Report on another icky effect of WLS

[firecat]

From the medical journal Neurology (article is here but requires subscription).

Excerpts: excerpt:

After gastric bypass surgery [...] vitamin B1 deficiency can lead to Wernicke encephalopathy, a severe neurological condition.
[...]
In the study, a 35-year-old woman developed many difficulties after gastric bypass (bariatric) surgery for obesity. Difficulties included nausea, anorexia, fatigue, hearing loss, forgetfulness, and ataxia, or an inability to coordinate muscle movements. By the 12th week following surgery, she had lost 40 pounds and had difficulty walking and concentrating.
[...]
An MRI scan showed abnormal signals in various parts of the woman's brain, indicating a deficiency in vitamin B1. Also known as thiamine, vitamin B1 is essential for carbohydrate metabolism and normal functioning of the nervous system. When her intravenous dose of vitamin B1 was increased to 100 mg every eight hours, her eye muscles gradually returned to normal and her confusion decreased.

Eleven days after her dose of vitamin B1 was increased, a follow-up MRI scan showed the abnormal signals had decreased.

Comments

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

I'd think that kind of surgery would only work if you had a problem with overeating

It "works" by essentially inducing anorexia and bulimia in people who have had it. The amount they can eat is very little. Nearly everyone who has the surgery will lose weight because they cannot eat nearly enough, and if they do it often results in vomitting--most will not be "thin" post-surgery but weight will be lost. So, yes, the surgery "works" for everyone as it will reduce the consumption of food drastically, just as meth or chemo might.

Does this mean it is a reasonable thing to do? Absolutely not.

Does it mean it is healthy? Hell no.

Does it signal something fucked up and sick about our society? Absolutely.

And you'd be suprised at how low a weight one can have and be approved for the surgery.