Tag Archives: gastric bypass surgery

Justin Wiseman’s 420 Pound Weight Loss Story – “Rosie O’Donnell was My Beacon of Hope.”

Just when I thought my life was over, I found a whole new beginning, maybe your ending is really a brand new start. ~ Justin

Recently Justin Wiseman joined the ladies on The View where he finally got to hug Rosie O’Donnell. After exchanging messages on Twitter about their mutual weight loss struggles, the two bonded. Justin credits Rosie with inspiring him to lose weight. Now he’s paying it forward by tackling the childhood obesity epidemic.

More from Justin and his amazing 420 pound weight story in his own words –

Tell me when your weight struggles began. My struggles began well before I was consciously aware of what I was doing. By the age of five I weighed 100 pounds.

What habits specifically led you to gain weight? I was a food addict pure and simple. Food was my whole world. Every time I ate, I ate to the point of being Thanksgiving-stuffed. That feeling was my high, my pure bliss.

What caused you to realize you needed to change? I had a gut feeling I was going to die soon, which was confirmed by a doctor. I had uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, my sugar was running in the 500s every day. It was so high that sugar was crystallizing on my skin. I had non-obstructive sleep apnea, the weight on my chest was causing me to stop breathing over 200 times a night and my oxygen was dropping below 60. I had high blood pressure, triglycerides, cholesterol, and was even suffering from cirrhosis of the liver. The cirrhosis was causing me to retain massive amounts of fluid.

How did you lose the weight? I looked into weight loss surgery, but at first I was too unhealthy to qualify. I started slowly by making healthier choices and following a lower carb diet. I ate a KFC grilled chicken almost every day. Over 6 months I lost 130 pounds. Following that initial weight loss, I had gastric sleeve surgery to reduce the size of my football-sized stomach. After that I followed the Atkins Diet.

What diet and exercise methods did you employ? At first I couldn’t do much. I could barely get up and down. The very first exercise I did was to dance in my living while Ellen was dancing on her talk show. Slowly I was able to do more.

Did you have any “ah ha” moments along the way? Yes, the first of many was when I started planning my own funeral because I didn’t think I could do lose the weight. The are so many people around the world who are given a death sentence and would do anything to live, but here I was willing dying. How selfish. I also realized how much life I had missed out on and how much I wanted one day of complete freedom before I died.

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Posted on December 7, 2023 by Dani Stone

Andrea Green Lost 136 Pounds by saying “You are Not a Dog. Do Not Reward Yourself with Food.”

“The kids used to say ‘Look out, Pudge is having a big mac attack, get out of her way.” Andrea Green can still recall the cruel taunts from her childhood. Considered almost morbidly obese from a young age. Andrea grew to be an adult who lived in her body, but didn’t live for it. Then, a scary health diagnosis for her husband and an inspiring chance encounter at a wedding convinced her to change her lifestyle.

Now, 136 pounds lighter, Andrea is doing things she never thought possible, like completing a short course triathlon.

I lost 10 pounds the wrong way by under eating and over exercising, which damaged my metabolism.

Over the years, Andrea tried to lose weight on her own, but she pursued the quick fix instead of the long haul approach. By the time she married her husband, she’d gained another 90 pounds. “I used being busy as an excuse to eat takeout and convenience food,” she admitted. “I used to work two full-time jobs. I never packed meals so I ate out twice a day. Then when I got married, we ate a lot of pre-packaged foods.”

Before when I saw people succeed at this kind of weight loss, I thought they were somehow super human, had personal chefs or didn’t work.

When Andrea’s husband was diagnosed with diabetes, she realized that both their diets needed a huge overhaul. To lose weight, she considered gastric bypass surgery, but then she remembered the friend she had seen recently at a wedding. He was also busy with work and famil, but still managed to lose 100 pounds just by changing his lifestyle.

Before having the surgery, Andrea decided to give herself five months to see progress on her own. In that time she lost 60 pounds! (more…)

Posted on August 31, 2024 by Dani Stone

Stomach Balloon May Aid in Weight Loss, but You Have to Go to Canada for It

As the amount of weight loss surgeries in the U.S. continue to rise, doctors are finding different and better ways to surgically treat obesity. One of the newest players in the game is called an intragastric balloon, and as it’s not approved for use in the United States, many patients have chosen to cross the border to Canada to do the procedure.

