As you know, obesity may be the underlying cause of many conditions including osteoarthritis, Type 2 Diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, hypercholesterolemia, obstructive sleep apnea and GERD
Many people are not compliant with dieting. Bariatric surgery may be an option for some people but may not be for everyone. Aside from its significant cost, it may not be worth the risk.
A study out of Switzerland published in 2006 reported on the 10-year experience with laparoscopic gastric banding (LGB) for morbid obesity between June 1997 and June 2003. In the study laparoscopic gastric banding was performed in 317 patients. 33.1% of the patients developed late complications, including band erosion in 9.5%, pouch dilatation/slippage in 6.3%, and catheter- or port-related problems in 7.6%. Major reoperation was required in 21.7% of the patients. The mean excess weight loss at 5 years was 58.5% in patients with the band still in place. The failure rate increased from 13.2% after 18 months to 23.8% at 3, 31.5% at 5, and 36.9% at 7 years.
A 10-year experience with laparoscopic gastric banding for morbid obesity: high long-term complication and failure rates. Obes Surg. 2006 Jul;16(7):829-35. Suter M, Calmes JM, Paroz A, Giusti V.
One other option may be hypnotherapy through a procedure called the Hypno-Band. Through this procedure patients undergo a sort of virtual-reality surgery—complete with hospital-mimicking sound effects, hospital odours, and temperature control. During this procedure they “experience” the implanting of a gastric band which causes patients to feel as though their stomach is smaller and can’t hold as much food, just like those who’ve had the real surgery.
“Whether I think about seeing a spider or really do see a spider, the same reaction will occur in my brain. The way the brain imagines things is by stimulating the regions that would be involved in experiencing something.”
Studies suggest that virtual reality and actual experience overlap. PET scans demonstrated that the same areas of the brain are activated whether the person is looking at an actual object or hearing an actual sound as if these images and sounds are imagined. One study using PET in hypnotized persons showed activation of a region in the right anterior cingulate cortex (Brodmann area 32), an area activated when sound is heard or when sound is suggested in hypnosis but not when sound is simply imagined.
Faymonville ME, Laureys S, Degueldre C, et al. Neural mechanisms of antinociceptive effects of hypnosis. Anesthesiology. 2000;92:1257-1267. Szechtman H, Woody E, Bowers KS, Nahmias C. Where the imaginal appears real: a positron emission tomography study of auditory hallucinations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998;95:1956-1960. Rainville P, Hofbauer RK, Bushnell MC, Duncan GH, Price DD. Hypnosis modulates activity in brain structures involved in the regulation of consciousness. J Cogn Neurosci. 2002;14:887-901.
Because of this, patients respond with similar feeling of satiety and fullness as if the surgery had actually taken place. This causes them to limit their food intake and conditions them into accepting smaller portions, thus allowing them to lose weight more easily.
In addition to convincing the patient they have had the gastric band surgery, hypnotherapy can assist them in changing their eating habits and food choices– to assist them even more.
Although not necessary, acupuncture (hypnopuncture) can be used to help the Hypno-Band become even more effective.
To find out more about the Hypno-Band, please visit Hypno-Band.com or check out these web-sites: