Saturday, October 25, 2008

Weight Loss Surgery Recovery

Weight loss Surgery Recovery: Can You Follow Directions?

If you are considering weight loss surgery, it is not enough to know what happens before and during the surgery. It is critical that you understand the mandatory changes you will have to go through after weight loss surgery. Your gastric bypass doctors or weight loss clinic counselor will provide you with a list of post op recovery procedures to ensure you have a successfully weight loss surgery. But it is up to you to follow the directions. If you cannot follow them, you may want to reconsider the surgery.

Do you understand the importance of these directions? Many people need to know the why behind instructions to impress on them the reason to follow the instructions. Being given a list is not enough to impress on some people how important it is to follow all post-surgery directions. Many will modify the instructions to eliminate some of the things they do not want to do and believe that the worst will not happen. The post op instructions are there for a reason, they have been compiled as the result of mistakes made by other weight loss surgery patients in the past. The instructions are in place because your gastric bypass doctors know that they will give you the best possible results if followed to the letter. Even the most observant person will probably forget to do something on the list occasionally, but if you keep to the instructions, you will have the best possible outcome.

Your greatest risk associated with not following all post op instructions, is the risk of infections and improper healing. If your weight loss surgery involves cutting the abdominal skin or redirecting your intestines or undergo liposuction or have excess skin removed from your body, staples or stitches to sew you back up will be involved. And these wounds are possible points of infection. Your post op instructions will have directions on how to care for your scars to prevent infections and minimize the scarring. Carefully follow your post op weight loss surgery instructions. Skin problems that are the result from improper care are painful, cause health complications, and can be prevented.

Following your post op directions given to you by your weight loss surgeon for the recovery process will be your best route to getting the overall results you were expecting. Weight loss surgery, like liposuction and gastric bypass surgery have certain guidelines that you must follow. During liposuction, surplus fat, approximately five to ten pounds, is removed from your trouble spots. To maintain that lean look after surgery, you must eat healthy, watch your calories, and start a routine exercise program. By not following your gastric bypass doctors instructions, you may put the pounds back on and have wasted your money and the whole weight loss surgery process.

Your weight loss surgery clinic or gastric bypass doctors will provide you with a complete set of instructions to follow after your weight loss surgery. Pre and post op procedures will be covered in your consultation appointments and again after weight loss surgery to ensure that you fully understand your role in making the most of your weight loss surgery.

If you have not had a weight loss consultation, you may have plenty of questions about the recovery process and what you will have to change in your behaviors. The changes for you will depend completely on the specific weight loss surgery procedure you undergo, however, there are some steps common to all weight loss surgery that should be followed.

Non prescription pain medications can be used for the light pain and discomfort from weight loss surgery. Be sure to inquire with your gastric bypass doctors or clinic as to which medications are recommended for the most pain relief. Ice packs will reduce the swelling that accompany weight loss surgery. Regular changes of your dressings are necessary to keep wounds clean and dry and to prevent infections. You will probably find there are food restrictions for the first few days or weeks following weight loss surgery. After surgery for body work or body lift, like liposuction, breast reduction or enlargements, heavy lifting and exercising may be on the restricted list for a few weeks to give your tissues a chance to knit and heal.

The importance of following post op surgery instructions provided by your weight loss surgeon hopefully has been impressed on you. If there are more questions or concerns about the recovery process, please ask your weight loss clinic or gastric bypass doctors before your weight loss procedure takes place. Making a list of points or questions is the best way to have all you concerns addressed at your weight loss surgery consultation appointment.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Weight Loss Surgery Mistakes

Do Not Make These Mistakes before Undergoing Weight loss Surgery

Many find weight loss surgery to be a reasonably easy and convenient way to get rid of excess fat from their body. Although weight loss surgery is a great way to improve your health and appearance, you must research weight loss surgery, insurance bariatric surgery, gastric bypass complications, gastric bypass stories, gastric bypass doctors, gastric bypass before and after pictures, and gastric bypass financing before making any final decisions.

Weight loss surgery is pretty common place and to hear the commercials on TV, it seems like a there is nothing to it, but weight loss surgery is a major medical procedure and your life is on the line when you go under the knife. So it is imperative that you know exactly what you are getting into.

So what should you research? To begin researching weight loss surgery, you need to know the common types of weight loss surgery and then decide on the specific procedure that you are interested in. That is the easy part. The second part, the decision to go through weight loss surgery is a mammoth decision and should not be made lightly.

