The road to overall health is a deeply personal topic to discuss. Everyone is different, and there are a number of factors that can alter a person’s body, especially as one gets older. Have you found yourself asking, “Do I qualify for weight loss surgery?” Are you ready to make a positive change within your lifestyle but don’t know where to begin? When it comes to bariatric surgery, it is important to keep in mind that weight loss surgery is a reliable, durable weight loss option in people who’ve tried to lose weight through traditional means (diet, exercise) but were unable to keep the weight off. Along with the surgery itself, you must make some crucial life changing decisions well after the procedure and into the future. We now know that obese people die many years earlier (due to health problems) compared to their non-obese counterparts.
You may find yourself fed up with fad diets, detox methods, and workout routines that are simply too intense. It may be that you are eating healthy, but due to genetic factors, it is extremely difficult to lose weight with diet and exercise alone. That is where bariatric surgery can help. But before you jump the gun and come to a full stop on getting bariatric surgery, it might help to know if you would even be an ideal candidate.
Let us walk you through what it means to be an optimal candidate for weight loss surgery, what needs to be done following your procedure, and what it can mean for your overall health.
Open up the conversation
Bariatric surgery is most useful when performed on an individual who has a BMI of 35 or more, and often experiences medical difficulty because of their excess weight. Some things you will want to discuss with your bariatric surgeon before making a final decision can include:
Age: As you get older your metabolism slows down, life becomes more hectic, and it often can become more difficult to nail down a healthy routine. During this time, you may also find you have developed certain diseases and conditions that can affect your physical abilities and cause even more weight gain. It is generally advised to not seek surgery at extremes of age: less than 17 years old and older than 70. However, there are circumstances where you may still qualify no matter what age you are.
Family history: Take time to ask parents, grandparents, and other available relatives—if they are comfortable—if they have ever been professionally diagnosed with any ailments or other illnesses that have altered their weight and overall health. It is important to know even from a young age if you may develop the same issues as you age. For example, if you have a family history of diabetes or high blood pressure, chances are you will develop those problems yourself down the line if you are obese. If you are certain of any of these things, it may help to discuss this with your doctor so he or she can have a better view of your overall health.
Mental readiness:
Bariatric surgery needs to be approached with a sound mind. Your doctor will want to make sure you are mentally stable and prepared for what is to come from having your desired procedure. Your choice to take on this drastic lifestyle change should be personal and yours to make alone. Reasonings differ from person to person but should generally be because you want to live a healthier and longer life.
Medical history: Your personal medical history will be an important factor to consider when looking at various bariatric methods of surgery. Anything involving your health like diabetes (type 1 or type 2) or high blood pressure are necessary to mention to your doctor to discuss what challenges you have faced and how you want to move forward.
Current eating habits: It’s important to be completely honest with your surgeon about how much, how often, and what you eat. It might help to keep a food diary where you can be completely transparent and track every bite you consume to get a better idea of what a typical diet looks like for you.
Exercise routine: Again, it is important that you trust your doctor and fill him in on how often you exercise and what activities to take part in when you do. Even if you don’t exercise at all, it is just as essential to be able to say this out loud and discover why this might be. Feel free to talk about your future physical activity goals and how you see yourself achieving them with bariatric surgery.
Know your options
At Advanced Houston Surgical, Dr. Chaudhry offers three major weight loss surgeries including gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, and the Reshape intragastric balloon procedure.
Gastric bypass
The gastric bypass procedure works by being restrictive and providing a gastric pouch that holds volume less than 30 ml. It runs on a malabsorptive basis and limits the amount of calories that are absorbed from each meal. Gastric bypass operates within the top level of most effective bariatric surgeries and allows patients to lose around 80% of their excess body weight over 2 years.
Gastric sleeve
The gastric sleeve procedure takes about half of the surgical time of a gastric bypass. This is a restrictive weight loss method and works by cutting out a portion of the stomach to limit how much food you can consume. Also, when the top part of the stomach is removed (the fundus), hunger cravings are significantly reduced. Patients who choose a gastric sleeve lose about 70% of their excess body weight over the course of 2 years.
Reshape intragastric balloon
The Reshape intragastric balloon procedure is a non-surgical weight loss method and requires the placement of two saline-filled balloons inside the stomach to occupy space and limit how many calories are consumed over the course of 6 months. Patients can expect to lose 20-40 pounds on average at the end of the 6-month period. Majority of patients continue to keep most of that weight off even 6 months after the balloon has been removed.
After surgery
Following each surgical and non-surgical weight loss procedure, it will be critical that you follow the guided diet and exercise plan laid out for you during the recovery and post-recovery period. Bariatric surgery does not mean you get to eat or drink whatever you want after, and straying away from your given plan can have serious consequences. Trust your surgeon and discuss with the medical staff any concerns and questions you have before coming to a conclusion.
Looking to start your weight loss journey? Contact us today, visit our site and see what others are saying about their weight loss adventure and how bariatric surgery performed by Dr. Chaudhry has helped them.