Thursday, January 14, 2016

Thoughts about the TV show "My 600 lb life"



As I watch the TV show, "My 600 lb life", I see many issues .... Elephants in the room, things left unsaid like, the fact that at least 2 of the patients featured on this show, ended up with severe complications such as neuropathy and guillian barre (which the provider attributed to "obesity" even though it was after the gastric bypass that these folks suffered these complications). One  patient uses a wheelchair now (he could walk before his gastric bypass). Another 2 patients that I know of, died a couple of years after surgery which is before they would have died without surgery.  (The bus driver featured in the first or second season, died about two years after his gastric bypass - he had a massive heart attack while driving a school bus.)

First, it seems many of the patients feel the 'before surgery' diet is temporary but in truth, weight loss surgery does NOT fix a damaged metabolism...that is the patient will have to stay on the 1200-1400 calorie diet for life if they want to keep off the weight... it bothers me that many patients don't seem to understand this and so their weight loss after surgery greatly slows down or in some cases, they gain.

Second, with weight loss surgery, there may be a large initial (after surgery) weight loss as the person cannot eat because there is a healing process going on, but after the surgery is healed, the appetite (which is centered in the brain) comes back strongly.

When weight loss surgery was invented in the 1960's, medicine thought the appetite centers were in the stomach and by making the stomach very small, that would control the appetite... Studies and a greater level of knowledge that we have now, have taught us that the appetite centers are in the brain and the size of the stomach makes little to no difference in how hungry most individuals feel... This means that the entire theory upon which weight loss surgery is based, may be outdated.  So one wonders why some providers still do the invasive procedures like gastric bypass?. Well, surgery is a cash cow for providers, unfortunately... and sadly, many patients who have become ill with gastric bypass or have regained, are made to feel ashamed if they speak out.  One of my friends called this a "conspiracy of silence".  She, a weight loss surgery patient herself, died at the young age of 54.  She had been ill with her surgery and bed-bound for several years before her death.

Do providers know that surgery does little to nothing to control the appetite for most folks?  Unclear... They really might think that the surgery helps... To keep up with all the advances in medicine, a provider would have to spend all his or her free time reading...

Most of all, one cannot gain to a very heavy weight, unless one has some serious physical metabolic issues going on.  And no one seems to acknowledge this, although it can be found in medical literature .... And especially not the provider on the TV show, "My 600 lb life"...who assumes that every one of these patients is really stuffing him/herself. However, a revealing study found that members of NAAFA, a fat acceptance group, actually consumed less food at conventions than their thin cohorts!  It's true that people who get very overweight may overeat at times, but basically, most of them eat like many other Americans who do not become extremely obese... And yet these people are made to feel like they are total pigs when it comes to eating. I can't help wondering why providers don't seem to know more about metabolic issues which can cause obesity... 

I stumbled upon my metabolic issue...after spending a lifetime wondering why, if I ate like most around me, I became very overweight... A goodly percentage of folks who had tonsillectomies in the 1950's and 1960's got pituitary damage after surgery... My tonsillectomy was in 1953 and right after surgery, I began putting on weight...That is, before this procedure, I, being very active, was on the slim side, however, after surgery...eating the same amount and with just as much activity as before, I gained weight...

So in digging through medical literature (for years literally), I found the reason why I gain so easily.  Now why don't providers let us know about this, I'm wondering...like those folks on "My 600 lb life", the provider really takes them to task, when they gain weight...

To defend Dr Nowzardan, it's possible he doesn't know about the latest research...he's 72 years old and this may be one reason why people of this age (over 70) should be retired... I am 71 and yes, I do NOT have the brain power I did when I was, even in my 60's, and trust me, it drives me nutz!  To paraphrase Buddy on "Cake Boss" , one might say with emphasis, "It's the aging process, baby!"

Undoubtedly, some of us, like me and those folks on the TV show, "My 600 lb life" have no set point and thus, we can gain easily up to astronomical weights, without especially overeating, at least not more than most Americans who do not gain so easily...

