The Dangers of Medical Weight Loss Procedures

*This is a collaborative post

Obesity is the highest it has ever been with the CDC stating that one-third of American adults are obese. With the constant increase in obesity, comes the increased number in surgical procedures for weight loss. The question is, are these procedures safe and are the benefits outweighing the risks?

There is a clearly shown a correlation between obesity and an increased risk of major and life-threatening diseases. Studies have shown that obesity can lead to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and has also shown to increase risks of some cancers such as colon cancer, breast cancer and a newer study has also reported a link to pancreatic cancer.

Due to the obvious implications just mentioned that obesity has on health, it is no surprise that there has been a huge increase in the number of weight loss procedures and problems, such as saxenda side effects. One of the most common interventions that people with obesity turn to is called bariatric surgery. The ASMBS says that the number of weight-loss surgeries that took place in the US has shown a huge increase. 1998 had 13,000 procedures and 200,000 in 2008 which is a humongous increase.

There is a number of risks when it comes to weight loss procedures which I will now detail. The first being blood clots, even though you will be having treatment to reduce your risk of this of such as special leg stockings or medication to thin the blood, they can still happen. Another would be for a wound infection to occur while they are healing. With gastric band surgery, there is obviously a risk that the band can move out of position; this is a small risk but can cause heartburn, feeling sick and vomiting.

After sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass, there is a small chance that a leak in the gut can occur which can cause serious infection. Symptoms of a leak in the gut can include stomach pain, fast breathing, shivering and chills, a fever and a rapid heartbeat. A blockage of the stomach or small intestine can occur after the weight loss surgery which
could be scar tissue in your gut becoming twisted or food getting stuck. Symptoms of this will include repeated vomiting, tummy pain, difficulty swallowing and not being able to produce bowel movements as often.

Another serious risk that can happen following the surgery is that it will make it harder for your gut to absorb minerals and vitamins from food intake; this causes you to become malnourished. It has also been reported that people who undertake this surgery need to take extra nutritional supplements for the rest of their life following surgery, this indicates serious damage to the gut and what highlights to me as one of the more serious risks of the surgery.

Malnutrition symptoms would be shortness of breath, lacking energy or feeling lethargic often, noticeable heart palpitations, pale skin, feeling generally weak and pins and needles. Damaging the microbiome in your gut can also cause chronic depression. These risks and symptoms need to be strongly considered before undergoing weight loss procedures as losing weight nutritionally will always be a safer option.