Health, Medications, and Food Choices
Health, Medications, and Food Choices
On this week of Bariatric Friday, Kemal Erkan and Dr. Isaias Irgau sit down to talk about three different but very important topics. These include the current state of health conditions and immigration, weight loss medications, and what food choices are appropriate after bariatric surgery.
Erkan opens up with recent developments in the Trump administration’s policies. Under these new policies, foreigners seeking visas to live in the US may be rejected if they have certain preexisting health conditions such as diabetes, morbid obesity, heart conditions, and more. Dr. Irgau expresses his concern about these policies, commenting that it makes him think of Ellis Island. People would travel for months and still be rejected entry into the country after being examined for different diseases. He notes that for an event like an epidemic, screening for health issues is more justified, but these events are relatively infrequent. Dr. Irgau also remarks that there are plenty of other regulations that can be put into place in order to reduce obesity rates.
Erkan and Dr. Irgau then pivot to the subject of weight loss medications. Erkan asks what side effects may be experienced as a result of being on weight loss medications. Dr. Irgau says that the most commonly experienced side effects are gastrointestinal; these include nausea, abdominal discomfort, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, etc. Patients can experience differences in number of symptoms and severity. Other serious risks that patients should be aware of are gallbladder issues, pancreatitis, thyroid cancers, and blindness. While these effects are very rare, they need to be taken into account since they are life-threatening.
Dr. Irgau also expresses that he would like to see weight loss happening with a multidisciplinary approach. If the patient is starting on weight loss medication and there is progress shown, then that is promising. However, if the patient does not show progress even after taking weight loss medications, then it is more ideal to get a bariatric surgeon involved early. This is important so that the patient is more aware of their alternatives early on and can discuss them with a knowledgeable professional.
Some bariatric patients also use GLP-1s in tandem with their surgery as part of an overall treatment plan. However, there are certain things that bariatric patients need to be more mindful about. Because they have gone through a lot of gastrointestinal changes, they may be more predisposed to the aforementioned side effects of weight loss medications. Overall, weight loss medications can be a good tool to use alongside bariatric surgery, but it is still not a replacement for the procedure.