Some of the more common search terms for weight loss surgery are:

insurance bariatric surgery
gastric bypass complications
gastric bypass stories
gastric bypass doctors
gastric bypass before and after pictures
gastric bypass financing

Or if you want to find weight loss surgery centers in a specific state or city:
(substitute the state and city of your choice to find local weight loss surgery centers)

weight loss texas
weight loss houston texas
weight loss austin texas
texas weight loss doctor

bariatric surgery Texas
bariatric surgeon Texas

Another part of your weight loss surgery research is to prepare you to know what you can expect before, during and after weight loss surgery. You already know what you expect the end results to be, however, it is critical to know what you will have to go through to get those results. You should never go into any surgical procedure blind, without knowing exactly what will be done, when it will be done and who is performing the procedure. Most weight loss surgery centers will have information guides to inform you on everything you can expect.

Researching previous patients of the weight loss procedure that you are looking to undergo, will give you the best knowledge of what the recovery experience will be like. What you lifestyle changes will experience. What emotional changes will happen to you after you have lost weight? Will you be required to return post op checkups or for additional procedures? Your gastric bypass doctors will have a list of post op recovery instructions, but you will want to know what those instructions are before weight loss surgery. If you are not able to follow the post op instructions, then there is no reason to waste time and money on the procedure in the first place.

Researching weight loss surgery will give you a good idea as to what the costs will be like. Regrettably, weight loss surgery can be expensive. Is it weight loss surgery something that you can afford? Will your health insurer approve the whole expense of your weight loss surgery or just part? If not, research can help you prepare for gastric bypass financing. If you do not have the money now, you can get an idea of how much money you will need to finance or save. Be sure to have some flexibility, as rates do change overtime and check with your weight loss surgery center to see if they offer payment plans of gastric bypass financing.

Research will also give you an idea of to expect in end results of your weight loss surgery. If you are looking to undergo weight loss surgery and lose a significant amount of weight, you likely have loose folds of skin and you should know what to expect. Researching gastric bypass before and after pictures are a fantastic way to get a good understanding of what to expect in physical looks. You are expecting to look good after losing weight and want to look your best, but it is important to have realistic expectations.

You will want to visit one of your local weight loss surgery centers. They will provide you with pamphlets and other brochures for your research. You would do well to set up a consultation meeting. You can ask questions and learn about the procedure and normal things to expect from weight loss surgery and talk with gastric bypass doctors for first hand knowledge.

The internet is an invaluable research tool for weight loss surgery, namely for the specific surgery you may undergo. You can get started with a standard internet search and then move on to a specific search within a city or state. Another valuable research tool is weight loss surgery support forums. Support forums allow you to read the experiences previous weight loss surgery patients had and how they coped before and after surgery. You will also find invaluable tips on making post op surgery recovery and life after surgery easier.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Weight Loss Houston Texas

Weight loss Surgery: Big Cities Equals Better Quality?

Does weight loss surgery in a big city have better success than in small ones? In a state as big as Texas, for example, there are plenty of big cities that provide the opportunity to access expert gastric bypass doctors and weight loss surgery centers. After making the decision to undergo weight loss surgery, the next thing is to determine which weight loss Texas surgeon or surgery center you want to call on. Your first thoughts may be to do a search for weight loss Houston Texas or weight loss Austin Texas because a big city such as Houston or Austin should be targeted as those big cities will give you access to multiple Texas weight loss doctor, but is that really true? Yes and no.

There is a lot of truth to the notion that you can find the best Texas weight loss doctors by searching for a weight loss surgery center in larger cities. But more importantly is to recognize that you may have local bariatric surgeon Texas available. Even small towns can contain one weight loss surgeon with excellent credentials, a plenty of weight loss surgery experience, as well as a high success rate producing happy, satisfied clients. The key is research. That is why you should start your search locally for weight loss surgery options and expand on that to larger cities.

As for you expand your searches to weight loss surgery in larger cities, it will give you access to more weight loss surgery clinics and doctors with private practices. A Texas weight loss doctor with a private practice is a professional who work for themselves, but have a small team of qualified nurses. Obviously, the larger the search area the more you gastric bypass doctors you will find, and the same applies to weight loss surgery clinics.

With more weight loss surgeons with private practices and more weight loss surgery centers to choose from, this by design gives you access to more gastric bypass doctors. Weight loss surgery centers have around two or three surgeons on staff typically. If you do choose a weight loss surgery center option, get the name of the Texas weight loss doctor who will be performing your procedure. With the doctor’s name, you can do a little research on his skills, success rate and maybe find some of his former patients and get their opinions.

