AngelaWilliamsMD

Sorry I'm a day late, but work has been nuts!!! Down to 136.1!

Just thought I'd share a study I found in one of my medical journey subscriptions. Interesting read! Sleeve Gastrectomy Improves Testosterone Levels in Obese Men Thu, 10/08/15 - 11:39 Sleeve gastrectomy can normalize testosterone levels in men with obesity-related hypogonadism, according to a recent study. Previous research has suggested both the potential benefits of bariatric surgery to overall health and potential adverse effects of testosterone replacement therapy. For this reason, researchers aimed to investigate the effects of surgery-related weight loss on serum testosterone and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RELATED CONTENT Bariatric Surgery Helps Relieve Asthma Symptoms Bariatric Surgery Can Lower Diabetes Risk by 80% ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In their study, they followed 24 men undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, measuring their serum testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and PSA levels before surgery, then again 3, 6, and 12 months after. Overall, the amount of men in the study with low serum testosterone levels dropped from 63% to 41% 12 months after surgery. “Our cohort experienced a significant increase in average serum testosterone as quickly as 3 months after sleeve gastrectomy and by 12 months, this value had increased from 295 to 423 ng/dL (p=0.003). DHEA showed a trend toward increase, from 12.8 to 39.6 ng/mL (p=0.12) and serum PSA concentration rose over 12 months from 0.62 to 0.75 ng/mL (p=0.047) with no change in PSA mass.” “The take home message is that if you are an obese man with low testosterone your therapy should be weight loss not testosterone replacement, and a successful way to achieve meaningful weight loss is through a bariatric operation,” they concluded. “This is a unique and beneficial finding for sleeve gastrectomy hasn’t been studied before, demonstrating for the first time, that testosterone levels are improved in a group of obese male patients following sleeve gastrectomy.” —Michael Potts References: Morton JM, Mokhrati T, Nair AA, et al. Male sex hormones normalize after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Paper presented at: The 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Chicago, IL. October 5, 2015. American College of Surgeons. Testosterone Levels Improve in Obese Men Following a Common Weight-Loss Operation [press release]. October 5, 2015. https://www.facs.org/media/press-releases/2015/morton. ‹ PREVIOUS ARTICLENEXT ARTICLE ›

137.1, thanks!

Great job, I'm happy for you!

@@tamila0624 What exactly do you mean by a full meal? Solids? Large portions? Please give us some more information so we can support you.

I'll try to tackle this from a health professional's point of view. If he's the policy holder then I believe he legally has the right to know (to a degree) what's going on with his insurance claims and of those that are his dependents.

If you were my patient I would say the same thing. Your rheumatologist wasn't trying to be insulting, they were simply stating fact. Be honest with yourself...wouldn't you avoid surgery IF you could lose the weight on your own? I know I would have. With that being said, having WLS was the best option for me at the time so I have no regrets.

@ I often weigh more when I go to the doctor because of the clothes I'm wearing and usually the time of the day. There is also a difference in scales. I understand you feel like you should've lost more weight by now, but don't let it get you down. KEEP GOING!

I will post another vote of support for Dannon's Lite & Fit Greek. I haven't found a flavor I didn't like, it's under 100 calories and the carb count is around 9 so that's another plus!

I have taken it before and after surgery, and have not found it to have made a big difference in terms of results.

I don't smoke, but both of my parents do. When Chantix first came out, I was so excited to get them to try it. According to them, the medication takes away the will to want to smoke. They were able to be smoke free for a month though, and then started up again off the medication. It can cause some weird side effects, so be careful!

I just increased my Spironolactone from 100 to 200mg a day. Hopefully this will help with my upper lip and chin, otherwise I'll be joining others getting laser therapy.

I went to town eating everything I could on the last supper. Snickerdoodles, Kings Hawaiian rolls, Popeyes chicken, mashed potatoes, strawberry soda, AND Costco cake. Now that I think about it, this highlights how one can have such an unhealthy addiction to food. I'm surprised I didn't have a larger starting weight than what I did...

Congratulations! Pictures such as yours are so inspirational. If you don't keep the scrubs, at least keep these photos as a reminder of how far you've come.

I think if you drop another 5-10 pounds you WILL start to look "skinny". You look great how you are, by the way! Congratulations on getting to your goal.

I'd avoid any that have an NSAID (aspirin, ibuprofen, etc). May also want to look for the sugar free cough syrups/lozenges as well!

139.1, Happy Monday everyone!!!

I think this is a great idea and would love some more support. My username is AngelaWilliamsMD242

Why not just eat when you are hungry? That's the most natural way to do things.

If you are really telling the truth, there are cases of patients testing positive if they are around chronic marijuana smokers. Request a quantitative level if you can.

I agree with Ann. Hipefully you are at a point where you can take non-sedating histamines, so get up and start moving. The first day will be tough, but each day will get better.

Your second thoughts are perfectly normal. I was the 29, similar in age as you, and started to realize that I no longer wanted to live my life as a depressed, morbidly obese, and generally unhealthy person anymore. I just knew there had to be something better for my thirties. Have you reached your breaking point yet? I think everyone who is true serious about surgery has one of these. JMHO

Completely agree on this one!

Well, my situation is a bit different from yours but I understand what your concerns are. I suffer from hypertrophic scarring (not as severe as keloid scars). As a result of being unhappy with my VSG scars, I've been getting steroids injections to shrink the size and have been scheduled for Fraxel laser treatments to help with the discoloration.

I'm having a similar problem. I had liposuction on my abdomen and arms (before the sleeve, actually). As I have lost so much weights, the abdominal area looks great. My arms are still slightly lumpy, so I'm hesitant about getting the thighs done. Ultimately, once so hit my weight loss goal, if I'm still unhappy, I plan to have the thighs done and "touch up" the arms and stomach.