Health Update: Considerations For Overcoming Obesity

Once again we are in the holiday season where family, friends and food take priority in our lives. We eat, drink and enjoy ourselves while meditating on the true meaning of this time of the year. Then we begin looking at the New Year and making resolutions as we look forward to that new swim suit and a trip to the beach in the summer. We are not satisfied with our current self and look at diets, exercise and other support that will get us into shape. Maybe that energy level is not where it should be; we are not sleeping well and maybe have declining sexual interest. We enjoyed the holidays but now need to get some weight off for the beach, a graduation or reunion. What can I do?

My focus in medicine has been general surgery but I got into bariatric surgery wanting to help people loose weight and live a better life.

Obesity is a complex disease with many causes including poor eating, environmental factors, and genetics. We can’t change our genetics, but one who is truly serious about losing weight can change their eating habits and exercise routine. Fast food, processed food, food high in carbohydrates or trans fats (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats), and juices and sodas are the main culprits of poor eating habits, which lead to excess weight.

So how do we combat this disease? There are multiple weight loss surgeries out there that can provide long-term results, however, I typically recommend two specific procedures for my bariatric patients—gastric banding (Lap Band) and the gastric sleeve.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, commonly referred to as the Lap Band, is a surgical procedure that involves the placement of an adjustable belt around the upper portion of the stomach using a laparoscope. The band restricts the size of the stomach and the amount of food it can hold. It also slows the passage of food to the intestine. By doing so, signals to the brain from the gut allow for a sensation of fullness and satiety with the consumption of less food. This signal is sent from a small pouch created by the band in the upper stomach. When the pouch fills, the same signal is sent to the brain that occurred previously when the entire stomach filled.

Restrictive operations like gastric sleeve surgery make the stomach smaller and help people lose weight. With a smaller stomach, you will feel full a lot quicker than you are used to. This means that you will need to make big lifelong changes in how you eat—including smaller portion sizes and different foods—in order to lose weight.

We have seen tremendous success with our surgical weight loss patients. And although surgical weight-loss surgery may be your only practical alternative, it is, nevertheless, a life-changing procedure. The decision to proceed should only be made once you are thoroughly familiar with its advantages and disadvantages. You should also discuss your decision with your family and personal physician.

So you’re interested in weight loss surgery. Even though weight loss surgery helps people lose those extra pounds, it’s not a cure-all. In certain cases, patients still feel lack of energy; get heart disease, diabetes and other conditions that prevent them from living to their full potential.

After years research, I knew there had to be more to this. With a background in internal medicine before surgery, I always had an interest in good health and the means to keep it. I did not know exactly how to do that. I eventually discovered there is a big movement in health and wellness and studied through the American Academy of Anti Aging and Regenerative Medicine. I got my board certification and learned there is a way to return health to people by good eating, superior vitamin and mineral supplementation, exercise and natural hormone replacement pellet therapy.

As we age, all important blood levels of hormones, vitamins, minerals and metabolically active substances decrease. This leads to weight gain, poor sleep, lack of energy, lack of sexual interest and decrease in clear thinking. A blood panel or “test” can help identify areas that need correcting. This panel is designed to look at the basic hormones contributing to weight gain or difficulty in shedding those extra pounds. This panel also targets risk markers for insulin resistance leading to diabetes.

This weight loss panel is perfect for both men and women and contains the following tests:

• Complete Metabolic Panel with Lipids
• Complete Blood Count (CBC)
• DHEA-S
• Free and Total Testosterone
• Estradiol (E2)
• Progesterone
• Cortisol
• Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
• Free T3
• Insulin
• Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C)

So, when I see a new patient for weight loss surgery that is aging and cannot seem to lose weight, I suggest collecting a blood panel that will allow us to see where another edge can be found that will improve health. With these blood results, it’s much easier to create a targeted, highly effective weight-loss program for each individual patient.

Weight loss alone will not improve health but the addition of bio identical hormones, vitamins, minerals, education on good eating and a reasonable exercise routine will.

Don’t wait until the New Year to start improving your health. Start now. We would love to help. Please visit our web site
www.luttrellsurgical.com or call 501-778-1112 for an appointment.