Nicholson Clinic

Heartburn, acid reflux, or gastric reflux is a common complaint among millions of people. This condition, known by many names, is defined as the burning sensation felt in the chest because of stomach acid backing up into your esophagus. The good news is that while there are gastric reflux treatments in Texas, there are some simple ways to keep heartburn from ruining your food experiences. Dietary Changes to Get Acid Reflux Relief in Texas Dietary changes may not sound easy, but it is possible to enjoy a steak and have acid reflux relief in Texas. Just know citrus, tomato products, and fruits are high in acid. Fatty foods and alcohol can cause heartburn as well. Eating small meals is preferred. When to Avoid Eating There is a time to eat and a time to not. If you are going to the gym or participating in physical activity, don’t eat right before. Try to eat when you have at least two hours to let your food begin digesting. Another time to avoid is right before bed.   C...

Bariatric surgery is a tremendous tool for helping people lose weight. It is meant, however, to help make dieting and exercise more effective. Procedures like the gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy do not stand in place of smart, healthy and carefully planned out diets. People who want to make sure the weight they’ve lost after such a procedure stays off will need to follow some rules of the road to enjoy lasting success. The results of a recently completed study provide great insights into what it takes to enjoy long-term success after weight loss surgery. The study followed patients over the course of 10 years after weight loss surgery to see what practices, if any, promoted greater long-term success with maintaining weight loss years after procedures were performed. The study’s results offer excellent insights into why it is some post-surgical patients regain as much as 25 percent of the weight they’ve lost within 10 years of a procedure. Researchers ultimately found patients wh...

Adults are not the only ones who struggle with weight. Obesity is estimated to impact about a third of the American population, including children and teenagers. For those who are young, obesity can set them up for a lifetime of health-related concerns in addition to the social stigmas they might face. Considering the potentially grave ramifications obesity may have for teens, researchers have been exploring the benefits bariatric surgery may hold for them.  Multiple studies have shown that bariatric surgery can help teens who are severely obese shed weight and keep it off. One long-term study was conducted that followed nearly 60 teens who underwent gastric bypass procedures. After eight years, the teens had lost on average about 30 percent of their initial weight. The teens in the study group also showed significant drops in such concerns as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  While the benefits were clearly noted, researchers also uncovered points tha...

There are few things more frustrating than trying to lose weight and finding out the desired results just won’t materialize no matter what steps are taken. Whether the motivation to shed pounds involves health-related concerns, appearance or other issues, making all the right moves and not seeing results can be simply infuriating. Weight loss surgery may offer the solution people need to shed weight and keep it off. Bariatric surgery is generally reserved for people who are considered severely obese, with a BMI of about 35 or higher. While some health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, may indicate surgical intervention to address weight is in order, most people will find surgeons stick with the recommendations in regard to BMI. For those who fit the qualifications for bariatric surgery, this type of procedure is considered beneficial because: • It has been proven to be very effective – While weight loss amounts may vary from person to person and based on the surgery performed...

When most people think of a serious weight loss plan to tackle obesity and prevent potentially serious, life-threatening complications, they imagine a highly active exercise routine and strict diet. While those two factors play a critical role, of course, a seemingly more passive practice can also give efforts a huge boost. Researchers are finding that meditation can serve as a critical component in an overall plan to lose weight and keep it off. Whether pounds are shed through diet and exercise alone or surgical intervention, such as a gastric bypass, has also been performed, meditation can prove very useful. The simple practice of mindfulness meditation, in fact, has been shown to deliver a number of benefits for those on a journey to lose weight and keep it off. Mindfulness meditation is a practice that involves clearing the mind of extraneous thoughts while focusing on a particular feeling or sensation, such as breathing. The practice is meant to help people develop the abilit...

Thanks to its fast, minimally invasive nature, laparoscopic gallbladder removal has become the industry standard. This procedure is known to present with fewer risks than open surgery while enabling patients to heal significantly faster. It is, however, not without a potential for complications. Perhaps the most devastating is the propensity for accidental bile duct injury due to misidentification during the procedures. A new technology is poised to take this concern off the table. The new imaging method, known as CholeVision, is under development by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It involves the use of a special light that enables, with the flip of a button, doctors to clearly see the location of the bile ducts. This, in turn, enables them to avoid accidental injury to the ducts during gallbladder removal. It is estimated that about 4,000 of 800,000 gallbladder removal procedures in the United States alone result in duct damage. The light is hoped to dramatically reduce this ...

