Wish me luck!

I haven't showed up here in a couple of weeks cause I've been busy with school, (BTW I got a B on my research paper!! ) But now I'm taking my next class, Public Speaking and my first speech is due on Thursday, and it is an informative speech. I chose bariatric surgery as my topic!! So many people out there today still don't know or think they know about this surgery and just assume things and what I hate the most assume that having the surgery is taking the easy way out!! People that think that infuriate me!! Well our teacher told us the topic we chose for our informative speech can also be the topic for our persuasive (sp) speech, so that will be fun too!! I'm telling my story (very short version) and hitting on the topics of what an obese person goes through before and after surgery. I only have 3-5 minutes to do the entire speech!! How in the world am I gonna sum all this up in 3-5 minutes, besides talking really fast??!!! I also plan on giving statistics about the # of adults who are obese and tell about the possible complications that may arrise after surgery. In yaw's (there's my southern belle coming out ) opinion what are the 3 most common and severe complications a post op has? I'm also going to show pics of the different types of bariatric surgeries and before and after shots of me, I'm doing that and bringing in an old pair of clothes that I wore, actually the ones I came home from the hospital in!! I'm doing all that in my intro, so they may be all shocked and faint and I can be relaxed and just give my speech to the teacher cause the rest of the class will be passed out from shock!!

In my mind the 3 most severe problems are: 1) leaks 2) embolisms (blood clots) 3) bowel obstructions These are probably the most common, but there are a host of others including strictures, dumping, food intolerance, depression, gout, kidney stones, gallbladder problems, and a host of other things. Good luck with the speech! Pat

1. Overcoming their past demons that allowed them to become obese. 2. Dealing with portion control so that you don't undo your pouch and cause harm to yourself internally. 3. Dealing with others as you evolve. Lots more mental than physical. Debbie

Wound infections are a very common complication of any major surgery. The instances of wound infections are less severe with laproscopic surgery, than with the open procedure. Peridontis is a severe form of infection, usually caused by internal leaks. Good luck with your speech ! Karen G

Understanding the root cause(s) of your obesity and addressing them before they resurface. Dealing with the changes in the ones social environment brought about by the change in physique. Once people can't rely on you to be their fat friend, where do you fit in? Making new decisions and taking new paths that are enabled by the loss of weight. All too many people where hamstrung by the their appearance and/or lack of self-esteem associated w/obesity. When the door opens, what do you do now? All too often, people have given little thought to what they do once the impediment of obesity is removed. Nowhere Man/PH/Jay