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!
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.