The number of individuals going through gastric bypass surgery has increased considerably in recent years and continues to increase as obesity sweeps across much of the western world. And there is little sign that this will reverse in the near future as we continue to consume increasing quantities of fast food and take less and less exercise. As if this were not bad enough in itself surgical techniques to solve our weight problem are growing better with each passing day and insurance companies are even beginning to pay out for a growing number of weight loss surgeries. Against this background, should we be worried?
The gastric bypass might seem like the simple solution to the problem of obesity but it is major surgery and does carry some risks. Indeed, some 40 percent of patients will experience some form of problem in the six months following surgery and around a quarter of these individuals will have to return to hospital.
Perhaps the biggest problem however is the dramatic changes in lifestyle which follow surgery. Now most patients understand that they are going to have to change their eating habits after weight loss surgery to both cope with the immediate effect of having a significantly smaller stomach and also to ensure that they do not start to put on weight again after their excess weight has come off. But, what the majority of patients do not realize is precisely how dramatic these changes will need to be.
Not only will you discover that you are severely restricted in terms of just what you can eat, but you will also discover that your whole eating regime will will be turned on its head. For those patients who are severely overweight because they have a compulsion to eat and are in effect addicted to certain forms of food this may well come as a real shock.
But this is of course only the start of the problem because gastric bypass surgery is a turning point in your life and also places you under considerable psychological stress will have you running from tremendous highs to very deep lows for which you will need the help of your doctor, friends and family.
For people considering gastric bypass surgery it is crucial to gather together as much information as you can not simply about the procedural options open to you but also about the effects of surgery and just what will be involved in helping you through the months following surgery. You then need to talk to your doctor and think very carefully about how you will cope before you commit yourself to surgery.
An extremely important person in the whole equation and someone who will have a very marked influence on whether or not you succeed is your doctor because he will be the person you are going to turn to most in those critical weeks following surgery when things begin to get tough. It is vitally important therefore that you choose your doctor with care and look for someone who is not only a first-class surgeon and well qualified to carry out your procedure, but is also someone who you are going to be able to turn to and lean upon when things are not going as you expected after your operation and you are in the depths of depression.
The gastric bypass might seem like an easy choice but it most assuredly is not and is something which you ought to prepare yourself for with care.
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