Nicholson Clinic

Doctors have a new weapon in their arsenal to fight obesity. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use of a new and rather unique weight loss device. This device is designed to pump stomach contents into the toilet. The new weight loss device has been shown to help people lose on average more than 12 percent of their body weight. The weight loss pump involves a minimally invasive procedure. It works by inserting a tube from the stomach to a port on the outside of the abdomen. The pump is then attached to the outside port when it is needed to help emption about a third of the stomach’s contents. Clinical trials related to the pump showed that people who used it lost an average of 46 pounds in the first year. Over the second year, they lost a few more pounds to average about a 50-pound loss overall. It is estimated that about a third of all Americans are obese. This condition, if left unchecked, can lead to a wide variety of health complications. Obesity has be...

Type 2 diabetics who are obese may find surgical intervention to reduce weight has a strong and positive impact on their blood sugar levels. For some, symptoms may even be reversed entirely. One of the mechanisms behind the reversal may involve the reduction of triacylglycerol evidenced in the pancreas following weight-loss surgery. Numerous studies have shown that surgical weight loss procedures can help type 2 diabetics shed pounds and better control symptoms. For some, the intervention results in the total reversal, especially if weight is shed during the first few years after onset. New studies are now shedding light on the role pancreatic triacyclglycerol may play. Researchers have found weight loss may reduce levels of this substance while improving insulin response in type 2 diabetics. Obesity is estimated to impact about a third of all adult Americans. For many, this condition gives rise to type 2 diabetes. This chronic condition is can become a progressive disease that may gi...

When obesity is a chronic concern and losing weight through traditional means is difficult, bariatric surgery provides a viable alternative that can produce the desired results. This type of surgery has proven highly effective in helping people shed a lot of weight in a manner that’s healthy with results that are often permanent. It can also deliver a host of side benefits that go beyond a leaner, trimmer figure. Here are just seven additional reasons why bariatric surgery can be a wise choice for reasons that go beyond pounds: 1.    Type 2 diabetes remission – While there’s no guarantee on this end, careful control of weight can also enable some type 2 diabetics to ease or suspend appearance of symptoms. For some that means an elimination of the need to take insulin and other medications to control blood glucose levels. 2.    Better heart health – When pounds are shed, a person’s risk for heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular-system-related condi...

While most people think instantly of diabetes as one of the bigger complications of obesity, the reality is this condition also takes its toll on the heart. If it’s time to get heart health in check, it’s also time to shoot for maintaining a healthy weight. Why Weight Matters When you think about the work the heart must perform day in and day out, 24 hours constant, the burden extra weight puts on the heart begins to become clear. As weight increases, the body creates new blood vessels to supply the additional fat tissue it’s storing with oxygen and nutrients. This, in turn, increases the workload placed on the heart and increases blood pressure in the process. Extra weight can also lead to plaque buildup in the blood vessels. This restricts the flow of blood – and much needed oxygen – forcing the heart to work even more to simply do its normal job. As plaque builds up, the risk for heart attacks and strokes rise. Tips for Maintaining Weight If weight is a concern, there are ...

Weight loss surgery opens up a door to a new life if you are courageous and motivated enough to walk on through to the other side. It is not a quick fix or an easy way to simply shed the pounds that you have been struggling with for - in some cases - many, many years. There is a process to losing weight even after weight loss surgery and that process includes adjusting both physically and emotionally to a new body and a very new lifestyle. One of the things that weight loss surgery patients often struggle with following their procedure is mourning the life they are leaving behind. It may sound crazy considering that life included an unhealthy lifestyle, an overweight and often sick body, and a host of medical conditions that may have impeded their daily activities.  When you move onto a new life with a healthier lifestyle it will eventually elicit positive changes but that doesn’t mean that you won’t feel sad saying goodbye to your old life and old habits - especially for som...

When you are overweight, every day can feel like a challenge. It is something that always hangs over you - something that you know you need to address but it never feels like the right time or you feel beaten down because nothing that you have tried in the past has worked. With the new year coming our way, many people will once again be making their resolutions to lose weight and get healthy. And you once again will be trying to figure out your next move. Do you start a new diet? One of the many trends that is enjoying popularity at the moment? Will this diet be the one that finally allows you to break through your physical and mental obstacles and lose the weight that you are desperate to lose? Or will it wind up being just another thing that you tried and were unable to finish? Then there is weight loss surgery - a topic that may have been brought up to you by your doctor or something that you have been considering independently with the intention of checking into with yo...

Those who struggle with obesity have likely considered every procedure, diet, and more to help them lose the weight. For most of us, there’s not a fad diet we have not tried, a surgery we have not considered, or an exercise plan we have not undertaken. In the end, for whatever our own personal reasons, we have not been able to find success in losing the weight or we have not been able to maintain these new standards for health. Liposuction is a procedure that is often thrown around as an option for losing weight - something that has become so commonplace in our society that few people think anything of undergoing the procedure. But what is the difference between liposuction and weight loss surgery ? Here is the most important factor of difference between the two - weight loss surgery creates anatomical change to reduce the amount of food that we can ingest. As a result, this allows for long-term, sustainable weight loss. It is a permanent weight loss solution that ...

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...