The medical community world wide has describe obesity as an “epidemic”. Medical organizations around the globe have come together with new procedures designed to promote drastic weight loss. With new medical weight loss options, combating obesity has become almost a new cause. These options range from the drastic, to the medically assisted.
Gastric bypass is the original weight loss surgery . This procedure consists of surgically divided the stomach into a small upper pouch and a lower remnant pouch. The intestines are re arranged to then stay connected to both pouches. Surgeons have discovered different ways to reconnect the intestines , but the pouches have been severely reduced. The result is usually drastic weight loss and the stomach has literally been cut in less than half. It reduces the stomach capacity by well over 90 %. This surgery comes with risk as well as stomach staples. It is a major surgery with a long road of behavioral and physical learning.
Lap Band surgery is a variation of gastric bypass. It is a medical prosthetic device in the shape of a ring. It is place around the stomach, dividing the stomach into an upper and lower portion. The name comes from the surgical technique used to insert the device. Unlike gastric bypass, there is no reattaching of intestines or stapling of abdominal walls. The out come is the same and the journey identical. After both of these surgeries , solid foods are prohibited approximately for a two week period. Any over eating will cause the band to stretch inducing vomiting which can cause damage to the abdominal wall. The idea behind these surgeries is to artificially shrink the abdominal wall, sending signals to the brain that stomach is full on only a thumb full of food. Dietary restrictions for some will be life long. This is a drastic solution for weight loss, however dependant on the individual and the weight needing to be lost it may be the only option.
Other forms of medical weight loss are available. Most commonly as prescriptions by your physician. Appetite suppressants are prescribed to control cravings and over eating. This pills are prescribed at the discretion of your doctor and usually requires a minimum of weight gain before your doctor will even consider it. This method does not always work for everyone and can become used as something of a crutch.
Medically loosing weight should be a supervised progression. Many weight loss clinics advertise themselves as “Medical Weight Loss Clinics”. This is usually because the process of losing weight is accompanied by an acting practitioner who monitors blood sugars, metabolic rate, blood pressure and other health concerns that might present themselves.
Every medical weight loss options is not without it’s concerns. That being said, the decision on which you decide to approach your weight loss should be considered with your physician. Many contributing factors need to be considered and evaluated before you establish a method. Who better to discuss them with than you health care practitioner? Information is the basis on which these decision should be made.
