This video about my upper-arm excess skin is from more than three years ago, but it made me laugh out loud this morning with Tristan who is now more than six years old and finds her "baby-self" quite adorable. I am now nearly nine-years post gastric bypass, and I never had any plastic surgery to reconstruct my skin. It still looks awful. Someday, I will! I know I started the original "Melting Mama" blog to save money to have a tummy tuck back in 2005. That, um, never happened.
It's the end of the world as we know it. First a potential world-wide bacon shortage, now this? I might suggest this is how to get consumers to Stop Purchasing Pork.
Many people whose diabetes at first went away were likely to have it return. While weight regain is a common problem among those who undergo bariatric surgery, regaining lost weight did not appear to be the cause of diabetes relapse. Instead, the study found that people whose diabetes was most severe or in its later stages when they had surgery were more likely to have a relapse, regardless of whether they regained weight.
âSome people are under the impression that you have surgery and youâre cured,â said Dr. Vivian Fonseca, the president for medicine and science for the American Diabetes Association, who was not involved in the study. âThere have been a lot of claims about how wonderful surgery is for diabetes, and I think this offers a more realistic picture.â
The findings suggest that weight loss surgery may be most effective for treating diabetes in those whose disease is not very advanced. âWhat weâre learning is that not all diabetic patients do as well as others,â said Dr. David E. Arterburn, the lead author of the study and an associate investigator at the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle. âThose who are early in diabetes seem to do the best, which makes a case for potentially earlier intervention.â
Gastric bypass has profound effects on glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The goal of this study was to examine the long-term rates and clinical predictors of diabetes remission and relapse among patients undergoing gastric bypass.
METHODS:
We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults with uncontrolled or medication-controlled type 2 diabetes who underwent gastric bypass from 1995 to 2008 in three integrated health care delivery systems in the USA. Remission and relapse events were defined by diabetes medication use and clinical laboratory measures of glycemic control. We identified 4,434 adults with uncontrolled or medication-controlled type 2 diabetes who had gastric bypass.
RESULTS:
Overall, 68.2 % (95 % confidence interval [CI], 66 and 70 %) experienced an initial complete diabetes remission within 5 years after surgery. Among these, 35.1 % (95 % CI, 32 and 38 %) redeveloped diabetes within 5 years. The median duration of remission was 8.3 years. Significant predictors of complete remission and relapse were poor preoperative glycemic control, insulin use, and longer diabetes duration. Weight trajectories after surgery were significantly different for never remitters, relapsers, and durable remitters (pâ=â0.03).
CONCLUSIONS:
Gastric bypass surgery is associated with durable remission of type 2 diabetes in many but not all severely obese diabetic adults, and about one third experience a relapse within 5 years of initial remission. More research is needed to understand the mechanisms of diabetes relapse, the optimal timing of surgery in effecting a durable remission, and the relationship between remission duration and incident microvascular and macrovascular events.
Tim Church, M.D., M.P.H, Ph.D., is Professor of Preventative Medicine at Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University. He has authored over 100 research articles, received numerous awards for preventative health research and co-authored, âMove Yourself, The Cooper Clinic Medical Directorâs Guide to All Healing Benefits of Exercise.â Frequently used as an expert source for health stories with national media outlets, Dr. Church interviews with NBC, USA Today, Reuters, Wall Street Journal and CNN. He earned his Medical Degree at Tulane University School of Medicine and is the former Vice President of Medical Research at The Cooper Institute.
Gastric bypass patients who follow through with their post op appointments in the first two years lose nearly twice as much weight as those who do not, suggests a study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.
Imagine what could happen with even more follow up.
The health benefits of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery in severely obese patients persist for six years, according to a prospective, controlled study (JAMA 2012;308:1122-1131). These benefits include weight loss and improvements in major cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors.
On the news tonight, they showed the hoardes of shoppers lined up outside of the shops tonight for those Black Friday deals.
I have to ask -- do you partake in this yearly insanity?
