Bone to pick.

Okay, this may go against everything you may believe in - but I have a bone to pick with the Bariatric Surgeons.... STOP DOING THESE PROCEDURES UNLESS THESE PEOPLE ARE SERIOUSLY STUCK TO A BED.

There, I feel so much better.

Look, I get it - it is hard to lose weight. It is hard to exercise when you have bad knees, ankles, toes, backs, etc... but it is not impossible.

I recently met someone (that will remain nameless - and is actually a public figure in Florida) who had bariatric surgery. She went on and on about how much weight she was losing, how her bp was back to normal - etc. I knew her before the surgery. She might have weighed a little over 200, no more than that. Perhaps a size 20 at best. This is overweight, but not an extreme amount - so extreme as to have 1/2 of your stomach removed.

Here is one of my biggest pet peeves - taking the easy way out. HATE IT. Do the damn work. Walk. Slowly if you have to. Make some healthier choices. You CAN do it. You just have 500 excuses not to.

Hell, I know. I can come up with 500 reasons not to exercise or make healthier choices. What does it boil down to? Good old fashioned laziness.

If you have bad knees - what is the physical therapist going to tell you to do? If you have bad ankles - what do they suggest?

That's right - movement. In a pool if you must - but movement.

The only way I would think that bariatric surgery is okay is if you physically could not move (as in 600 + pounds, and all you can do is lay on a bed) and your life is in danger.

Other than that. No WAY, Jose.

Here is why:
As with any major surgery, gastric bypass has risks such as bleeding, infection and reactions to the anesthesia. Possible complications of gastric bypass surgery include:


Vitamin and mineral deficiency

Dehydration

Gallstones

Bleeding stomach ulcer

Hernia at the incision site

Intolerance to certain foods

Kidney stones

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)

Possible rare, but serious risks specific to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery include:

Death. The risk varies depending on age, general health and other medical conditions. Talk to your doctor about the level of risk gastric bypass surgery may pose for you.

Blood clots in the legs. Blood clots in the legs are more likely to occur in very overweight people. Blood clots can be dangerous. In some cases, they travel to the lungs and lodge in the lungs' arteries as a pulmonary embolism — a serious condition that damages lung tissue and can lead to death. Walking and using leg wraps that apply pressure can help reduce this risk of blood clots in the legs.

Leaking at one of the staple lines in the stomach. This severe complication can be treated with antibiotics. Most cases heal with time. Sometimes, the leak can be serious enough to require emergency surgery.

Pneumonia. Excess weight places extra stress on the chest cavity and lungs, creating an increased risk of developing pneumonia after the surgery.

Narrowing of the opening between the stomach and small intestine. This rare complication may require either an outpatient procedure to pass a tube through your mouth to widen (dilate) the narrowed opening or corrective surgery that could require a brief hospital stay.

Dumping syndrome. Gastric bypass can also cause dumping syndrome, a condition where stomach contents move too quickly through the small intestine causing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and sweating.

***source - the Mayo Clinic

Seriously - why risk?

I am sure some of you have strong feelings on the subject. Maybe you have gone through the surgery. I am sure you had very good reasons. But knowing that I met someone, who literally talked a doctor into writing a letter to an insurance company and after 5 years - it finally was approved. ... hmmm.. I just don't agree with it. At all.

Thoughts?