Hovering on the brink of obesity when diets and exercise don’t serve to help remove pounds is a very frustrating place. After all, should weight continue to climb, the chances for health complications can increase dramatically. With heart disease, diabetes and the potential loss of self-esteem all on the line, many people seek out alternatives to help them get their weight in check. A new non-surgical option may offer the hope so many are after. The Orbera gastric balloon offers a unique way to shed pounds. It delivers the benefits of weight loss surgery without the complications of surgery itself. What’s more, the procedure is completely reversible. That means once the pounds are shed, there’s no reason for the alteration to remain permanent. Orbera involves the insertion of a balloon into the stomach. This balloon is filled with a saline solution so it inflates to about the size of a grapefruit. Like weight loss surgery, the procedure effectively limits stomach holding cap...

Weight gain generally is a gradual process that occurs over time. Weight loss is also a gradual process that just doesn’t occur effectively overnight. Even so, many people who are on a weight loss path get frustrated when results aren’t nearly immediate. This frustration can lead to failure of even the most well-crafted weight loss efforts. There is a better way! When dieters set SMART weight loss goals and keep their eyes on more realistic, gradual prizes, victory becomes much more attainable. While the extra pounds won’t melt away overnight, those frustrations are likely to become a thing of the past. So, what are SMART weight loss goals? This simple acronym began as a business management tool, but it has incredible implications for weight loss, as well. Here’s what it means to set SMART goals: • Specific – Set goals that are very specific with realism in mind. It’s not likely – or healthy – to try and drop 100 pounds in two months. Instead, set specific goals for reachabl...

There are many people for whom weight loss is a goal for this New Year and for those who have struggled for some time with their weight, choosing to undergo weight loss surgery is the way that they will tackle their weight once and for all. This typically comes after many years of tried and failed diets, and ultimately a host of obesity-related medical conditions that makes surgery a safe bet. Following surgery, if all goes well and the patient follows instructions, weight will begin to come off and in many cases come off very quickly. When you consider how many calories were being consumed on a daily basis compared to the number of daily calories being consumed following surgery, it makes sense that weight should fly off so fast. This a good thing - a great thing - for someone who has made this amazing commitment and been brave enough to undergo a procedure that will change their life. But what may not be expected are some of the symptoms that can be associated with rapid weight lo...

Finally making the decision to have weight loss surgery for many people is a burden lifted. There is still, of course, the work that must be done to choose the appropriate procedure, make the necessary preparations for the surgery itself, and start to put the pieces together that will collectively determine your post-surgical success. But the decision has been made and, for a great majority of people who have weight loss surgery, just making that decision feels like a huge accomplishment and a step towards a brighter, healthier future. Many people wonder why they waited so long to make the decision and this can be especially the case for the many people who have spent years struggling with their weight. They may think that they have waited too long and the surgery is not meant for someone of their age or that it won’t do any good, but the truth is that weight loss surgery can be a benefit regardless of age. What are the age restrictions for weight loss surgery ? General...

Carrying extra weight puts enormous pressure on your body, causing it to work harder to perform routine functions. Everything is working overtime including your heart. So it’s not surprising that heart disease is a common condition associated with obesity. Heart disease occurs as a result of cholesterol in the arteries that are responsible for delivering blood to the heart. This build up of cholesterol is known as plaque and as it accumulates it narrows the passageway through which blood can travel to the heart. When the heart does not receive enough blood, a variety of conditions can develop including arrhythmias, angina, heart attack, and even heart failure. In fact, heart attack occurs when the arteries leading to the heart are completely blocked. Obesity is connected with this accumulation of plaque because increased weight can result in increased LDL (low density lipoprotein) - the bad cholesterol that collects in the walls of the blood vessels. Obesity also red...

Making an appointment at a weight loss clinic is a big step toward a healthier, leaner life. That doesn’t mean the step is easy to take or that you’ll walk through the door entirely sure what you’re getting yourself into. If you’ve decided you just can’t go it alone with losing weight, a weight loss clinic might have the right solution for you, but it can help if you know what to expect during your visit. The best weight loss clinics offer patients a host of weight loss options. While surgical procedures are, of course, part of those options, good doctors will want to make 100 percent sure you are ready to commit to everything weight loss surgery entails and what it means going forward in your life. That’s why your doctor might, for example, request   that you attend educational seminars to learn more about bariatric surgery and what to expect from life going forward following surgery. A good doctor will want to make sure you are 100 percent informed and understand your op...

If you’ve made the decision to have weight loss surgery, you likely understand the details about the procedure you’re about to undergo including the preparation, the surgery itself, and the recovery process. What is crucial for weight loss surgery patients to understand, however, is that the road to weight loss does not begin and end with the surgery itself. The surgery is a tool to help patients lose weight. But what they do with that tool is up to them and will ultimately determine if they are successful. What you do following weight loss surgery is as important as the surgery itself and it’s important for patients to understand what they need to do to support weight loss following surgery including: *   Diet. Obviously food intake is paramount to weight loss. This does not change following surgery. Weight loss surgery only changes the amount of food that a patient is able to ingest at once. But listening to your body about portion control and making healthy food...