BIG medicine

        Last night i watched the show big medicine on TLC.. is anyone confused as I am??  Maybe it's just me? but sure would love to hear from you guys .. rhonda

I saw it. What confused you? **My two-second review:  Was okay-- and fairly balanced. Wasn't exciting, wasn't dangerous. It's not a documentary, it's human-interest infotainment, so I didn't expect too much.***

Shari, BINGO on the infotainment.  I like that word!

       well... she was drinking out of a straw... i have been reading about this stuff and just the whole program .. maybe i was just sleepy and confused..  rhonda

Well, some people are more compliant than others, right? Remember-- it's not a how-to guide-- it's (allegedly) a true life account of how some obese people behave and the choices they make-- both good and bad. Your Mileage May Vary!

i thought it was okay. nothing thrilling and a LOT less info about the surgery and aftermath than other Discovery Health/ TLC programs. and there seems to be more of a focus on being fat than on being unhealthy - at least for the two women. and to be investigating WLS at 17?? how is it possible that at that age WLS was a last resort? and then to have all that PS like 1 year post-op? i don't know - i have a lot of concerns about teenagers having WLS. of course my attention goes toward the psychologist who they didn't seem to want to listen to at all. the young doctor mentioned how they disagreed a lot, but it seems like he always won.  and then the therapist didn't even talk really about the emotional aspects of eating and obesity which we all know are a huge aspect of the issue. seemed like wasted opportunity to educate.

I thought that starting out with the PS was unrealistic.  We all may end up with hanging skin but I have alot to go through just to get to that point.  Also, the 700 lb man is an extreme case.  Most of us are still functioning members of society.   I also thought they didn't give the therapist enough credit. 

The problem is that while a person maybe clinically healthy or appear to be healthy while still being obese, there can be underlying problems just waiting for the right trigger to set them off and then a person can take a serious turn for the worst. Diabetes would be the biggest problem that comes to my mind.  I am not merely throwing this out in the wind either as I am I guess what was referred to as an "extreme case" in the eyes of many people.  I am 22 years old, 6'3" tall and currently weigh 720lbs.  My height and large body structure allows me to carry my weight much better then Allen (the 700lb individual in the first episode), where I am still able to walk, albeit short distances and with some pain. I do not suffer from diabetes or heart problems although either of those problems could be on the horizon and rear up at any given time I am sure.  I started looking into weight loss surgery at the age of 18 so it has been over 4 years since I began my search.  From the age of 16 until now I have nearly doubled my weight, going from 375lbs to 720lbs.  My biggest problem is that I tend to binge eat.  I do not see why someone who is 16 should not be allowed to make the decision to undergo weight loss surgery if it will save their life.  Anyway aside from that I too noticed that Dr. Garth Davis seemed to win the battles, however I also think that editing played a larger role and thus didn't truly show us the broad spectrum on their final decisions.  Either way I am going to continue to watch the show as it sort of comforts me to know I am not the only person in this situation.  Living in Ontario, Canada being exposed to people in the same situation as me is not at all common.  I am currently speaking with some producers of for Fox/Discovery Health in the UK to participate in one of their obesity documentary projects so who knows, maybe I may be "infotainment" for people.

Your youth is working for you, mobility-wise.  You are very fortunate.

There are very few 16 year olds in your boat. I doubt that many people would argue with any heroic gestures necessary to help those with extreme BMIs-- I think we're really more concerned with those who are overweight but not SMO-- which is more common in that age bracket. Be careful about the documentary approach. They tend to be very exploitative and sensationalistic-- especially the BBC. -S

there are many reasons why WLS for teenagers is not a good idea. firstly, the body and brain are still growing. they do not know the impact rearraging your internal oragans will have on an individual in the long term because the research just isn't there yet - sure there are a few studies with 10 years out, but not 20, 30, 40 years. how will the nutritional issues faced by post-ops interact with the growing body? we don't know. also the frontal coretex of the brain - which is in charge of planning and reasoning - has not finished developing. WLS and the aftermath takes a LOT of planning and forward thinking that adolescents just do not have the capacity to do. they are not able to predict the consequences of their actions (this is why teens do impulsive, stupid things) so it would seem silly to allow a teen to make a choice they will have to live with for the rest of their lives during these vulnerable years. i think that some of shows on discovery health channel etc have shown these issues when they've followed teenage WLS stories (i'm thinking of "Big John" in particular) - yes, he lost weight. they also talked about how non-compliant he was with the WLS rules and showed him eating snickers etc while at school. the MTV true life "i'm obese" featured an 17 year old who was gorging everyday at every meal and said he would not change his habits until after surgery and as we know, that's really not a good idea if you're looking for long term success. WLS should be a last resort and it is unlikely that at 16, an individual has tried EVERYTHING, stuck with it and not found any weight loss success. when i was 16, i was about 270 lbs and had been to 5 different fat camps. i didn't find a solution that would work for me in the long term until i was 22 and was sent to duke diet and fitness as a graduation "gift". i was even considering WLS when i arrived there, but speaking to the doctors there led me to rethink it and try just one more time. i remember returning to duke the year after i started and met two 18 year olds guys who were just starting the program - both well over 400 lbs. both ended up very successful - the next summer, one had lost more than 200 lbs and was unrecognizable. the other one also did well, although i did not get to see him in person. i definitely think except in very extreme cases, WLS should not be done on teenagers. and when it is done, it needs to be very carefully managed and well thought out and involve lots of support - medically, nutritionally, emotionally.