Can someone Help my Friend?

That is interesting info Dave, but what do us old farts do to try and resolve this issue, especially ones like me with back problems. Any advice would be appreciated. Dan

Hi Dan,

Wow, sorry I don't know. I'm hoping that your doctor is giving you information contradictory to that or that you have some special set of cir****tances.

I was just relaying an opinion from something I had read. My mother is 74 and she keeps dieting and regaining and I can see her getting flabbier and less mobile every time. So, I keep telling her to make walking a priority over diet.

That would be useful information: When is it better for the elderly to lose weight and when is it better to hold on. Perhaps the pain you are experiencing overrides the dieting problem.

Has anyone over 60-65 gotten this information directly from their doctor?

Best Regards,

Dave

Thanks Dave thought maybe there is something I missed. Dan

Dan,

I referred your question to the doc below. My posts are always based on the hope that a culmination of opinions will help "reign in" some good facts.

Dave

I'm afraid there's no good, one-size-fits-all answer here. In general, weight loss is a good thing for overweight persons of any age. Research has demonstrated that a loss of 10% of body weight in obese individuals reduces morbidity and mortality. If I had an older patient, particularly one who was not a good surgical candidate, I'd work with him/her to get to that 10% mark and STAY THERE. If the patient maintained that 10% loss for at least six months, I'd start working on another 10%. WLS isn't for everyone, unfortunately.

Thanks, that's very helpful information. One of the benefits of WLS seems to be the "Stay there part". 10%? Well, most people lose that in 1-2 months, as I'm sure you are well aware. I guess the real "nightmare" is  the yo-yo dieting elderly (or anyone).

Best Regards,

Dave  

PS - if your back problems curtail your ability to exercise, find a gym or a Y with a pool and join an Aquacize class. The buoyancy of the water will support your back and reduce the strain.

Hey Dr, glad to see you here. i won't bore you with all my back problems except i've had the thora****pidurals, pt, trigger point injections and they gave up and medicated me worse than anna nichole smith. so i'm drug free now and they're going to set me up with an interferntial electrical device. so i'll keep you posted on how that works (the TENS did nothing because it wasn't going deep enough). otherwise, i swim in the warmer months (and we have a lot of them out here). so i agree, the swimming has helped more than just about anything else to strengthen my back. good luck on your upcoming surgery, must be a different experience from the other side of the table huh? take care......Carbonblob

Hi Janet, Centennial Medical Center has a Center of Excellence tied to it.  They said it the limit was 65 there but you could check into it.  This is where I had mine done.   http://www.cmcwls.com/ Hope this helps. Greg

As a physician myself, I'm afraid I have to share some bad news. At 69 years old, with obvious pulmonary problems (he's on continuous oxygen), and I'd be willing to be he has cardiac problems as well - he's so high risk no surgeon in the world would be willing to perform anything other than emergency surgery on him. Certainly, they would not be willing to do something as completely elective as WLS. Even based on the small amount of information you've given, I can tell you that, if he were my patient, I'd refuse to clear him for surgery. He'd be unlikely to survive the operation, much less the rapid weight loss.