Weight loss in the morbidly obese, especially after the first 25 to 30 pounds, often results in dramatic improvement and even elimination of several severe health conditions. The immediate change in diet and the quick weight loss after gastric bypass makes it an especially powerful tool against these debilitating health conditions. With such improvement, weight loss surgery actually saves patients not only their lives, but money normally spent on medications, treatments and doctor visits for the rest of their lives.
There are a number of contributing factors to determine if you are a candidate for weight loss surgery. Learn more about how weight loss surgery can be the right solution for you.
Normalized Blood Pressure
At least 70% of gastric bypass patients stop taking all high blood pressure medication within 2 to 3 months of surgery.
Normalized Blood Cholesterol
80% of gastric bypass patients develop normal cholesterol levels in 2 to 3 months after surgery.
Type II Diabetes Disappears
90% of Type II diabetics, usually within a few days of gastric bypass surgery, reclaim normal blood sugar levels, normal Hemoglobin A1C values, and freedom from all their medications, including insulin injections.
Based on numerous studies of diabetes, the progression of problems associated with diabetes are likely arrested when blood sugar is maintained at normal values. Therefore, no medical treatment for diabetes achieves as complete and profound an effect as gastric bypass surgery.
Asthma Relief
Most asthmatics after undergoing gastric bypass find they have fewer and less severe attacks, or sometimes none at all. Obesity surgery particularly benefits asthma associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Lowered Risk of Heart Disease
The improvement in high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes suggests less risk of heart disease. In a recent study, surgical weight loss patients with diabetes profoundly reduced their risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Improved Breathing
Exercise and breathing noticeably improve after the loss of the first 25 or 30 pounds. Often patients barely able to walk prior to surgery can join in family activities and even sports.
Sleep Apnea Relief
Weight loss brings dramatic relief of sleep apnea. Many report their symptoms completely gone, including snoring, within a year.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Disappears
For nearly all surgical weight loss patients, relief from reflux occurs usually within a few days of their gastric bypass.
Stress Urinary Incontinence Gone
With surgical weight loss, this condition usually disappears. If a patient still troubled by incontinence chooses corrective surgery later, they enjoy much less risk due to their reduced body weight.
Relief from Low Back Pain, Degenerative Disk Disease, and Degenerative Joint Disease
After the first 25 to 30 pounds, patients report considerable pain relief from degenerative arthritis, disk disease and in their weight-bearing joints. With nerve irritation or structural damage, though, weight loss may not be able to make a difference.
Longstreet Clinic’s Center for Weight Management offers several weight loss options to fit the needs of our patients. Learn more about the types of bariatric surgery available to you at Longstreet Clinic. We want to help you begin a healthier lifestyle along with seeing and feeling results.
