What to expect after Gastric Bypass Surgery
After Gastric Bypass Surgery – What To Expect
After gastric bypass surgery you can expect to enjoy dramatic long-term weight loss and great improvements to your quality of life. The results of gastric bypass surgery are most visible when you create positive changes to your eating behavior and make healthy lifestyle choices.
After gastric bypass surgery you can expect:
- More sustainable weight loss than after procedures that are purely restrictive
- A low chance of protein-calorie malnutrition or diarrhoea
- Quick improvements to weight related conditions like hypertension, insulin resistant diabetes, high cholesterol, liver disease, arthritis, heartburn, incontinence, headaches, sleep apnoea and many other diseases and disorders, or even the complete resolution of such medical problems.
- A decrease in your appetite
- Improved self-esteem
- The display of more positive behaviors
- A better quality of life
The best results after gastric bypass surgery tend to be found amongst severely obese patients who have been unable to control their weight gain through diet or drug therapies for a long time.
Gastric bypass is also likely to yield great results for people who suffer from other weight-related diseases that could be relieved by drastic weight loss. The term “morbidly obese” is often used to describe the health of patients whose Body Mass Index measures over 40, when the patient weighs 100lbs more than their estimated ideal weight and has done so for over five years, and when co-morbid diseases like diabetes, high blood-pressure, arthritis and sleep apnea become life-threatening or seriously reduce the patient’s quality of life.
After Gastric Bypass Surgery
After gastric bypass surgery you must be prepared to dramatically change your lifestyle and food choices and work with a skilled team of doctors and therapists to deal with related co-morbidities, in particular during the first twelve to eighteen months after your surgery.
Patients need to strictly monitor themselves after gastric bypass surgery. You will need to take note of your physical activity, nutrition and eating behavior, as well as monitor very closely your psychological needs. This is to encourage maximum long-term weight loss and maintain the improved quality of life you will experience through having the gastric bypass procedure.
Patients who choose to go ahead with the gastric bypass need to understand that the procedure creates a permanent decrease in the size of the stomach and an irreversible rearrangement of the digestive tract. You must also understand and accept both the usual risks of surgery under anesthetic as well as the possibility of encountering the complications that are unique to gastric bypass surgery, such as osteoporosis, anemia and dumping syndrome (symptoms associated with consuming sweets or foods containing high sugar concentrations such as heart palpitations, lightheadedness, diarrhea and other symptoms).