I suppose if you DO -- you might not be able to reply to this post because it's now 9pm EST and you might actually be pre-gaming and getting ready to slaughter other shoppers?
As a former retail salesperson I have never shopped on Black Friday on purpose, I have only WORKED on this day. I think this has warped my sense of necessity, forever. Adding that to the fact that I cannot drive, and I live nowhere near shopping -- it's not feasible. Also, I am married to a man who works in a bank that does great business on Black Friday -- so -- he's never home to take me shopping even if I wanted to.
There's online shopping!
My kid's wish-lists are insane - but - Amazon my might some of it possible -- I'll check tomorrow. Happy shopping/maiming!
"Jackson, 47, disappeared in June, and it was later revealed that he was being treated at the Mayo Clinic for bipolar disorder and gastrointestinal issues. He returned to his Washington home in September but went back to the clinic the next month, with his father, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, saying his son had not yet "regained his balance."
Shortly after taking office, he was deemed People magazine's sexiest politician in 1997 and became one of the most outspoken and quoted liberals in the House. There was a near-Hollywood buzz over his newly svelte figure in 2005 when he quietly dropped 50 pounds, disclosing months later that he had had weight-loss surgery.
Welcome to WLS + suspect malabsorption of medications. We are a fun bunch! :D
I was just passively listening to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, when I noticed the human product placement of Jillian Michaels into the NBC parade line-up, and then the commercials started:
Now we can warp the thinking of a whole new generation of obese kids.
My 15 year old shook her head, stood up, and left the room.
Late Monday night my neurologist's secretary called to say that my PET Scan and MRI appointments were cancelled and please not to come in. However, considering that this was the third (or... fourth?) cancellation in a row my husband called the health insurer Just To Make Sure, and it appeared we were okay - and had all the authorizations and Please Go Create More Debt! Instead of wasting four hours in traffic in total to be sent home -- we waited to the very last minute and called the hospital to MAKE DAMN SURE I could still go in. "And, I ... guess?"
I think until you play this game of insurance-merry-go-NO-we-don't-want-to-pay-for-anything you won't get it. This drags every process out over months. Consider that I have had seizures since AT LEAST 2006 or 2007 (I did not realize what they were...) and that my medical treatment is really JUST getting underway, now.
Scary.
Yes.
AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY -- "Well, we aren't so sure she needs that test, could you offer more proof that she needs brain imaging?" Sure! COME TO MY HOUSE Mr. Cigna. Live with me for a week. I'll show you seizures!
The testing.
The PET Scan was super simple, after I walked in and was given the: "Um, your appointment was cancelled?" I just told the girl at the desk, "Yes, well, we spent all morning on the phone about THAT," and I looked away.
Two minutes later, she's got my bracelet on, and the nurse has my IV in.
You get a simple glucose injection and have to sit quietly for 45 minutes and let your brain rest. I am not good at that, so I got in trouble for picking up a magazine. "BAD, BAD BETH." The scan itself was no big deal, it was quiet, and quick. As soon as I started to feel like I had enough -- it was over.
The MRI. Do not want. I have had enough brain MRIs to know they suck -- they are loud and obnoxious, and I do everything I can to NOT ENVISION my brain being sliced into deli meat. Because I Do. The Whole Time.
These two tests will give a clearer picture of the activity source in my brain like this:
Not MY brain ... HOWEVER ...
The MRI - the non seizure brain - the seizure brain - the mixed scans - and VOILA - you can see the seizure focus! Again, not my brain, however, my will appear somewhat similar.
PS. If you do not want to receive neurology updates - remember - this is my personal blog. If you're still here, thank you!
Weight Regain After Bariatric Surgery - Dr. John Dixon of Monash University and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute of Melbourne, Australia gave a new presentation on Weight Regain After Bariatric Surgery.
"Peanut Butter Cups have long been a forbidden treat. What if you could eat them everyday and have them help you achieve your goals? With Quest Cravings high protein Peanut Butter Cups you can!
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<-- this link directly benefits my wishlist. It's appreciated and I love you. 
