Written By: Jeannine Giovanni, MD, Director of Bariatric Surgery, Care New England on September 23, 2020
For those who struggle with obesity, there probably isn’t a diet or exercise they haven’t tried. Yet despite the effort brought forth, the desired results are rarely obtained. It’s so difficult to lose the weight yet so easy to put it all back on and often find yourself weighing more than when you started. So when should you consider weight loss surgery?
Perhaps the moment is when you reach a number on the scale that you never expected to see, get diagnosed with a serious weight-related disease like diabetes, find out you don’t qualify for a medical procedure because you weigh too much, can’t do the things you enjoy most in life or worry that you may not be around for your family.
Obesity is a chronic disease for which there is no cure but there are highly effective treatments. Like most chronic diseases, it can be managed through various means to achieve a healthier state. Chronic diseases are complicated and obesity is no exception. Although one might believe that diet, exercise and behavior change should do the trick this often is not enough. Likewise, surgery is not meant to replace this. Surgery is a tool. In fact, bariatric surgery is the most effective tool to achieve long-term weight loss results and remission from more than 40 other weight-related medical problems.
The risk of death from heart disease and cancer is substantially reduced. The social and psychological benefits are often described as getting one’s life back now that it is possible to do things that the weight had once prevented.
No doubt that once you reach your breaking point/personal threshold it’s still hard to take the next step. You may be held back by fear. You may doubt whether or not it will work. You may even be concerned about how others will judge your decision because you are perceived to have taken “the easy way out.”
Obesity is a chronic disease for which there is no cure but there are highly effective treatments. Like most chronic diseases, it can be managed through various means to achieve a healthier state. Chronic diseases are complicated and obesity is no exception. Although one might believe that diet, exercise, and behavior change should do the trick this often is not enough. Likewise, surgery is not meant to replace this. Surgery is a tool. In fact, bariatric surgery is the most effective tool to achieve long-term weight loss results and remission from more than 40 other weight-related medical problems. After bariatric surgery, most patients are no longer diabetic, take medication for high blood pressure, or need a CPAP machine to sleep. The risk of death from heart disease and cancer is substantially reduced. The social and psychological benefits are often described as getting one’s life back now that it is possible to do things that the weight had once prevented.
Start getting informed by watching an online webinar to learn about your options. The webinar will discuss the qualifications for surgery and the various surgical options such as the gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy. You will gain more insight as to how the surgeries help. The webinar will outline the pros and cons of each procedure as well as the risks so you can discuss it further with your surgeon. This first consultation with the surgeon will allow you to determine what the best approach would be to help you achieve your weight loss goals.
You will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary team of experts including nutritionists, psychologists, and medical professionals. The team will prepare you for surgery and more importantly will provide the support necessary to make the appropriate diet, exercise, and behavior changes that together with the surgery will enhance your chance for success.
You will learn that obesity is a chronic disease that can be managed successfully long term by partnering the right tool with the right team to help you along your journey. Learn more about becoming a healthier you by signing up for our weight loss surgery webinar.
