What is Weight Loss Surgery?

This is going to be a series of blog posts, I think. I was trying to think of all the topics that I wanted to cover in regards to this surgery, and I started thinking about how long it would be to read all of that. So I'm going to break up the ideas I have so everyone can peruse them however you want.

Blog post numero uno: what is gastric bypass, and why did I choose it over the other weight loss surgeries?

Basically, there are 3 major options for weight loss surgery.

1. The Lap Band.

            They put an adjustable band around your stomach, and they can make it tighter or looser with saline solution that they put into the port under the skin with a needle.

            Here are some things that I didn't like about this option. Statistically, patients have had less weight loss and have kept it off for less time than the other surgeries. 

           Secondly, you have that thing in you forever. I don't like that idea because of the risk of infection. I mean, I know there's a risk of infection with any surgery, but especially one that purposefully leaves something behind inside of you.

          Thirdly, there's this thing called “productive burping.” It sounds horrifying. I won't go into lots of detail, but the three words to best describe it are “soooooooo much mucous.” I'll leave your imaginations to wander how they will.

2. Gastric Sleeve.

            Pretty simple idea. Cut the stomach in half (vertically) and take out the extra part. Then your stomach is like a third of the size that it was.

            I only have one reason I didn't want this surgery; it's is because of the chance that I might have worse heartburn after the surgery than before, for some reason. I already take daily medications for GERD; if I don't take it, I feel like someone is putting out a cigarette inside my chest every few minutes. I don't need that to be any worse than what it already is. I'm not sure why it can get worse after the surgery. Hang on, let me look it up. *Googles stuff* Yeah, I still don't know. Sorry.

3. Gastric bypass.

This is definitely the most complicated and invasive one. It's too complicated to explain, so here's an animated video that shows you the steps. 

I've heard this called the “gold standard” of weight loss surgeries. You get the most weight loss and you keep it off for the longest. There could be complications with this one, obviously, as with all surgeries. There could be small bowel obstructions, dumping syndrome, and a slew of other things. But I'm choosing this one over the other, less invasive surgeries simply because I'm more willing to deal with the risks of surgery than I am of staying overweight.

The Risks

Potential complications of gastric bypass:

small bowel obstructions

dumping syndrome

hair loss

dehydration

ulcers

nutritional deficiencies

However, if I don't lose the weight...

Risks of morbid obesity:

Diabetes

blindness

heart attack

stroke

sores in toes and feet leading to amputations

nerve damage in feet

digestion problems

kidney damage requiring dialysis

Wear and tear on joints that will probably require surgeries

Many of those that I listed are really the complications from diabetes, like the blindness and nerve damage and stuff. But if I don't lose weight, it's not a matter of IF I get diabetes, but WHEN.

I know it sounds like the complications of surgery are terrible, and they are. But compared to the complications that come from morbid obesity? I dunno… I'd rather be dehydrated than blind. I'd rather have nutritional deficiencies than have my extremities amputated. I'd rather have thin hair than a stroke. I'd rather throw up if I eat something my stomach can't handle (aka “dumping syndrome”) than be on dialysis for the rest of my life. So yeah, when you put the complications side by side, I know what the best plan is for me.   

To clarify, the sleeve and bypass share some of the risks I listed. It's not like bypass is exponentially more risky than the others, although reading through this made me realize that's what I've implied. 

Before the surgery

Before I even qualified for the surgery, there were a lot of steps I had to take and meetings I had to go to. The surgical weight loss program at Utah Valley Hospital makes you jump through some hoops. I don't think that the extra steps are bad at all. I think it's great that they make you see a psychologist to see how you're doing emotionally, and if you can handle the big life change coming up. Seeing a nutritionist and exercise therapist are important steps, too, because you need to know what's expected of you in order for you to lose weight after the surgery. And then they make you get some lab work done, which makes sense to me, too. I'm glad that I'll have this support system of professionals to help guide me through the recovery.

Although this wasn't a requirement, they highly recommended that I go to the support group for people that have had weight loss surgery. They only meet once a month, so I've only been to one meeting, but it was so helpful to see people on the other side of the surgery at different stages of their recovery. I even got a new wardrobe from a girl who was giving away all of her pre-surgery clothes.

As many of you know, one of the biggest things before surgery is that I have to be on a “liquid” diet for three weeks. (I put that in quotations because they have tv-dinner style meals that are “easily digestible” and “packed with protein” that I can have. Basically if you just mix your Lean Cuisine with protein powder, that's what they are.)

After the surgery

After the surgery, there will definitely be some issues that I'll have for the rest of life, and some things that I might have. For example, because the amount of nutrients decreases so much, I'll be required to take supplements for the rest of my life (like a mulitvitamin and calcium).

I'll have to be extra diligent with my water intake, making sure that I'm drinking a bit at a time throughout the day. I can't just gulp a couple cups of water down before bed and call it good.

I might have some hair loss, which is incredibly annoying to me, because I'm vain about my hair.

So there you go. Gastric bypass. Now you know as much as I do.