After having gastric bypass surgery most people should be able to lose close 75 to 80 percent of excess body weight. They can expect to lose about 10 to 20 pounds a month in the first year. And if they follow their doctor’s advice, exercise and eat right, they should be able to keep this weight off over the long term.
Life-Saving Health Benefits
Most doctors believe that the major benefit of having this surgery would be the improvement it would make in a patient's overall health. Being obese can reduce a persons life by as much as 20 percent. For anyone who is obese, the health gains from having gastric bypass surgery far outweigh any risks or side effects from the surgery.
Blood Pressure, Heart Disease and Type II Diabetes Improves
Elevated blood pressure is common in obese persons, and may cause heart disease, susceptibility to stroke, damage to the kidneys, and hardening of the arteries. Severely obese people are six times as likely to develop heart disease as those people who are of normal weight. After gastric bypass surgery, patients should also see an improvement in their blood pressure and overall health, an enhancement in their quality of life and a reduced incidence of disease.
Diabetes is another problem suffered by many people with weight issues. Those who are overweight are 40 times as likely to develop Adult-Onset, Type II, Diabetes. After losing excess weight from having a gastric bypass, over 70 to 80 percent of patients who had high blood pressure. Over 90 percent of patients with type II diabetes are able to stop taking their medications due to improvement in their health.
Other Specific Disease Risks are Diminished
Symptoms of sleep apnea, asthma, high cholesterol and triglycerides, joint pain, arthritis, reflux, fatigue, shortness of breath are all reduced. And the risk of getting pulmonary disease and certain cancers is reduced as a result of losing weight from gastric bypass surgery. Obese patients are six times as likely to develop heart disease as those who are of normal weight. Having gastric bypass surgery reduces their risk of heart disease.
Life-Changing Results
Gastric bypass is a major surgery, and one that should change the lives of many for the better if they follow their doctor’s advice. Losing weight is a very personal decision, but when it comes to good health, and the risks that being obese pose, the decision should be an easier one to make.
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