Life After Bariatric Surgery: Men's Perspectives

Hello men of obesityhelp.com, My name is Darren Moore and I am a Ph.D. Candidate in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Virginia Tech. Tammy Colter representative from Obesityhelp.com gave me special permission to tell you guys about my dissertation study…. I am currently recruiting participants for my study, which will examine men’s experiences after having weight loss surgery. The tile of my study is, “Life After Bariatric Surgery: Men's Perspectives on Self-concept, Relationship Satisfaction, and Social Support." I am looking for at least 15-20 men who would like to participate in my study. Participation would consist of completing a 60-90 minute interview over SKYPE if you live far away from me (I live in Georgia) or in person if you live in the state of Georgia. Individuals who agree to participate in my study will earn $50.00.  In a nutshell, I will be asking you about your experiences after having weight loss surgery and specifically about yourself, dating relationships, and social life. If you are interested in sharing your story, please contact me at (612) 296-3758 or by email at [email protected] Please note that if you decide to participate in my research confidentiality will be strictly enforced... no identifiable information would be disclosed…as a matter of fact participants use a pseudonym “mock" name to protect their identity.

Please feel free to share this information with others! You can also view my youtube page, where you can find out more information at (http://www.youtube.com/user/DarrensDissertation?feature=mhee) (Just a quick blurb about me….I have not had weight loss surgery, but sense September 2011, I have lost 165 pounds from doing a diet program under a doctor’s supervision, I went from 375lbs to 210lbs. Therefore, I have a special personal interest as well as professional interests in this topic). In order to be in the study you must meet the following criteria: 1) describe yourself as a heterosexual man. 2) had weight loss surgery in the last 5 years. 3) was over the age of 25 at the time of the surgery. 4) Are at least 6 months post- surgery. 5) have been in at least one intimate relationship after weight loss surgery. 6) live in the United States of America. *you do not have to currently be in a relationship to be included in the study, you just have to have been in at least one relationship after surgery…so if you broke up with someone after surgery, you could still be in the study. Thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope to hear from you. Darren Moore, Ph.D. Candidate Department of Human Development: Marriage and Family Therapy Program Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia, 24061 Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DarrensDissertation?feature=mhee Email: [email protected] Phone: (612) 296-3758 P.S.…..please do not reply to this message in the men’s forum. To protect your confidentiality, I ask that you contact me individually if you are interested in participating in the study.

Hello everyone,

Thank you for some of the individuals who have contacted me directly regarding my study. I am still in need of alot more people. Please consider participating in my study. Some have inquired about my weight loss story. I was in the newspaper back in April, take a look if you so desire, the link is below..... http://valdostadailytimes.com/features/x461201621/Less-is-Mo ore

Darren Moore, [email protected], (612) 296-3758

Darren:

I read your weight-loss story on the link you provided.  Good job losing weight -- but have you considered having WLS yourself -- even now that your weight is down?  As you may know from talking to many of us, losing weight is not the problem - - the problem is keeping it off.  Your story sounded very familiar to me.  I have personally lost over a 100 lbs in the past (on medically supervised diets), only to gain it all back and more later.

There is some science about this in the peer-reviewed literature -- that the formerly obese body wants desperately to return to its obese condition.  Without some sort of surgical intervention, the brain has a much easier time of wearing you down, getting you to gain weight again.  The various types of WLS seem to upset this balance and help the weight to stay off.

Just wondering what your thoughts might be...