I've tried to explain all this to providers... And most of them naysay what I am telling them. 

Metabolic differences and pituitary damage from procedures like tonsillectomies,  seems  something which, apparently, is not included in the medical school curriculum...

Sue

6 comments:

Kit Jordan said...

Thank you for the information, it is interesting. A dear friend of mine is planning to have bariatric surgery (not sure if he is planning gastric bypass or another type of surgery), and I am very worried for him after reading about a lot of poor, and even fatal, outcomes. I was wondering if, once you determined you had a metabolic issue, you pursued treatment for that issue? Are there treatments, and do you consider them effective and/or necessary. Thank you for taking the time to help others learn.

Sue Joan said...

Please send your friend to my informed consent website, Kit! After surgery, he will still have to diet and exercise which, of course, causes a weight loss without invasive surgery! weight loss surgery informed consent site. I believe many choose this surgery because they think it's some kind of shortcut but on the contrary, not only do patients have to diet and exercise after surgery ...and many, like Al Roker, also journal their calories but also, they face the complications from the surgeries....

Sue Joan said...

From Gracey... "get the feeling you don't actually watch the show on a regular basis. Dr. N does tell them the surgery does not fix their eating problems; he tells them the smaller stomach will not make their appetite to go away that they have to learn to control it; he gives them proper diet instructions. What we see on the program is only a small portion of a journey that lasts several years. Some are long-term successes, and some aren't. The same is true of those losing weight without surgery though.

Dr. N's son is also part of his team, but I don't think age has anything to do with whether you keep up-to-date on medical issues and new studies in your field, either. Some older doctors stay on top of it, some don't. Not sure about Dr. N but I would think he'd have to considering what he does.

Yes, Henry did die but from a few reports, it wasn't from a heart attack, and wasn't related to his surgery. His heart stopped during a second surgery though (to remove excess skin), so right there we are faced with the danger of any type of surgery.

Any surgery at all can have complications (even a simple tonsillectomy)and these people are made aware of the fact that surgery is dangerous. Not sayin' complications aren't an issue, but the people themselves make this choice. Nobody forces them to have the surgery. It's a choice I'd have made if I could have afforded it financially. As it was, I lost weight through changing my eating habits and exercising.

Several studies and other professionals indicate that a body's set-point (what you speak of in the last few paragraphs of your post) is not impossible to change.."

Sue Joan said...

Henry Footes DID have a heart attack, 2 years after his surgery and while he was driving a school bus! I know his heart stopped when he was in for his skin surgery but that's not what I'm referring to. His obituary can be easily found on the Internet... Gastric bypass raises the risk for heart attack because patients who are not really careful to consume protein drinks, can suffer from protein malnutrition which stresses the heart (and can cause brain fog) ... It's an old surgery which should not be done any longer because now medicine knows better but Dr N is way over retirement age and may not be familiar with new technology... And as for raising the set point, yes, if one is normal and no, if one has metabolic issues...refer to the studies of Glen Gaesser, PhD and Dr Rudy Leibel, obesity researcher... Glad you opted out for exercise and calorie restriction but please don't advocate this invasive surgery without studying it further and yes, I have watched all the shows, many more this once....

Kit Jordan said...

Thank you, I will give my friend the link to the website.

Laura said...

Sue, I'm glad you mentioned an important point about this show-that people who are over 600 lbs. are not simply gluttons. They have serious metabolic issues which NOBODY takes the time to diagnose, and which this surgery will not fix. Unfortunately this show gives its audience the impression that the patients are constantly eating junk food. I wouldn't be surprised if the director tells the patients to drive by KFC and hands them the chicken nuggets-so much better for the TV audience to have a "villain." Of course the surgeon is the hero, and if the patients end up with complications, it's their own fault for stuffing themselves. Also, they run the same few shows over and over again. People at this extreme of the weight spectrum are not common. Those who are unquestioningly have serious health and mobility issues, but they need real treatment that helps them, not slash and burn surgery that may leave them worse.