9/8/2006 12:29:00 AM
Radical approach to weight loss gains popularity
Local support group assists gastric bypass surgery patients
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BY KAY LOUTH
Times Bulletin Correspondent
info@timesbulletin.com
Gastric bypass surgery, a method to control morbid obesity, has increased significantly in the United States. According to researchers at the University of Kentucky and University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, gastric bypass surgery jumped from seven per 100,000 to 38.6 per 100,000 people between 1998 to 2002.
Nancy Hurd, a nurse at Van Wert County Hospital, runs a gastric bypass support group in Van Wert. Good candidates for the surgery, she said, are those who are morbidly obese, which means those with a Body Mass Index of 40 percent or more and those who have other medical conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
The Body Mass Index measures obesity. Anything between 25 and 29.9 is overweight, and 30 or higher is obese. In a society where "thin is in," being overweight can become not only a physical imparity, but an emotional one as well.
But it's more than just the quest for skinny thighs and a flat stomach that drives a person to undertake this dramatic, and oftentimes risky, surgery. Hurd underwent the surgery herself five years ago. "You don't have a life when you are that way. You really don't have a life," she said, adding that obese people can be limited in what they can enjoy in life. "There are all sorts of things you cannot do just because you are overweight," she said. "You can't enjoy life to a certain extent."
And when some people say having the surgery is an easy way out, Hurd emphatically disagrees. "This was not an easy decision to make," she said, adding that she thought about the procedure for two years and did a lot of investigation before committing to the surgery.
This surgery, like any surgery, can be dangerous. In fact, 1 in 200 people who undergo gastric bypass will die. But Hurd was quick to point out that the morbidly obese often have complicating medical conditions such as heart disease that exacerbates the danger.
Van Wert City Councilman Louie Ehmer fought a weight problem all of his life. In 2002, he had gastric bypass surgery, and dropped 200 pounds off his frame. His highest weight was 360, and after his surgery, he dropped to 160 pounds. He currently weighs 185 pounds.
Before his surgery, Ehmer was suffering from heart palpitations, sleep apnea and was taking 10 different pills every day because of his weight. His physician pushed hard for the surgery since Ehmer's age would soon affect his chances for a successful surgery.
During his life, Ehmer tried six different diets, and had lost weight, only to gain it all back - and then some. Gastric bypass surgery, Ehmer said, was his last option."It was the only option I had. It was either do this or else."
It took a year from the time his doctor persuaded him to undergo the surgery until the actual surgery took place. Ehmer had to visit a psychiatrist to see if he could accept the realities of the lifestyle changes that are required. "When they make the stomach the size of golf ball, that's a pretty permanent thing," he said. "A person like me has to eat six to eight times a day. Can't eat that much at one time."
Since the surgery, his eating habits have changed drastically. He doesn't eat sweets or fatty/greasy food. "I can't handle it anymore." He now eats pastas, salads, baked foods and fish and chicken. Ehmer no longer takes any pills. "If I had this to do over again, I would," he said, noting he would recommend this surgery to others.
Hurd also said this was about lifestyle changes. Even with the surgery, one can be a compulsive eater or a stress eater, still. Hurd said a person cannot eat the same things they did before the surgery and one also must slow down when they eat. Some people fail to lose weight, and some gain the weight back.
Like Ehmer, Hurd tried multiple diets over the years, including Atkins, Weight Watchers, and the medicine Redux. The Redux has caused her serious health problems, which affects her entire life. "I've lost and gained over 1,000 pounds in my lifetime," Hurd said, adding that diets just didn't work for her.
She also stressed that losing weight involves more than will power or discipline. "It's very hard to be an overweight person in society," she said. "It is an easy discrimination tool. People discriminate against obese people and feel very comfortable doing it. They make jokes about you, and little kids are very blunt to the fat lady," Hurd said.
Studies seem to prove Hurd's contention. Research by Mark Roehling, a professor at Western Michigan University, finds evidence of discrimination at almost every stage of the employment cycle including selection, placement, compensation, promotion, discipline and discharge. The 29 research vehicles also point out that, "overweight persons were subject to discrimination in employment decisions based on body weight. Overweight persons were frequently stereotyped as emotionally impaired, socially handicapped and as possessing negative personality traits."
Despite her weight loss, Hurd said she still sees herself as an overweight person. "I look in the mirror and still see the same fat person," she said, adding that some eating problems are rooted in a person's psychological makeup. "We look in the mirror and are not always satisfied with what we see," she said. "Society makes it hard to accept ourselves for what we are.The bulimic, the anorexic, the morbidly obese are at opposite ends but we still can't accept who we are," Hurd said.
Gastric bypass surgery decreases the size of the stomach and bypasses a certain portion of intestines.The most common surgery today is roux-n-y. Sixty to 70 percent of patients choose this surgery. Hurd strongly recommends ample research before making such a life-changing decision. "You have to feel comfortable with the person who does this procedure for you," she said.
Gastric bypass surgery is not performed in Van Wert County, where 70 to 100 people have availed themselves of the support group, which started three years ago. They range in age from 20-year-olds to 60 years of age. There are more females than males in the group. And it's not just those who have the surgery who attend the group. Those who are thinking about it can also attend the meetings.
For those struggling with their weight, Hurd suggests the following website as a valuable tool, obesityhealth.com. The gastric bypass support group meets the first Tuesday of the month at the hospital.
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