-Joe

Hello Shrinking Joe,

Thanks for the message. Prior to my weight loss, I contemplated having WLS. Back in 2004, I actually met with a doctor, had a psych assessment, met with a dietician all to find out that my medical insurance would not cover it. Well they would cover only 50% (I was 20 at the time and could not afford to pay even half :-( Later when I was in graduate school, I went to a consultation at the Wish center (no longer open) in Texas and had another psych eval, met with a surgeon, etc. The organization allowed for self-pay for the lapband and I was going to get it financed. However, I decided that I did not like the idea of getting surgery in state that i did not reside. I have done alot moving from minnesota (my hometown) to georgia for grad school to virginia for my doctoral program and then back to georiga for my internship and dissertation work.....I got to the point where I simply had enough and heard about a progam here in georgia, went and saw the doctor, and did the diet program. I agree with you, it really does not matter how a person loses weight, it is really about the mindset of the individual. I know many people who have done diets and who have had WLS who have gained it back. I am not fearful, but i will be taking precautions. I am in the process of getting a personal trainer as well and I watch what I eat. So to answer your question, I hope that I can maintain the weight loss and will do whatever I can to ensure this. However, if things go south, I will consider WLS (although I pray it does not come to that only because it is expensive and my insurance that i currently have does not cover it).
Thanks again for the message.

P.S. have you considered participating in my research? Feel free to call me (612) 296-3758 or email at [email protected]

Hey - thanks for the reply.  I resisted the idea of surgery for years, even as many medical pros suggested it.  I becaome convinced to try it as I researched the evolving theory of metibolic "set points" and how they might interact with the rest of the brain in driving human behavior.  There is evolving research on the topic and things are far from proven but I am taking an educated guess that there is something to it.  It was not easy to take the surgery route without knowing exactally why it works.

Like you, I have had success with the very low calorie diet - which is what I have been doing for the last 7 months since surgery.  I never doubted that the weight would come off, but I know myself well enough to say that I do not know if it will stay off in the long-term.

I'll keep an eye on your research and I will read your dissertation when you publi****  Not that you are looking for more work, but I wonder if you would be able to discern any differnce in relationships of men who have lost weight "the old fashoined way" vs. those who had WLS. Does WLS itself or the process involved contribute to the outcome?

I'll give a thought to participating as well!

-Joe

Thanks for the reply. Obesity is a complex phenomenon to say the least...there are definately bioloigical components as well as psychological components (levels of dopamine etc.). I have been reading alot of reserach regarding "food" addictions. I am not sure where I stand in terms of if i think it has been substantiated with research, but I understand that anything including food could become an addiction. I am also familiar with the "addictions transfer phenomenon" once again i understand it, but have not seen it substantiated in research with the exception of a few studies regarding alcoholism. I hope to do alot of research on the topic of weight loss, men, obesity, families, etc when I finish my degree program. My goal is to teach as well as have my own therapy practice focused on general mental health, but have a specialty in the psychological aspects of obesity, weight loss, eating disorders, in men and their relationships. I also have interests in male body image, anorexia, bulimia etc...the full spectrum. My currrent research will not address men who have lost the weight "the traditional way" but i think it could be a good future study. I think the comment you posed about does wls itself, or the process contribute to the outcome is important and critical to address. I hope that this gets addressed and answered in my current dissertation study. I have my hypotheses of course, but I am interested in getting the perspective of men who have acutally experienced...hopefully i will find this out. My research study is qualitative in nature and therefore, I view the participant as the expert. Therefore i will plan to report their experiences and perspectives. The only way to test your question would be to do a randomize clinical test where you have a control group, an intervention group, and a non-intervention group (utilizing statistical analysis). This is something that could have been done...acutally i have read a few studies that have looked at the correlation between total weight loss and attendance at post-operative appointments, suggesting that individuals who attend post operative appointments have greater success with weight loss in the long run....which in some ways could suggest that its more than the wls, but what happens after, that determines weight loss. In my study my interest is to 1) find out what men's experiences are (simply because there is not alot of research about men who have bariatric surgery, and 2) to find out from men's perspectives in what ways could marriage and family therapists assists with maximaizing one's potential for successful longterm weights loss, intimtae relationships, and support after surgery.

Thanks for giving participation some thought :-)

Hello Joe, did you ever decide on if you wanted to participate in my research? You can contact me directly via inbox, email me at [email protected], or call me at (612) 296-3758. I tried to send you an inbox, but for some reason, I can't.

Darren Moore