Gastric Bypass surgery is becoming increasingly more popular

for the morbid obese. In order to qualify for the surgery,

you must have a body mass index of more than 40, which

usually translates to being 100 or more pounds overweight.

Gastric Bypass surgery is a procedure in which the surgeon

will create a pouch out of your stomach, divide the stomach

and then connect the pouch directly to the intestine,

basically "bypassing" the lower stomach. The whole idea is

to limit the amount food that the patient can consume and to

shorten up the digestive track so that fewer calories can be

absorbed by the patients body. Since the person cannot

consume as much food, they are not going to consume as many

calories and thus force the body to use stored fat.

As with any surgery, there are certain risks associated with

the gastric bypass procedure and they include the following:

bleeding, infections, further surgeries to correct

complications, gallstones from such a drastic weight loss in

a short amount of time, gastritis, vomiting (from eating

more than the stomach pouch can hold), iron or vitamin B12

deficiencies, and calcium deficiency.

A common side effect that you will often hear about with

gastric bypass surgery is something known as "dumping

syndrome". The symptoms for dumping syndrome include nausea

and vomiting, diarrhea, bloated feeling, dizziness and

sweating, but these symptoms can be reduced considerably by

strictly following your dietitian's guidelines.

As far as what to expect after surgery, the weight loss

results are usually good. Patients generally lose an average

of 10 pounds per month and have their weight level off

around 18 and 24 months after the surgery. Typically, the

greatest weight change occurs at the beginning, because the

patient is restricted to a liquid diet for awhile.

The patient will find themselves following up with their

doctor as well as a dietitian many times during the first

year so that he or she can keep a close eye on your physical

and mential health status.

Keep in mind that gastric bypass surgery is not a miracle

cure for weight loss. Although it helps to train you to eat

less and get the feeling of being full faster, the patient

still has plenty of work of their own to do. It is an

absolute must to exercise and eat properly to fully benefit

from the procedure.