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Provided that the bariatric patient follows all the weight loss surgeon’s instructions closely and adheres to a healthy eating and exercise regimen after surgery, weight loss surgery can be a critical tool in the journey to losing a substantial amount of weight, living healthier and improving quality of life. Patients who undergo bariatric surgery with successful, long-lasting results lead an incredibly different life before and after surgery.

Before surgery, most bariatric patients are unhealthy and unhappy. After surgery, many weight loss patients are healthier and dramatically happier. To illustrate the differences in life before and after weight loss surgery, Dr. Alberto Aceves of Mexicali Bariatric Center shares some of the positive changes that can come from successful bariatric surgery.

Before: Ample Excess Weight

If you are considering bariatric surgery, it is because you struggle with an ample amount of excess weight that you have failed to lose on your own. This creates both physical and mental hardships for patients.

After: Loss of Excess Weight

Fortunately, bariatric surgery patients who adhere to a healthier diet and overall lifestyle after weight loss surgery typically lose a significant amount of their excess weight. How much weight you lose depends on several factors, including which type of bariatric surgery is performed, how much excess weight you are trying to lose, what health problems you have prior to surgery and how well you maintain a healthier lifestyle and diet after surgery.

The following is a list of weight-loss averages for common types of bariatric surgery:

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: Within approximately 14 months, those who undergo the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass lose at least 70 percent of their extra body weight. You may lose 100 percent of your excess body weight and keep it off if you follow the rules extremely closely.

Adjustable gastric banding procedure: The average amount of weight lost after the Lap-Band procedure is about 50 percent of a patient’s excess weight.

Sleeve gastrectomy: Gastric sleeve patients have results that are comparable to the average amount of weight loss with gastric bypass. Dr. Aceves‘ latest follow-up study showed that patients are losing an average of 96 percent of their excess body weight in less than 12 months!

Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch: Patients who undergo this type of bariatric surgery lose an average of 70 to 80 percent of their extra body weight within the first two years following weight loss surgery. DS surgery has the best long-term weight loss maintenance statistics.

Before: Obesity-Related Health Problems

If you are substantially overweight, you may also suffer from obesity-related health problems known as comorbid conditions. These may include type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, heart disease, gallbladder disease, liver disease, cancer, arthritis, asthma, sleep apnea and several other conditions.

After: Reversal of Comorbid Health Issues

Although there are quite a few scary health problems on this list, undergoing weight loss surgery and losing a substantial amount of weight can improve comorbid health issues. After weight loss surgery and ensuing weight loss, many bariatric patients report that they no longer suffer from diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, arthritis or a host of other health conditions that had plagued them before weight loss surgery.

For instance, the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) reports that following weight loss surgery: 76.8 percent of bariatric surgery patients experience total remission of Type 2 diabetes; high blood pressure, or hypertension, is resolved in 61.7 percent of those who have undergone bariatric surgery; high cholesterol levels are reduced in more than 70 percent of patients; and sleep apnea is eliminated in 85.7 percent of bariatric surgery patients.

Before: Inability to Live Life Fully

Another common complaint that severely overweight people tend to have is that they are not living life to their full potential. Suffering from obesity often hampers the ability to lead a playful, active life. If you suffer from obesity and are a parent or grandparent, you probably know that it is difficult to keep up with your children or grandchildren. Obesity can make maneuvering stairs, walking, traveling and engaging in certain activities such as riding roller coasters difficult, if not impossible.

In addition, suffering from obesity can also lead to a range of psychological issues, including depression, low self-esteem, negative self-image, low self-confidence and numerous others. These psychological problems can have a lasting negative effect on a person’s psyche if left untreated.

After: Improved Quality of Life

If any of this sounds familiar, don’t lose hope. The good news is that by undergoing weight loss surgery and losing the excess weight, you can remedy these problems. Before weight loss surgery, you may not be able to walk up a flight of stairs without stopping for a breath, but after bariatric surgery and the ensuing weight loss, you will be able to run up the stairs if you so wish. You will be able to chase after your kids or grandkids. You will be able to experience life more fully. After weight loss surgery, you will be happier than you were before undergoing a bariatric procedure. In fact, the ASMBS reports that depression is resolved in 55 percent of bariatric surgery patients after weight loss surgery.

To schedule a consultation to learn more about your bariatric surgery options with Dr. Aceves, please contact Mexicali Bariatric Center by calling (888) 344-3916.