Taste Changes after Bariatric Surgery

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Alcohol abuse after weight loss surgery? | Harvard Gazette

Alcohol abuse after weight loss surgery? | Harvard Gazette.

 

Experts on the use of bariatric surgery for the treatment of obesity gathered at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study earlier this month for a two-day seminar examining new evidence that stomach surgery for the treatment of obesity has unexpected side effects, including an increased incidence of alcohol abuse among patients.

 

 

Winner picked! Team MM BBGC Walks From Obesity - Giveaway #4! About Time Protein

The winner is Rebekah L.!  Thank you all!  Watch for the next contest - later today!

I am heading to Dallas, Texas in October for the Obesity Action Coalition's Inaugural Event and I am super excited about it. And, to top off the event, we are having a Walk From Obesity!  

Please consider (once again, because you are awesome, and we have raised thousands of dollars before!) a small donation to Team MM and the Bariatric Bad Girls Club?  

FDA Warns Second LapBand Firm

And here we go again!

Los Angeles Times -

"The FDA sent a letter to the owners of Lap-Band VIP, warning them to change their billboard and television marketing or face disciplinary action. The allegations were similar to those the agency made in December against 1-800-GET-THIN, another company that marketed Lap-Band weight-loss surgery.

Lap-Band VIP, based in Tarzana, has promoted its weight-loss surgery on television, the Internet and freeway billboards throughout Southern California. One billboard featured a photograph of a thin woman with the pitch:

"Tiffany lost over 100 lbs. Actual patient. Results may vary."

Results DO vary with banding!  

Those ads were misleading, the FDA said in a June 25 letter, because they failed to include adequate warnings about the surgery's risks. The agency said Lap-Band VIP "should take prompt action to correct the violations" or risk "regulatory action."

Call Me.

Maybe?  Welcome to Summer 2012.  On repeat.

Weight loss surgery triggered bipolar disorder?

You know if it's printed in the National Enquirer it has got to be true, but, what?!

THE Rev. JESSE JACKSON is devastated over the headline-making mystery illness that’s struck his son, U.S. Congressman Jesse Jr. – and The ENQUIRER has learned the shocking cause of the tragedy.

“At first we thought he was sim­ply exhausted,” said a source close to the family. “But after five weeks of extensive evaluation, doctors diagnosed Jesse Jr. with bipolar disorder.”

The serious mental condition is triggered by chemical imbalances in the brain, which propels sufferers from manic highs to depressive lows.

Some insiders point the finger of blame squarely at a gastric bypass operation the 47-year-old poli­tician underwent in 2004 because it can restrict the intake of nutrients.

“It is very possible that severe weight loss from gastric bypass can cause a loss of nutrients that can trigger or exacerbate depression, bipolar disorders or schizophrenia,” explained Los Ange­les-based weight-loss specialist Dr. Carson Liu.

Another online source cited that Mr. Jackson, Jr. had a duodenal switch, not a gastric bypass. 

“These usually occur in people in their 30s and 40s after bypass surgery. We often refer patients to psychiatrists for lith­ium to help stabilize their moods. I know of one man who had such severe depression after surgery he committed suicide.”

The Illinois congressman, a married fa­ther of two, took a sudden medical leave of absence from Congress on June 10 and fell out of sight, triggering speculation about his condition.

“It’s very painful for his mother Jackie and father Jesse,” said the close source. “This is going to take a long time.”

And his dad recently showed the heartache he’s feeling. With tears in his eyes, the veteran civil rights leader told a reporter: “Please, just pray for him.”

Say, WHAT?!  I am not disagreeing (even with the Enquirer) because I am a person who developed neurological disorders after undergoing roux en y gastric bypass and losing weight, these issues that have "disabled" me, likely permanently.  However.

HOW-EVER.

But I want to know more, Dr. Carson Liu.   It's often true that those who have weight loss surgery have a co-morbid psychological issue to begin with, it's part of the reason many of us GET MORBIDLY OBESE to begin with, right?  

DISCUSS.

Celebrate Bariatric Vitamins on Snooki and JWOWW - Product Placement Win!

Go Celebrate.  

Let the gossip start in 5, 4, 3, 2...

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Not necessarily safe for work or kids. Your discretion is advised. *snort*

If You Want to Lose Weight But You Aren't -- Why?

Millions of us go on diets and have weight loss surgery each year, but sometimes (often?!) do not have the level of success we expect.  Why is this?  Honestly, this article I lifted from Huffington Post via author Margaret Paul, Ph.D is a tough read.  It makes me squirm a little, which probably means there's a bit too much truth in it and we should all go buy her books.

Just saying.

Huffington Post - 

The answer is, as much as they say they want to lose weight, there is something they want even more -- something that is in direct conflict to weight loss.

Ouch.

If You REALLY Want to Lose Weight - (And, we do, don't we?!  Why is it so HARD?!) via Huffington Post

Free Shipping via MM! Ends tonight! Thanks, all!

