WLS is NOT a cure for obesity - important article

[Guest guest]

I know this isn't a popular topic, but it is an important one to

understand. We can easily regain weight - or not lose well even along

the way - if we do not make big , " forever " changes in our

lifestyles.

Sandy r

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Bariatric surgery popular, but isn't cure for obesity

Rigby

Bariatric surgery is one of the fastest growing operations in South

Texas. Each year, hundreds of South Texans are lining up to undergo

the procedure to control their obesity.

But the surgery isn't a cure.

What happens when patients start to pack on the pounds again?

Bariatric patient Regina Oliver works as a medical assistant at

Methodist Specialty and Transplant Hospital in San . Oliver

weighed 316 pounds and was a size 28 before her surgery — then the

weight started coming off.

" Within the first year, it was 103 pounds. I did great, " she

said. " And I just felt so much better, and when I would walk past a

mirror, it's like 'oh, who's that? Oh, that's me!' you just have that

confidence. "

After a couple of years, though, the scale that had become her friend

became her enemy once again. She was able to eat more, her portions

were bigger and her clothes were getting tighter — thirty pounds

tighter.

" The sugars and the breads and all that stuff that you have to eat in

moderation, they all went down easily. I didn't have problems, so the

weight just slowly crept back up, " Oliver said.

How is that possible? Bariatric surgery, after all, shrinks the

stomach size and makes the patient feel full faster. Bariatric

surgeons say that too often patients eventually return to their old

habits.

" Even after surgery, it's calories in and it's calories out, surgery

by itself will always fail if you don't change lifestyle with it, "

said Dr. Lloyd Stegemann, a bariatric surgeon at New Dimensions

Weight Loss Surgery.

Gastric bypass patients lose about 70 percent of their extra weight

within the first year. Lap-Band patients lose about 50 percent. But

for a significant portion of patients, keeping that extra weight off

is the biggest challenge.

At New Dimensions Weight Loss Surgery — Oliver's doctors' office —

follow-up and support groups are the answer to the challenge. Once a

month, weight loss patients get together to share the victories and

defeats of their ongoing fight, and get advice from experts.

Doctors have found that for the one to 15 percent of patients who

regain their weight, ongoing support groups can be key to winning the

Battle of the Bulge.

" I think support groups are just absolutely vital after weight loss

surgery, " Stegemann said. " The ones that aren't following up on the

program, continue to work on all of those important lifestyle issues,

can regain all of their weight back over time. "

Oliver likes to say she's back on the wagon now. She knows the

smaller stomach only allows her to eat a meal the size of an 8-year-

old child. However, if she does that too often, she will gain weight.

She's set a goal — to reach 185 pounds — and she's committed to

monthly meetings to keep her accountable.

link to article online:

http://www.mysanant onio.com/ news/metro/ stories/MYSA0503

08.bariatric. ke

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