Posted on 06/16/2009 8:17:46 PM PDT by wintertime
Last year, 200,000 Americans had weight loss surgery and while gastric bypass surgery can significantly reduce weight, the surgery comes with risks.
Now a procedure that was once commonly used to treat ulcers is being tested as a safe alternative to weight loss surgery.
Action News reporter Kimberly Tere has the details.
The vagus nerve controls your feeling of hunger.
Some even say every single thing the vagus nerve does is designed to make you gain weight.
That is why San Francisco Doctor Robert Lustig is testing laparoscopic vagotomy, a surgery in which the vagus nerve is cut.
Cutting the vagus nerve can reduce the amount of fat stored in the body and can increase energy levels.
"Every patient in the study said their hunger was gone, just gone. One comment I got from one patient was this is the first time in her life that she was not a prisoner to food," said Dr. Lustig.
About 5 years ago I lost 80 lbs. Keeping it off has been a brutal daily struggle with hunger. Every minute of every day is a battle with hunger and food. I have noticed that every morning as I am awakening, I am dreaming about, and semi-thinking about food, and it just gets worse as the day moves onward.
I have an appointment with my doctor on Thursday. I am going to ask him about this.
To those who will post about their magic diet or combination of food, I just tell you now that:
1) I have already tried it.
2) People who are normally thin aren't on magic combinations of food or weird diets.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......vagus nerve!...alllggghh!
They cut mine. Now I’m a vagutarian.
Let me know what you find out wintertime.
There is only one diet that works: Atkins.It also lowers blood sugar for type II diabetics.
Wait, what?
controls your feeling of hunger.
Oh.
I am about 90 pounds over weight and have never been able to keep off the weight when I lose it. Please let me know, if you will, what your Doctor says.
Thanks,
John
I guess you lose the desire to sit on your rear end playing poker all day;)
I had a gastric bypass 17 years ago and it was the BEST thing I ever did.
Cutting the vagus nerve, however, will do nothing to help if you’ve got a verrrrrrrrrry looooooonnnnnnng small intestine. Double the length, to be exact. It sucks every bit of food, water, protein, fat, etc., out of whatever you eat. It would be handy if I lived in the Sahara but it’s not helpful in America.
My daughter desperately wanted the "band" a couple of years ago and I talked her and her mother out of it. It was a great miracle that she did not as she had serious colon issues that would have been harmed.
Did you lose it when you were young or old? And, after losing 80 pounds, were you close to ideal weight?
Just think of all the money you could save by only eating monday wednesday friday?
You will have food stamps on Obamacare.
I realize for the people who would be considered for this are a long way from starving to death, but it seems tricky to mess with your body’s natural indicators of a need.
The only diet that can work is limiting portions and exercise. And neither of those is easy.
“There is only one diet that works: Atkins.”
It can also seriously damage your health if you’re one of those that this type of fad doesn’t work for.
LOL
You are correct. I never (ever) get hungry. I eat based on my perceived requirements. I am thin and have a fast metabolism.
I always have refrained from box foods and refined carbs, and I've always been 10-15% percentile on the low end of the weight spectrum.
As a food service professional. I always suggest that folks visit with their MD and eat as close to nature as possible.
For me, that means a lot of stuff in season locally, local game and animals we raise.
For you, maybe something different.
Everybody's metabolism is different.
Find out what works for you. And good luck.
/johnny
Very funny!
A friend of mine’s mother died from gastric bypass. They took too much out. She gradually starved to death over a ten year period...while eating as much as she could force herself to eat.
There are many places to learn about this -- here are some links for you to get started:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training
http://www.readysetgofitness.com
http://www.intervaltraining.net/hiit.html
http://www.hiitsource.com
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=HIIT
http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding_100/135_fitness_tip.html
atkins isn’t a diet, its a complete lifestyle change.
If you ever revert back to your old ways it is HELL to start back up again.
The truth about it is that most of these surgeries do not keep the weight off. There a many that suffer complications and some do die. Sorry to hear.
I wish you good luck with your quest.