Researching bariatric surgery Texas clinics, weight loss surgeons and weight loss surgery centers in a larger city like Houston or Austin, you expand your options for selecting a surgeon and finding a weight loss procedure that fits you. The first thoughts most people think of when hearing the phrase “weight loss surgery,” is being cut open. Some procedures such as liposuction and body lifts do involve cutting, however, there are other many weight loss surgery procedures that do not and only involve a few small punctures into the skin. Unfortunately, not all Texas weight loss doctor private practices and weight loss surgery centers offer a selection of weight loss procedures, some specialize in only one weight loss surgery type, but your choices expand in larger cities like Houston.

By researching weight loss surgery centers and private gastric bypass doctors in a larger city, you are likely to find more competitive rates. With more doctors available comes more options and prices, be sure when you are comparing rates, you are comparing apples to apples. Having the option to compare prices is a great option and it may be essential if you do not have health coverage or if your health insurance provider does not authorize weight loss surgery. There are a number of weight loss surgeries that health insurance providers do cover, so it is best to check with your insurance company to find out if your weight loss surgery option is covered. As far as price comparisons go, do not automatically go with the cheapest weight loss surgery clinic or Texas weight loss doctor that you can find. Procedures, quality and cost should be researched together to find the best fit for your needs.

So, how do you pick the best weight loss surgery option? First, look closely at location. How many weight loss surgery centers or private practice Texas weight loss doctors do you have within a 60 mile radius? If you are limited to only one or two doctors, you should consider looking at the closest big city. When making your final choice, there are a number of factors to consider. Despite the fact that results vary, seeing gastric bypass before and after pictures provide a good representation of what to expect. Confirm that the pictures are of actual patients your doctor worked on, not generic pictures of some other doctor’s results. Look at the doctor’s success rate, interview previous weight loss surgery patients and ask about gastric bypass complications.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Weight loss Surgery Is It Right for You?

Is weight loss surgery something that you believe will solve all your problems? It might surprise you if after going through weight loss surgery it is not the miracle you expected. Weight loss surgery can be an excellent solution for solving a morbid obesity problem, but there are often factors outside of hunger that put the weight on you. So, is weight loss surgery the right choice for you?

The first step in determining if weight loss surgery is right for you is if you are seeking to improve your health. Although many individuals opt for weight loss surgery to only lose weight and experience better health, there are some exceptions. Some weight loss surgery candidates are going through the procedure for cosmetic reasons. Liposuction and gastric bypass surgery can be used to help you achieve your weight loss goals. Typically, liposuction isn’t considered a weight loss surgery, like gastric bypass surgery, as you only have around five to ten pounds of fat removed from your problem areas. If you opt for gastric bypass surgery or another similar procedure, you can reduce your risk of heart diseases, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Weight loss surgery may also be right for you if you don’t feel that you have any other options. As it was previously stated, liposuction is ideal for those who have a little bit of extra weight and fat that they would like to have removed. After exhausting your healthy eating and exercising options, you may not feel like you do have any surgery free options left. Or if you have tried over the counter products to reduce or eliminate fat and you have not seen success, you may see a surgical weight loss as your only option. In these instances, weight loss surgery is possibly the solution you are seeking.

It is also important to examine any emotional reasons you are keeping on the weight. Depression is often the cause behind overeating. The good feelings after eating can be as addictive as cigarettes and your mind will force you to eat to keep those good feelings coming. So it is important to understand the reasoning behind overeating, since weight loss surgery will only be a temporary fix. As your body craves those good feelings, you will be tempted to overeat and stretch out your stomach again. While many purport that beauty is more than physical appearance, how you appear to yourself may have a negative impact on your life. Those who are down or feel like they don’t have any other options are likely to suffer from depression, low self-esteem, and have a poor sense of self confidence. If you are having these feelings, counseling is important before embarking on weight loss surgery.

Perhaps, the most important component to consider is the recovery progression. Depending on the weight loss surgery procedure and the skill of the gastric bypass doctors, recovery can take a few days to a few months. Be sure to know the recovery time frame ahead of time so you can mentally prepare for it. Also, you need to know the procedures to care for yourself after weight loss surgery. If you are not prepared to follow the guidelines for post op weight loss surgery, weight loss surgery may not be right for you, as the recovery process can be just as important as the surgery itself.

Weight loss surgery is not right for everyone. If you are looking to improve your self-confidence, your health, and if you can afford the cost of weight loss surgery, it might be the weight loss solution you are seeking. To determine if you are a model applicant, contact one of your local weight loss surgery centers or one of the gastric bypass doctors with their own private office. Scheduling a consultation appointment will help you determine if you are an ideal candidate and provide the starting point for gathering the information you need. You will need information on insurance bariatric surgery, including a detailed explanation of the procedure, recommended Texas weight loss doctor, gastric bypass complications, gastric bypass before and after pictures, the steps for recovery after surgery, and the costs normally covered by insurance and costs borne by the patient.