Bariatric Eating Saga - Florida reacts - slowly.

• Click to enlarge.

Yes. This.

Susan Maria Leach Bariatric Eating Ships New Orders First, but not months old ones.

BariatricEating.com

We have shipped many of the older Believe orders and are working our way through the rest. All old site orders will be fulfilled, they will all be handled either via shipping of product or credited. We continue to move forward and will have BariatricEating.com store back up again in about ten days and get back to our old selves soon. I thank those of you who have been forgiving and for those who have not been, I understand your frustration and even anger. Our new site is running smoothly, efficiently, has plenty of product that ships either next or second day - old site will be back soon as well.

• • "Thanks so much! I sure hope I get my product!
  •  I too would have been more understanding if there had been communication.

    When will the actual store reopen?
  • Now this is what you should have been posting all along. I think people would have been much more receptive and understanding to a little humility. I look forward to my credit since my order was cancelled but never refunded back in May.
  • I certainly hope that everyone gets either their product or a refund asap. I ordered from the new BEHealthy site on 7/12 - 2 cases of Believe Creme Brulee.. Shipment notification on 7/16 and received it 7/17. I love the fact that BE now has a fulfillment center in Cali. the shipping costs were pretty much 1/4 what I used to pay and it was speedy! Only my experience.. but I am sipping a Creme Brulee right now.. I missed them!
  • I ordered protien drinks on March 23, 2012, still waiting. Hope to recieve soon or get a refund. No reply to my last three emails.
  •  Oh my, I truly think that the old orders should be shipped FIRST!! What's up with someone that just ordered this month getting their order before a person that ordered in March??? Sure hope they get things going smoothly again soon!"

/bullshit continues 

TSA Strip-Search 'Humiliated' WLS Post Op Seeking Medical Treatment

• Texas Grandmother 'Humiliated' By TSA Strip-Search http://huff.to/MnvOJs 

Celebrate Bariatric Supplements Calcium Citrate Soft Chews

Celebrate Bariatric Supplements recently came out with a line of Calcium Citrate Soft Chews, and I have been holding my stash hostage for a very long time for this review.  If you had not noticed, I am a thief.  I steal samples from various supplement companies when I go to conferences.  I fill my pockets with chewy bites, protein bars, and samples of shakes.  I hoard them until I realize it's been Too Long Since I Stole Them And I Should Really Tell Everyone How They Taste Now.

A fully reversible, NON SURGICAL device for weight loss? Obalon Therapeutics

Obalon Therapeutics, Inc. received approval from the FDA and has begun enrolling its first clinical study in the United States to begin evaluating the safety and efficacy of a fully reversible device for weight loss.

• Clinical trial results reported by Dr. Ariel Ortiz showed 34% excess weight loss in a three-month study in Mexico. 
• Dr. Ortiz also announced preliminary results of approximately 45% excess weight loss in a similar European study.

Those are some amazing numbers.  I promise I am not thinking about adding this to my gastric bypassed belly, much.  I kid.

What is it?  Here's information from the patent application -

An implant configured for ingestion by a patient. After the implant has been swallowed by the patient and is disposed within the target location, e.g. the patient's stomach, an inflation subcomponent causes the implant to expand from a compact delivery state to an expanded, volume-occupying, deployed state.

In the deployed state the implant creates a sensation of satiety in the patient stomach and thereby aids in limiting food intake and obesity.

After a predetermined time a deflation subcomponent is actuated and the implant reduces in size so as to allow it to pass through the remainder of the patient's digestive track. The device may further incorporate tracking and visualization subcomponents, as well as pharmaceutical delivery subcomponents.

SAN DIEGO, Jul 18, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Obalon Therapeutics, Inc. announced it closed a $16.5 million Series C private equity financing, began enrolling patients in a U.S. clinical trial, received CE Mark approval and had weight loss data presented at the IFSO European Congress (International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders).

Obesity is a worldwide epidemic. Although bariatric surgery has demonstrated strong weight loss results, the surgeries are costly, irreversible and used in less than 1% of the eligible population. Physicians, patients and payers all agree there is a compelling need for new products and technologies to address this gap.

Obalon is developing a novel, nonsurgical, fully-reversible device for weight loss. The device consists of a capsule containing a balloon that is swallowed and then remotely inflated. The balloon is intended to occupy space in the stomach to create a feeling of fullness to help people eat less. Additional balloons can be swallowed and inflated during the treatment period as indicated for weight loss. At the end of the treatment period, the balloons are removed.

Your thoughts?  Would you try this device had you not had weight loss surgery already? 

 

Three months and one week later.

Three months and two months ago, I ordered two separate times from Susan Maria Leach's Bariatric Eating.com aka BEHealthyDrinks aka SML Network.

Protein Quality Chart

 

Via Wikipedia

After bariatric surgery you need to eat protein every day to speed wound healing, and to preserve your lean body mass.

