some unique implications. Some patients report intense depression and bouts of tears in the first few weeks after their procedure, even if things are going well. Some patients eat for stress relief, comfort, and boredom. To some extent, this is taken away after surgery, as now there are limits on the types and amounts of foods that can be consumed. In a recent support group meeting, Jessica B. explained it as kind of like losing a friend.
If you are experiencing this, support group meetings may be helpful. We offer gastric bypass support groups on the 1st Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m. and gastric band support groups on the 2nd Wednesday and 4th Tuesday of every month at 6 p.m., here at the Gastric Band Institute office. Sometimes professional help and medication may be necessary. Recognizing a problem is the first step.
– Dr. Darren Soong
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Tags: Bariatric Surgeons, Gastric Band, Gastric bypass, Las Vegas Weight Loss Doctors, Weight Loss Surgeons, Weight Loss Surgery
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Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Have you ever watched The Biggest Loser reality television show and wondered how real weight loss experts thought about it as a real weight loss program for obese patients? In my professional opinion, it is an unrealistic and unsustainable weight loss program and it’s only real value is entertainment.
One reason it is unrealistic is that the participants are screened and selected from tens of thousands of applicants and only the most highly motivated, most educated, most physically fit and healthy are selected. If they were randomly selected from the entire pool of applicants, their results would be less successful. Also, the average, obese, American adult can not quit their job, move away from their family, live isolated in a dorm room, hire a personal trainer, chef and dietician. Some of our patients have arthritis, back pain, or health issues that prevent them from exercising even 30 minutes a day.
Weight loss experts know that in order for a weight loss program to work long term, not temporarily, the lifestyle changes that the patients have to make must be “sustainable”. The show has created an artificial lifestyle which cannot be continued lifelong. It’s not surprising that magazines are reporting that within the first year of returning to their homes and normal lifestyles, participants gained their weight back. The commercials on the show try to sell their own brand of weight loss products, which when done away from the studio-created, “artificial lifestyle”, have the same long-term failure rate as all other nonsurgical weight loss programs for morbidly obese patients: greater than 95%!
When we give our seminars, the last slide I show is an encapsulation of the lifestyle changes we expect our patients to make after their surgery. I always conclude by telling the prospective patients that if they don’t believe they can make those lifestyle changes permanent, they shouldn’t go through with surgery.
Please remember that The Biggest Loser program is intended strictly for entertainment. From my experience treating obesity, I can tell you that the lifestyle changes portrayed on the show are neither practical nor sustainable.
– Dr. Darren Soong
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Tags: Bariatric Surgeons, Gastric bypass, las vegas, Las Vegas Weight Loss Doctors, Weight Loss Surgeons, Weight Loss Surgery
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Monday, March 2nd, 2009
Recently, more and more teenagers are undergoing bariatric surgery to help them counteract serious obesity related health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea. In addition, the social issues of morbid obesity can be magnified in a high school setting. It is no surprise to experienced, high-volume bariatric surgeons like Dr. Atkinson and myself, that this population would be as successful in reversing their health problems as the adult population, and that, like adults, surgery is the only successful long-term weight loss option for the morbidly obese, which has a reasonable success rate. With that in mind, we still prefer patients to be at least 18 years old, so that from a legal standpoint, they can make their own decisions. Click on the link below for a recent article in the Washington Post regarding a teenager who underwent gastric band surgery.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/23/AR2009022301966.html
– Dr. Darren Soong
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Tags: Add new tag, Bariatric Surgeons, Gastric Band, Gastric bypass, Las Vegas Weight Loss Doctors, Weight Loss Surgeons, Weight Loss Surgery
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