Life improvements after gastric bypass surgery are plentiful. Often, you’d find yourself struggling with your high weight. In fact, you might really feel as if you are trapped in a cycle of constant weight gain. Additionally, you might have also tried various diets, however, that only resulted in you gaining weight after you finished the diet. In such cases, gastric bypass surgery is an effective solution that many people turn to as a solution.
Gastric bypass surgery is a bariatric surgery which basically involves you feeling full just after eating a small amount of food. As a result, you have a lesser caloric intake which helps in the process of losing weight quickly.
Bariatric surgery like gastric bypass surgery enhances weight loss in those obese people that have failed to achieve long-term success even after going through numerous weight loss attempts. It reduces the storage capacity of the stomach which limits the intake of food and helps to feel full much quicker than normal.
Is gastric bypass surgery helpful for you?
Combined with a comprehensive treatment plan, gastric bypass surgery usually acts as an effective tool to provide long-term weight loss. In turn, this helps to increase the quality of health. Gastric bypass surgery has also been shown to help resolve or improve various conditions related to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. It is no secret that individuals that improve their weight frequently find themselves taking fewer medicines to treat or even manage conditions related to obesity.
A significant amount of weight loss with the help of bariatric surgery also helps to pave the way for numerous other exciting opportunities for not only your health but also for you and your family’s lifestyle.
How does gastric bypass surgery work?
Essentially, all bariatric surgeries including gastric bypass work by changing the anatomy of your digestive system and stomach. Such procedures can also lead to various psychologic changes in the body which changes your fat metabolism and energy balance. However, it is essential to remember that gastric bypass surgery is just a tool. Being successful in your weight loss efforts also depend on other factors like behaviour modification, nutrition, and exercise.
Once your gastrointestinal anatomy changes, the production of intestinal hormones changes. In turn, this reduces appetite and hunger and increases feelings of fullness. Ultimately, the end result is the reduction in the frequency of eating and the desire to eat.
Weight loss – one major life improvement
Weight loss is simply one of the many major life improvements after gastric bypass surgery. It offers significant sustained weight loss. Most people who wish to lose at least 65 pounds have tried numerous ways to lose weight on their own. While these people do have some success, in the beginning, less than 5% of people are successful in keeping weight off in the successive years. In fact, most people gain the lost weight just within a year.
On the other hand, gastric bypass surgery results in long-term success when it comes to weight loss. In fact, many studies prove that over 90% individuals that have been affected by severe obesity previously successfully maintain at least 50% of their excess weight loss after the surgery.
Other major life improvements after gastric bypass surgery
Apart from improving health and assuring longevity, weight loss through gastric bypass also improves the overall life quality. Improved measures of life include physical functions such as sexual function, mobility, social interactions, work, and self-esteem. Moreover, singlehood is reduced significantly along with disability and unemployment. Anxiety and depression are also significantly reduced after the surgery.
Let’s take a more detailed look at seven of the major life improvements after gastric bypass surgery:
1. Remission of type 2 diabetes for long-term
Type 2 diabetes is known to be difficult to control. Gastric bypass surgery causes long-term remission of type 2 diabetes. Studies suggest that the procedure is quite effective for obese patients that have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Thus, after surgery, almost all patients can remain free of adjunct medications and insulin for three years at least.
Previously, diabetes was thought to be an incurable and progressive disease. Treatment options for diabetes include lifestyle changes and weight loss for overweight people along with antidiabetic medicine like insulin. With the help of these treatment options, diabetes could be controlled; however, remission was hardly possible.
Now, there is plenty of scientific evidence that shows remission of type 2 diabetes following gastric bypass surgery. In fact, the rate of remission was shown to be quite high post-surgery. While the causes of improvement or the remission of diabetes have yet to be identified completely, one thing is for sure; it is related to weight loss.
Furthermore, remission or the improvement of diabetes with gastric bypass surgery occurs quite early after the completion of the procedure. In fact, it often occurs even before there is significant weight loss. In fact, there have been reports of patients leaving the hospital with normal blood sugar as well as without the need for medicines for their diabetes.
2. Cardiovascular health drastically improves
It is common knowledge that excess weight can be quite damaging for the heart which means that ultimately, it can be fatal.
A weight loss surgery like gastric bypass decreases the risk of various heart problems like peripheral heart disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke. Moreover, doctors state that cholesterol levels and blood pressure either return to their normal level or they get close to the normal level after surgery. As a result, the risk of many heart-related diseases reduces and overall well-being and quality of life improve.
3. Has a positive impact on mental health
Another major life improvement after gastric bypass surgery is that it relieves the person from depression. Many obese individuals tend to feel depressed primarily because of social stigma and their body image. Even younger individuals with a good amount of excess weight find it hard to take part in activities that they might enjoy otherwise. All of this ultimately leads to social isolation coupled with depression.
Therefore, in such patients, losing excess weight can be quite beneficial.
4. Enjoy better sleep
Getting rid of the excessive weight helps to eliminate obstructive sleep apnea. By achieving and sustaining a normal weight, people diagnosed with sleep apnea can go to sleep without using the CPAP machine.
