Weight Loss Surgery Information

Are you considering bariatric weight-loss surgery for obesity? If so, have you asked yourself the right kinds of questions to determine if obesity surgery is the best option for you?

Like any other form of surgery, obesity surgery requires careful consideration and planning. To help you in this regard, we have rounded up some resources (on this website and elsewhere) to help you ask yourself the right questions about obesity surgery — and to obtain answers to those questions.

Questions When Considering Surgery For Obesity

Question: Is obesity surgery right for me?
Related article: When to Consider Weight Loss Surgery

Question: Do I know the potential risks of obesity surgery?
Related article: Possible Complications of Bariatric Surgery

Question: Do I understand the financial costs?
Related articles: Cost of Bariatric Surgery and Lap Band Surgery

Question: Have I taken the obesity surgery quiz?
If not, go there now

Surgery for obesity is a major undertaking and therefore requires careful consideration. The questions above are a good starting point, but don’t stop there. Read as much literature as you can find on obesity surgery, and talk to some folks who have undergone this type of surgery. Get the big picture and make an informed decision about obesity surgery.

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I just stumbled across a very informative article (technically a Q&A) written by Dr. Andrew Weil. You probably recognize the name, as Dr. Weil has written many books on health and nutrition, and appears on TV regularly.

His article is about nutrition after weight loss surgery (in this case gastric bypass). Specifically, it explains how you need to optimize your nutrition after weight loss surgery by taking vitamin and mineral supplements, increasing your iron intake, etc.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Because your body will have difficulty absorbing certain nutrients after the surgery, you will also need to take vitamin and mineral supplements daily. Caroline Apovian, M.D., director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center, tells me that you’ll need a daily chewable multivitamin plus additional calcium and vitamin D.”

Read the full article here

Related article: Diet After Bariatric Surgery

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What happens after bariatric weight-loss surgery? What kind of recovery can you expect? How will your life and diet change as the result of such a procedure?

These are just a few of the questions potential patients have about life after weight loss surgery. In truth, every patient is different and so every surgery is different. As a result of this, recovery times and success rates vary from one patient to the next.

But there are certain consistencies about life after weight loss surgery, and we have tried to address some of them in our latest article:

After Weight Loss Surgery - What to Expect

Going Straight to the Source
Reading books and articles (such as the one above) about weight loss surgery can help you understand the long-term lifestyle changes it will bring. Another excellent way to learn about life after weight loss surgery is to get feedback from the patients themselves.

These days, there are quite a few weight loss surgery forums online where you can register and join the conversation. Most former patients are happy to share their experiences with others considering weight loss surgery, because they remember when the shoe was on the other foot and they were the ones with all the questions.

To find some forums on the subject of weight loss surgery, just enter the phrase “weight loss surgery forum” into a search engine like Google. You’ll find plenty! Review the forums and try to find one or two that have active participants with lots of Q&A going back and forth. Those will be the forums worth joining.

Good luck.

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Howdy. Just a quick Friday post to leave you with some helpful information over the weekend.

This website is full of weight loss surgery information — nearly 200 pages of information, in fact. But because of that volume, the information is not always accessible at first glance. It takes some digging to find what you’re after. Of course, you could always use the search tool as a shortcut.

So … we decided to compile some important information from the site in the form of a frequently-asked-questions list.

1. What types of weight loss surgery are there?
We have an article on the site called “What is Bariatric Surgery?” that does a good job explaining the most common types of bariatric surgery.

2. What are the basic criteria for weight loss surgery?
All surgeons have a slightly different way of deciding whether a person is a good candidate for weight loss surgery. But most of them base their decisions on industry standards … certain pre-defined criteria for surgery.

3. How much does weight loss surgery cost?
On average, these surgeries range from $10,000 to $40,000. To learn about the many factors that determine this cost, read out article on the cost involved with weight loss surgery. Also see our related blog post about LAP-BAND surgery costs.

4. How do I find a weight loss surgeon?
All surgeons have different levels of skill, experience, bedside manner, etc. So it’s important to find one with the right blend of characteristics that suits you. Remember, when you factor in the follow-up process, you may be working with this person for over a year. For more on this, we direct you to the appropriate part of our bariatric surgery quiz.

5. What are the possible risks and complications?
This is always a wise question to ask about weight loss surgery. It shows that you’re thinking about the big picture, and not just the success stories you read about. As you might have guessed, we have written an article about the possible risks and complications.

Okay, so it was more than a “quick Friday post.” But information is what we do here! Have a great weekend.

-BLC

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What types of bariatric weight-loss surgery are there? How much do they cost? Do I meet the basic criteria for bariatric surgery patients? What’s the average recovery time?

These are just a few of the questions you can find answers to through our brand new quiz on weight loss surgery. We call it the “Bariatric Quiz-o-Matic,” and it’s designed to help you ask all the right questions about bariatric surgery. It also offers links to many related resources … but you’ll have to take the quiz to get to them! No cheating.

• Start the quiz
• Learn more about it

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