Foods that are high in protein should always be eaten first during meals. The recommended long term post-surgery protein intake may vary from 50/100 grams per day depending on your individual needs and diet plan provided by your surgeon or dietitian.   Ask them.

Protein quality matters, and you might need to use protein to supplement your diet.    What are the best sources of protein supplements?

• Click to enlarge images, or  Download Protein Quality chart.

Weight loss surgery may not cut medical costs - study

A recent study suggests that even with weight loss surgery, the formerly obese are still costly to the medical system, at least in the first few years.  The prior evidence that weight loss surgery saved money in the long run was based primarily on young, obese females, who are the most likely to HAVE bariatric surgery and save money throughout their health-care cycle.  For example, people like me: a relatively straight-forward  case of morbid obesity. Gastric bypass may have kept me from developing costly issues related to my obesity. 

Weight-loss surgery may not cut medical costs - KTVN-

"These three-year findings suggest that the return on investment for bariatric surgery isn't seen," said lead researcher Matthew Maciejewski, from the Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care at the Durham VA Medical Center, in North Carolina.

"It is possible, however, that if we could follow these [patients] for another three to five years, cost reduction may be seen," he said.

Bariatric surgery improved these patients' health in the short term, but without further weight loss or other lifestyle modifications, their risk remains high, he added.

Maciejewski said these patients, like most patents who have weight-loss surgery, gain much of the weight back, which may be why costs remain the same as before surgery.

The report was published in the July issue of the journal Archives of Surgery.  

Download study -

Surgeons use risk-benefit analysis in our decisions to operate on specific patients. Rarely do we consider the economic implication, instead using the assumption that an individual would want enhanced quantity or quality of life, regardless of cost. This decision-making process is further supported by a separation of those who receive the benefit and those who pay the bill. However, when surgeons want to justify a new procedure or piece of equipment, economic benefit is often argued. Those contemplating paying for the procedure will balance expense with the improvement of quantity or quality of life for the insured.

Bariatric surgery clearly reduces obesity-related comorbidities and has been touted to reduce overall costs.¹Most of these studies examined a predominantly younger female cohort that represents most bariatric patients. True economic costs are hard to quantify because patients are mobile, expenditures occur in multiple disparate realms, and charges do not reflect actual expenditures. The study by Maciejewski et al²provides insight into a different group of patients: veterans treated in a truly integrated delivery system. Utilization of resources is efficiency captured, and the cost structure is standardized across the system. Comparing 847 patients undergoing bariatric surgery with 847 propensity-matched controls, the authors did not demonstrate a significant decrease in health care expenditures in the 3 years after the bariatric procedures."

For the study, Maciejewski's team looked at health-care spending in nearly 850 U.S. military veterans who had weight-loss surgery, comparing them to a similar number of veterans who didn't. The researchers analyzed expenditures for the three years before and after surgery.

The researchers found that in the years before surgery, hospital inpatient and outpatient costs for people who had bariatric surgery were about $600 lower than for those who didn't have the procedure. In the six months before surgery, however, the costs were $28,400 higher, including the operation.

Costs were almost $4,400 higher in the first six months after surgery, but then dropped to about the same level as before the procedure, the researchers found.

These findings, however, may only apply to this particular group of patients, who were mostly male, older and sicker than other patients who have weight-loss surgery, the researchers noted. In other groups, the procedure may reduce health-care spending.

Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of bariatric surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said patients should not be looking for a return on investment from any medical procedure.

"We do this medical procedure to make people improve medically -- get rid of their diabetes, their sleep apnea -- and feel better about themselves and let them have an improved quality of life," he said.

Roslin said the notion of cost reduction was something that "people created to try to get coverage for bariatric surgery. I don't believe, in a system like ours, there will ever be a return on investment for any medical procedure."

However, as we know some people simply DO become more expensive throughout the bariatric surgery journey.  *points to self*  

I cannot imagine the costs of my care without private health insurance in the last nine years.  Thanks to Mr. for being employed steadily, because WOW.  We still pay ridiculous co-pays, but I have been covered.

Before weight loss surgery, I had little expenditures in terms of health-care, but after, I have many. Some related -- some perhaps related -- to the fact that I had gastric bypass surgery.  My situation is NOT a very common result, however, without my husband's health coverage, I would be one expensive public healthcare patient!

PS.  Also worth mentioning, WLS patients who become healthier - don't die as fast - and cost more.

Sorry about that.

Sax HC. Questioning the Economics of Bariatric Surgery: Comment on “Health Expenditures Among High-Risk Patients After Gastric Bypass and Matched Controls”. Arch Surg. 2012;147(7):640-641.  doi:10.1001/archsurg.2012.1021.

Susan Maria Leach Bariatric Eating Doesn't Ship Orders, But Asks FOR REVIEWS. 93 days.

Click to enlarge.

By now I've received my order -- nice assumption!  

After this debacle, you expect a product review to be left in my name under your web store?  

Feel free to link to my already written reviews of the Believe Protein Lattes!

• Believe Mocha Review
• ProJoe Review