Anyone else catch it? I watch Intervention quite a bit, this is the first time I saw them do one on someone addicted to food.

The guy was 546lbs, 22 years old. So we follow him and his addiction to food, then they have an intervention.

At some point in the show, they said he is too overweight to be considered for bariatric surgery. That's BS, he is not! I've seen people larger than him get it. And, they put you on a diet, so he'd lose some first.

In any event, if you didn't see it.. they sent him somewhere. And he lost 74lbs in 4 months. I'd say now he most definitely qualifies for surgery.

Anyway, thought it was weird to see an Intervention on food.

I love Intervention. It's the only show I watch regularly (umm...I TiVO it).

I did see that one. They said he was "...too overweight to do some of the testing required for gastric bypass" or something like that. It definitely was around the testing, because I misread it and had to rewind it to read it again, I thought it said "...too overweight due to the testing"

Yeah, I TiVo it too, I have Intervention marathons on the weekends hah.

Yeah that's what it said, he was too overweight for testing. Now what does that mean?

The show is about general addiction. They have a history of focusing on drug/alcohol addiction, but have been branching out lately. They had a gambling addict, a rage addict (also a drug user), etc.

I am not sure, I even commented to my husband about it. The only thing I could figure was if it had to do with where his fat is located... but that's just a guess. OR maybe he's too fat for a particular surgeon, some will only take up to X lbs or X BMI.

I have it on a season pass on my TiVo since the show started. I have never missed an episode and have never seen one on overeating (bulimia and anorexia yes). I was glad they showed the true struggles of an overeater and that the therapist stated that food addiction is similar to heroine addiction in that some of us do it for the calming effect.I also liked that they mentioned that food addiction is different than other addictions in that you are faced with the demons 3 or more times a day because you need food to live. I guess it was the particular surgeon he saw that said he wouldnt take the risk of doing surgery on him but there are some who will take him, he may just have to travel. The surgeons on Big Medicine have done surgery on men his size. Hope to see more on this show!

I have seen the shopping addict, gambling addict, belemic, etc..

On Big Medicine they have done someone 300-400lbs heavier than him. I would think if he went on the crash course diet they give you pre-op (seems to be 6 monthsish for these cases), he'd be able to do the surgery. And if they have the insurance, they need to jump on it. He's too young to be going through all that.

Is the cardiac/pulmonary stress test compulsory for those with high BMIs or something? Mine was high but under 50 and I didn't have to do any such thing.

re: "he was too overweight for testing. Now what does that mean?"

I would think this means such as the cardiac-stress test on a tread mill would be difficult if not outright contraindicated to obtain....and cardiac/pulmonary stress testing would be very important on this size patient.

Jack,

They do have a non-treadmill stress test for those that are not able to handle the treadmill. It is a pharmacological stress test. So I don't see any reason they couldn't do that? I think this poor guy just needs to see a different surgeon...

I saw that Intervention and I really felt for that poor young man. He was sweet and talented but so sad. I hope he is able to have WLS someday.

Yeah, and I know I'm bitter, but hopefully I'm in good company..

I hope they don't keep trying to make him diet and doing the yo-yo thing. He needs to just get a WLS and honestly, get out of that house. His dad is not a good influence, and I can totally relate to binging if you're around someone who makes you feel that way.

I'm not sure. WLS isn't right for everyone. IMO he needs head help before anything else. Not years and years of it, but enough to give him the best chances of success possible.

Yeah, that's why I think he needs out of that environment to start.

So is Intervention on Friday nights? I like that show too but it seems like I lose track of it. I can Tivo it too, but I have to know where to look for it.

I'm not sure when it's on, check the A&E website.

I just do the keyboard search and record it that way. Plus we have A&E on demand, they usually have 5 or 6 episodes accessible anytime.

Unfortunately there are weight limits on the equipment that is used in the hospital. For the UGI and Nuclear Medicine stress test, the table limits are in the range of 350 pounds. As for the ultrasound of the gallbladder that some physicians require pre-op you can basically forget about visualizing anything on a patient that size. Some facilities have retrofitted their equipment to accomodate larger patients. The health care vendors are now getting wise to the fact that the population as a whole is becoming more and more obese. Where previously it was rare to have a patient over 250-275 pounds that is increasingly becoming the norm for patients. So when new equipment is purchased one of the items that vendors push is "Oh our table limit is XXX".

I'm sure on Big Medicine since that hospital has a large bariatric program that there xray tables have higher weight limits.

Oh and I LOVVEEEE Intervention:tongue: