Hello Everyone...I have a question for anyone that can help!

Today I was talking to a friend i met off a different site (Bariatricpal.com) and he asked me a question that I have actually never thought about, and I didn't know the answer, all I could say was, "You need to consult your surgeon or a some sort of doctor". His question was can he take any form of diet pills, he had Gastric Bypass done 2 years ago. And I actually never thought about this before and I actually have never even seen anyone else bring up that topic/question before in any of the forums. I told him he needs to talk to his doctor before he takes any kind of pill, even if its only a vitamin of sorts. He said he wants to lose another 15-20 pounds and he just can't seem to lose it, he said he had cut his calories down, upped his water intake but just can't seem to lose the weight, he has exceeded his weight loss goal and has been maintaining it, but he wants to lose a little more. I told him i would do my best to find out, but I cant seem to find any information for him. If anyone has any answers/suggestions, please let me know and if so, is there any natural healthy stuff. (Yes i know you should always contact your doctor first)

Diet pills suppress the hungry feeling you get, if he had GB than that gland has been removed. So IMHO it would be a waste of time.

Oh, darlin', this is just SO wrong! The RNY/gastric bypass removes NOTHING from your body. NOTHING. And there is no 'gland' that causes 'the hungry feeling'.

One of the many hormones involved in excessive hunger is ghrelin, and most of the body's supply is made in the outer curvature of the stomach.(Some is make in other places.)

In the RNY, this part of the stomach is bypassed---food never touches it. For SOME people, this means their production of grhelin goes way down, and they consequently don't have as much hunger. For others, it doesn't seem to make much difference.

In the VSG/Sleeve and the DS/duodenal switch, the outer curvature of the stomach is completely removed from the body. Most people who get this done do see a substantial reduction in their hunger, but again, NOT EVERYONE.

And there's head hunger, as well. Head hunger is psychological or emotional in nature---it's when we feel hunger, not because our bodies need fuel, but because over the years we've learned to soothe our emotional or psychological needs with the comfort of food. Not everyone gets this, but many, many obese people certainly do. Some medications can stifle head hunger, for a time. Few stifle it permanently.

I don't think diet pills are EVER a good idea, but not for the reason you gave.

What Miss Batt said.

And I'll tell you a secret.  I don't have an RnY tummy because I had a near total gastrectomy.  So my ghrelin maker has been gone since day one. 

Since ghrelin is the "hunger hormone" you'd think it would be a piece of cake for me not to overeat.  But guess what?  I didn't get fat by eating when I was hungry.  I got fat by eating all the time, and more than I needed.  So actually while this sounds in theory like it would be an amazing boost to weight loss/no regain, in reality for someone like me it's a non-issue.

=)

This is the same for me, too.  I also had a subtotal gastrectomy and I rarely get physically hungry but that doesn't stop me from eating.

Before surgery I had a big fear of being hungry.  I have no idea why but I would eat and eat to make sure I didn't get hungry later.  I rarely felt hunger then, too.

I just remind myself that I had a physical surgery for an issue that is mostly mental.  I don't expect it to fix my food issues, just help me manage them better.

What she said!

I am fond of saying that I am never hungry but I always want to eat. No amount of surgery nor any pill will change that. CBT helps. Some.  

Diet pills work just exactly as well after WLS as they did before---in other words, not very well. Haven't we all taken diet pills, lost weight, stopped taking the pills, and gained it all back?

If diet pills worked, none of us would have had the surgery.

This actually comes up here pretty regularly. I've got nothing against them if folks check with their doc (since death in one unintended side effect).  Just don't believe the hype - nothing but changing your eating habits causes weight loss in the long term.  The pills change your eating habits for a short time but tolerance sets in and the dose must be adjusted.  Eventually adjusting any higher becomes dangerous. 

In the end you're face again with only your own self, and whatever caused the weight to accumulate in the first place.

Before surgery if I wanted to lose more weight I had to cut calories and move more.  After surgery it is different.  I have to cut a lot more calories and move a whole lot more to lose more weight now.