Your First Days Back at the Gym After Bariatric Surgery

Once you’ve had bariatric surgery, you should be proud of your incredible step toward renewed life and health. It’s often said that deciding to have surgery is one of the most challenging parts of the whole process. To some degree, that’s true – most often, the surgery is pretty smooth. However, one starts to encounter an entirely new set of problems, often psychological, after one’s surgical procedure. Most of these problems revolve around the challenges of losing weight and the lifestyle changes patients must make, particularly in diet and exercise.

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Why You Can’t Ignore Mental Health After Bariatric Surgery

It can be a “chicken and egg – which came first?” Question. Did the excess weight cause depression and anxiety, or did those mental health concerns cause the extra weight? The answer isn’t always straightforward for bariatric patients, so you must prioritize your mental health before and after surgery.

We all get in a rut, and everyone feels nervous at some point or another. However, these feelings must be addressed when they become chronic and start interfering with daily life and your lifestyle – ideally even before. To be sure, obesity has been shown to increase the incidence of depression and anxiety. Why is this? Generally, as we gain more weight, we withdraw from many of the social and physical activities we enjoy. Sometimes, this is from embarrassment, while other times, it can be physical – we can’t do it because of the weight. Going on vacation may be a struggle; we can’t fit into the airline seat, or the theme park or roller coaster has a weight or size limit. We also tend to shy away from social activities, thinking that our friends and loved ones may judge us for gaining weight. No matter what the reason, obesity also throws our hormones off-balance, which can lead to different emotions and feelings.

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Preventing a Hernia Recurrence

If you’ve had hernia surgery, recurrence is one of the potential long-term complications you’ve undoubtedly heard of. So, what exactly is a hernia recurrence, and how can it be avoided?

Hernia recurrence occurs when the initial defect closure fails, and the contents of the hernia again protrude through the fascia of the abdomen. Hernia recurrence was once widespread when tension-based suture repairs were the norm in this surgery.

Let’s dig a little deeper.

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What Will My Body Look Like After Bariatric Surgery

This is a tricky question for any bariatric surgeon to answer. Why? Everybody is different; everyone has different expectations for their bariatric procedure, and what is considered an incredible success for one person may feel like a disappointment for someone else. So, in answering this question, we must understand bariatric surgery’s psychological and mental wellness components.

After a successful procedure and proper postoperative care, you will likely lose significant weight in the weeks and months after your procedure. This weight loss can continue for a year or more…even up to two years. The pounds seem to melt off. The number on the scale offers an exciting representation of how well you’re doing, and, especially in the first year, you may even wonder if you’re losing too much weight.

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When You Shouldn’t (Or Could) Wait to Have Hernia Surgery

To give you the most comprehensive answers to common questions and topics, this article will explore the nuances of hernia surgery – specifically about when patients can reasonably wait to have hernia surgery or when they should have it as soon as possible. Of course, every situation is unique, and a consultation with a qualified hernia surgeon such as Dr. Tsuda is the first and best course of action.

There are many types of hernia – inguinal, femoral, incisional, umbilical, hiatal, and more – each with unique complexities. The commonality between them is that many of these hernias can start as minor, causing minimal pain and discomfort. The fact that hernias can seem so benign offers a false sense of security. Patients think that since there is little or no pain, the hernia is not a big deal and doesn’t need repair. But by their nature, hernias tend to get worse, and this worsening can be rapid, depending on certain circumstances. As such, surgical repair for a hernia is usually the best course of action for a healthy, suitable patient. Let’s explore the potential complications of an untreated hernia:

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Making the Most of Your Wait During the Bariatric Pre-Operative Process

We encourage our patients to start the bariatric process even before their surgery. During this three or six-month wait, if using insurance, there is ample opportunity to prepare for life after surgery and start physical improvements to lower the risk of the surgery itself. This approach can also benefit you psychologically and make the postoperative changes you will experience much more manageable. So, without further delay, let’s jump right into what you can do before surgery to ensure that the procedure is as safe as it can be and that your post-op transition is as smooth as possible.

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How to Approach Weight Loss Medications Like Wegovy & Mounjaro

As discussed in a previous article, there is a significant shortage of weight loss medications in the US and worldwide. Some of you reading this article have started or eventually may start an injection-based weight loss regimen. This can reinforce the results of your bariatric procedure or can be pursued as a part of a standalone medical weight loss program. GLP-1 agonists like Semaglutide (Ozempic® & Wegovy®) have shown promising results in helping diabetic and obese patients, respectively, and are FDA approved for those diagnoses. We have previously discussed how these medications are used and sometimes abused by those who do not qualify for treatment and should probably focus on diet and exercise to lose the relatively small amount of weight they desire. However, there are also considerations to follow if you are approved to take these drugs due to obesity or diabetes.

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Do We Reinforce a Sleeve or Bypass Staple Line

When you watch an online seminar and first come in for a consultation, having decided that bariatric surgery may be the right option, you will undoubtedly hear about the potential risk of a staple line leak. This can be a severe complication after a stapled bariatric surgery like the gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, and duodenal switch. Derivative surgeries, like mini gastric bypass, one-anastomosis gastric bypass (OAGB), or single anastomosis duodeno-ilesostomy (SADI), also have the potential for this complication because they all divide the stomach.

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How Quickly Can You Get Bariatric Surgery

It’s common for patients who finally decide that bariatric surgery is the right option for them to want to get bariatric surgery as fast as possible. After all, choosing to have bariatric surgery is not easy, and it’s hard to control the excitement of the prospect of living life without the impediment of excess weight and obesity. However, most patients find that the road to weight loss surgery is relatively long compared to other procedures and may involve impediments.

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A Discussion on Non-Surgical “Acid” Reflux Treatment

When our patients discuss their chronic reflux or GERD, a condition that affects more and more people every year as we continue to struggle with the obesity epidemic, we often add the word “acid.” To some degree, this makes sense as the stomach produces acid, which has a known adverse effect when refluxing onto the sensitive lining of the esophagus. But does including the word acid miss the point of reflux therapies? And is treating the acid alone enough to neutralize the damaging effects of reflux? The answer is a resounding no, and there are a few reasons.

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