The conversation was with an individual who had gastric bypass surgery four years ago. At the time of her surgery, she was over 300 pounds; following her surgery she lost some, but not all, of her weight, never getting below 200 pounds. Fast-forward to yesterday, when we talked and she told me that she has gained back most of her weight. Frustrated and discouraged don't even begin to describe how she feels - I can't even imagine. She explained that she never had any complications from her surgery but thought that if she'd had dumping syndrome, it would have probably helped her to keep the weight off. However, since she didn't have dumping syndrome, she was able to eat whatever she wanted and the weight came back.
In case you don't know what dumping syndrome is, here's a brief description:
Also called rapid gastric emptying, dumping syndrome occurs when the undigested contents of your stomach are transported or "dumped" into your small intestine too rapidly. Common symptoms include abdominal cramps and nausea.
When symptoms of dumping syndrome occur during a meal or within 15 to 30 minutes following a meal, they may include:
When signs and symptoms develop later, they may include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Abdominal pain, cramps
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness, lightheadedness
- Bloating, belching
- Fatigue
- Heart palpitations, rapid heart rate
Some people experience both early and late signs and symptoms. Conditions such as dizziness and heart palpitations can occur either early or late — or both. No matter when problems develop, however, they may be worse in the aftermath of a high-sugar meal, especially one that's rich in sucrose (table sugar) or fructose (fruit sugar).
- Sweating
- Weakness, fatigue
- Dizziness, lightheadedness
- Shakiness
- Feelings of anxiety, nervousness
- Heart palpitations, rapid heart rate
- Fainting
- Mental confusion
- Diarrhea
Some people also experience low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), related to excessive levels of insulin delivered to the bloodstream as part of the syndrome. Hypoglycemia is more often related to late signs and symptoms. Insulin influences your tissues to take up the sugar present in your bloodstream.
©1998-2010 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER).
This doesn't sound like anything I would ever want to deal with, but this dear person sounded disappointed that she didn't have it, as she thought it would have helped her keep her weight off. She went on to tell me of a friend who had had stomach stapling surgery years ago, then had that reversed and had gastric bypass surgery. This friend has severe dumping syndrome and is maintaining her weight loss because of her condition.
Does anyone else find this incredibly sad? The thought that someone evenly remotely wishes for something like dumping syndrome as an enforced way to lose or maintain weight is beyond tragic. It also speaks to a mindset that is looking for an "easy" or "automatic" way to lose weight. I put "easy" in quotes because I know that there is nothing easy about dealing with dumping syndrome, and it's hard for me to grasp that anyone would apparently welcome this as a weight management aid.
What I do know, and what becomes more clear every day, is that the hardest part of this plan - or any weight loss plan - is the head and heart part. Take Shape for Life/Medifast makes the food part of the plan a breeze - nothing to think about, no points/calories/grams to count. The head and heart part is a whole 'nother thing, and whether or not we fully engage in the process will ultimately determine our success, both short-term and long-term.
The truth is that there is no easy fix, never has been and never will be. A pill won't do it and even drastic surgery won't do it. I've met several individuals over the past couple of years who underwent gastric bypass or lap band surgery and not only never got to a healthy weight, but who have regained a good percentage of their weight. When we rely on anything other than a fundamental change in the way we think and emotionally relate to food, this program, like every other program, will ultimately fail. If we don't change our thinking, we will eventually return to our old habits and the weight will pile back on.
We have to be willing to change our habits. We have to embrace a different and healthier lifestyle - permanently. Making these changes isn't easy, but the more we make healthy choices, the more they will become new, healthy habits. The alternative is to return to our starting weight, and for me, that is unthinkable. I hope it's unthinkable for you, too.
No quick fix, but one choice at a time, we can make permanent changes that will serve us well for the rest of our lives. Choose wisely :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment