would anyone think that surgery is the best form of weight loss?Your thoughts please

Everyone is different so I think that would depend on the individual and their doctors recommendations. There's alot of different surgical procedures now and there's no guarantee even if you have them done that they will work for you. I personally don't see it as being the best form of weightloss so much as a last resort for people who have special circumstances and have tried everything else. The risks involved and complications people often have after are enough to keep me from considering it as an option.

No. Anything that requires you to be cut open or have holes poked into you, anything that requires something to be put into your body that doesn't belong there, is NOT a good form of weight loss at all.

I used to have a gastric band myself, and it nearly killed me. It was removed just in time, and since then I had a closer look at all the procedures that are on offer for weight loss at the moment.

They all have two main things in common:

1. You can cheat, with every single one of them, and despite having the surgery, you can stay just as overweight as you are.

2. It requires an enormous amount of willpower NOT to cheat, and to stick with all the rules and regulations that come with the surgery.

If you have the willpower to stick with all of that, then you would just as much be able to lose the weight without the surgery, because let's face it, in the end, it is willpower and determination that helps you through a diet, or a change of lifestyle and eating habits.

Apart from that, any surgery (or even inserting the balloon, which is the biggest pile of b*ll*cks I've seen in a long while) is extremely dangerous when you're overweight. Most of those procedures severely limit what you can eat, and there is a lot of healthy stuff that you are just not allowed. And most of the the procedures can't stay forever...the balloon has to come out, the band has to come out - after which it is all down to you again, and most people gain the weight back.
More radical procedures like the bypass etc. are known to cause all kinds of health problems, everything from malnutrition to organ failure.

So....to make a long story short...stay away from surgery. Start paying attention to what you eat and how much you eat, control your portions and eat healthy, have an eye on the calories and start exercising...then you're half way there. Without being slashed open and having to live with scars and health problems for the rest of your life.

Probably not. But it's more easy like that....

Erhm.....nope. Not at all.

There are no set in stone criteria for who qualifies for weight loss surgery. However, there are some guidelines that most physicians and surgeons follow.

- Other methods of weight loss (diet, exercise, behavior modification, and possibly medications) should be tried first, and these had to be unsuccessful.

- Your BMI is more than 40 or more than 35 and you have a certain health condition related to obesity. This recommendation comes from the National Institutes of Health in 1991 and have been subsequently endorsed by several other organizations. The American College of Physicians recommends considering surgery for patients whose BMIs are greater than 40 and have an obesity related disorder

- Have no medical contraindication

- Have had a psychological evaluation to rule out any conditions that would interfer with long term management.

- Medical conditions causing obesity should be ruled out

- Undergo a comprehensive medical evaluation

- Have a full understanding of the risks and benefits

There are definitly risks associated with these procedures. Some of these risks can be reduced by having the surgery performed at an experienced medical center with experienced surgeons. Below is a list of some possible complications, but it is not a complete list.
- Death
- Blood clots
- Internal leaking of intestinal contents at the surgical sites
- Would infection
- Bleeding
- Loss of spleen
- Hernia
- Bowel obstruction
- Malnutrition
Depending on the type of surgery, your intestines may not absorb enough nutrients and you would have to take nutritional/vitamin supplements.

Definitly try nonsurgical methods prior to jumping in to surgery. You should discuss all of this with your doctor. You will have individual factors that will come in to play. For more general information about weight loss surgeries, see the web site listed below.

basically, it depends on your situation. if you haven't consulted with your doctor yet, you should probably do that first. Otherwise, there are always risks associated with surgical procedures, and of course it would be better if you can loose weight through diet and exercise, but sometimes that's not enough.

It's important to do as much research as possible before making a decision like that - but I'm sure you already knew that, otherwise you wouldn't be here!