The intragastric balloon is less invasive than traditional bariatric surgery. It involves inserting a tube down the esophagus into the stomach, so there’s no surgical incision. A deflated balloon is then threaded down the tube, and once placed, blown up to the size of an orange and filled with sterile blue water. It can stay there for up to six months, at which point it is removed to prevent ruptures. This can be done multiple times if the patient continues to need the support the balloon provides. The balloon decreases the patient’s feelings of hunger, making them eat less and lose weight.

Although the average weight of Americans continues to bound upward, there are still very few bariatric surgeries performed annually. Less than one percent of individuals who meet the criteria for bariatric surgery actually have surgery, according to the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. Each year, about 250,000 Americans choose to have some form of weight loss surgery, the most popular being gastric bypass, a gastric band, sleeve gastrectomy, or duodenal switch. These involve removing a portion of the stomach, restricting how much food can go into the stomach, rerouting the intestinal system, or a combination of these methods. The gastric sleeve is cheapest, costing around $10,000, while the others range from $17,000 to $35,000, according to the Consumer Guide to Bariatric Surgery. (more…)

Posted on February 6, 2024 by SarahS

Diabetes Returns in One-Fifth of Those Cured Through Bariatric Surgery

Many people who undergo bariatric procedures for weight loss like gastric bypass surgery, LAP band surgery, or gastric sleeve surgery enjoy drastic weight loss along with the elimination of many weight related diseases. Having a form of bariatric surgery happens to be one of the top ways to cure type 2 diabetes.

As many as 95 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes were cured of the disease through weight loss achieved as a result of their surgery. A new study done by the Mayo Clinic Arizona has recently shown that more than one-fifth of those who were cured have had their diabetes return within five years, even if the patient hadn’t gained any weight. Those who were most susceptible to this were those who had diabetes the longest prior to surgery.

In this study, 72 obese patients were monitored during the years 2000 to 2024 with all patients having had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Of those studied, a total of 66 patients had a diabetes reversal at some time, and then 14 of those patients had their diabetes return between three and five years after their surgery. Those who had diabetes for more than five years had almost four times the risk of it coming back than those who had it less than five years before surgery. (more…)

Posted on June 28, 2024 by Descygna

Carnie Wilson Has Second Weight Loss Surgery

After having gastric bypass surgery 12 years ago, Carnie Wilson then underwent lap-band surgery on January 18 to lose weight.

Having gastric bypass surgery helped Carnie lose 150 pounds. The surgery reduced the size of the stomach and allows food to bypass part of the small intestine. In contrast to that, the lap-band surgery involves having a silicone band inserted around the stomach which creates a small pouch about the same size as a golf ball. Since having her lap-band surgery, Carnie has lost 30 pounds. Although she did have success with the gastric bypass procedure, she found it difficult after having two children to lose her pregnancy weight.

“It was the right decision for me and I’m doing really well so far. It’s all about taking good care of myself,” Wilson says. Wilson is part of the best-selling female group of the 1990s, Wilson Phillips and is currently promoting her upcoming album. She and fellow group members will be starring in their own reality show this April.

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Posted on March 22, 2024 by Descygna

Endoluminal Incision-free Bariatric Surgery Debuts

The first-ever endoluminal incision-free bariatric surgery was performed on January 22, 2024, at the 3rd Annual Apollo Bariatric Surgery Conference (ABSCON 2024) in Chennai, India. This operation was actually the first ever known endoluminal revision of a prior sleeve gastrectomy performed in the world.

The operation, which was shown via video link to 80 surgeons attending the ABSCON 2024 conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chennai, was performed by New York bariatric surgeon, Dr. Elliot Goodman and assisted by Dr. Rajkumar Palaniappan of the bariatric surgery service of Apollo Hospital in Chennai.

The 27 year old, male patient had previously undergone a sleeve gastrectomy in 2024 and has since lost 33 pounds. However, his weight stabilized and he had actually regained 4 pounds within the past month.