I was about 58. And, yes, I am an ideal weight. Keeping it ideal is a minute to minute struggle.
For many, they are a compulsion. (Gambling, Food, Anorexia, etc)
Except food compulsions are harder because you gotta have food.
Have you tried drinking green tea? My doc told me it supresses the appetite.
Works - yes. I lost over 60 lbs a little over 5 years ago. Unfortunately, living on Atkins/low carb forever can be just as difficult as other diets. I did it for 4 months - had great results.
Also - I believe from my own experience, that if you ever go OFF the low-carb diet, your body reacts MUCH worse to carbs - stacking on pounds and fat faster than ever- even if you do not "load up" on the carbs as you might have in the past.
People who are normally thing are thinking about or doing “high intensity interval training.”
NOW...THAT is VERY interesting.....during a colonoscopy I was told I have a very circuitus colon.....I realize that is NOT the small intestine, however, it may be a clue to me having a long intestine.....HHHmmmmmm.
It would’ve been nice, but I had low blood sugar. What a rotten combination! Even now that I’m a normal weight (well, I’m trying to lose 15 pounds but that’s easy after 150) my sugar is still low.
The risks cannot be underestimated, especially if you have the type of surgery that actually shortens your intestines.
Sympathy and prayers for your friend.
It can also seriously damage your health if you’re one of those that this type of fad doesn’t work for.
There has not been any empirical evidence
The fads which are harmful are "low fat"
to suggest that Adkins is harmful.
Yes, I spent years drinking and chasing women, and I caught a lot of them.
Normal small intestinal length is 19-22ft. When I had my bypass my surgeon, who is VERY experienced, actually measures them. When I was in post-op his nurse told me I’d been lugging around nearly 40ft of small intestine. “You could eat sand and still gain weight,” she said. After all those years of blaming myself I had a reason.
I don’t know if a lot of research has been done on this. If so I haven’t had luck finding it.
“There has not been any empirical evidence
to suggest that Adkins is harmful.”
Yes there is but I’m not going to waste my time digging out at this time of night.
It seems to me that there should be some temporary way of inhibiting the vagus nerve that would be much less dramatic than severing it entirely.
“Besides output to the various organs in the body the vagus nerve conveys sensory information about the state of the body’s organs to the central nervous system. 80-90% of the nerve fibers in the vagus nerve are afferent (sensory) nerves communicating the state of the viscera to the brain.”
Yep! This was my exact experience. I was able to keep it up about 4 months, but the **intense** craving for carbs finally overcame my will power.
I used a normal Weight Watchers, count-the-portions diet and lost the 80 lbs doing that.
After Atkins, though, if I eat anything very sweet I get crippling camps in my legs and fingers about 20 minutes later. After all these years that side effect has never gone away. Potassium tablets relieves the symptoms.
As I posted, I have tried everything anyone will suggest. And...people who are normally thin aren't doing special diets or unusual exercise.
How much cardio do you do?
Do you drink soda or juice?
How much oatmeal do you eat? Do you eat it 3 times per day w/o sugar?
*BUMP* !
I found this online-—
My mom had her vagus nerve cut in the process of ulcer surgery in 1978. Along with cutting the nerve, they removed her gall bladder and appendix.
While it seemed to have helped the ulcers, it created a whole new set of problems that get worse over the years. The simpliest manifestation is her comment after eating that the food “seems to just sit on my stomach” - something it actually appears to do.
In reading, it appears to have had a negative effect on her entire digestive system and from reading may have an affect on blood pressure and even speech.
Additionally, as there is not reversal, the problems just seem to be getting worse as she ages.
YIKES
” You will have food stamps on Obamacare. “
And you’d better hope they taste good, because you’re not going to be able to get any food with them.
Mmmmmmmm...food stamps....Arrrllgh!
Oatmeal 3 times per day????? Why? For the fiber? There are other ways to get fiber....
The mortality is 1%,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Considering that these patients are most often morbidly obese that’s really very low.
P90X is a great system...very healthy and gets you in awesome shape.
That should read:
People who are normally thin are NOT thinking about or especially doing high intensity training. They simply living normal lives.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.