Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Discrimination even for the famous - Director Kevin Smith
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b167145_bounced_from_jet_kevin_smith_makes_big.html
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b167208_kevin_smith_gets_apology.html
Give Southwest some credit for at least an apology. Many of the comments in the original post are somewhat more nuanced than I usually expect.
They say the worst crime an actress can commit in Hollywood is to gain weight!
Sorry about your issue, Kevin. I have had "the look" when getting on a plane - it's no fun feeling like you are putting others in discomfort, but it was nearly impossible to buy two seats ahead of time when I tried a couple of years ago.
I really appreciate it with my post-op body, being able to fly without that social anxiety.
Interesting that he has a second career as a Jay Leno segment star. Leno is a perfect example of making jokes about obesity that would get him FIRED if you substituted race, gender, or ethnic background.
Diseases with behavioral, environmental, and genetic components include alcoholism, heart disease, and emphysema - and there are a few jokes about Bill Clinton/McDonald's, Hollywood rehab, and Marlboro Man stuff, but not with quite the bite of contempt that we see with obesity.
Kevin is a very smart, strong person (witness especially his "Evening with Kevin Smith" DVD if you are a fan of his movies). Still, the acceptance of a disease is tough. I hope you can take responsibility for making healthy choices without the shame and self blame of unrealistic expectations.
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b167208_kevin_smith_gets_apology.html
Give Southwest some credit for at least an apology. Many of the comments in the original post are somewhat more nuanced than I usually expect.
They say the worst crime an actress can commit in Hollywood is to gain weight!
Sorry about your issue, Kevin. I have had "the look" when getting on a plane - it's no fun feeling like you are putting others in discomfort, but it was nearly impossible to buy two seats ahead of time when I tried a couple of years ago.
I really appreciate it with my post-op body, being able to fly without that social anxiety.
Interesting that he has a second career as a Jay Leno segment star. Leno is a perfect example of making jokes about obesity that would get him FIRED if you substituted race, gender, or ethnic background.
Diseases with behavioral, environmental, and genetic components include alcoholism, heart disease, and emphysema - and there are a few jokes about Bill Clinton/McDonald's, Hollywood rehab, and Marlboro Man stuff, but not with quite the bite of contempt that we see with obesity.
Kevin is a very smart, strong person (witness especially his "Evening with Kevin Smith" DVD if you are a fan of his movies). Still, the acceptance of a disease is tough. I hope you can take responsibility for making healthy choices without the shame and self blame of unrealistic expectations.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Bellingham, Washington has now been home since August, 2009. Many great things to put into future posts - the new web address WWW.BONUSLIFE.NET
New links to follow for Northwest networking, and to stay in touch with many friends and patients in Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario (hello Thunder Bay!)
New links to follow for Northwest networking, and to stay in touch with many friends and patients in Northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario (hello Thunder Bay!)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Video of Information Session (divided over 7 chapters)
THIS IS A "ROUGH" DRAFT!!! We are working to get a full DVD version of our Comprehensive Program for providers to give out in the office.
If you have trouble, they can also be found by searching on Google Video for "Bariatric Info"
CHAPTER 1 - INTRO / BMI
CHAPTER 2 - BAND & BYPASS OPERATIONS
CHAPTER 3 - LAPAROSCOPY
CHAPTER 4 - BENEFITS AND RISKS
CHAPTER 5 - SUCCESS HABITS
CHAPTER 6 - CHALLENGES
CHAPTER 7 - PROGRAM STEPS, SUMMARY
If you have trouble, they can also be found by searching on Google Video for "Bariatric Info"
CHAPTER 1 - INTRO / BMI
CHAPTER 2 - BAND & BYPASS OPERATIONS
CHAPTER 3 - LAPAROSCOPY
CHAPTER 4 - BENEFITS AND RISKS
CHAPTER 5 - SUCCESS HABITS
CHAPTER 6 - CHALLENGES
CHAPTER 7 - PROGRAM STEPS, SUMMARY
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Updates to Weight Management Programs
In the (almost) year since my last post, we have had some major changes! We have a dedicated clinical space on the 3rd floor of the main clinic building. Currently, only the surgical part of the program is there, but we hope to be truly integrated with the Medical side of the program soon.
