Neurological condition found linked to weight loss surgery

Gastric bypass surgery is becoming more and more popular in the US and other developed counties. In my opinion, we are a country of people who would prefer the easiest way out to resolve a problem, and gastric bypass is a perfect example of that easy way out.

About 170,000 people had the procedure in the United States in 2005, a tenfold rise from the early 1990s. A study last week found that use of the surgery tripled among U.S. adolescents from 2000 to 2003. Teens!

However, it’s really not such an easy solution. First of all, as a nutrition professional who has been working in the field for over 17 years, it’s very apparent to me that people do not gain over 100# of excess weight because they ‘just’ eat too much. Often there is an emotional reason a person eats to this excess. If these emotional issues are not addressed, just closing up or bypassing a section of the stomach is not going to resolve the problem. If anything, it will make their problems worse. I have known several people who did not receive pre-surgery assessment and counseling and after the initial ‘honeymoon’, regained all their weight. Some have pulled open their staples and needed corrective surgery! Those problems are beyond the purpose of this blog, today, however.

Second, gastric bypass surgery often has very real and serious side-effects, which can lead to death. I have known several people who had serious complications that put their health and life at risk.

Finally, is surgery really a solution? Should our children be receiving such alterations to their physical bodies? What lesson do they learn and how will that impact their future? Has the family learned how to prepare and eat a healthy diet and learned how to incorporate exercise into their lives before opting for the ‘easy way’ out? These are questions that parents should seriously consider before allowing or requesting gastric bypass for their children.

There has already been research that has found that people who opt for gastric bypass surgery suffer from nutritional deficiencies. It is known that many will suffer hair loss and other symptoms of vitamin and mineral deficiency as an expected consequence of the surgery.

A recent study, published in the journal Neurology, reported on cases of 27 women and 5 men who developed a disease previously linked to severe alcoholics, called Wernicke’s encephalopathy, after bariatric surgery. Nearly all experienced frequent vomiting in the weeks after surgery and two of them died.

Wernicke’s encephalopathy can develop when the body does not get enough vitamin B1, also known as thiamine. It affects the brain and nervous system, with symptoms including double vision, eye movement abnormalities, unsteady walking, memory loss and hallucinations.

Researchers are still investigating how common this condition is, but they think it appears in people who have had the surgery and stopped taking their vitamin supplements or when they so often that they are unable to absorb their vitamins. If the condition is recognized quickly enough, it can be treated with injections of thiamine. Researchers found that the condition most frequently appeared 1-3 months after surgery, especially in young women, but also developed as late as 18 months after surgery.

Now, for some people, surgery could be a very realistic and viable option to keep them alive. However, I think these surgeries are also becoming much more common and accepted today. Again, it comes down to that ‘easy’ solution. Just imagine going into the hospital and coming home and losing a quick 50# or more before summer!

Since I coach people who struggle with large amounts of weight, I know how hard it is to lose by diet and exercise alone. It IS hard, but it can be done; there are stories of such successes all the time! A person has to really want it and know they can do it, AND be willing to seriously make changes in their lives to achieve that goal. It is not easy! However, for anyone considering bypass surgery as an ‘easy’ option, spend a lot of time doing your homework. Consider what your future will look like and take a hard look at what you have been willing to do so far. Have you really wanted that weight loss? Sometimes people really do NOT want to lose weight. This is where pre-surgical counseling is essential. You have to first understand why you ate yourself into your condition before you can allow yourself to lose that weight.

For the abstract to the above mentioned report, click here: http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstract/68/11/807