5. Enjoy more mobility
Shedding off the extra pounds also leads to relief from joint pain. With excessive weight, more stress is put on the weight-bearing joints which often causes joint damage as well as chronic pain.
However, significant sustained weight loss that takes place after a bariatric surgery takes away the stress from these joints. In turn, people can stop using their pain medications and enjoy more mobility.
6. Better fertility
New findings suggest that in childbearing years, weight loss surgery can improve fertility.
Being overweight or obese has an impact on pregnancy, natural conception, and marriage. It also affects the long-term health of females and their children because of an increased risk of illnesses, congenital abnormalities, and pregnancy complications related to obesity like certain cancers, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Having a healthy body weight, on the other hand, increases the chance of conceiving naturally. It also reduces the risk of problems related to being obese or overweight in pregnancy. A bariatric surgery like gastric bypass can improve the symptoms and signs of PCOS that influence fertility including libido, hormonal changes, and ovulation. Procedures like gastric bypass are often linked to higher success rates of assisted conception like IVF.
7. Helps get rid of other medical issues
Weight loss surgery can help alleviate health conditions like gallbladder disease and metabolic syndrome.
Several studies suggest that individuals affected by obesity that have undergone a bariatric surgery are at a lower risk of death than those obese people that haven’t opted for surgery. To put into perspective, the mortality rate for any bariatric surgery is similar to the mortality for gallbladder removal. In fact, it is considerably less than the mortality rate of hip replacement.
The low mortality rate of weight loss procedures is quite remarkable keeping in mind that most patients of obesity have at least one life-threatening disease and are generally in poor health. So, apart from massive weight loss, bariatric surgery is also associated with improving and, in some cases, resolving obesity related co-morbidities like:
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- High blood pressure
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- Obesity-related breathing disorders including asthma
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- Pseudotumor cerebri
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- Venous stasis
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- Arthritis
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- Urinary stress incontinence
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- Fatty liver disease
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- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Lipid abnormalities
Life changes after gastric bypass surgery
Life after getting a weight loss surgery like gastric bypass isn’t always what patients have in mind. Patients that have undergone surgery often state that making radical changes to the mindset after surgery is essential to not regain the weight. The radical changes that patients refer to here include changes to not only your diet and lifestyle, but also your emotions, social life, and relationships.
Of course, patients do enjoy the improve life quality after a bariatric surgery. However, these positive changes don’t come without some drawbacks. Therefore, before opting for a gastric bypass surgery, you must also be aware of the negative changes that might be involved. Following are some of them:
It requires a lot of hard work
It should be very clear that weight loss surgery cannot be used as an alternative to exercise and diet. In fact, it should be considered as an addition to the two. What’s more is that regular exercise and good eating habits both become increasingly important after the surgery. You must practice healthy behaviour every day. This means you need to journal all the food you take, read books on how to maintain the weight and look up on the internet to know about not gaining weight. For many, this was a big commitment, and many failed to carry it out.
You tend to develop new social habits
Activities that you loved to enjoy before the surgery might not be the activities that you continue to take part in post-surgery. According to doctors, this can be quite a big problem for a few patients. For instance, food lovers might not be able to participate in social situations revolving around food. Instead, they must schedule social gatherings that involve more physical activities.
You might have difficult relationships or lose them permanently
Since you might have to change your social habits after surgery, the changes might frustrate or alienate the friends you had before surgery. You will have to work with those close you to accept your new lifestyle and behaviour if you want life to say a little bit of what it was.
Often, people who opt for gastric bypass create a new social circle with new friends, preferably one those with healthier behaviours as this helps to keep the lost weight off.
You may see excess skin
While you might enjoy the major life improvements after gastric bypass surgery, you might not still like your appearance. Many patients who lose weight complain of lose weight and is often a significant hurdle for them. However, it is also worth mentioning that there are solutions for loose skin like exercise and additional surgery. Many patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery don't see an uncomfortable amount of excess skin. The amount of loose or excess skin can be reduced in a myriad of ways including weight lifting and resistance training. If you do see an excess of loose skin after your bariatric surgery or weight loss procedure, Cosmetic Surgery Riga is an exceptional option.
Is gastric bypass surgery really worth it?
The bottom line is that all surgeries, whether bariatric or not, come with both considerable benefits and risks. Some people might find a bariatric surgery like gastric bypass really worth it.
However, it is also important you know everything related to the surgery. This basically means that you must know as much as possible about not only the procedure but also about the changes you will need to make to your life after the surgery.
For someone who is absolutely committed, weight loss surgery like gastric bypass is an effective option for shedding off all the extra weight. Plus, no one can deny the positive impact it has on various obesity-related conditions like heart disease, sleep apnea, and type 2 diabetes.
Ultimately, it is best you talk to your primary healthcare provider, friends, family, and a board-certified surgeon before you come to a final decision. Call or submit a contact form to us at Weight Loss Riga. We're happy to help you understand whether you qualify for bariatric surgery!