Our program has been offering the Lap Band for almost a year now, with great enthusiasm from the community.
Our new website is up, though we still have some tuning to do. You cannot get to it from SMDC.org, yet, but must use DuluthClinic.org (SEE LINK AT RIGHT). We have many staff changes and additions listed there.
ICSI guidelines are revised for 2006. I was honored to participate as the surgeon on the guideline revision team.
Here is the link to the right ->>> it is a PDF download. The main text on surgery is pages 34-48, see summary on page 60-61. The Outcome measures page 101 is especially important, since it measures how often actual APPROPRIATE counselling is done, rather than just recording of the BMI.
VIDEOS are very compelling on both of the upper two links at right - I recommend you visit them.
We have added quarterly Saturday information sessions to the Superior, Wisconsin and Main SMMC monthly sessions.
Here is a test for links Obesity Action Coalition
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Smart stuff I have heard
"IF EXERCISE WAS A PILL, EVERYBODY WOULD BE ON IT"
This is one of the best. It will likely go into my powerpoint presentations for patients and providors. Fitness is likely as important as weight control - we all have to find what works for us.
For me, there are two separate issues. The first is motivation. Daily habits are tough to create, but I am making it an appointment with myself to set aside the time and get into the clothes, even if the activity is uninspired.
The second is the type of activity. The gym is the easiest, not very hard to get to, doesn't take much time. Outdoors is much more fun, though!
"MORE OF OUR PATIENTS DIE WAITING FOR SURGERY THAN AS A RESULT OF IT" -Randal Baker MD Grand Rapids, Michigan
Wish this were better understood out there. Surgery is serious, and a dramatic event. Deaths from disease seem to happen more "randomly" or "out of nowhere". A perfect example of this is the death of Kirby Puckett. His obesity is mentioned as a problem, but nowhere is it mentioned that his major medical problems could have been largely controlled with weight loss surgery (not an aneurysm, though).
How about the other way of thinking? Do we ever attribute a death to a failure of NONSURGICAL management? The answer is yes - we would call it a failure if someone were not referred for surgery for acute appendicitis, or surgery weren't considered for abdominal aortic aneurysm, or colon cancer or an abscess to name just a few. Even if the widely quoted number of 300,000 deaths per year is an overestimate, we can still safely say that THOUSANDS are dying every year without even being offered surgery as an option! Even then, is their primary or specialty treating physician educating the patient which route is actually riskier?
This is one of the best. It will likely go into my powerpoint presentations for patients and providors. Fitness is likely as important as weight control - we all have to find what works for us.
For me, there are two separate issues. The first is motivation. Daily habits are tough to create, but I am making it an appointment with myself to set aside the time and get into the clothes, even if the activity is uninspired.
The second is the type of activity. The gym is the easiest, not very hard to get to, doesn't take much time. Outdoors is much more fun, though!
"MORE OF OUR PATIENTS DIE WAITING FOR SURGERY THAN AS A RESULT OF IT" -Randal Baker MD Grand Rapids, Michigan
Wish this were better understood out there. Surgery is serious, and a dramatic event. Deaths from disease seem to happen more "randomly" or "out of nowhere". A perfect example of this is the death of Kirby Puckett. His obesity is mentioned as a problem, but nowhere is it mentioned that his major medical problems could have been largely controlled with weight loss surgery (not an aneurysm, though).
How about the other way of thinking? Do we ever attribute a death to a failure of NONSURGICAL management? The answer is yes - we would call it a failure if someone were not referred for surgery for acute appendicitis, or surgery weren't considered for abdominal aortic aneurysm, or colon cancer or an abscess to name just a few. Even if the widely quoted number of 300,000 deaths per year is an overestimate, we can still safely say that THOUSANDS are dying every year without even being offered surgery as an option! Even then, is their primary or specialty treating physician educating the patient which route is actually riskier?
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Weight Loss (Bariatric) Surgeon
This is my initial test post. I am hoping to put in useful links, and preview some slideshows or video for those interested in weight loss surgery, those who have had surgery and fellow providors who want to find info for their patients.
This work by Walter Medlin MD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
This work by Walter Medlin MD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
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