For most people, the decision to have bariatric surgery isn’t simply about looking better in the mirror.  It’s about improving one’s own health and wellness to hopefully live a longer, fuller, more-enriching life without the burden of obesity-related diseases.  Being overweight can cause heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, breathing problems like sleep apnea, reflux, and more.  Many of these diseases can shorten the lifespan…and no one wants that!

Weight loss surgery can lessen the negative impact of these diseases, and in many cases can cause the disease to go into remission.  People are motivated to move towards weight loss surgery to see milestone events in the future take place: to see kids graduate, to see grandchildren grow up, or to reach a 50^th wedding anniversary.

As your health begins to improve after weight loss surgery, one has to take charge of their own health to ensure that their goal of reducing the burden of these diseases is being met.  If you had high blood pressure before surgery and feel that your blood pressure is improving, see your primary care provider to talk about possibly coming off of some medications.  The same holds true for diabetes, high cholesterol, and other diseases.  You must continue to monitor your health after surgery, because not paying attention to things like your blood pressure and blood sugar could become dangerous.  For example, if your diabetes was improving because of weight loss but you were continuing to take diabetes medications without checking your blood sugars first, you could become hypoglycemic when you medicate an already-lowering blood sugar.

Taking charge of your own health is something that only YOU can do.  As a partner in your weight loss journey, we are here to help you navigate your body changes and keep you safe.  If you have questions about how your health issues may be improving after surgery, see your surgeon and discuss your concerns.  Here’s to better health!