Junkfood Science recently devoted two entries to the darker side of weight loss surgery after a segment on 60 minutes reportedly highlighted gastric bypass surgery. While the show featured a number of patients post-op none of them, according to the Junkfood Science entries, had passed the one year anniversary of their surgeries. The Junkfod Science pieces, which attempt to shed some light on the darker side of WLS, can be found
here and
here.
Five minutes ago, I clicked on an article headline on Yahoo News titled
Gastric Bypass May Also Relieve Low Back Pain. The article, provided by HealthDay, states that
Thirty-eight morbidly obese patients with low back pain who underwent gastric bypass surgery reported that their pain decreased by an average of about 44 percent six months after surgery. While the article goes on to state that more than 72 million people were obese in 2005-2006 and that 75 to 85 percent of Americans will experience back pain in their lifetimes, it makes no mention of the side effects or complications of the surgery.
The American College of Gastroenterology, in a press release detailing possible nutrient deficiencies post-op for patients who have undergone gastric bypass surgery, stated that “
Researchers warn that calcium malabsorption may increase the risk for developing osteopenia (low bone mineral density), osteoporosis (a progressive bone loss that may increase the risk of fractures), or osteomalacia (softening of the bones due to defective bone mineralization.)” (the release can be found
here).
So, while the HealthDay article touts wls as relief, one can’t help but wonder what the long terms effects on the patients’ back pain will be.
I, of course, being an obese woman who suffers from chronic back pain have thought of an alternate possibility; what if the reduction in back pain isn’t the direct result of wls but, instead, the result of more mobility and physical activity on the part of the patients? When physically active, I experience less pain in my lower back and require less medication.