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Posted on January 25, 2024 by Carol

Weight Loss Surgery Coverage Push

More obese Americans may be given the opportunity to have their weight loss surgery covered by insurance if device manufacturers have their way. Allergan Inc., makers of the LapBand gastric banding device, has been the most vocal in their efforts to give obese patients access to this life-altering surgery. Being able to have this surgery covered by insurance will give patients the tools they need to fight a host of life-threatening illnesses brought on by their obesity. Allergan proposes that allowing more people access to insurance coverage will save billions of dollars in healthcare costs for both the government and employers.

The Dilemma

Critics argue that bariatric surgery has high rates of complications which can reach into the thousands and that the surgery doesn’t change the underlying behavior.

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Posted on January 25, 2024 by Carol

Gastric Bypass Surgery Patient Shocked to Learn Weight Loss Was Due to Diet and Exercise

How would you feel if you just spent your entire life savings on gastric bypass surgery only to realize that you were actually losing weight the old fashioned way, through diet and exercise?

The following story is a tale of will power and faith, as it is a classic example that what we believe, we can achieve.

Karren Knight, mother of two from Cheshire, England one day decided she was going to get a gastric band tied around her stomach, as no other method of weight loss seemed to work for her. Trying several diets and exercise programs in the past, Knight could not lose weight. At nearly 200 pounds overweight, Knight realized she had to do something, or the quality of her life was going to continue to get worse.

Determined and believing that having a gastric band fitted to restrict her appetite would be a success, Knight followed the doctor’s orders to eat very little and got some exercise. Even thought Knight expressed that it was no easy feat to take her mind off of food, she remained loyal to her recommended eating schedule.

After complaining to her sister about her desire to eat, think about, and be obsessed with food, Knight decided to do something enjoyable to keep her mind off of her hunger. She found a Zumba class that was offered just down the road from where she lived, figuring it would be an easy way to keep attending because it was nearby, not to mention very fun.

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Posted on January 12, 2024 by Jill

Pros and Cons of Weight Loss Surgery

Not everyone who struggles with their weight is a candidate for weight loss surgery. Let’s say you are considered a viable candidate. If so, you need to consider the pros and cons that come with each surgical option.

There are three primary “restrictive” weight loss surgeries, meaning those procedures that restrict the amount of food a patient can eat at one time: laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding.

Even though all three procedures are restrictive, there are significant differences, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. (more…)

Posted on November 25, 2024 by Jason

Experts React to Dr. Oz’s Stance on Gastric Bypass

“Listen, if you’re one hundred pounds overweight at age fifty, you have the same mortality rate as if you have a solid cancer. Would you operate for cancer? Yeah. So if you cannot lose that weight, get one of these procedures.”

USA Today recently reported on Dr. Oz’s advocacy of gastric bypass surgery, and stance that is causing quite a bit of buzz.

The subject of gastric bypass is a sensitive one. It’s risky and it’s not always supported as a wise choice by doctors. In Dr. Oz’s interview he made bold statements in support of bypass surgery. While his take is more bold and direct in it’s delivery than most, is he alone in his beliefs? Experts weigh in.

Dr. James Early, M.D. is the Medical Director of Via Christi Weight Management in Wichita, KS. He also was a collaborator with Dr. Oz on his book You on a Diet. On a daily basis, Dr. Early is dealing with over weight and obese patients and their struggles in health. While he did agree with Dr. Oz’s stance, he was clear to express that, “it’s very important that each patient is individually assessed.”

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Posted on October 3, 2024 by Lacy

Weight Loss Surgery Has Greater Results, More Risk

Gastric bypass is the most popular weight loss surgery around. It’s proven to be safe and effective in the vast majority of people who opt for it. However, there’s another weight loss surgery on the scene referred to as duodenal switch that is getting some attention, but not all for good reasons.

According to a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine the lesser-known surgery offers superior weight loss, but it also is a higher long-term health risk.

Following 60 severely obese patients, researchers had the subjects of the study randomly assigned to have gastric bypass surgery or the more involved procedure known as duodenal switch. (more…)

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Jason

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