When You Choose to Lose Weight with Bariatric Surgery,

Yes, bariatric surgery leads to a significant improvement in other diseases associated with obesity such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, joint pains, sleep apnoea, PCOD, infertility, liver disease and so on. Usually, whatever medications patients are taking for these diseases, come down significantly after surgery.

Obesity is a chronic progressive disease. Diet and lifestyle modification are an integral part of management of obesity. Patients who embrace the diet and lifestyle modification after surgery tend to get better results. Some degree of weight regain is expected in the long term but it can be controlled if the patient is following a healthy lifestyle. It is also very important to follow up regularly with the bariatric team after bariatric surgery.

After bariatric surgery, patients need to be on a liquid diet for about 15 days. This is followed by a phase of semi-solid or soft diet for another 15 days. After a month, most patients are able to have normal food, albeit in limited quantity. Initially the intake is very low but over a period of time, patients are able to eat better. It is also advised to have nutritional supplements in the form of protein supplement, iron, calcium and multivitamins. These will be advised by your doctor based upon your reports as well as the type of surgery.

The cost of bariatric surgery depends on the type of surgery. Since 2020 October, IRDA has included bariatric surgery in insurance and there is a good chance of getting a claim if you qualify for the criteria set by IRDA.